Packed with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, tangy salsa verde and (quick) pickled red onions, these delicious vegetarian enchiladas verdes will make everyone happy at the table. They may not be authentically Mexican but they are seriously delicioso!
Satisfying and nutritious with loads of veggies and just enough cheese, these vegetarian enchiladas verdes are the the ultimate healthy comfort food.
And in case you're wondering, they've been taste-tested on carnivores (my husband and sons) and got the big thumbs up!
Rather than the more typical black bean vegetarian enchiladas, I decided to go with two of my favorite roasted veggies for this recipe, Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. They're are a fantastic pair, one being nutty crunchy and savory, the other tender and sweet. Salsa verde and pickled red onions add brightness and tanginess to these flavor-packed enchiladas.
This chicken enchiladas verdes recipe has been my favorite go-to enchilada recipe for years. And while I'll never stop loving enchiladas stuffed with shredded chicken and other meaty fillings, sometimes (more and more lately) I want a vegetarian meal for dinner.
How To Make Vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes (without beans)
You can make these veggie enchiladas in a few easy steps: make the quick pickled onions, roast the veggies, roll everything up in corn tortillas with salsa and cheese, and bake.
- Make the Quick Pickled Red Onions: These are an absolute flavor bomb and are super quick and easy to make. Let them cool while you roast the veggies.
- Roast the Veggies: Toss the Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes with olive oil and salt and bake them in a 425ºF oven until tender, 25-30 minutes.
- Roll 'em up: Toss the roasted veggies with a cup of salsa verde. Add about ½ cup of filling, 2 tablespoons of cheese and a heaping tablespoon of pickled onions to the middle of each corn tortilla, roll up into a cylinder and place, seam-side down in the casserole. Spread remaining salsa over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake Them: Lower the oven temp to 350ºF. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10-15 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and the enchiladas are heated through. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, grated cotija cheese and chopped pickled onions. Serve hot.
What if my corn tortillas aren't soft enough to roll up?
Corn tortillas can be stiff. Some brands are more pliant than others. If your tortillas aren't soft enough to roll up, here's my favorite method for softening them:
- Heat a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat.
- Place a tortilla in the skillet, pressing it against the pan with a spatula, for about 10 seconds per side.
- Transfer warm tortilla to a clean dish towel and fold towel over it to keep it warm. Repeat with all of the tortillas, continuing to stack them inside the dish towel.
Can I Make The Enchiladas Ahead and Refrigerate Them?
Yes, these enchiladas are a fantastic make-ahead meal. Roll them up, tuck them into a casserole and they'll be ready for heating up just before dinner.
- Assemble the enchiladas in a casserole dish, cover the dish tightly with saran wrap and store it in the fridge for up to two days.
- Take the enchiladas out of the fridge a half hour before cooking so they come to room temperature before you bake them. Otherwise you will have to add additional cooking time to get them heated through.
Can I Make These Enchiladas Ahead and Freeze Them?
Yes, these enchiladas freeze beautifully. If you have a freezer-to-oven baking pan, such as these pyrex pans or a disposable foil pan, they can go right from freezer to oven. If you don't have this type of pan, defrost them before cooking them. (You don't want your baking pan to crack!) Read more about how to freeze enchiladas in this post from The Kitchn.
- It's best to freeze enchiladas before baking them. Assemble the enchiladas in a freezer-to-oven baking pan or disposable foil pan. Cover ttightly with a lid or with foil, and freeze them. Enchiladas will keep in the freezer for three months.
- To reheat, remove the lid and cover the pan with foil. Cook the frozen enchiladas for 30 minutes in a preheated 350ºF oven. Remove the foil and cook them for 10-15 minutes more until they're heated through and the cheese is bubbling.
Variations and Toppings:
- If you like your enchiladas with more heat or spice, add a pinch or two of cayenne to the salsa verde or add a can of chopped hot green chilies or a teaspoon of Mexican oregano.
- Jazz up your enchiladas with exciting garnishes such as chopped scallions, sliced avocados, chopped cilantro, sour cream, grated Cotija cheese, chopped pickled onions or all of the above.
- To decorate your enchiladas with neat stripes of sour cream, dilute the sour cream with a tiny bit of milk or water so you can put it in a squeeze bottle. If you don't have a squeeze bottle you can use a spoon, though it's a bit harder to get neat stripes with a spoon.
Here's the recipe for Vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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Vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes (no beans)
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Description
Vegetarian enchiladas verdes stuffed with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, pickled onions, cheddar cheese and salsa verde.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups quick pickled red onions, plus more to garnish (Pickled red onions recipe here)
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized 1-inch cubes (5 cups of cubes)
- 1 ½-pounds of Brussels sprouts, halved
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 10-12 6-inch soft corn tortillas (or flour tortillas)
- 2 cups store-bought salsa verde (tomatillo salsa) or homemade salsa verde
- 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp cheddar), divided
- ¼ cup grated Cotija cheese, optional garnish
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, optional garnish
- ¼ cup sour cream, optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Make the pickled red onions
- Toss Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes in a bowl with olive oil (6 tablespoons) and salt (1 tablespoon). Spread out on two sheet pans and roast for 25-30 minutes until tender and browned in spots. Transfer veggies to a large bowl and toss with 1 cup of salsa verde.
- Lower oven temp to 350ºF. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of salsa on the bottom of a large (at least 9"x13") baking pan. Add about ½ cups of veggie filling to the middle of each corn tortilla, 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese and 1 heaping tablespoon of pickled onions. Roll up into a cylinder and place, seam-side down in the pan, lining the enchiladas up tightly as you go. Spread remaining salsa over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10-15 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and the enchiladas are heated through.
- Garnish with grated cotija cheese, chopped cilantro, chopped pickled red onions and sour cream, if desired. Serve hot.
Notes
Make-ahead instructions: Assemble enchiladas in a baking pan, cover tightly with foil and store it in the fridge for up to two days. To reheat, take enchiladas out of the fridge a half hour before cooking so they come to room temperature before you bake them. Otherwise you will have to add additional cooking time to get them heated through.
Freezing Instructions: Best to freeze enchiladas before baking them. Assemble enchiladas in a freezer-to-oven baking pan, if you have one, such as these pyrex pans or a disposable foil pan. Cover tightly with a lid or with foil, and freeze. Enchiladas will keep in the freezer for three months. If using a freezer-to-oven pan, enchiladas can go right from freezer to oven. Remove lid, cover pan with foil, cook for 30 minutes in a preheated 350ºF oven. Remove foil and cook 10-15 minutes more until hot. If using a conventional pan, defrost enchiladas fully and bake as directed above (for enchiladas that are not frozen).
Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for the advice of a professional nutritionist.
- Prep Time: 35 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
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Joy
I thought this recipe sounded interesting and so I gave it a try. It did not disappoint. It’s hard to describe how well the ingredients complemented each other and created such a glorious experience for my taste buds. I woke up this morning thinking, boy that was a great meal! I can’t wait to make it again. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Joy - I'm happy to hear how much you enjoyed these! Thanks for your note 🙂
Michael Goldfinger
My daughter and I made this dish and were blown away. Those pickled red onions are so easy to make and such a great complement to these ingredients. I recommend it wholeheartedly. As a side note, if your corn tortillas are a little dry and cracking, we found a quick zap in the microwave made them very malleable and easy to roll with. Thanks Lisa!
Lisa
I am SO happy to hear you all enjoyed the enchiladas Michael!! Thanks for your comment and thanks, too, for the great tip about softening the tortillas. I will add that note to the recipe.
Jean
I made these tonight for dinner and they were really good. Mexican flavor, but with unique ingredients. Toppings we used were cilantro, sour cream, cotija cheese, and the pickled onions. I used flour tortillas because my husband doesn't like the corn kind. I had made the pickled onions a week ago and we have been using them on everything. I was worried I wouldn't have enough left for this dish! Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the enchiladas and the pickled onions. Thanks for taking time to comment Jean!
Zoe
I am so excited to try this recipe!!! It looks delicious. I love Mexican food but do not enjoy beans that much so adding this sweet potato alternative looks awesome!!
Lisa
Hi Zoe, I'm excited for you to try it!! Keep me posted!!