Before I get to this insanely delicious recipe, I want to let you know what I’ve been up to this month! Some of you have seen on Snapchat that I’ve been behind the lens each day for a very special photography project—which includes shooting more than 60 brand-new recipe photos! It’s been pretty crazy around here and I haven’t had a day off in ages, but it’s really coming together beautifully. Eric even helped me create a dedicated photography space in our empty dining room and it’s been nice to have a set area to shoot (why did it take me so long to do this?). We’re gearing up to share this new project with you late winter, and I appreciate your patience as things will continue to be a bit slower around here as I complete the photography project this month. If you want to see all the behind-the-scenes action, follow along on Snapchat (username: angelaliddon).
I’m also happy to announce that we’re gearing up to kick off a brand-new newsletter! It’s going to be packed with all kinds of beautiful photos, recipes, life updates, tips/tricks, and sneak peeks/insider info (such as on the aforementioned project!). Since it has been so long since I sent out a newsletter (probably 1.5 to 2 years), we’re starting fresh and asking you to sign up again. This is because we want to make sure our subscribers truly want to receive our newsletter; the goal is to connect with you in a meaningful way — not to spam unsuspecting inboxes! I’m all about quality over quantity. Once you’ve signed up you will get an email asking you to confirm your subscription, and you’ll need to click the link to activate the fun. The first newsletter is expected to go out this month with a special Valentine’s Day theme (va va voom!), so keep your eyes peeled! Sign up here:
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For those of you who have been asking if my next cookbook has a release date, I’m thrilled to tell you that it will release on September 6, 2016. Not too long to go now! You can now pre-order the book in Canada via Amazon.ca and Chapters/Indigo (many more retailers to come). We don’t have a cover yet, but of course I will share the preview with you as soon as I can!
As you can see there are a lot of fun things coming up in 2016. More on all of this very soon…
This recipe is honestly one of my favourite entrees in a very long time and I’m so excited to share it with you. This is the recipe to make when you want to blow your friends and family away. Trust me on this one. It’s a spin-off of my favourite vegan enchilada recipe from way back in 2011. Why the heck has it taken me so long to make another? Well, to be honest, I didn’t think I could improve upon that recipe, but I was wrong…very wrong. This version is even more flavourful, satisfying, and robust thanks to the addition of smoky roasted red peppers, umami-rich sun-dried tomatoes, and my favourite homemade enchilada sauce. I top it all off with a decadent cashew cream that’s flavored with cilantro, garlic, and lime. Yowza. This is winter comfort food at its best!
Next Level Vegan Enchiladas
Yield
6 large enchiladas
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These mild- to moderate-heat enchiladas will change your life! A delicious homemade Enchilada Sauce smothers a sweet potato, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, and black bean filling wrapped in soft tortillas. After baking, I top it all off with a decadent Cilanto-Lime-Garlic Cashew Cream, green onion, cilantro, red pepper flakes, and chopped avocado. This dish will blow your taste buds away, I can promise you that! Please note that the prep time includes making the enchilada sauce and cashew cream in addition to the enchiladas. Yes, it's a labour-intensive recipe for sure, but you can save time the day of by prepping the cashew cream and enchilada sauce the day before.
Ingredients
For the enchiladas:
- 2 cups (260 g) peeled and chopped (1/2-inch dice) sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, diced (2 to 2 1/2 cups)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup jarred roasted red pepper, drained and chopped
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can black beans (about 1 1/2 cups), drained and rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups Homemade Enchilada Sauce (1 batch)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- 5 to 6 medium/large soft tortilla wraps
For the toppings:
- Cilantro-Lime-Garlic Cashew Cream
- Chopped green onion, red pepper flakes, avocado, and cilantro
Directions
- Prepare the Homemade Enchilada Sauce and soak the cashews for the Cilantro-Lime-Garlic Cashew Cream before you begin.
- Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish (at least 8x12 inches). Set aside.
- Add the chopped sweet potato into a medium pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 9 to 15 minutes, uncovered, until fork tender. Drain and set aside. You can also steam the potatoes until tender, instead of boiling.
- In a large skillet, stir together the oil, onion, and garlic and sauté over medium heat for around 3 to 5 minutes until the onion softens. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Add the chopped roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked/drained sweet potato, spinach, and black beans. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat, until the spinach is wilted.
- Stir in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of homemade enchilada sauce, followed by the lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Adjust seasonings to taste, if desired.
- Add 3/4 cup of Enchilada Sauce onto the bottom of your casserole dish and spread it out evenly.
- Scoop 3/4 cup of the sweet potato and black bean filling onto each tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place it, seam side down, in the casserole dish. Repeat for the rest. If you have any leftover filling, you can spread it on top of the tortillas. Spread all of the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas until they are completely covered in sauce.
- Bake the enchiladas, uncovered, at 350⁰F (180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is a deep red colour and the enchiladas are heated through.
- While the enchiladas are baking, prepare the Cilantro-Lime-Garlic Cashew Cream.
- When enchiladas are ready to serve, add half of the cashew cream into a baggie, snip off the corner, and “pipe” the sauce all over the enchiladas. Alternatively, you can simply spread or dollop the sauce on top of each enchilada. Garnish with chopped cilantro, avocado, red pepper flakes, and green onion. Serve any remaining cashew cream on the side with a spoon.
Tip:
- Make it kid-friendly: Omit the cayenne and red pepper flakes.
Didn’t make the cream. Just garnished with chopped avocados instead, cause I’m lazy. Don’t normally write reviews either.. but this was soooooo delicious. I’m normally not fond of sweet potatoes but I decided to give this recipe a go since it was a well reviewed vegan enchilada recipe. BLOWN AWAY
Thanks for the recipe :)
Awh, thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Anne!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the enchiladas.
My family and I are not vegan nor are we vegetarians. I do like to try different foods and eat and make healthy meals. I read great reviews on the cookbook from this author and ordered it yesterday but I got inspired and decided to try this recipe I found online tonight. Let me tell you, this is crazy good!!! My husband, myself and our two teenagers absolutely loved it and now I really can’t wait for my cookbook to show up.
so so so good, will definitely make again! the filling was very flavorful, the sauce was great (and easy) and the crema!!!!!!!!!!! delicious!!!
I am so excited to try this recipe this weekend. I also absolutely LOVE the serving tray this is on. Are you willing to share where it is from?
Thanks in advance!
Made these last night for my sister and I. They are incredibly tasty. Instead of adding the enchilada sauce to the mix inside the tortillas, I added the cilantro garlic cream. I was glad I did, I think the enchilada sauce inside would have been overkill and they tasted amazing. Next time I make them, I will make the sauce more wet. The cilantro garlic cream sauce is to die for and I will definitely triple that recipe since I ran out after only half the enchiladas were gone.
Such an amazing recipe! Made these last night for a dinner party and the two sheet of them were completely devoured. Prepping the sauce and crema beforehand was extremely helpful in throwing these together faster. Will definitely be making these again!
Hi Cecilia, I’m so happy everyone enjoyed the enchiladas!
My partner really struggles with the idea of no meat in meals, (he grew with a meat and no veg kind of family) and I’ve made many of vegan dishes for him.
This is the only dish so far that he thinks is absolutely amazing without meat. Thank you dreena! Cashew cream with it just added perfect to perfect. Delicious!
Ive been following this website for many years and have made a few things but not many, I wasn’t vegan before, just very healthy. Recently, I became vegan and have been starving for something new. This took me almost 3 hours to make but man! Was it ever worth it!! It was amazing, honestly, just amazing. The cashew cream with the avocado and just enough spice with the sweet potato…..just divine. Thanks so much, you do such amazing work!!!
Oh, I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Kasie. It definitely takes a bit of time, but I agree–the results are so worth it! ;)
This is delicious. We enjoyed them tonight. Love the Garlic Cashew Cream. Yum.
I’ve made this recipe at least 10 times in the last year. My non-vegan husband raves about this dish, and it’s one of my favorites! Thank You.
I use corn tortillas, and layer them with the filling, sauce, and Daiya cheddar cheese (similar to how you would with a lasagna) twice over. I also have to make 2X the Cashew Cream recipe because I wind up eating half of it with a spoon. Absolutely wonderful!
Oh, I’m so happy to hear you’re loving the recipe, Rachel!!
I made these for dinner last night. My husband doesn’t like avocado, so I left the cream sauce out of the recipe. I was worried that I would need some sort of a vegan cheese sauce, but they taste great without any extra sauce. We both loved this recipe! I’m sure it is going to be a regular recipe in my daily rotation. :-)
I’m hosting a week of whole foods, plant based lunches for my co-wokers soon, and decided to make this the opening lunch, so I tested it today. HOLY MOLY IS IT GOOD! I did not use any oil in the recipe, other than what the sun dried tomatoes were packed in, and everything turned out beautifully. It’s a definite winner, and my co-workers are in for a treat!
This recipe is delicious!!! I was especially pleased with the garlic sauce, wow, yum! I first was skeptical of the portion sizes (thinking it may not feed 4 hungry adults), but I was wrong. It was fabulous. Wouldn’t change a thing. Keep up the good work!
I’m happy you loved it, Alexandra :)
i have the old cookbook and really enjoyed those enchiladas but these are better. So good. I will be making these often. Thanks for the great recipe.
I made these last night and they were so good! My husband, who is a meat eater but trying to eat vegan for the next month, loved them too! They will definitely become a regular on the dinner rotation.
I’m so happy they were a hit, Kristy! I love how satisfying these enchiladas are for meat eaters and plant-based eaters alike. :)
Dear Angela, I have been meaning to write this for a long time. I absolutely love your cookbook. Every recipe I have tried so far is absolutely delicious. I think it sets you apart from most others because your food is so flavorful and full of spices. It has been 2 years since we have been a whole food, plant based diet and we love it thanks to you and your recipes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Caren
Thank you so much for taking the time to write in, Caren! I can’t tell you how much your warm words mean to me. :)
Angela, I have been making your recipes for a few years now, even have your cookbook. I just made this one tonight and was a big hit, even for the 5 year old! That’s hard to do. The cashew cream put it over the top. Glad I doubled it for the freezer. Thank you
So glad everyone loved it, Laura! Enjoy those leftovers. :)
I just made these for the second time in a month,and this time I doubled the recipe. And I am single so that’s a lot of meals. I was licking the cashew cream off the food processor blade and I cut my tongue, but I still went in for more! Yum yum yum. This ius my new favorite recipe.
OUCH! Hope your tongue’s doing okay, Emilie! I’m so happy you’re loving the recipe–sounds like you’re stocked up for a while. :) Enjoy all those leftovers!
Amazing! I doubled the recipe and it made around 10 enchiladas.
So filling, delicious and the cilantro lime sauce just completes it to NEXT LEVEL.
Thank you!!
I’m glad they were a hit, Jessica!
This is my favorite recipe ever… it’s always a hit even with picky omnivores at the table. The first couple of times I made it, it took a long time to prep, but now I’ve got it down and it’s easy to do! It’s so simple whip up the cashew cream topping and I love having the rest of the avocado as a topping! It’s great left over too, which is a requirement for any good recipe for me! Thanks, Angela!
Tried these but substituted the red sauce with green enchilada sauce (tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños); AMAZING. Great flavor and can’t wait to eat the leftovers!! :)
Oh, that sounds like a great twist, Tori! Enjoy those leftovers :)
Holy cow. My husband and I decided to cut down on animal products and this was my first ever vegan meal. It was one of the BEST THINGS I have EVER eaten! Gave me some hope that you don’t need animal products to make a delicious meal. This was excellent, full of flavor.
Thank you SO MUCH for finally giving me a completely vegan recipe that my husband not only tolerated, but LOVED. He even took leftovers for his lunch! I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Sounds like the recipe was a big hit, Chels! So glad you found it. Hopefully the next one you try is another winner with the fam, too! :)
Thanks for this recipe, it is amazing! Had dinner guests last night who are looking to cut back on meat, since I love everything I try from you and they love mexican based meals, thought this would fill the bill. We all agreed these are the best enchiladas ever, and if we were served these at a restaurant, we would be quite pleased! I doubled the recipe, so there were a few left over, hubby and I just each had one for breakfast! Thank you again Angela, you rock!
Aw, thanks so much for the warm words, Debbie! I’m thrilled you all enjoyed the enchiladas so much. :)
Didn’t have red peppers or sun dried tomatoes, and didn’t make the cashew sauce either but man these were amazing! We recently switched over to a planted-based diet and have been struggling to find dishes we love.
We ended up making it casserole style by layering corn tortillas with the sauce and veggies, and I added a splash of Apple cider vinegar to balance out the sweet potatoes. Soooooo delicious!
Glad it was a hit, Jasmine! The right recipe can make all the difference :)
OHHH EMMM GEEE, those are amazing!!! I just started eating clean recently, so I’m looking for good recipes. I’m SO glad I found your website, can’t wait to have my friends over for dinner, they will LOVE these enchilada’s. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thank YOU for the love comment, Diane! I’m so happy you loved the enchiladas, and I hope you enjoy whatever recipe you try next just as much!
Both my boyfriend and I agree that these were the best enchiladas we have ever had. I added eggplant & mushrooms and the addition went well. Thank you for such an easy to follow, delicious recipe. I will be looking for your cookbook.
Wow…Wow…Wow… I made these from your app that I downloaded on my phone. I am fairly new to veganism about 6 weeks. These were AMAZING. I didn’t have the jarred roasted peppers on hand I used fresh, it was still AMAZING. If I can get the hubs to say wow ding ding ding!!!! I can’t wait to get your cookbook.
Glowing :)
So glad you enjoyed them, Michele! I hope you love whatever recipe you try next just as much!! :)
I just made these for dinner for some friends – soooo impressed with how yummy this recipe is! Definitely worth the work and when you taste how good they are, it doesn’t feel like much work at all! I was worried the sauce would be too spicy but balanced out so nicely with everything else! Thank you xxx
Hey Ella, I’m so glad the enchiladas were a hit! They’re one of our faves in this house. :) Thanks for your review!
Another winner! Made these with your avocado cilantro cashew cream. Bizzomb! I did use my own homemade enchilada sauce though ;) Very easy, and I did is casserole style so it was layered rather than rolled. Nom.
yay! Thanks for letting me know Bianca :)
I’ve made this recipe before and it’s stellar! I’ll be making it tomorrow for Meatless Monday and I can hardly wait!
Hi Diane, I’m so happy you love it! Have a great Meatless Monday tomorrow :)
Amazing!!!! Loved it!! It’s a keeper
I’m so happy you loved it Annette!
I’m making these tonight. I’m assuming the tortillas are flour tortillas, not corn. Is that right?
Hi Marsha, Yes, I used flour tortillas. Thanks for clarifying!
Thanks, I used flour tortillas. They were delicious. I did make 8 enchiladas as there are only 2 of us. There was plenty of filling. One thing I’ll do next time is warm the tortillas in a skillet before I fill them so they don’t taste doughy. Also I only put the toppings on what we’re eating as the rest will be warned up before we eat them. Recipe is great. I have your cookbooks and have made several recipes. All were great, especially the cheese sauce. It is outstanding. Thanks for all your ideas and hard work.
Hey Marsha, Oh I’m so happy you loved this one, and thank you so much for the kind words and support for my cookbooks! That means the world to me. :)
This recipe was so amazing. The only thing I didn’t make from scratch were the tortillas. I purchased gluten-free tortillas. They tasted fine but didn’t roll well so my recipe was not as pretty as yours! The enchilada sauce and the cashew cilantro cream was to die for. I could just eat that forever and ever. And my husband, a dedicated carnivore, just loved this dish. Thanks for the amazing recipe and keep them coming.
Aww thank you so much for the recipe love, Joan! So happy it was a hit with you and your husband.
I made this for my husband and I last night. Absolutely YUMMMY!!!! I have some left over filling (only cooking for two) and will probably make some quesadillas with it. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Hey Nova, Thanks for your feedback…I’m so happy you loved it so much. Repurposed leftovers are the best aren’t they?
Made these today! Super good. Thanks for the recipe.
Wonderful recipe! It was the first time I made cashew topping and it was OUTSTANDING!!!
A cashew topping sounds SO good. Was it cashew cream or something else?
Hi Angela,
We are huge fans of both this and the sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. I was wondering if the enchiladas can be made ahead of time and frozen before baking? Would I put enchilada sauce before or after freezing? Thank you!
Jasna
I’ve heard they can be frozen, but I haven’t tried it yet myself. I would leave off the toppings (including the Cilantro-Lime-Garlic Cashew Cream) until just before serving though.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this recipe! I’ve made this for so many different people (all with VERY different food preferences) and even my meat eating friends LOVED it!! One of my go-tos and absolute favorites!!
Hey Amanda, That’s great news! Thanks for letting me know. :)
This recipe is seriously amazing. I have made it multiple times. Never been a fan of enchiladas but these are just too good. Perfect perfect recipe.
Hey Danielle, Wow, thank you for the recipe love! We adore these too. :)
I made these last night for my vegan husband – delicious!! Didn’t have limes so used lemon in the creamy avocado topping. Still so yummy! The sauce was so good too.
Oh good call on using lemon in a pinch…you can’t go wrong! So glad you enjoyed them so much Jen.
These are fantastic! I has a vegan potluck with a couple friends last night and this was on the menu to make together! All of us working in the kitchen made it easy to soak the cashews, whip up the two sauces, and make the enchiladas pretty quickly. One friend had the idea to add a pinch of cinnamon and cocoa powder to the enchilada sauce as well, which was quite delicious. We all couldn’t stop talking about how fantastic this recipe is! Thank you!
Hey Aida, So glad you and your friends tried out the enchiladas! I love the idea of adding a pinch of cocoa and cinnamon. I will try that next time.
Seriously amazing! The flavor combinations were just perfect, with the sweet potato providing some creamy-ness and peppers adding some tang. This will be one of my go-to recipes to feed to skeptical meat eaters. Will definitely make again!
Hey Steph, Thank you so much for trying it out and letting us know how it went! So happy to hear you love it as much as we do.
I have never commented on a recipe before, but this one deserves 10 stars and I felt obligated to say it.
I added corn and crushed chillies to mine, but otherwise followed the recipes exactly and I am blown away! the two sauces are life changing.
I used corn tortillas that would rather split in half than roll up, so I improvised and came out with some sort of Mexican Lasagna Casserole sorta thing… I am not disappointed
Thank you!
I’m so happy you decided to comment, Malcolm! Thank you :) That’s great news it was such a hit, and you can’t go wrong with a Mexican Lasagna either.
We are NOT vegan not even vegetarian in our house, but we have two with celiac disease and one with a dairy allergy so I went for it. The GF brown rice tortillas that I found do not roll period so I made enchilada “pie”. The flavors were amazing and the meat was not missed in this tasty dish. I topped it with my own vegan avocado crema recipe and some prepackaged vegan cheese too but it would have still been amazing without the additions!
So glad you enjoyed it so much! And I love the “pie” idea. I’ve heard from a few people that it’s a good way to make it!
Oh my goodness Angela you have outdone yourself with these enchiladas. I made these this evening and both me and my meat-devouring other half could not get enough! I just wish I made these sooner, I’ve been missing out on these this whole time!
So happy to hear that Sandra! :)
Every part of this recipe was delicious. The cilantro cream sauce made it.
I’d have to agree about the cilantro cream sauce. ;) Thanks Briar! So happy you enjoyed the enchiladas.
These were amazing! Restaurant quality. This recipe is going to be on rotation for sure. The sauces were easy to make and so delicious. It takes a good 2 hours to make, but is so worth it!
Thanks Brittany! So glad you loved it so much…thanks for your review!
Made these enchiladas for my meat loving men. Oh my goodness, they ate them up! Delicious, thank you for helping me get my family one step closer to better eating. Will definitely make a double batch next time.
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it!
Do the enchiladas get soggy on the bottom? I am dying to try these but really don’t like soggy enchiladas :-)
Hey Trish, Yes they do a bit, but I think it depends on the tortilla that you use. Maybe a heartier one like an Ezekiel kind would stand up better?
thanks Angela and the filling can be made a day ahead I assume right :-)
Yes I think making it ahead should work just fine!