Later this month, Courtney is going to share a post about going vegetarian throughout April, so today we have one of her favorite veggie recipes that she discovered during this challenge—Vegetarian Chipotle Crème Enchiladas.
For the most part throughout my vegetarian month, I prepared recipes that I found online, but one day, I was sitting on the couch, trying to come up with a meal plan for the week so my sister Erin and I could go grocery shopping, and an idea popped into my head.
Every Christmas, my family and I make sour cream enchiladas with chicken. We’ve made it so many times I have the recipe memorized. Recently, though, I’d discovered the delight of making my own chipotle crème dipping sauce for sweet potato fries (it’s also delicious on chicken or fish tacos). My brain put two and two together and I thought, dang, wouldn’t it be tasty to transform our sour cream enchiladas into chipotle crème enchiladas?
Only thing was…the original sour cream enchiladas were made with chicken, and this was right in the middle of my vegetarian challenge. No big deal, I told myself. We could just switch the chicken out for tofu! Erin and I made the enchiladas that night, and while she loved the tofu filling, it was about this time that I had to admit to myself that I was not a fan of tofu.
I’d tried it several times throughout my veggie challenge because how could I be vegetarian and not like tofu (Holly’s even sharing a tofu-centric recipe later this month with tips and advice on how to prepare tofu!), but despite adding lots of flavor and spices, the texture makes me gag.
Not to be deterred, we tried the enchiladas again later in the month and made half of them with tofu and half with black beans. That’s the great thing about enchiladas. You can stuff them with whatever protein you want! This recipe will definitely work with chicken, too. So if you have meat eaters in your household, you can make half with chicken and half with either black beans or tofu. You can even mix and match! Chicken and black beans…black beans and tofu…it’s up to you!
I love making enchiladas because it’s especially fun when you make them with someone. When my sister and I make them together, one of us heats the tortillas in the sauce while the other stuffs and rolls. Usually there’s a margarita nearby, so we can sip and work. Recently I discovered the Mexican Mule—tequila, lime juice, and ginger beer—and I must say, it went perfectly with these enchiladas.
Today, I’m sharing the Chipotle Crème Enchilada recipe with a black bean filling since that was my favorite veggie option. Make some enchiladas, make some drinks, and make some memories!
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 1 small can of chipotles
- 1 tsp cumin
- 4 cups shredded cheese of your choice, divided
- 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 15-oz can of enchilada sauce (up to you on whether you want mild or hot)
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Spray a glass baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a food processor, blend sour cream and 1 to 2 chipotle peppers. Depending on how spicy you want it, you could add more chipotles. You can also add some of the sauce from the can, but be careful because adding too much of the sauce will make your chipotle crème too runny.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the chipotle crème, 3 cups of cheese, and cumin. Stir until well blended. The mixture should not be runny at all. If it is, add more cheese.
- Pour the can of enchilada sauce into a skillet and heat. You don’t want it to be boiling, but it should be warm enough to make the tortillas soft and pliant when you dip them into it.
- Once the sauce is heated, use tongs or a fork to dip one tortilla, flip it over once or twice and then lay it flat in your glass baking pan.
- Take a heaping spoonful of the chipotle crème filling and spread it out onto the tortilla. Then place a smaller spoonful of beans on top of the filling.
- Roll up the tortilla and scoot it to one side of your pan.
- Continue filling and rolling tortillas until your pan is full.
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over your enchiladas, making sure it seeps into the corners and edges to help prevent the tortillas from drying out.
- Next, sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top, again making sure the corners and edges are well-covered. Depending on how much you like cheese, you can make this a pretty thick layer.
- Cover with foil and place in the oven for 35 minutes.
- Then take off the foil and turn your oven to broil until the cheese gets lightly browned on top (about 3 to 5 minutes).
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 7 minutes before serving.
No worries if you have leftover filling, it’s a great dip for tortilla chips, and it would be beautiful in the center of one of Holly’s Tortilla Flower Dip Holders from last month!
Enjoy!
