This mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe is a family classic with a unique twist on the red enchiladas sauce! Addictingly both sweet and spicy, these tasty enchiladas are filled with cheese and onion for a filling dish everyone is sure to love! You’ll be surprised what the winning ingredient is!
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This mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe is a family favorite using only 8 delicious ingredients to create this award-worthy sauce! It’s that good!
Each corn tortilla is drenched with this amazing sauce and stuffed with a savory cheese and onion mixture for a saucy dish!
You’ll be surprised with how good these easy vegetarian enchiladas are without any meat or fish!
This post will go over everything you need to know to create this mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe.
Recipe difficulty: Beginner bordering on moderate…But don’t worry, still super easy!
Our mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe is a special version of the typical red sauce! Using a special ingredient, this enchilada sauce is deliciously sweet and perfect for all spice tolerances! After learning this recipe, you won’t want your mexican style enchiladas any other way! Make sure to read the tips below to master this recipe!
Sam’s Pro Tips for this Mexican Enchiladas Vegetarian Recipe
Cooking with Chile Pasilla
For these easy mexican enchiladas, we use CHILE PASILLA in the sauce (this is not the special ingredient yet…keep reading!)
CHILE PASILLA are common in Mexican cooking and look like dried blackish-red peppers that usually come pre-packaged in a clear bag.
To get the best flavor in these mexican enchiladas with cheese, you want to SOAK these CHILE PASILLA in water before incorporating in the sauce. Don’t skip out on this!
Put the CHILE PASILLA in a large bowl with water and have these soak for at least an hour until softened.
Make sure to have these peppers submerged in the water so that the whole pepper is softened! Otherwise, you can get hard pieces in your mexican enchiladas rojas. Totally guilty of this!
The Winning Ingredient
The special ingredient right here!
In our addictingly sweet sauce, the ingredient we use that makes this different from the traditional red enchilada sauce is the use of Ibarra Chocolate.
We simmer our sauce with a whole bar of the Ibarra Chocolate for that delicious chocolate consistency! The chocolate also darkens the sauce to a beautiful deep red color!
This is not an ingredient you want to skip out on as this Mexican chocolate totally puts these easy vegetarian enchiladas on another level.
What is the Right Consistency?
After the sauce has been blended then simmered, you’re aiming for a slightly thickened consistency. As in it won’t be spaghettis sauce thick!
You want this enchilada sauce to be liquid enough that it can be spooned easily over our mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe.
It may look too saucy in the pan, but don’t worry it will be the perfect topping to the cheese and onion in the enchilada!
If you do want this more on the thicker side, our trick is to use saltine crackers to simmer with the sauce! The crackers will break down and thicken the sauce beautifully!
We used this BLENDER to get the perfect consistency! See The Top Kitchen Essentials You Need to Make Your Life Easier for the gadgets we always have in the kitchen!
Key Ingredients – Mexican Enchiladas Vegetarian Recipe
Below are some key and optional ingredients for this recipe:
- Chile pasilla: CHILE PASILLA have a mild spice and work beautifully in these mexican enchiladas with cheese. Make sure to soften the chiles in water first!
- Ibarra chocolate: The secret ingredient! One bar of Ibarra chocolate is used and pairs perfectly with the chile pasilla. Make sure to use this kind to perfect the sauce!
- Cinnamon sticks: Blend ½ a cinnamon stick for that earthy flavor. On the other hand, if you don’t have cinnamon sticks, you can use ground cinnamon! 1 stick is the equivalent to ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- Saltine crackers: We blend the saltine crackers with the sauce and it acts as a thickening agent. The crackers will further break down when simmering with the sauce.
- Piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar cane): Another traditional ingredient common in Mexican cuisine and gives an incredible flavor to these mexican enchiladas with cheese! You need ¼ cup of this sugar, and it’s easier to use the ground version. You can use the piloncillo blocks, but you will need to test it in the sauce to the desired flavor.
- Bay leaves: Simmer 2 bay leaves with the sauce as the finishing touch.
- Olive oil: I like to use olive oil to simmer with the sauce as it’s a healthier alternative and provides great flavor. You want to use enough that it covers the entire bottom of the pan.
Toppings and Filling (Optional)
- Mozzarella cheese: Shredded mozzarella cheese taste so good in our mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe and melts perfectly in the sauce.
- Onion: Finely dice an onion to stuff inside the tortilla. As a result, the onion will add a ton of flavor to the cheese and give texture to the inside. Green onion is a great topping also!
- Crema Mexicana: The perfect sour cream to top these authentic mexican enchiladas rojas on the plate. Be sure to have extra on the side for folks that want extra.
More Variations to this Mexican Enchiladas Vegetarian Recipe
There are a few ways you can variate this mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe. Here’s how:
- Switch up the cheese or stuffing! Instead of using mozzarella cheese in these easy mexican enchiladas, try using Monterey Jack cheese or even Oaxacan cheese. So good! Or you can even stuff these peppers with shredded chicken from our Easy Shredded Chicken Tacos Recipe with Green Salsa!
- Do you have other favorite Mexican recipes? Yes! We love our Quick and Easy Authentic Chile Verde Recipe That is So Tender or our 5-Step Easy Chile Relleno Recipe You’ll Love which are family classics! Don’t worry, these recipes use simple and authentic ingredients!
- What can I pair with this dish? The fun part! Pair our easy vegetarian enchiladas with our Best Mexican Style Rice Recipe from Grandma’s Kitchen or 7-Minute Cilantro Cauliflower Lime Rice for a complete meal on your dinner table!
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Authentic Mexican Enchiladas Vegetarian Recipe with Cheese
Ingredients
- 7 chile pasillas see note below
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 8 Saltine crackers
- 1 bar Ibarra chocolate
- ¼ cup piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar cane)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2½ cups water
- salt to taste
- red chili flakes to taste (optional)
Enchilada Filling
- corn tortillas (large pack)
- 1 onion finely diced
- shredded mozzarella cheese (large pack) or other Mexican style cheese blend
- Crema Mexicana
- green onion for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the chile pasillas. In a large bowl, cover the chile pasilla with water and let it soak in hot water for 1 hour or until softened. Tip – I usually put a plate on top of the chile to have the top submerged in the water.
- Once the chiles are softened, remove the stems and some of the seeds. You can keep some of the seeds for spiciness. Place the chile pasillas in the blender. Add the cinnamon stick to the blender, the Saltine crackers, 2½ cups of water (you can use some of the water used to soak the chile pasilla), and salt to taste. Blend until the sauce texture is achieved.
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 cup of olive oil until hot. Once hot, pour the sauce and cook until boiling. Stir constantly.
- Once the sauce boils, add the Ibarra chocolate, piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar cane), and bay leaves. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. Add salt and chili flakes to taste if using. Simmer covered on low heat for 25 minutes. Discard the bay leaves when serving.
Assembling the Enchilada
- Heat the corn tortillas over a griddle. Once ready to serve, spoon some of the enchilada sauce on the plate and on top of the tortilla.
- Put a strip of the diced onion and cheese on top of the sauce on the corn tortilla. Roll the tortilla or fold over. Spoon more of the enchilada sauce on top of the tortilla.
- Sprinkle additional cheese and onion on top of the tortilla. Drizzle Crema Mexicana on top and green onion if using. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- I used 7 chile pasillas in this recipe. However, if you would like the sauce spicier, you can use more. Adjust the water as necessary.
- After the sauce has been blended then simmered, you’re aiming for a slightly thickened consistency. As in it won’t be spaghettis sauce thick! It may look too saucy in the pan, but don’t worry it will be the perfect topping to the enchiladas. If you do want this more on the thicker side, add more Saltine crackers to simmer with the sauce. The Saltine crackers will break down as the sauce simmers.
- Serving size is subject to change depending on the amount of sauce used. Using a generous amount of sauce, I made 20 enchiladas for my family. Just be sure to have a large pack of shredded mozzarella cheese and a large onion.
- If you don’t have cinnamon sticks, you can use ground cinnamon. 1 stick is the equivalent to ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- See Sam’s Pro Tips for this Mexican Enchiladas Vegetarian Recipe for further detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Mexican enchiladas made of?
Mexican enchiladas are topped with a sauce using chile pasilla and other spices. In addition, the enchiladas can be stuffed with cheese, onion, or meat.
What goes good in enchiladas?
Shredded chicken can work well, or cheese mixed with onion for an easy mexican enchiladas recipe.
What is traditional enchilada sauce made of?
Traditionally, enchilada sauce is made using chile pasilla, cinnamon, piloncillo, and other spices.
This post was all about how to create this mexican enchiladas vegetarian recipe.
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