Vegetable Enchiladas are the perfect make ahead dinner recipe, and they freeze wonderfully! Get double work done by making two dishes and freezing one for later. These vegetable enchiladas are naturally gluten-free with a homemade enchilada sauce.
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Earlier this week I shared my recipe for homemade Double Batch Gluten-free Enchilada Sauce, and today I’d like to show you how you can use that delicious and healthy enchilada sauce to make Gluten-Free Vegetable Enchiladas!
I’m going to share a bunch of tips with you today on making enchiladas the easy way, trouble shooting if your tortilla starts to split when rolling it, and how to make this dinner ahead and freeze for later! It’s all below.
Enchiladas at home are really very easy! I’ve made more pans of enchiladas than I can count, and they were always on repeat request with my Personal Chef clients. My love for good Mexican food is no secret, and once you master making basics like tacos and enchiladas at home, you’ll be satisfying that Mexican food craving every single week.
The steps to making the best homemade vegetable enchiladas
Step 1 – Make the sauce
This step can be done days, weeks, or months ahead of time! It’s not a hard process, so I generally make it same day. But last time I showed you how you can make a double batch of Gluten-free Enchilada Sauce and then freeze to have on hand. Find that recipe and meal-prep how-to HERE!
Once the sauce is done, spread a bit onto the bottom of your baking dish and set that aside.
Step 2 – Make the filling
I’m using zucchini, mushrooms, onion and corn for these Vegetable Enchiladas, but you can literally use anything you want! Spinach and mushroom enchiladas are classic. I love adding black beans or steamed sweet potato. Use your imagination! Or try it this way, because it was completely delicious.
First, dice everything up to about the same size.
Second, saute the onions and zucchini and mushrooms.
Third, add the corn and spices and cook until corn is warmed through.
Step 3 – Get your station set up
I like to set up a rolling station either on my dining room table or on a large, open section of my kitchen counter. I use a large cutting board to roll. Within easy reach I place the pan of filling, the plate of warmed tortillas, the bowls of cheese and the pan with enchilada sauce already on the bottom. I also keep the enchilada sauce close so I can use it to help fix any tortillas that are splitting open. Scroll down for that tip in action!
Step 4 – Roll the enchiladas and place in the pan
This part takes a little finesse, and I promise it gets easier with practice. My best tip is to start out like a burrito by folding one end of the tortilla over the filling, and then use the tortilla to pull the filling back before rolling everything forward.
Then place it in the pan seem side down to keep it from opening.
Step 5 – Repeat and finish
Repeat the rolling process for all 12 tortillas, then pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle the rest of the cheese.
Step 6 – Bake until bubbly!
If you are going to eat right away, then bake at 360 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and melty. If you’re not eating right away, you can cool completely and wrap for the freezer (see below for the best way to wrap for the freezer!) It will keep for up to 3 months!! This is meal-prep dinner heaven, right here.
PRO TIPS
HOW DO I STOP MY TORTILLAS FROM SPLITTING?
Traditionally, tortillas are dipped in warm enchilada sauce before being rolled up with the filling. That warm sauce softens the tortillas and stops it from breaking. However, as you can imagine, that method is MESSY.
I’m all for doing things the authentic way, but when it comes to enchiladas, why make things complicated?
I’ve made tons of enchiladas, and while part of keeping your tortilla from breaking is finesse and experience in rolling them, the other part is making sure your tortillas are warm and pliable.
That said, the easiest way to warm your tortillas is in the microwave! I really try to stay away from the microwave, but this is really the best way to heat a lot of tortillas quickly.
How to heat tortillas quickly and easily
- Lay tortillas out overlapping on a plate in a circle.
- Spread a damp paper towel over them
- Add another layer of tortillas
- Add another layer of damp paper towels
- Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes
When the tortillas are warm, just cover the whole plate with a kitchen towel or foil to keep the heat in as much as possible.
This is also how I heat tortillas for Taco Tuesday!
WHAT DO I DO IF MY TORTILLA SPLITS ANYWAY?
I have a solution for this too! If you roll up your enchilada and you see part of the tortilla beginning to break, all you do is place seem side down in your baking tray and quickly spoon your room temperature or warm enchilada sauce over the top. This will soften the tortilla so that it stops breaking.
In the photo below you can see that the tortilla covered in sauce has a split right across the middle of it. After putting enchilada sauce on the top, it stopped breaking and stayed whole, which is the goal!
CAN I FREEZE THIS FOR BAKING LATER?
Um, yes!! Please do! This is a wonderful make ahead, bake later dinner.
If you double the recipe, you can make one for today, and freeze one for next week!! Heck yes!
You could put it together and keep it in the fridge for 3-5 days, or you can put it together, wrap it up, and freeze for later.
How to properly wrap enchiladas for the freezer
- First you want to make sure that there is as little air touching the enchiladas as possible, because that’s what causes freezer burn. Take a piece of plastic wrap and lightly press it down right on top of the enchiladas.
- Then wrap the entire baking dish in plastic wrap
- The last thing is to wrap the entire dish in foil.
- Freeze for up to 3 months
So there you have it friends! That’s a post chock full of tips and tricks, and the best Vegetarian Enchilada Recipe ever!!
You’re going to want to round out this meal with everything you’d expect from a proper Mexican food feast! I have you covered. Serve Healthy Refried Beans for the Instant Pot on the side. Bake up some healthy Homemade Paprika Tortilla Chips so you can scoop the Easy Guacamole and Freshest Pico De Gallo. My 6 Ingredient Restaurant Style Salsa is crazy good and always a great appetizer on Mexican night! If you’re feeling like having some meat in your enchiladas, use my Instant Pot Mexican Chicken for Tacos as a filling instead of the veggies!
Feeling like eating Mexican food but don’t want Vegetable Enchiladas? I have recipes for that too! Check them out below:
– Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
– Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
– Chicken Taco Baked Sweet Potatoes
– Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Mexican Casserole
– Vegetarian Tostadas with Black Bean and Corn
– Veggie Tacos Loaded with Guacamole
Serves 2 enchiladas = 7 WW points
Vanessa at The Cheerful Kitchen
Yields 12 enchiladas
Vegetable Enchiladas are the perfect make ahead dinner recipe, and they freeze wonderfully! Naturally gluten-free with a homemade enchilada sauce and 7 WW points per serving.
30 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
50 minTotal Time
Save Recipe5 based on 2 review(s)
Ingredients
- DOUBLE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE 2 DISHES, THEN FREEZE ONE FOR LATER. FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS IN POST BODY AND NOTES.
- 1 cup diced zucchini, about 1 small zucchini
- 1 cup diced onion, about 1 small onion
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
- 1 cup diced mushroom, about 1/2 package of mushrooms
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 12 warm corn tortillas (check post body for easy warming shortcut)
- 1 cup shredded colby jack
- 2 oz crumble queso fresco (little less than 1/4 of a round)
- 16 oz Gluten-free Enchilada Sauce (< click for recipe)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 360 degrees if baking straight away.
- Saute the diced onion and zucchini in 1 tsp of oil over medium/high heat for 3 minutes, just to begin to soften them.
- Add the mushroom and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the frozen corn, salt and spices, and stir. Saute until the corn is warmed through. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
- Shred and crumble your cheese and set aside.
- Warm your tortillas using the easy tip I outline in the post above!
- Spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Set up your rolling station with all your enchilada elements. See my rolling station set up by clicking HERE .
- Put one warm tortilla on your cutting board then spoon some filling onto it. Sprinkle with just a little bit of your colby jack and queso fresco cheeses.
- Take one side of the tortilla and fold it over the filling, then us the folded over edge to grab all the filling and pull it back toward you, wrapping it in the tortilla. Roll the tortilla forward until you complete the wrap. Some filling may fall out the sides - that's ok. Just try to be gentle and keep as much filling in as possible as you pick it up and transfer it to your pan. Place seam side down.
- *If your tortilla is not fully warm and starts to split open, quickly spoon some of your enchilada sauce onto it. This will soften the tortilla and stop it from splitting further. See photos in the post body of how I did this.
- Repeat until the pan is full.
- Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake at 360 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly, OR let cool completely and then wrap for the freezer. *see notes or post body for wrapping tips
Notes
!FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS When your prepared pan of enchiladas has completely cooled, press plastic wrap down right on top of the enchiladas to prevent air from reaching it in the freezer, then wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap, and again in foil. Freeze just like that for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw the pan in the fridge for at least 24 hours before hand then heat for 30 minutes at 360 degrees until bubbly. I do not recommend heating from frozen, but if you'd like to do that, unwrap the pan completely and then cover the top with foil. Heat at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue heating for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly.
Check out these healthy Mexican food recipes from other great food bloggers!
- Gluten-free Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Mexican Taco Casserole
- Roasted Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa
- Mexican Chicken Poppers
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
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