
Other than my main celebrity chef of choice Ina G., the only other TV chef I watch with any frequency is Rick Bayless. So I referred to one of his recipes from Food & Wine for the sauce here. I went all starch and black beans for the filling because it’s winter and fortifying with cozy food just feels extra right these days. The cheesy pumpkin seed crumble gets dusted on top and has a bit of a wholesome cheesy vibe that I can’t get enough of. The lime cream follows my basic cashew sour cream method and just kind of lifts everything up. I put a lot of emphasis on the garnishes here because, let’s face it, enchiladas are almost always a hot mess/train wreck as soon as they hit the plate. Pretty it up if you feel like it :)
Cozy Vegan Enchiladas with Lime Cream
Ingredients
Enchilada Filling
- 1 medium sweet potato, ½ inch dice
- 2 medium potatoes, ½ inch dice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon each ground cumin, chili powder, coriander
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2½ cups cooked black beans
Sauce
- 1 jalapeño, stem removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Lime Cream
- ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours or more
- juice and zest of 1 lime
- splash of white wine vinegar
- fat pinch of sea salt
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Pumpkin Seed Crumble
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
To Assemble
- 12 small corn tortillas, warmed
- diced ripe avocado
- sliced green onions
- chopped cilantro
Notes
- Sauce recipe adapted from Rick Bayless for Food & Wine
- Store bought enchilada sauce streamlines this meal a bit. I like the Frontera ones and Trader Joe’s makes a decent version too.
- I use a high speed blender for the lime cream–I’m not sure how smooth a regular blender can get the cashews for this. A little more water might be necessary if that’s the case.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Place the diced sweet potatoes and potatoes onto the sheet and toss with the olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper to coat. Slide the tray into the oven and roast until pieces are soft and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the tray and lower the heat to 350 degrees F.
- While vegetables are cooking, start the enchilada sauce. Char the whole jalapeño in a large dry pot over medium heat (preferably cast iron or something equally heavy-bottomed). Remove the jalapeño and set aside.
- Add the oil to the pot, then the onions and garlic cloves. Stir and sauté until the onions are very soft. Scrape the onions and garlic into an upright blender. Add the charred jalapeño and diced tomatoes. Blend on high until totally smooth. Pour tomato mixture back into the pot. Add the vegetable stock and simmer sauce until the texture is slightly looser than tomato paste. The colour will have deepened as well. Remove sauce from the heat.
- Make the lime cream: Rinse the blender pitcher and drain the cashews. Place the drained cashews in the bender along with the lime juice, lime zest, white wine vinegar, salt, and water. Blend on high until you have a creamy and smooth mixture. Scrape the lime cream into a container, cover and chill until you’re ready to serve it.
- For the cheesy pumpkin crumble, combine the pumpkin seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, nutritional yeast and salt in a spice/coffee grinder/mini food processor/mortar and pestle. Grind until you have a lightly textured dust. Set aside.
- Place the roasted vegetables in a bowl and re-use the parchment paper from the baking sheet for the enchiladas. An 8×11 inch pan that’s about 2 inches deep is good here. Ladle about a cup of sauce into the bottom of the pan.
- Set up an assembly line from left to right: warm tortillas wrapped in a dish towel, a large dinner plate, the bowl of roasted vegetables, the black beans, the pumpkin seed mixture, and the parchment lined pan with sauce in the bottom.
- Place a warm tortilla on the dinner plate, spoon about 1/4 cup of vegetables on top down the center of the tortilla. Add a spoonful of black beans and a fat pinch of pumpkin seed crumble on top. Carefully roll it up and place, seam side down, in the enchilada pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling ingredients.
- Pour most of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas in the pan, spread it out, and slide the pan into the oven. Bake until enchiladas are piping hot all the way through, about 25 minutes. Serve the cozy vegan enchiladas hot with extra pumpkin seed crumble, lime cream, diced avocado, green onions, and cilantro.
WOW!
I recently discovered your website and have made a handful of your recipes within the last two weeks but this one has stolen the show! It is absolutely perfect. The flavors and texture all work so well together, the spice in the enchilada sauce was really nice and the cashew cream added the perfect tang to the final product. I sprinkled pomegranate seeds on top for additional texture and flavor, highly recommended. I’m looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow!
Hey Laura,
Is it possible to use something other than cashews for the lime cream?
Hi Laura,
Sorry to ask for a sub on such an old post. Is it possible to use hemp seeds or tahini in lieu of soaked cashews for the lime cream?
Hi Megan! Hemp seeds or tahini would both work great. The flavour will be a bit different (you might want extra lime juice), but you’ll still get that creamy vibe!
-L
I made these last night and they were amazing. My 16 year old son, commented, “Mom, these are restaurant quality. Please make these again.” I did not make the sour cream, and purchased Tofutti Sour Cream to save time. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!!
I love your recipes! Eating healthy and it’s so good! What could I use instead of cashews to make the lime cream? What would be a good substitute – yogurt? quark?
I got your book at the library and loves the recipes, ingredients are things I have in the house.
Thank you.
Bobbi
I made a mess of the kitchen and dirtied every pot and pan. However, this dish is totally worth it! Delicious!!!
My family loved it. My husband said this is the dish to serve when company comes over. Even if you aren’t vegan or vegetarian, you will go crazy for these enchiladas.
Made these for dinner last night and they were delicious! I ended up using two packages of pre-made enchilada sauce, but am really looking forward to making your sauce next time.
Thank you for another winning recipe!
These were delicious! (And this is coming from a Texas girl who knows her way around an enchilada.) A definite repeat.
Thank you for another delicious recipe!
This recipe looks amazing! I’m always looking for new ways to use avocado… and that lime cream sounds yummy :)
Oh my. what’s happened to your website. It looks MEGA! Congratulations on the revamp. So, so lovely.
Thank you Laura for the lovely interview. It really gave me the strength to keepgoing, to keep working hard, to learn from my mistakes and just get better. Such an inspiration.
Wishing you well.
Yum times a million!
I totally understand that feeling about working only a few hours per week at a restaurant, and loving the people there, but also kind of dreading part of it (I’m dealing with a new manager and the stress that brings, currently, too!)
Anyway, you’re not alone! And I’m definitely giving these enchiladas, and especially that pumpkin seed crumble, a try soon! Thank you for sharing!
Sending nothing but good vibes to you and your current work sitch, Caitlin :)
Laura!!! I love the new blog header…sooooo kickass! And this recipe is giving me serious enchilada inspiration. Love all around. Xo
Gorgeous Laura, I so need to up my mexican game! Gorgeous new site design too – love love the new header & drawings!
I love it!! What a great post! and those photos!!! damn I think i’m gonna have to get me some enchiladas….xx :)
I made a few batches of enchiladas this week, for us and to give. I’ve always used jarred sauce to save time and every time I do it I feel like so foolish because I know it’s easier than it looks. I promise I’m trying your recipe next. It sounds super easy and so good. I had your podcast on my list of things to listen too. What a treat.
I love love love this idea – the cashew creme alone is high on my list! Also, as I was reading the post I was thinking how pretty the shots are and how challenging it must be to make something like enchiladas look good in a photo!!
I also wanted to stop by and tell you just how much I enjoyed your podcast, really inspiring, especially about the bit about not sitting around waiting for people to come to you but to reach out yourself. Since listening to your podcast I have sent 2 new pitches out with initial feedback quite positive, so thank you for reminding me to reach out a bit more!
I’m a total stress eater and I’ve been working hard to become more mindful of it and channel my energy into other areas. Or, at the very least, making sure that what I’m snacking on has at least some redeeming qualities. Love the idea of using simple recipes to get into a happier place and enchiladas are pretty sure to get me there.
Oh wow drooling over here. Looks so good!That lime cream sauce looks like it would be a great dressing for a taco salad too. Yummm
oh, these photos are seriously stunning, Laura! i can’t stop staring at them.
this recipe looks delicious. <3
Between this post + your podcast today I’m ALL HEARTS FOR LAURA right now. I’m pretty sure we could play a drinking game to your podcast…chug whenever the word “pizza” is mentioned. ;) Also, I think you captured these enchis perfectly. A little messy, totally vibrant, full of toppings. You’re always right on point, girl. xx! (Keep those negative vibes out! No room! I’m working on this, too…)
This recipe is amazing. Beautiful pictures.
thank you for your very honest post which unfortunately feels very much like something i could have written. except those 12 hours/week are much more in my case. i think that cooking was my way of dealing (by denial/avoidance) with anxiety of living by myself at 17, when i first started uni and had a really hard time learning how to make friends and “have a life” without being crammed with classmates in one room all day long and then doing homework and extracirriculars – i havent chosen the right institution or direction, so to say. your brain gets used to certain ways and almost 3 years later i still struggle distancing myself from all the bad, draining feelings, usually gravitating towards the pans and pots instead, and then to utensils and plates. it’s just that making food feels like such a utile way of spending time when you have too much of it, and once it’s made… well that got very personal. oh, i started using headspace after your last post. it helps, it’s just great. thanks! best, dorota.
Thank you for this honest and heartfelt response, Dorota. I really appreciate you taking the time. I’m really glad that you’re enjoying Headspace :) It’s helping me quite a bit as well. xo
i just listened to the interview and i loved it so much. thank you for sharing it with us. also, definitely making this recipe. why are sweet potatoes SO GOOD in mexican food?
So glad you liked the interview, Caitlin! And I feel like all we’ve been eating these days is sweet potatoes with some sort of Mexican-themed treatment :)
Ugh, I definitely learned the hard way about photographing enchiladas. Yours look (and sound) lovely, though! One of my fav ways to eat Mexican at home.
All joking aside // I love these photos! You always get such amazing energy into still lifes :)
Waaaaaant these sound unreal!
Oy, I’m sorry to hear about the stress, Laura. But I love that you have such a peaceful, wholesome way of coping with it — these enchiladas look like the perfect cozy, comforting nourishment needed in situations like these. (Unlike my stress-snacking of choice, which would be chocolate chips out of the bag and still-frozen mochi.) Thanks for your words, as always — they always get me back on course.
Anxiously snacking on (dairy + soy-free) chocolate chips right out of the bag is totally in my wheelhouse too, lady ;)
Gurrrll those enchiladas look like real good everyday eats! I always kind of forget about throwing sweet potatoes into enchiladas, doing that STAT.
Togetherness! I love it! Plus I just listened to your PGM podcast, I had never listened to one before and really enjoyed listening to it while prepping dinner! So there was a lot of the first mess going on for me today. AND if I had all the ingredients for this awesome looking meal I’d be making it tonight! Sending positive vibes you way, girl xx
I am enamored with the phrase “anticipatory snacking.”
I can totally align with you on the pre-shift dread/anxiety. I use to work in a restaurant as well and experienced the same. I totally agree how focusing on those brighter gifts in life throughout the day can help restore that peace! Glad you are finding it helpful too. And these enchiladas – lady, they are my man’s favorite too, and I haven’t made them in so long! Going to have to fill that enchilada whole in our lives with these soon. Wish I could take a plate of them right from your page!
Best – Jessie
Oh girl, I wish I could have brought a plate on over to ya! This recipe made sooooo many. I was eating them for days :) xo
Love your pics of this and the recipe sounds amazing!
Lovely recipe and photos! I really like the idea of lime cashew cream, sounds so refreshing!
Love this read & the recipe is wonderful. Can’t wait to try! Thank you.
yes pease! these sound amazing! definitely going to make these soon! thanks again, <3
Love this everyday eats laura! Photographing enchiladas totally scares me because of that whole hot mess thing but you nailed it!! They look amazing. Thanks for sharing. xo
Well hell food inspiration! Craving this right now, can you ship to the UK? Definitely going to give this a try on a free baking/cooking day
Lauren x
Wonderful!
Yummy!!! Looks delicioous :)Sometimes cooking helps me as well!!
Hope you get better
xx
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
Wonderful recipe, it could be perfect for my picky boyfriend :P
Ps : these enchiladas ARE photogenic! ;)