Enchiladas make an inviting meal any time of the day. Warm and savory, a dish of enchiladas can be customized to your family’s tastes through the sauce, tortillas, fillings, and even the toppings. Enchiladas make a fast weeknight dinner, pot-luck dish, buffet item, or dinner party entree (and even breakfast–see recipe below). Oh, enchiladas, let us count the ways that we love you:
1. Easy to make: Enchiladas are basically tortillas with a filling, baked in chili sauce. The tortillas can be stuffed and rolled, or layered with the ingredients.
2. Suit to taste: Customize each of the five basic components of an enchilada to create your ideal combination. This can accommodate special diets like vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
- Tortillas: Whole wheat flour or corn tortillas
- Fillings: Shredded beef, pork, chicken, turkey, crumbled tofu, or fish
- Cheeses: Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Havarti, Queso Fresco, or Queso Anejo
- Sauces: Red chili or green tomatillo sauce in mild, medium, or hot
- Toppings: Fresh cilantro, shredded radishes, sliced avocado, or sweet onion
3. Double-batch: Make at least two pans of enchiladas at the same time, and freeze one for later meals. Once the ingredients are assembled and prepped, it takes only a few additional minutes to make another pan.
4. Make ahead: Enchiladas can be made in the morning, or even the night before, and covered and refrigerated until you are ready to bake them.
My favorite last minute dinner is black bean enchiladas. All of the ingredients are pantry basics, so I have them available and the entire meal is ready in 30 minutes. I keep whole wheat tortillas in the freezer, so I start by defrosting them. I make the enchiladas, put together a green salad (with pre-washed greens) and dinner is served.
Sharon’s Speedy Black Bean Enchiladas
- 8 whole wheat tortillas
- 2 cans black beans
- 1/2 onion, minced or chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can prepared enchilada sauce
optional add-in:
- 1 large yam, sweet potato, or butternut squash, cubed and roasted
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Sauté the onion in olive oil in a 2-qt saucepan until soft, add garlic, and cook for one more minute. Drain and rinse the black beans and then add to the cooked onion and garlic, heat through.
- Lay a tortilla in a baking dish, put a spoonful (about 1/4 cup) of bean mixture into the tortilla (and 1/4 cup of diced yam, sweet potato or butternut squash if using), add 1/4 cup shredded cheese, roll the tortilla and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the can of enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas. Top with a little shredded cheese.
- Bake for about 15 minutes (when the sauce is bubbling).
Serve with a salad (and sliced avocado if you have it).
Enchiladas for Breakfast
If you want to start your day like the US men’s national soccer team did while preparing for the World Cup in Brazil, try these US Men’s National Team Breakfast Chicken Enchiladas. Bryson Billapando, the chef for the United States national team, created this recipe very thoughtfully for fueling the team, and for recovery. Here’s the New York Times interview with Chef Billapando.
Chef Rick Bayless, Frontera Enchilada Recipes and Enchilada Sauces
Kimberly and I are big fans of Chef Rick Bayless (we even got a tour of the kitchen of his esteemed Chicago restaurant, Topolobampo, on our last visit!). He has good enchilada recipes on his website and also sells red and green enchilada sauce under his Frontera label (available in most grocery stores).
Buen Provecho!
