Creamy white beans are blended up, stuffed into corn tortillas and smothered in spicy tomatillo sauce to make these vegan white bean enchiladas verdes.
I told you. More Mexican-ish-inspired things to feed yourself.
Again, I say “ish” and “inspired” because a good deal of this recipe is pretty much made up. Sometimes people give me a hard time over the cultural inauthenticity of my recipes. I make no warranties on that front. All I can tell you is that this stuff is tasty.
Actually, this was sort of inspired by another probably inauthentic recipe that my mom made when I was growing up. I can tell you the whole recipe, because I still know it by heart: stuff tortillas with leftover mashed potatoes and cheese, cover with salsa and bake. They were awesome. Carb-o-licious.
I’d love to go all out with pure carb stuffed carbs, but seeing as I already did that last week, I decided to stuff these with beans instead.
White beans don’t seem to get used all that often in enchiladas, but they’re actually perfect. Creamy, savory, mashed potato-esque, almost cheesy if you close your eyes, and they’re mild enough to let the flavor of the tomatillo sauce shine through. You could probably get away with using jarred green salsa if you really don’t feel like making the sauce.
Because I always like to round out my meals with some veggies, I went and roasted up some corn and zucchini. They go great with the flavors in these little enchiladas, but feel free to skip them or sub your favorite veggies or whatever’s in season.
White Bean Enchiladas Verde with Roasted Corn and Zucchini
Ingredients
For the Tomatillo Sauce
- 1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos husked and washed
- 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, quartered
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro packed
- 1 1/2 tbsp. lime juice
- 1 1/2 tsp. agave
or maple syrup - 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
or maple syrupFor the Filling
- 2-14 oz. cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, quartered
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp. lime juice
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. salt
For the Enchiladas
- 12-16 corn tortillas
- about 2 teaspoons olive oil
For the Roasted Corn and Zucchini
- 2 medium zucchini chopped
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels about 2 ears
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Tomatillo Sauce
- Working in batches if needed, place all ingredients into food processor bowl and blend until all ingredients are very finely chopped.
- Transfer mixture to saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Allow to cook at a low simmer until mixture thickens and excess liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes.
Make the Filing
- While sauce cooks, place all filling ingredients into food processor bowl and blend until smooth.
Make the Enchiladas
- Preheat oven to 350°. Ladle about half of the sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish or oven safe skillet.
- Working in batches of about 4, wrap tortillas in a moist paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds, just until softened. Place 1/4 cup of bean mixture into the center of a tortilla and roll. Place into prepared baking dish or skillet, seam-side down. Repeat until all tortillas and sauce are used.
- Brush tops of enchiladas lightly with oil. Place into oven and bake until tops just begin to brown, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with remaining tomatillo sauce and return to oven. Bake 15 minutes more.
Make the Roasted Corn and Zucchini
- Toss corn and zucchini with oil and place in oven with enchiladas. Bake 20 minutes, until tender, flipping once or twice during baking.
Recipe Notes
The tortillas can also be softened by briefly placing in a warm skillet if you aren't into the microwave thing.
This looks like such a great alternative to my usual red sauce and my little one loves white beans! The only thing in my garden that made it through the Florida summer was tomatillos. I need to run out to the garden to see if they are ready! Thank you for the inspiration Alissa!
MMMMM, this looks and sounds yummy and I can hardly wait to make it, thank you! I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your recipes, suggestions, and creativity! One of the things I found difficult when I first put my toe into the plant-based ocean was how bland and unappealing most of the recipes were. I would make them, but they were so tasteless, I almost stopped searching. Luckily, I discovered a few incredible women whose recipes were full of flavor and I haven’t looked back. You, Alissa, are definitely one of them!
Thank you,
Marcia
should there be more liquid in the sauce? all I see is the lime juice, and agave for liquid.
The tomatillos supply the sauce with plenty of liquid. :)
These enchiladas taste so freaking good! I did have an issue with the texture of the bean filling. It was pretty runny after putting it in the food processor. So it was a little difficult to stuff the tortillas. I did what I could and then poured the rest of it on top of the rolled enchiladas. All in all the recipe was so delicious. I loved it!
Hi Abby! Sorry about that! I’m wondering if this has to do with variation in the texture of the canned beans. One thing that might help is to use a mix of white beans and chickpeas, since chickpeas generally tend to be a bit firmer. I’m glad they turned out tasty though!
I made these tonight. Best enchiladas I’ve ever eaten and it didn’t take all night to make them. I used Rancho Gordo mayocoba beans, which made for a diet creamy dish. This recipe is going into my recipe file!
Super creamy dish, not diet creamy dish!
Yay! I’m so glad they were a hit! Thanks Laurie!!
Do you think these will freeze well?
I think so!
I’m excited to try these! I basically need to eat vegan and fat free for medical/digestive reasons, so I’ve been on the search for recipes. I think I’ll throw the tomatillos, onion, garlic and pepper under the broiler for a few minutes to give them a nice char before blending.
Oh, I bet that will be delicious! I hope you enjoy them!
Hi!
Can’t find fresh tomatillos around here, can I use canned? If so, how much?
Thanks!
I’m sure canned would work fine, but I’ve never cooked with them so I’m not sure how much. This article says an 11-ounce can per pound, but that sounds a bit low to me: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/health/nutrition/13recipehealth.html
This looks amazing! And as for the “Sometimes people give me a hard time over the cultural inauthenticity of my recipes.” I say, too bad for them! There is a restaurant in Dallas, Texas that makes gourmet tacos. My favorite had asparagus in in it. Talk about YUM!!! Not vegan, but then at that time, I wasn’t either. Still, because of that, I’ve added it into my own tacos from time-to-time.
Definitely saving this recipe to try…and soon! I’m getting a craving for Mexican…ish…
I actually LOVE asparagus in sandwiches, so I bet I’d really enjoy it in tacos too! I’m going to have to give that a try soon.
If I wanted to use a storebought salsa verde sauce, about how many cups would you say to use?
About 3 cups should do it! Enjoy!