Hi everyone – it’s been awhile since last I posted, but I’m back to share with you this superb vegan enchilada recipe! Truly, these green enchiladas are one of the best things I’ve ever made, and I’m sure you’ll love ’em. Filled with spinach, white beans, potatoes, walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes, these unctuous ‘ladas are baked basking in a green tomatillo sauce, topped with a refreshing parsley cashew crema, vegan feta and supremely tart and tasty pickled red onion. Beautiful and bodacious, it’s a centerpiece that’ll impress all with its huge flavors – vegan and non-vegan alike!
Green Vegan Enchilada Recipe – Filling Ingredients
The filling for this vegan enchilada recipe is packed full of bold flavors. Hearty potato and onion, creamy spinach and beans, texturally satisfying walnuts, zesty sun-dried tomatoes and capers and garlic – a flavor explosion!
- Olive oil
- Yellow potatoes
- Yellow onion
- Spinach
- Canned white beans
- Walnuts
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Capers
- Garlic cloves
- Hatch Green Enchilada Sauce
Parsley Cashew Crema Ingredients
For this vegan enchilada recipe, it’s super important to have something refreshing and contrasting to offset the heartiness of this succulent enchilada. A parsley cashew crema works wonders for that.
Essentially, it’s just blending raw cashews up with citrus, herbs, water and salt. Not only is it a great addition flavor-wise, but it’s beautiful zig-zagged over the rows of enchiladas, and helps to give the dish its aesthetic appeal, too. Here’s what you’ll need to crema-fy this vegan enchilada recipe.
- Raw cashews (do make sure they’re raw, and not roasted)
- Water
- Fresh parsley
- Lemon (or lime) juice
- Salt
That’s it – just 5 ingredients, and you’ve got yourself a perfect garnish for your green vegan enchilada recipe. You can also pair this crema with just about anything hearty: chili, tacos, burrito bowls, etc.!
Check out my Roasted Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Cashew Cream or my Jackfruit & Lentil Tamales with Chipotle Crema for more cashew cream ideas!
Pickled Red Onions – Highly Recommended
Last but not least, the pickled red onions. These zippy little pink tendrils of tart goodness provide the dish with one final kick of saltiness to this vegan enchilada recipe, but also freshness and texture, too.
They aren’t persay necessary to the overall success of this vegan enchilada recipe, but I really do recommend adding them. The only drawback is that you have to make them ahead of time, as the pickling process is more effective the longer you have steeped the onions in the pickling liquid. The upside? You’ll have a jar full of delicious pickled red onions to garnish everything with, these enchiladas included.
Pickled Red Onions – How To Make ‘Em
So… how do you make them? You’ll need a 2 pint jar, an red onion, and some other ingredients.
Pickled Red Onion Ingredients
- 2 small red onions (or one large), lightly peeled, then thinly sliced into circlets or half-moons
- 3 – 5 cloves garlic (de-skinned), crushed with the side of a knife or roughly sliced
- ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns, approximately
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, approximately
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup water
Pickled Red Onion Instructions
- Peel the outer layer from the red onion(s), and then finely slice them into circlets (or half-moons, if you prefer), and then tightly layer them into a clean 1 pint (16-ounce) mason or bell jar. For each layer, add some de-skinned raw garlic cloves (crush them with the side of a knife or slice roughly), some peppercorns, and some red pepper flakes alongside the onion. Once packed full, sprinkle some sugar and sea salt over the top of the onions.
- In a medium pot, bring some distilled white vinegar and water to boil. Once boiling, pour this carefully over the top of the onions, until the jar has been filled within ¼-inch of the brim. While filling, tap the jar gently to release any trapped air bubbles. Be careful as the liquid is hot. Discard any excess liquid.
- Now, screw on/snap on an air-tight lid. Set the jar aside and allow it to cool off a bit. Once cool enough to handle, ensure the jar is sealed well, and then turn the jar gently from top to bottom a few times.
- Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving for best results, but the onions can be ready to eat in as little as 2 – 3 hours. These can be stored in the fridge for about two to three weeks.
You can check out the recipe page itself for a more detailed instruction here: Quick Pickled Red Onions. Whatever you do, make these and garnish this vegan enchilada recipe with them, please!
To Go With This Vegan Enchilada Recipe!
– COCONUT & PECAN SNOWBALL COOKIES (MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES)
– GRILLED CORN AND AVOCADO SALAD
– JACKFRUIT & LENTIL TAMALES WITH CHIPOTLE CASHEW CREMA
– TEMPEH “CHICKEN” QUESADILLA WITH JALAPEÑO PESTO
I hope that you enjoyed this green vegan enchilada recipe. If you did, consider leaving me a recipe rating (clicking on the stars) and/or comment before you go.
Spinach & White Bean Enchiladas with Parsley Cashew Crema
Equipment
- Food Processor
- 9×13 baking dish
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow potatoes, sliced into thin quarter moons
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 6 cups spinach
- ½ cup walnut halves, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes, pressed free of oil and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers, roughly chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ½ (15.5 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed well
- 6 medium tortillas, I prefer wheat, but corn can also work
- Some classic hummus, to help the filling stay in place
- 1 large can Hatch green enchilada sauce, enough to cover all the enchiladas
For the Parsley Cashew Crema
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- Some salt, to taste
Other Garnishes
- Some pickled red onions
- Some fresh parsley
- Some vegan feta
Instructions
- Optional, but recommended: make the pickled red onions. Allow the onions to pickle for a couple hours, or up to overnight for best results.
- In a cast-iron pan over medium heat with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, sauté the quarter moon slices of yellow potato for 5 – 7 minutes, until they begin to brown. Then, add the yellow onion and continue sautéing for another 5 – 7 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and the potato has softened. Transfer this to a large mixing bowl.
- In the same cast-iron pan over medium-low heat with the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil, cook down the 6 cups of spinach until it has all wilted. This should take about 3 – 4 minutes. Transfer the wilted spinach to the large mixing bowl as well, and mix the wilted spinach together with the potato and onion.
- In a food processor, lightly pulse the walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, capers and garlic until everything is combined and cohesive. Also, open your can of white beans, draining and rinsing them well.
- Before assembling the enchiladas, preheat the oven to 375°F. Now, briefly zap each tortilla in the microwave for 20 seconds, or toast the tortilla in a cast-iron pan over medium heat for a similar amount of time on each side (to make it more flexible to roll), and then spread a thin layer of hummus across it. On one end of the tortilla, load it with the spianch-potato filling, along with the walnut crumble, and lastly with a scoop of white beans (it shouldn't be so full as to overflow or anything). Fold each side of the tortilla inward, and then roll it once or twice over. Place the folded tortilla seam-side down (where the flap is) on a lightly-greased (with cooking spray) 9×13 baking dish. Repeat this process until you have about 6 enchiladas, fit snuggly in the 9×13 baking dish.
- Next, pour the can of green enchilada sauce over the baking dish, making sure to cover and coat all of the tortillas evenly. Bake the enchiladas for 30 – 35 minutes, until a bit crispy on top and slightly browning.
- While that's happening, make the parsley cashew crema. Blend together raw cashews with lemon (or lime) juice, water, fresh parsley, minced garlic and a little dash of salt until very smooth. Set this aside and wait to use.
- Once the enchiladas are done baking, garnish with a generous drizzle of parsley cashew crema, sprinkle on some pickled red onion, then some crumbled vegan feta and fresh parsley.
Nutrition
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
We served these at a small dinner party accompanied by Spanish Rice, Salad, and Vegan Nephew’s delicious crispy spiced tortilla chips. It was a big hit! Thanks Vegan Nephew!
PS: The pickled red onion and parsley cashew crème are the bomb!