Vegan Enchiladas

This is the best vegan enchiladas recipe because it’s made with a delicious filling of veggie crumbles, black beans, and sweet potatoes. This is all rolled up in tortillas and smothered with a savory sauce and lots of vegan cheese. It’s amazing!

Be sure to serve them with air fryer tortilla chips and vegan guacamole on the side.

A vegan enchilada is topped with chopped lettuce and jalapeños with a bowl of salsa behind it.

We love including Mexican food in our regular vegan meal planning. For example, you can find the ingredients to make these Vegan Burritos in our fridge or freezer just about any day of the week.

Now, I can include these vegan enchiladas in our regular meal prepping routine. See more about freezing enchiladas below.

What Makes This Recipe Shine?

  • Adding black beans and sweet potatoes to the filling makes this a plant-based recipe infused with flavor, fiber, and filling ingredients
  • Veggie crumbles add plant-based protein, creating a mouthfeel with a bit of a chew, which is what we crave
  • Adding vegan cheddar shreds makes these enchiladas absolutely delicious, and ready for you to make on repeat!

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

  • Olive oil
  • Onions — I recommend using either yellow or red onions for their mild flavor.
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Veggie crumbles — I use either Gardein or Beyond Beef crumbles because they’re both vegan and gluten-free. The Beyond Beef crumbles are “beefier” and they also have fiesta-flavored crumbles which would work well in this recipe too.
  • Black beans — You can use canned black beans or cooked dried beans.
  • Seasoning — We’ll use both taco seasoning and some ground cumin.
  • Tortillas — Use 8 to 10-inch flour tortillas, or you can use gluten-free flour or corn tortillas.
  • Red enchilada sauce — This is a more traditional sauce for enchiladas, but you can substitute green chile enchilada sauce. It’s so easy to make your own vegan enchilada sauce at home!
  • Vegan cheddar shreds — I use either Follow Your Heart (paid link) or Daiya vegan cheddar shreds (paid link). If you wanted to make your own vegan cheese sauce, that’s a great option too. For a whole-food option, try this vegan nacho cheese sauce.

How to Make Vegan Enchiladas

  1. Cook onions, and cubed sweet potatoes in a skillet.
  2. Stir in the veggie crumbles, black beans, and spices.
  3. Spread a small quantity of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a pan.
  4. Smear sauce across tortillas then add the filling and cheddar shreds.
  5. Roll the enchiladas and place them in the pan.
  6. Pour the remaining sauce and cheddar shreds over enchiladas
  7. Cover the pan and bake until cheese melts.
  8. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Here are detailed steps with photos.

Step One: Vegan Filling

A skillet full of black beans, sweet potato cubes, and other savory ingredients.

Begin by cooking the chopped onion and cubed sweet potatoes in olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the onions and sweet potatoes are tender, add the veggie crumbles, black beans, and cumin.

Mix things up by adding some Sofritas to your enchilada filling options.

Step Two: Wrapping Enchiladas

Here are the steps for wrapping enchiladas:

An unrolled enchilada sits on a cutting board with enchilada sauce and other ingredients nearby.
  1. Pour a couple of tablespoons of the enchilada sauce into a prepared casserole dish.
  2. Spread a little bit of sauce across one of the tortillas.
  3. Top with some of the filling mixture and some vegan cheddar shreds.
  4. Roll one side of the tortilla up, followed by the other.
  5. Place seam side up in the prepared baking dish.
  6. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

If you’re not used to making them, rolling enchiladas can be a skill. I loved these tips on how to roll enchiladas.

Step Three: Bake

Once all the enchiladas are in the baking dish, spread the remaining sauce and vegan cheese over the top. I find it really helpful to cover it with foil to bake it. This helps the vegan cheese melt.

Step Four: Serving

Serve vegan enchiladas with your favorite toppings, like chopped fresh cilantro, chopped avocados, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and more.

Sometimes I’ll add chopped greens, chopped jalapeños, and even some easy vegan guacamole. However, I also think my vegan queso is amazing drizzled over the top! Don’t forget to serve some air fryer tortilla chips on the side.

Storage Tips

To store, transfer enchiladas to a storage container, cover, and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 1 month.

Are Corn Tortillas Vegan?

Corn tortillas are made with cornflour (called masa harina), salt, and water, making them entirely plant-based and safe for vegans to eat.

Can You Make Enchiladas with Flour Tortillas?

Typical enchilada recipes call for corn tortillas, but flour tortillas work too. Because they’re usually larger than corn tortillas, flour tortillas can hold a lot more tasty ingredients!

Marly’s Tips

  • If you don’t have veggie crumbles, substitute crumbled tofu to make tofu enchiladas.
  • I use Mission Carb Balance tortillas or Mission Gluten-Free tortillas for this recipe because they’re easy to fold and larger than most corn tortillas I’ve found.
  • To make gluten-free vegan enchiladas, use Mission Gluten-Free tortillas and Old El Paso enchilada sauce (be sure to read the label to make sure it works for your needs)
  • Chop up some vegan chicken fillets and add them to the filling to make vegan chicken enchiladas.
  • Add even more cheese to the filling to make vegan cheese enchiladas.

More Vegan Mexican Recipes

Be sure to check these other vegan Mexican recipes too:

A baking dish full of vegan enchiladas fresh from the oven.

I hope you love this vegan enchilada recipes as much as we do!

A vegan enchilada is topped with chopped lettuce and jalapeños with a bowl of salsa behind it.

Vegan Enchiladas

Enjoy these vegan enchiladas, made with veggie crumbles, black beans, and sweet potatoes, rolled up in tortillas and smothered with a savory sauce and lots of vegan cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.
5 from 3 votes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 enchiladas
Calories: 327kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 cup cubed sweet potatoes
  • 2 cups veggie crumbles
  • 15 oz can black beans , rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 6 large tortillas (see note)
  • 15 oz can red enchilada sauce
  • 8 oz package vegan cheddar cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Tear off a sheet of foil large enough to cover a 9×13 inch baking dish. Give the bottom side of the foil a light coat of vegetable spray.
  • In a large skillet, add the vegetable oil, chopped onions, and cubed sweet potatoes over medium heat. Cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the veggie crumbles, black beans, and spices. Stir to combine and cook for another 3 minutes, until veggie crumbles are heated through. 
  • Pour 2 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan. Tilt the pan back and forth to spread the sauce evenly across the bottom of the pan.
  • Smear 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce across the top of one of the tortillas. Then add about ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the veggie crumble mixture across the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle with some of the cheddar shreds. Roll the enchilada by turning one side up, followed by the other side—place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of each enchilada. Top with remaining vegan cheddar shreds.
  • Cover the pan with the prepared foil (sprayed side down so that the foil won't stick to the cheese) and place it on the highest rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese, is melted. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings, like chopped fresh cilantro, chopped avocados, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and more!
  • To store, transfer enchiladas to a storage container, cover, and refrigerate for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Recommended Equipment

(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)

Notes

I love using Mission Gluten-free Tortillas for this recipe. It can be difficult to find larger corn tortillas. Alternatively, use flour tortillas if that works best for you.
Old El Paso enchilada sauce is gluten-free. Be sure to read the labels of the enchilada sauce that you use to ensure it’s gluten-free.
Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1130mg | Potassium: 422mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 3620IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 4.3mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new text and an updated recipe in 2021.

3 Responses to Vegan Enchiladas

  1. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyJackie Reply

    5 stars
    My favorite enchilada recipe!

  2. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyRaya Reply

    5 stars
    We love sweet potatoes but I only boil or fry them. Thanks for this recipe we can try something new! It looks so tasty!

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      Hi Raya! I hope you love this recipe!

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