Deconstructed Vegan Enchiladas Recipe From 'The First Mess'

Every week, we’re spotlighting a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Below, Laura Wright of The First Mess shares a recipe for vibrantly-hued, deconstructed enchiladas. Bonus: They’re vegan.

Photo: Laura Wright

Vegan Enchiladas With Lime Cream
Serves 4

Enchiladas are something I make with frequency because they’re one of my man’s favorite foods. This version is decidedly more American in its expression and ingredients than Mexican, but we enjoy it all the same. It requires a few premeditative steps, but they’re nothing too complex. Same goes for the ingredients: The list looks long, but it’s all everyday stuff for the most part.

I went all-starch-and-black-beans for the filling. The cheesy pumpkin seed crumble, which gets dusted on top, has a bit of a dukkah, similar to a healthy Doritos vibe that I can’t get enough of. The lime cream that follows kind of brightens everything up. 

I put a big emphasis on the garnishes in this recipe 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’re feelin’ it.

1 medium sweet potato, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 tsp ground cumin
1/3 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp coriander
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 small corn tortillas, warmed
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

Enchilada sauce:
1 jalapeño, stem removed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1  small white onion, diced
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

Lime cream:
3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Splash of white wine vinegar
Fat pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp. filtered water

"Cheesy" pumpkin seed crumble:
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper, to taste

Serve with:
Ripe avocado, diced
Green onions, sliced
Cilantro, chopped

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, chili powder, coriander, salt, and pepper. 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° F. When cooled, place the roasted vegetables in a bowl and reserve parchment.

For the enchilada sauce: 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. Remove sauce from the heat.

For the lime cream: Rinse the blender pitcher and drain the cashews. Place the drained cashews in the blender 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.

Construct the dish: Line 8- by 11-inch pan that’s about 2 inches deep with previously used parchment. Ladle about a cup of sauce into the bottom of the pan.

Set up an assembly line from left to right: Warm tortillas, 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 and spoon about 1/4 cup of vegetables 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, and slide the pan into the oven. Bake until enchiladas are piping hot all the way through, about 25 minutes. Serve enchiladas hot with extra pumpkin seed crumble, lime cream, diced avocado, green onions, and cilantro.

Note: There’s no shame in buying enchilada sauce to streamline this meal a bit. I like the Frontera ones. Trader Joe’s makes a decent version, too.

More vegan recipes to sate your palate:

Creamy coconut porridge from ‘Deliciously Ella’

A tempting Mexican-inspired quinoa bowl

How to make a tofu scramble without a recipe

Would you ever go vegan? Tell us below!