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This delicious vegetarian skillet enchiladas is a fast and easy dinner recipe: and so full of flavor! This one’s a definite crowd pleaser.
Mexican-style flavors always go over well in our house. There’s something zesty and timeless that makes it supremely satisfying. So when I gave Alex a few choices to try from a new cookbook we received, I wasn’t at all surprised that this vegetarian skillet enchiladas recipe was his top choice.
This recipe is from The High Protein Vegetarian Cookbook from Katie Parker, of the blog Veggie and the Beast. It’s full of delicious vegetarian meals that are billed as “hearty dishes that even carnivores will love”, since Katie herself is a vegetarian and her boyfriend a carnivore. If the rest of the recipes in the book are anything like these skillet enchiladas, I would certainly agree with the tag line. This dish was intensely flavorful and we didn’t want to stop eating it. It’s a good one to put meat-lovers to the test; let us know if you give it a whirl.
Related: Easy Dinner Recipes for Family
How to make vegetarian skillet enchiladas
This skillet enchiladas recipe is pretty simple to which up, especially with premade enchilada sauce. I made this skillet on my own without Alex, and it took me a bit of time to chop all the veggies. If you’re looking at serving this meal as a weeknight meal, we recommend chopping the veggies, cutting the tortillas and shredding the cheese in advance; after that prep, it should take only about 15 to 20 minutes to throw together.
We’re looking forward to trying a few more items from the book. Congratulations to Katie on a lovely book full of tempting and satisfying vegetarian recipes!
Sides to serve with skillet enchiladas
How to make these skillet enchiladas into a meal? Here are some of our favorite side dishes that go with enchiladas:
- Chips & salsa: Of course, what’s better than good old salsa? Try our Best Salsa or Best Pico de Gallo.
- Mexican coleslaw: Accessorizing with fresh veggies is a great contrast to cozy, gooey enchiladas. Try our Mexican Coleslaw Recipe.
- Tomato avocado salad: This Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad is a great way to add fresh veggies.
- Refried beans: These Refried Black Beans Recipe or Homemade Refried Beans are seriously simple. Or, try our Instant Pot Refried Beans.
- Bean dip: Serve with tortilla chips and our Easy Refried Bean Dip, a creamy dip that doesn’t even need cheese!
Looking for more enchiladas recipes?
Outside of these skillet enchiladas, here are a few of our top enchilada ideas:
- Easy Vegetarian Enchiladas Fast and easy: and a total crowd pleaser!
- Vegan Enchiladas Who said enchiladas needed cheese?
- Green Enchiladas with Quinoa Zingy and seriously flavorful.
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas A classic!
This recipe is…
This vegetarian skillet enchiladas recipe is vegetarian and gluten free.
Vegetarian Skillet Enchiladas
This delicious vegetarian skillet enchiladas is a fast and easy dinner recipe: and so full of flavor! This one’s a definite crowd pleaser.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 small zucchini
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- ¼ cup cilantro, for the garnish
- 15-ounce can black beans (or 1 ½ cups cooked)
- 6 small corn tortillas
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups corn, frozen or fresh
- 2 ½ cups enchilada sauce, pre-made or homemade
- 6 ounces (about 1 ½ cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- Sour cream (for serving)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic. Dice the onion. Dice the zucchini. Dice the peppers.
- Drain and rinse the black beans. Cut the small corn tortillas in half, then into 1/2-inch wide strips. Chop the cilantro for garnish.
- Set the oven to a broil.
- In a large oven-safe skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds over medium heat, then add onion. Cook the onion until translucent and soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add the zucchini, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and kosher salt. Cook about 5 minutes until all vegetables are slightly soft but still have a little bite. Add the corn, black beans, tortilla strips, enchilada sauce, and half of the cheese. Stir until fully combined, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Place the skillet in the oven and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the skillet is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Serve with fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
From The High Protein Vegetarian Cookbook by Katie Parker
Love your Vegetarian Skillet Enchiladas I plan to try more of your recipes. Hope you will include nutrition facts in the future.
Updated!
I love Mexican food and this did not disappoint! I made the enchilada sauce the day before and put a pot of Spanish rice to simmer while I chopped the vegetables for the enchiladas. Thanks for the great recipe. Looking forward to the leftovers.
All my husband ever wants is Mexican food, so I love all your Mexican-inspired recipes! I really like that this is a faster, healthier enchilada alternative. It’s definitely doable for a weeknight but pretty (and delicious) enough to make for friends!
So glad you enjoyed it! Credit really goes all to Katie over at Veggie and the Beast! This recipe is fantastic :)
Me and my boyfriend cooked this tonight! We really loved the flavors but thought there was too much sauce. May try next time with more tortillas or less sauce. Yum!
Absolutely love this recipe! The enchilada skillet has such a great texture when you contrast the tortilla chips, the corn and pepper mix, and the cheese!
This was a huge hit! I also live in a country where it’s very hard to find Mexican ingredients so I just used salsa instead of enchilada sauce and it was great! I also didn’t have an oven-safe skillet so I just skipped that step. I’m sure it’s amazing with the melted cheese on top, but it was good just as is too for anyone else who also doesn’t have an oven skillet.
I love your sight! Thanks for all the great recipes and info. Sorry if I’ve missed a post regarding this, but have you tried any of the non-dairy cheeses? Thoughts?
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so yummy! Super simple to put together and something I felt good eating, with all the fresh veggies in it.
This looks amazing! Just wondering about the nutritional info before I make it…trying to keep sodium and fat in check
Thanks!
Made this last night for Meatless Monday and the hubby and I love it (eating leftovers as I type!) Just wondering how much is 1 serving?
The image had me right off, but the veggies and the fact that it’s ready in about a half hour are such nice bonuses! Pinned and sharing!
Made this last night. It was so good!!!!! A little bit obsessed now
I like the deconstructed look to this dish.
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Excited to make this recipe but wanted to clarify the amount of corn–1.5 or 0.5 cups?
1 1/2 cups corn – good catch! Recipe is updated.
This recipe is completely perfect for our household! With one veggie (me) and one beast (the boyfriend) we are always looking for meals that suit the both of us. I’m so glad I have another wonderful blogger to follow, and I can’t wait to make this enchilada skillet either!
Oh man – these look so delicious and filling! I bet I could eat these every night…
Big fan of enchiladas, this is a totally new approach!
This looks amazing! Your blog is my go to blog for recipe inspiration. I am wondering if you could substitute whole grain tortilla chips (like Late July) for the corn tortillas? We cannot seem to find corn tortillas that we like. What brand do you recommend?
Hi there! So glad you are inspired! Yes, you could definitely substitute whole grain tortilla chips! Also, I agree it’s hard to find good tasting corn tortillas – however in this recipe, they become so soaked in the enchilada sauce that the flavor doesn’t matter too much. We just used cheap corn tortillas that we wouldn’t necessarily use for tacos flavor-wise, but they worked perfect here!
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely give that one a go :) and please blog about it if you make it also!
oops reply fail on my behalf :\
Mmm.. loved it. I had no idea how lovely tortilla layers could be as a main meal! The flavours, zest and herb heavy. No wonder your husband comes back time and time again for it!
“Zesty and timeless”…that’s a really good way to describe Mexican flavors. My husband would love me if I made this. I think a quick homemade roasted salsa like the one below would be a good replacement for the enchilada sauce, if needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlcg-Lmozmw
Whenever I give my husband dinner options, he always chooses Mexican too! Anything that can be combined with tortilla chips and involves cheese is a guaranteed hit around here. Great pick :)
Enchiladas made quick are the best!! This is a perfect weeknight dinner!
I have been craving mexican food for the past couple of weeks and this recipe looks so good!!
But mexican ingredients aren’t that easy to come by at our local supermarket. We can get tortillas, salsa and some pre-made spice mixes for taco’s but that’s about it unless you order it online from a specialty food store – canned black beans are the brand new thing in the mexican section of our supermarket so maybe in 2018 we might have enchilada sauce and canned green chilli’s.
I will have to hunt out a good homemade enchilada sauce recipe to make this skillet recipe, any recommendations?
Hi there! So sorry to hear Mexican ingredients are hard to find in your area! We have actually never made homemade enchilada sauce, but now we want to try :) We don’t have a go-to recipe, but this recipe from our friend Melissa at The Faux Martha looks tasty: http://www.thefauxmartha.com/2011/11/03/tomato-jalapeno-enchilada-sauce/. Let us know if you try it out!
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely give that one a go :) and please blog about it if you make it also!
I made this this evening, adding sweet potato in place of the corn and Goya’s black bean soup in place of the black beans. It was phenomenal!
http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/07/black-bean-avocado-enchiladas.html
I made the enchilada sauce I found here. It got rave reviews in my household, and I followed it exactly, except I added the oregano and cumin from this recipe directly to the sauce. I highly recommend it.
Love all the flavors in this. And layered enchiladas are the way to go… so easy and no rolling!