Easy Veggie Enchiladas with Beans

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These quick and easy veggie enchiladas are the most satisfying vegetarian meal! The filling is made with spinach, mushrooms, and canned beans. Add to tortillas and bake with red sauce (homemade or store bought) and melty cheese. These are simple to make, meal prep-friendly, and so delicious! This is a healthy family meal you're going to want to make over and over again.

Veggie enchiladas in a glass baking dish.

These veggie enchiladas are proof you can make a balanced, vegetable-packed dinner that's also delicious, comforting, and full of so much delicious flavor.

I love this recipe, because it incorporates convenient ingredients, like canned beans and pre-made enchilada sauce (prep it yourself or use canned/jarred).

This is a hearty vegetarian dinner that also works great for meal prep. You can make the whole thing ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer.

Enchiladas are a complete meal all on their own, but if you're looking for side dish ideas, try these with chips and homemade guacamole or my Vegetarian Taco Soup.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
FAQ
Related
Pairing
📖 Recipe

Ingredients

I love a classic baked enchilada recipe with spicy red sauce (a chili-based sauce made with tomato paste, spices, and vegetable broth) and gooey, melty cheese.

This enchilada filling is a mixture of beans (black or pinto), fiber-rich vegetables (onion, spinach, and mushrooms), and aromatic garlic.

Canned beans are an easy and convenient way to maximize plant-based protein. Along with the veggies, they make a nutritionally balanced and full-flavored meal.

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe.

Labeled ingredients in bowls to make veggie enchiladas.

Olive oil - or any oil you like to cook with
Onion
Garlic
White mushrooms - whole mushrooms tend to be cheaper
Canned beans - pinto beans or black beans
Spinach
Tortillas - flour or corn, depending on your preference (see the note in my recipe card for more information about choosing tortillas)
Red enchilada sauce - homemade or store bought
Cheese - a block of pepper jack, colby jack, Mexican-style, cheddar, or cotija.

Optional for serving:

Avocado
Cilantro
Jalapeño
Lime

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact quantities and preparation.

Instructions

This is a basic run-down of the steps to make veggie enchiladas. You can find more detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Veggie enchilada filling in a skillet. Labeled with a "1" in the upper left corner.

Cook the vegetable and bean filling in a skillet.

Rolled up tortillas in a glass baking dish. Labeled with a "2" in the upper left corner.

Pour some of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Then add the filling to the tortillas, roll up, and place them seam-side down in the baking dish.

Unbaked enchiladas with red sauce and cheese in a glass baking dish. Labeled with a "3" in the upper left corner.

Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top and add the cheese.

Baked enchiladas garnished with avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno. Labeled with a "4" in the upper left corner.

Bake in a 350ºF oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Add garnishes if desired.

Hint: If you shred the cheese yourself (instead of using a bag of shredded cheese), it will taste fresher and melt together better.

Substitutions

Need to make an ingredient substitution? Here are a few options that work well for this recipe.

Gluten free - make the enchilada sauce with 1:1 gluten-free flour and use corn tortillas.
Vegan - use vegan cheese shreds (or sprinkle with nutritional yeast) and make sure the enchilada sauce is plant-based.
Mushrooms - if you don't like mushrooms, feel free to substitute other vegetables, such as zucchini, bell pepper, and/or yellow squash. Diced sweet potatoes also work well, but will require additional cooking time in the skillet.

Variations

Want to change up this recipe to make it your own? Here are a few ideas.

Green Enchiladas / Enchiladas Verde - use green enchilada sauce instead of red.
Stacked - instead of rolling the filling in the tortillas, just stack the open tortillas and filling in layers like lasagna. Here's a Stacked Enchilada recipe if you want to see the technique in action.
Without Beans - omit the beans or substitute with cooked lentils or cooked quinoa.

Try this Black Bean Taco Bake for another Mexican-inspired casserole dish.

Portion of veggie enchiladas on a plate garnished with avocado and cilantro.

Equipment

Knife and cutting board - to chop the veggies
12-inch or larger skillet - for cooking the enchilada filling
8x11-inch (2-quart) baking dish - used to bake the enchiladas in the oven. I have used both a glass and ceramic baking dish for this recipe with positive results.

Storage

These veggie enchiladas are an ideal make-ahead recipe. Prepare the whole thing and cover or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

To freeze, portion out the enchiladas into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to three months.

Thaw frozen enchiladas overnight in the fridge and reheat in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until warmed through.

Top tip

You can use corn or flour tortillas for this recipe. If convenience is your top priority, I recommend flour tortillas, as they're more durable and less likely to break or get soggy. Corn tortillas are delicious if you want more traditional, Mexican-inspired flavor. To prevent corn tortillas from breaking apart or getting soggy, lightly fry them in an oiled skillet for 15 seconds on each side before using.

FAQ

Do you bake enchiladas covered or uncovered?

Bake enchiladas uncovered in a 350ºF oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

What's the secret to good enchiladas?

If you're using corn tortillas, fry them in an oiled skillet for 15 seconds on each side before you use them. This will help the tortillas fold without breaking and prevents them from getting too soggy.

What vegetables are good with enchiladas?

Vegetables that work well in enchiladas include spinach, mushrooms, sweet potato, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and bell peppers.