Creamy White Sauce Veggie Enchiladas

Enchiladas is one of those dishes that I absolutely LOVE but often forget to make at home. They are pretty easy to throw together, and you can customize with all sorts of different fillings and ingredients. I recently put together this veggie white sauce version, and it was a massive hit with both me and my husband. Like, go back for seconds kind of meal. 🙂

This is absolutely packed with vegetables, but there is also a very creamy and comforting sauce and sharp Cojita cheese that goes over everything—making it a great blend of good-for-you stuff mixed in with a few guilty pleasure ingredients. Yum!

Trey and I devoured 2/3 of this dish, so I’m listing it as serving 2-3. But, I’ll admit, we were both pretty hungry at the time. And if you served a salad or other side dish along with this, I think it could pretty easily serve more.

Feel free to add other vegetables to the filling if you have something in your refrigerator you’re needing to use up. I could see cauliflower, squash, or zucchini working well provided you give them a good chop and cook along with the other ingredients before adding the beans. You do you. 🙂

Creamy White Sauce Veggie Enchiladas, serves 2-3 (maybe 4 if you serve along with a side or salad)

1 bell pepper
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 small jalapeño, seeds removed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt, pepper, and few pinches (1/8 teaspoon) cayenne
14-15 corn tortillas

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/3 cups water or vegetable stock
8 oz. sour cream (one small container)
2 oz. Cotija cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 ripe avocado
hot sauce for serving (optional, but not really 😉

Chop the peppers, onions, jalapeño, and mince the garlic. Sauté those ingredients in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes until the peppers soften and just begin to brown. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Then remove from heat.

Drain the can of black beans and toss into a large bowl. I like to use a pastry blender to mash some of the beans just to give my filling a different texture, but this is optional. Add the cooked pepper mix to the bowl and stir to combine.

Lightly oil a large, rectangle baking dish. Roll a heaping spoonful in each tortilla and place in the pan, folded edges down. If you have issues with your tortillas breaking, lightly warm for a few seconds in the microwave. Warmed tortillas tend to roll a bit better.

To make the sauce, in a small to medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well, making a kind of paste. Slowly add the water and stock, creating a gravy consistency. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. If the mixture is too thick to pour easily, thin with a little more water or stock. Then pour the sauce over the prepared tortillas.

Crumble the cheese over top. And if you had any leftover filling (I had a few tablespoons), toss over the top of everything. Then bake at 350°F for 25-28 minutes, until bubbly and the top begins to brown.

Top with the green onions, cilantro, and chopped avocado. Serve alongside your favorite hot sauce and enjoy! xo. Emma

Notes:

-You could substitute the Cotija for a different cheese (like shredded sharp cheddar or pepper jack), but I love the unique flavor of Cotija here. So if you’ve never tried it, buy some and give it a go.

-I really like corn tortillas in enchiladas as I think the texture holds up better under sauce, but if you prefer flour tortillas (or already have some you need to use up), go for it. You will likely need less as they tend to be a bit larger.

-Don’t skip on the toppings or hot sauce here, as it really brings a lot more flavor to the dish. The sauce and cheese are delicious, but the chopped green onion, cilantro, and hot sauce bring some fresh flavor and heat to this.

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with the NEW A Beautiful Mess actions.