Alright guys, how delicious does that look? Looking at these pictures makes me want to make them all over again and shove them all in my face. They are so.good.
I used to make enchiladas rather often, at least a few times a year. In fact, I served a spicy pollo rojo version to AJ’s parents one of the first times I met them, when we lived in our old old house across town.
I incidentally threw myself and a plate of them on the floor that night, which resulted in a gash to my forearm and, even more sad, the sacrifice of two perfectly good enchiladas. I have vowed that that will never happen again, as if I really have power over something like that.
Anyhow, the sauce for these veggie enchiladas is really key. It is so good that my aunt, who grew up in a Mexican household, asked me for the recipe. The best thing is, though, that it takes 5 minutes to make. Really. My other super amazing enchilada sauce recipe takes all freaking day. All day. This one? 5 minutes. You’ll be in love.
I normally make these with a mixture of bell peppers, onions, corn, and other traditional ingredients when I’m not in the mood for something meatier like chicken or shrimp. But this time I decided to make these a little different – and they’ve turned out to be my favorite ones yet!
AJ thought I was crazy (as is per usual) when I told him I was putting potatoes in enchiladas, but we both loved it. Combined with the earthy flavor of the pasillas and a bit of bite from the garlic, these are seriously spot-on.
We shouldn’t have been so surprised! Potatoes are super tasty when applied to a spicy Tex-Mex main course, like in our spicy sweet potato quesadillas.
AJ likes his cheese, so he filled his with some shredded jack cheese. I left mine without (but put a bit on top for pictures’ sake) and we did a taste test to see the difference. They were both really good, but in totally different ways.
The cheesy ones were, well, cheesy. That was the main flavor we tasted, which was complimented by the veggies. In mine, though, the veggies really shone and were much brighter and more flavorful. I prefer them without the cheese, but that’s just because I’m usually a little concerned about my waistline.
I’d recommend making both, and doing a taste-test like we did! Or just pick one and go for it. Either way, you really can’t go wrong.
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Potato and Pasilla Pepper Enchiladas (Vegetarian)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 enchilada 1x
Description
The most delicious enchiladas I’ve ever made! This vegetarian recipe stuffs the enchiladas with potatoes and earthy pasilla peppers, and is topped with a delicious and super easy enchilada sauce.
Ingredients
For the Enchilada Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 8 oz tomato sauce
For the Enchiladas:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 medium gold potatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 pasilla (poblano) peppers
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch salt
- 8 eight-inch flour tortillas
- 1 small can sliced olives
- jack cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
- Cut the potatoes into 1 cm cubes. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the potatoes, and cook about 10 minutes until almost soft, tossing only every now and then.
- Cut the onion in half, then slice it. Seed the peppers, cut them in half, and slice into 1/4″ strips. Mince the garlic, then add it all to the potatoes. Sautee until the veggies are almost soft, another 5 minutes or so.
- While the veggies cook, prepare the sauce. Combine the dry ingredients in a dry saucepan. Mix together well. Add 1/4 cup of the vegetable and mix to make a paste, making sure there are no lumps remaining. Slowly add the remaining vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add the tomato sauce and simmer 5 minutes.
- When the veggies are done, make the enchiladas. Place about 1/3 cup of the filling in a tortilla, then roll up to make a tube. Place in your baking pan, then repeat until all the filling is used. Add cheese to the inside of the enchiladas, if desired.
- Reserve 1/3 cup enchilada sauce, then pour the remainder evenly over the filled tortillas. Top with the drained olives and extra cheese, if desired.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let sit 5 minutes before serving, then dig in!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Looking for more Meatless Mexican fare? If so, check out these tasty options:
- Vegetarian Grilled Stuffed Poblano (Pasilla) Peppers
- Vegan Soyrizo Taco Salad
- Vegan-Friendly Mexican Lasagna
- Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas
- Tacos with Mushrooms, Onions, and Peppers
- Grilled Corn and Green Bean Tacos
- Stacked Vegetable Enchiladas
Did you make this recipe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and if you loved it like I did, please give it a rating!
Photos by Raquel Smith, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on December 4th 2014. Last updated: June 7, 2021 at 19:31 pm.
*Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Raquel Smith
Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).
What could I use instead of the pasilla peppers? I don’t like anything spicy. Also, you mentioned the 1/3 cup reserved enchilada sauce. But I how and when do I add the majority of the enchilada sauce? And lastly, could I substitute corn tortillas? Thank you!
Hi Michele Rose! Pasilla peppers aren’t very spicy, more earthy, but if you are really sensitive then I’d suggest using bell peppers. Any color will do! You’ll add the majority of the enchilada sauce after you fill and place the tortillas in the baking dish. Just pour it all evenly on top to cover the tortillas. You’ll use the extra at the end to freshen them up a bit. Just drizzle a tablespoon or so on top of your serving. You can try using corn tortillas, but i don’t think they will hold up as well. If you are going to do this then I recommend warming the tortillas before filling and rolling so that they don’t break. Let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you love them!
Corn tortillas are used in enchiladas. This thing about using flour tortillas is yucky. They get soggy and mushy quickly.
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Hi Esther,
Feel free to use whatever kind of tortilla you like.
This looks really good, you said to reserve 1/3 cup of the sauce. Is that to add after baking? Thanks!
Yep, that’s when you’ll add it, just drizzle a tablespoon or so on top to freshen them up a bit. I hope you love them!
Yum, yum yum! I shouldn’t have come here before eating dinner, because now I’m totally hungry and I want this 🙂 Looks great!
Haha, looking at food blogs when hungry is almost as bad as going grocery shopping when hungry ? Thanks Allie!
My grandmother started making potato enchiladas for her 7 children in the 1940’s. She used flour tortillas (homemade), fried potatoes, cheese & red onion & topped them with olives & of course she used a red chilie sauce.. Sadly I do not make them as good as my grandmother or my mother who was a better cook than my grandmother which is saying a lot. My family loves them and they are a special treat. Another family dish is bean & cheese gorditas we make them with flour tortilla masa not corn masa.
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Hands down, the best Enchiladas I’ve ever had. I did modify them buy using Colby cheese instead of Jack cheese and made my own Enchilada sauce using Hatch red chilli powder. I also roasted the poblanos. I’m making them again tonight. Thanks for the great recipe.
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We’re so glad you enjoyed these, Alan. Thanks for the review!
Love these!
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Glad you enjoyed them, Cassie!
This is one of the best enchilada recipes I’ve tried. My mother’s garden gave an abundance of Pasilla peppers this year so my family has been helping with the leftovers. We made these enchiladas and they were terrific. So many ways you could modify the base recipe for different flavor prints too! This one is going to become a standard at my place.
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We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Matthew. Thank you for your feedback!