These Black Bean Green Chili Vegan Enchiladas with Jalapeño Cream Sauce are the answer to creamy enchiladas without using vegan cheese.
Have you ever had an idea that sounded good on paper and it ends up being even better in real life?
That’s what happened with these Black Bean Green Chili Vegan Enchiladas.
After some failed attempts at recreating enchiladas from my non-vegan days I was close to giving up.
I’ve mentioned before that I can’t stomach most vegan cheeses.
Which meant every recipe I tried came out super dry without any creamy goodness.
I couldn’t sacrifice flavor by adding vegan shreds, so I needed to find something else to take its place.
And then, one day, it hit me.
Vegan cream cheese.
It was something I knew liked the flavor of – and combined with the right ingredients, it could be the perfect fit for enchiladas.
And I’m happy to report it totally is!
This Jalapeño Cream Sauce is all kinds of good.
The grilled onions and garlic give it a depth of flavor and the jalapeño gives it just enough pop.
You could use this sauce on salads, in quesadillas…the possibilities are endless.
If you have been searching for creamy, flavorful vegan enchiladas, then these will be right up your alley!
You can find the enchilada sauce I used here.
Need more Mexican food inspo? Check out my Loaded Vegan Nachos or my Mexican Pizza recipe.
More of a visual person? Check out the video here:
Black Bean Green Chili Enchiladas with Vegan Jalapeño Cream Sauce
These Black Bean Green Chili Vegan Enchiladas with Jalapeño Cream Sauce are the answer to creamy enchiladas without using vegan cheese.
Ingredients
FOR THE JALAPEÑO CREAM SAUCE
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 red onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 jalapeño roughly chopped
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese*
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
FOR THE ENCHILADA FILLING
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 red onion diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 4 oz can diced green chiles
- 1/2 cup green enchilada sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 jalapeño cream sauce recipe
FOR THE ENCHILADAS
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 cup green enchilada sauce
- 1/4 jalapeño cream sauce recipe
- cilantro to taste
Instructions
-
FOR THE JALAPEÑO CREAM SAUCE: Place a pan on the stove over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Saute until onions begins to soften (approx. 5-7 minutes), stirring regularly. Add jalapeño and cream cheese to the pan and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until cream cheese is softened and everything is combined. Add the contents of the pan to a blender with cilantro and 1/4 cup of water. Pulse until combined. Add additional water if needed and taste to adjust seasoning. Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use.
-
FOR THE ENCHILADA FILLING: Place the same pan back on the stove over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, black beans, green chilies, salt and pepper. Saute until onions are soft and translucent (approx. 7-10 minutes), stirring regularly. Halfway through cooking the filling, add enchilada sauce to keep mixture from sticking. Once onions are cooked, add 3/4 of the jalapeño cream sauce. Stir to combine. Set filling aside.
-
FOR THE ENCHILADAS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and steam in the microwave for 30 seconds.** Cover the bottom of a baking dish with 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce. Fill each tortilla with approx. 1/4 cup of filling and roll up to contain the filling. Place each filled tortilla seam side down in the baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and place in the oven for 10-20 minutes.*** Remove from the oven and allow enchiladas to cool for 5 minutes. Top with additional cream sauce and cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*My favorite brands are Trader Joe's, GoVeggie, Tofutti and Kite Hill.
**This makes the tortillas easier to work with.
***If you make these as soon as the filling is done, it should only take 10 minutes to bake. If you let the filling cool before making the enchiladas it will take closer to 15-20 minutes for them to heat all the way through.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
If you make this recipe be sure to snap a photo + post it + tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
n!
Jess
May 23, 2019 at 5:22 pmYuuuuum! Husband and kid approved! Super flavorful and fun! I left out the jalapeños for the kids but I added some blended up bell peppers to the sauce just to add more veggies, and everyone raved! Thank you!! They want me to make the filling again to put on nachos!
Rene
May 24, 2019 at 7:21 amOOOOOOhhhh nachos sound amazing! Yum!
Danielle
May 11, 2019 at 7:24 pmThis was so delicious! Even my non vegan family loved it.
Shala McCarthy
April 28, 2019 at 5:39 pmI made these for a Mexican dinner party and they were delicious. I did make some tweaks. I couldn’t find vegan cream cheese so i made a vegan cheese sauce in lieu of cream cheese. I also didn’t add jalapenos because I can’t eat spicy foods. I added diced red bell pepper to the filling for a bit more substance. Thank you for this recipe!
Rene
April 30, 2019 at 8:47 amThose sound like some yummy substitutes. So glad you liked it!
Polly
April 20, 2019 at 5:18 pmWow. I just made this and it was incredible!!!!!!! I can’t say enough about how good this was.
Jennifer
April 16, 2019 at 8:46 pmJust a question. In the intro you mention grilled onions, but I don’t see it anywhere in the recipe. Did you mean saute, or am I missing something?
Rene
April 17, 2019 at 8:12 amYep – one in the same 🙂
Jennifer
April 1, 2019 at 9:22 pmI doubled the recipe because I have 3 teenage boys and a husband. No leftovers! They ALL loved them. A real winner!
Rene
April 2, 2019 at 8:10 amScore! That sounds like an awesome win to me 🙂
becky
January 22, 2019 at 6:43 pmI would also like to make this for a crowd at work and use a slow cooker. Rene, have you tried to make this work? Thanks for your suggestion!
Rene
January 23, 2019 at 8:19 amHi Becky – I have not made these in a slow cooker, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I would still prep everything as directed then add the enchiladas to the slow cooker. Turn to low a few hours before serving, then add the rest of the sauce right before eating.
Laura
January 5, 2019 at 6:52 pmI wonder if you Or anyone else has tried freezing this? I have not worked w vegan cheese cheese before. Let me know!
Ashley M.
January 4, 2019 at 11:34 amSO SO GOOD!! Thank you! Non-vegan dinner guest loved it too!!
Susanne
May 4, 2018 at 2:43 pmwhat size can of black beans and what size baking dish thanks !
Melanie
April 26, 2018 at 7:00 pmThis was so completely delicious! I made it exactly as written except for the cilantro (I’m not a fan). It was SO GOOD. I told my boyfriend I hoped he also loved it because it’s going in the regular rotation! 🙂
Rene
May 4, 2018 at 9:41 amHaha – hopefully he approved as well 🙂
Cassie
April 13, 2018 at 5:40 pmThis was super fantastic! Even my non-vegan boyfriend loved it! I added spinach to the filling for more greens.
And we split an avocado with it as well because avocado. And the creaminess of the avocado was like having sour cream but better!
Thanks for sharing!
Rene
May 4, 2018 at 9:42 amLove your healthy additions – I have will have to try adding spinach next time 🙂
Jordi
April 10, 2018 at 8:33 amThese enchiladas blew my expectations out of the water!! I used hatch green chilis to add some spice and a little extra flavor, and they were SO GOOD!!! My husband (who judges mexican restaurants based off their enchiladas) even requested I make these more often. Definitely will be making these again soon!!
Rene
May 4, 2018 at 9:40 amYay – Definitely one of my faves too!
Kim
March 20, 2018 at 11:52 amCan this be frozen after prepared?
I have frozen some dishes before but certain ingredients don’t do well frozen. Thanks!
Rene
March 20, 2018 at 12:47 pmI haven’t tried freezing these, but it should not be a problem. The only step you will want to skip is adding the cream sauce and cilantro to the top – save that step for after you bake them. And rather than thawing and then baking, I would put them directly in the oven from the freezer and just increase the bake time.
Jennifer
March 5, 2018 at 7:13 pmThank you for the recipe–my vegan teenager loved it! The cream sauce is a treat–my non-vegan husband couldn’t stay out of it.
Rene
May 4, 2018 at 9:39 amHusband approved – SCORE!
Denise
February 16, 2018 at 2:17 pmOne bite and my husband said “holy cow this is amazing “! We are new to plant based eating and this scored for us on every level. Thanks for the work and perfecting that goes into putting such a great recipe out there.
Rene
May 4, 2018 at 9:39 amYou are so welcome! So glad you liked them!
Kimbo
January 17, 2018 at 8:57 amThese were so yummy! My husband and I and our 4 kids transitioned to a vegan diet about 6 months ago and this recipe is in the top 3! Thank you a million times.
Rene
January 17, 2018 at 9:14 amAwesome! So glad the whole family approves 🙂
Hannah
January 3, 2018 at 12:04 amWhat brand vegan cream cheese are you using? 🙂
Rene
January 3, 2018 at 8:16 amMy favorite brands are Trader Joe’s, Tofutti, GoVeggie and Kite Hill!
annie
December 22, 2017 at 8:38 amif i switch to flour tortilas, do i need to change anything else in the recipie?
Rene
December 22, 2017 at 10:05 amNope. Corn tortillas usually hold up a little better (since they are naturally firmer), but I love using flour tortillas too!
Hemisha
December 19, 2017 at 8:14 pmHi!
So I need to make this recipe for 30 people. Any suggestions for the amount of ingredients needed!! Pleaseeeee heeelllppp!!
Rene
December 20, 2017 at 7:19 am30 people? That’s what I call a vegan party! 🙂
The recipe as stated makes 1 tray (or 8 enchiladas). Depending on how much you think your guests will eat you will need to make anywhere from 4-8 times the recipe. 4x being approx. 1 enchilada per person and 8x being 2 per person. Once you know how many enchiladas you want to make, multiple the ingredients by that amount and you should be good to go. You can also use larger trays so that you can fit more enchiladas in each one.
Hope that helps and happy cooking!
Delinda
December 6, 2017 at 2:04 pmLove💖
Jauron
December 4, 2017 at 7:45 pmExcellent recipe! I made it tonight, and it was scrumdeliumptious. 😋 Thanks for the recipe!
Rene
December 5, 2017 at 6:25 amSo glad you liked it! This is definitely one of my favorites!
Juan
November 22, 2017 at 8:35 pmGreat Recipe! Everyone in my family absolutely loved it! And coming from a family of picky eaters it’s a big win!
Rene
November 23, 2017 at 6:39 amAwesome! So glad everyone liked it!