These smoky, spicy, hearty vegan enchiladas are filled with spinach, lentils and tonnes of flavour! Then they’re smothered with a super simple, tasty, spicy enchilada sauce!

So these vegan enchiladas came about after watching a tv show where a big family were at the table eating enchiladas.  Gosh I’m missing the simple joy of sharing food with loved ones.  Handing dishes round the table, chatting with mouths full, raucous laughter and dogs nudging knees to get your attention.  How are you all doing without all of that?  The dogs still nudge knees and Phil and I still laugh and talk but spending most of every day together doesn’t leave that much new stuff for us to talk about!

I’ve also been making far too much of the sweet stuff lately and wanted to bring some spicy pizazz to our weeknight meals without there being too much faff.  Because above all else, dear reader, I want you to make the recipes I work so hard on getting just right.  I don’t want you to have to worry that it’s not going to work.  And when a little more normality returns, and we can go back to enjoying meal times with more than just the people in our household, I want you to be able to relax, make something easy and SO tasty that everyone will love.  We can high five each other later after the washing up’s done 😉

How to make these easy Mexican enchiladas:

Start with the sauce.  And this is about as uncomplicated as sauce making can get.  Simply heat a little oil in a saucepan then stir in the flour.  This ‘roux’ is what gives the finished sauce a lovely thick, silky consistency.  Then whisk in the passata and spices and sauce done!

Make the enchilada filling.  Sauté the onion, garlic and chili in a pan or wok until just softened then stir in the walnuts, cooked lentils and all the spices and seasonings.  Then wilt in the spinach.  If your pan isn’t very big wilt in the spinach in a couple of stages.

Pour a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.  This stops the tortillas from sticking to the dish once baked.

Lay out your tortilla wraps.  You can use your favourite soft wraps – wholemeal seeded ones are just as good as plain old white ones for these enchiladas!

Divide the filling between the tortillas.  Spoon it into the middle of each wrap then fold them up like a burrito so that the filling is completely enclosed in the wrap.  Lay them on top of the sauce in your dish seam side down.

Spoon over the remaining enchilada sauce.  Cover as much of the tortillas as you can with the sauce then sprinkle on some grated vegan cheese.  I use a combination of grated cheddar and shredded mozzarella for flavour and stringiness.  Is that even a word?!

Bake until bubbling hot.  This take around 25-30 minutes.  You can also make the wraps up to the cooking part and store in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.   The enchiladas also make great leftovers – simply reheat until piping hot!

Phil declared these his new favourite thing.  Which is great because these are SO easy to rustle up and can be varied so easily – swap the lentils for any cooked beans you have and sub the walnuts for pecans, cashews or pistachios.  The tomato enchilada sauce can also be batch made and frozen, making this an even quicker thing to put together for when the days of entertaining return once more.  Or just, you know, coz it’s Monday and you’re feeling spicy 😉

Looking for more easy weeknight meals?  These are our thoroughly tried and tested favourites (all vegan too!) …

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – on such regular rotation in our house, mostly because it’s been freezing and Phil nearly always offers to cook this!

Sticky Sausage and Vegetable Tray Bake – one pan, 30 minutes, dinner done.

Sesame Noodles and Veggies – light but filling and SO tasty.

Creamy Lemon and Basil Pasta – the sauce can also be made ahead for even speedier weeknight cooking!

I’d also love to hear from you if you make these spicy Vegan Enchiladas!  Just leave a comment as it’s so helpful and I love to hear how the recipe worked out for you! Thank you so much!

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