Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato and Plant-Based Chicken Filling
When you think of Mexican food, you probably think of the following dishes: burritos, tacos and fajitas. And maybe nachos. And probably lots of colorful images of fresh ingredients, hot chilies, and sour limes. Mexican cuisine has so much to offer – and not just the classics that most of us are familiar with. Especially when it's gray and cold here, we like to escape to the cuisine of Mexico, which is why we're showing you a recipe for vegan enchiladas today. Another classic dish that may have been on your mind.
Enchiladas are prepared differently depending on the region. However, they are always made of filled corn flour tortillas, which are covered with a sauce and baked with cheese (Source). We wouldn't compare our vegan enchiladas with traditional enchiladas – they are simply a quick, plant-based variation on the classic dish that probably don't have much in common with the original. But they are a really great dish if you're looking for a quick meal full of vegetables that warm you up from the inside without making you too tired.
We didn't opt for the classic filling of minced meat and beans for this recipe but instead tried the combination of sweet potato and vegan chicken. It's an absolute match made in heaven! And if you're already in the starting blocks, here are a few final tips for you.
The filling: Of course, there are two things you can't do without in a sweet potato and chicken filling: Sweet potatoes and vegan chicken. We used the vegan seasoned fillet strips from Biozentrale, which are made from Austrian soy. As they are already pre-seasoned, they already have a nice flavor, and you don't need to marinate them for a long time. One 100-gram pack yields 220 grams of vegan fillet strips, which was enough for four portions in our recipe. However, you can also change the quantity as you wish, as the fillet strips are easy to portion. To prepare them, simply soak them in lukewarm water (1 part fillet strips to 1.2 parts liquid) and then fry them in a bit of oil. Incidentally, you can also easily replace them with the vegan seasoned minced meat from Biozentrale. In addition to the „chicken,“ the filling contains white beans, yellow peppers, sweetcorn, and red onion. A few walnuts add a little bite.
The sauce: We have simply poured pureed tomatoes over our enchiladas to keep our recipe quick. They add great acidity and fruitiness to the recipe.
Toppings: Of course, you are not tied to anything when it comes to the toppings and can change them to suit your taste. We went for freshness here with cucumber, red onion, coriander, lime, and a few creamier and softer components such as avocado and vegan crème fraîche.
Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato and Plant-Based Chicken Filling
Ingredients
For the enchiladas:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) vegan seasoned fillet strips (e.g. from Biozentrale)
- 300 g (10.5 oz) sweet potato
- 0.5 red onion
- 0.5 yellow bell pepper
- 400 g (0.88 lb) white beans
- 100 g (3.5 oz) corn
- 100 g (3.5 oz) walnuts
- 200 ml (0.75 cup) strained tomatoes
- 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 1 tsp cayenne
- salt
- pepper
For the toppings:
- vegan shredded cheese
- coriander
- cucumber
- red onion
- avocado
- vegan crème fraîche
- limes
Additionally:
- 5-6 tortillas
- 200 ml (0.75 cup) strained tomatoes
- oil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Prepare the vegan fillet strips according to the packet instructions for the filling. Peel the sweet potato and red onion and cut them into small cubes; drain the white beans, deseed the peppers, and cut them into cubes. Roughly chop the walnuts.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the vegan fillet strips and sweet potato until lightly browned. Now, gradually add the onion, corn, bell pepper, and finally, the beans and walnuts – season with paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Add the strained tomatoes and season to taste again. Preheat the oven to 200 °C / 390 °F (top and bottom heat).
Place the sweet potato „chicken“ filling in the center of 5-6 tortillas, roll it up, and place it in a greased baking dish. Pour over the tomato purée and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the vegan cheese over the sauce. Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes until the cheese has melted.
In the meantime, prepare all the remaining toppings: Slice the cucumber, finely dice the red onion, slice the avocado and quarter the limes. Serve the baked enchiladas with the toppings and vegan crème fraîche.
