Vegan zucchini enchiladas
This Mexican dish is usually made using a corn tortilla, but today I decided to do things a bit differently. Vegan zucchini enchiladas are inspired by a non-vegan version of the dish. They are super delicious, vegan, gluten-free and very easy to make.
This is somewhat similar to my zucchini roll-ups recipe, so if you already made that, this will be a piece of cake. I personally can’t get enough of these and I highly recommend them. For additional tips and advice keep reading the following sections.
Some health benefits
There are some healthy ingredients in these zucchini enchiladas that you don’t want to miss out on. For one, the zucchini itself.
It is high in the antioxidant vitamin C. Research indicates that the skin of the plant harbors the highest levels of antioxidants. Its ample vitamin A content may support your immune system. Carotenoids, such as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene are particularly plentiful in zucchini. These may benefit your eyes, skin, and heart, as well as offer some protection against certain types of cancer, such as prostate cancer.
Overall, it contributes to healthy digestion, may reduce blood sugar levels, improve heart health, and aid weight loss. It also may have anticancer effects, improve thyroid function and research (on animal models) shows that seed extracts may help limit prostatic hyperplasia.
A lot of zucchini nutrients are in the zucchini skin, which we are not going to peel off for this recipe. These are only a few reasons you might want to treat yourself with these vegan zucchini enchiladas from time to time.
A piece of advice
This recipe was (to my surprise) super quick and easy to make. The baking time is pretty short and it only requires a few basic ingredients. However, there are a few things that you need to pay attention to if you want to make this recipe successfully. I am going to write those down so that you don’t make the same rookie mistakes that I did.
First of all, make sure you use medium or large sized zucchini, and don’t peel the skin. When you cut them up thinly, don’t try to bend them or roll the slices right away, since they will probably break. Put some salt on them and let them rest, that way you will remove the excess water from them and they will relax a bit so you will be able to roll them up easily.
If you cannot find a good brand of vegan cheese, feel free to experiment with the filling. You can use hummus instead, or some kind of home-made cheese sauce. These enchiladas do not need to be covered while they are baking.
Feel free to season them as you like, but I doubt you will need any additional salt, since you already used it to remove the moisture. When you finished rolling the zucchini, top them off with some more vegan mozzarella and vegan cheddar. I suggest you find a vegan cheese that melts for the best results.
I made a very small amount of these zucchini enchiladas (as you can see from the picture) since I wasn’t very hungry at the moment. I baked them in a small dish, and it was enough for a lunch. If you need more than this, adjust the measurements accordingly, but I doubt you will need more than a can of corn, beans and tomatoes each.
Vegan zucchini enchiladas
Ingredients
2 -3 medium sized zucchini
salt
200 g of vegan mozzarella
100 g of vegan cheddar
parsley for garnish
a can of red beans
a can of corn
baby spinach (optional)
- For the sauce:
1 tbsp of oil
1 small onion
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of cumin
a pinch of chili
1 can of chopped tomatoes
Directions
- Prepare the sauce. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sautee it for a few minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, chili and the chopped tomatoes and cook on low to medium heat until it starts to bubble. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer everything to a blender and blend for a few seconds. Set the sauce aside.
- Wash the zucchini and remove the stems. Cut them very thinly lengthwise. Put the zucchini on a paper towel and rub some salt over them. Let them sit for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grate the cheese, remove the stems from the baby spinach leaves, and cut the parsley up into small pieces. After 20 minutes, press the zucchini down with a paper towel in order to remove the salt and excess water. Put a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce at the bottom of a baking dish (just enough to cover it).
- Sprinkle vegan mozzarella, corn, beans and baby spinach over the zucchini slices and roll them up. Put all the zucchini roll-ups in the baking dish, top them off with some a thin layer of enchilada sauce, some more grated mozzarella and vegan cheddar. Sprinkle with some pepper.
- Bake the vegan zucchini enchiladas at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Take them out of the oven and sprinkle with some fresh basil or parsley. Serve while they are still warm.
If you liked this recipe, make sure you check out my other recipes like:
Feel free to tell me what you think about this in the comments below, or send me the pictures of your own vegan zucchini enchiladas. If you did something differently, I would also like to hear that, I’d love to see the things you come up with.
P.S. for more recipes like this and a bunch of other stuff, follow me on Instagram, @margo_drobi.
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