vegetarian enchiladas verdes
I’ve figured out the secret to creating the best enchiladas at home…
Making your own enchilada sauce.
For years I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t love enchiladas; everything that should be there was. Carbs, check. Yummy filling, check. Spice, check. Cheese, check. I’m completely ga-ga over tacos, but thought enchiladas were completely overrated.
Then, I made my own enchilada sauce a few years ago and everything changed. Ready in just 10 minutes, I put that sauce on just about everything: fajita enchiladas, quinoa enchiladas, quinoa enchiladas
Since we all love that sauce so much, I figured it was time to make a verdes version.
Vegetarian Enchiladas Verdes! If you like green chili sauce enchiladas, then you've gotta try these! Homemade roasted tomatillo and chili sauce with mushroom, spinach and bean filling. Topped with spicy pepperjack cheese! 

Ingredients
  • 15 medium-size tomatillos, husks removed and washed
  • 3 jalapeno peppers, halved (seeds removed, if desired- see notes) 
  • 1 poblano pepper, halved (seeds removed, if desired- see notes)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup fresh packed cilantro leaves 
  • 1 cup vegetable broth 
  • 2 tablespoons slivered almonds 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 8, ~8 inch tortillas, corn or flour (I prefer Trader Joe's corn/wheat flour combo, but both will work. I think flour tends to get too soggy in enchiladas.) 
  • 10 ounces sliced mushrooms
  • 1 (15 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 6 ounce baby spinach
  • 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, divided 
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the tomatillos, jalapenos, poblano pepper on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway to prevent burning. 
  2. Remove baking sheet and place everything in a blender or food processor (along with juices!). Pulse a few times to just combine, then add in the garlic, cilantro, vegetable broth and salt. Puree or blend until smooth. Set aside. 
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and add the mushrooms along with another pinch of salt. Cook, until mushrooms are browned, about 5-10 minutes. Add in the cumin and white beans and stir to heat through. Add in the spinach, 1/2 cup of the sauce and cook until spinach is just wilted. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
  4. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Pour a light layer of sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Place filling on tortillas, roll up and arrange in pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Cover with remaining sauce and remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown on top and cheese is bubbly! 
  5. Remove, let cool for just a few minutes, then serve. 
Notes
I left two jalapeños whole and one halved, which proved the perfect amount of spicy heat! But, as we've established many times on this blog- I like this spicy. If you don't, then I recommend removing the seeds from all of the jalapeños.