These delicious meatless jackfruit enchiladas are stuffed with tender chunks of chipotle-seasoned jackfruit and black beans before being smothered in flavorful vegan enchilada sauce and then loaded with all the toppings!
I just polished off two of these jackfruit enchiladas and I gotta tell ya...these are the best dang enchiladas I've ever tasted in my life--vegan or not! These meatless, high-protein, jackfruit and black bean enchiladas are so easy to make and the enchilada sauce shortcut is such a time saver!
The chunks of seasoned jackfruit are so tender and meat-like that nobody will ever guess this recipe is vegan. If you have any non-vegans in your life that you want to cook for and impress with a plant-based recipe, this is the recipe you should make for them!
What Type of Tortillas Should I Use?
Traditional enchiladas call for corn tortillas but it's okay to use flour tortillas instead if that's what you prefer or have on hand. Just be careful picking out vegan tortillas because many mainstream brands contain lard or honey. I use this brand of vegan tortillas.
If you do use corn tortillas, you will need to use half of the amount of filling in each enchilada because corn tortillas are much smaller than flour tortillas. You will also have more than 8 enchiladas in the casserole dish.
Vegan Enchilada Sauce Options
You can make homemade vegan enchilada sauce, but I intentionally used a store-bought enchilada sauce for this recipe because I wanted these jackfruit black bean enchiladas to be extremely quick and easy to make. You could also use salsa verde (green sauce) if you prefer, that would be delicious too!
This is the organic red vegan enchilada sauce that I used (it's from Whole Foods) to make the jackfruit enchiladas. I love it because it has simple ingredients, it's low sodium, it's organic, and it's oil-free! It's practically as good as if I made it myself at home, except I saved time and had to wash one less pot!
Now that we've gone over which tortillas to use and the vegan enchilada sauce options, let's talk about how to make the jackfruit enchiladas!
Step by Step Instructions
(Please see the recipe card for exact ingredient amounts + full instructions)
Start by sauteing the diced onion in a large pan until they're soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic, adobo sauce (just the sauce from the can of chipotle peppers), tomato paste, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and all of the dry seasonings to the pan. Stir to combine and let it cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
Add the rinsed and drained jackfruit (I recommend this brand or the Trader Joe's brand) to the pan along with the water and lime juice. Cover the pan and let it cook until the jackfruit is tender. Remove the lid and use a wooden spoon or potato masher to lightly mash and break up the jackfruit. It should shred easily. Add the black beans to the pan and mix well to combine.
Spread ½ cup of red enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Next, lay one tortilla on a flat surface and spoon a ¾ cup of the jackfruit filling into the tortilla, roll it up, and place it into the casserole dish. Repeat this step until you're out of filling or out of space in the dish. You should be able to make 8 large enchiladas.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas and top with vegan cheese. Cover with parchment paper and bake the enchiladas. Garnish the jackfruit enchiladas with lots of fresh toppings right before you serve.
Topping Options
While the jackfruit enchiladas are delicious plain, the toppings really kick it up a notch! Just like with nachos or vegan taco pasta salad, the toppings really make a difference! I like to make a salad on top of my enchiladas, my favorite toppings include:
- Romaine Lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Guacamole or Sliced Avocado
- Vegan Sour Cream (I use Kite Hill unsweetened plain greek yogurt)
- Sliced Green Onions or Chives
- Cilantro
- Cilantro Lime Salsa
- Jalapenos (especially pickled jalapenos!)
- Vegan Shredded Cheddar Cheese
What Goes With It?
These jackfruit enchiladas are very filling, so I usually serve a light salad or vegetable dish to go with it. Any of the following vegan sides would be delicious choices to enjoy with the vegan enchiladas:
- Vegan Creamy Broccoli Salad
- Southwest Quinoa Bean Salad
- Vegan Ginger Sesame Coleslaw
- Lemon Tahini Courgette Salad (Use lime juice instead of lemon juice in the dressing for complementary flavors)
Can I Freeze It?
Yes, these jackfruit enchiladas freeze perfectly! First, choose a large freezer and oven-safe dish. Next, follow the recipe instructions to assemble the enchiladas but don't bake the casserole yet. Cover the container of enchiladas so it's airtight and store it in the freezer for 3-4 months.
When you're ready to reheat the enchiladas you have two options:
- Cover the frozen enchiladas with parchment paper or foil and bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the parchment paper, sprinkle shredded vegan cheese on top, and bake it for an additional 15-20 minutes or until it's hot all the way through and the cheese has melted.
- Remove the frozen enchilada casserole from the freezer and let it thaw for 24 hours in the fridge. Add the shredded vegan cheese, cover it, and then bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Recipe Variations
This chipotle-seasoned jackfruit and black bean filling is delicious in enchiladas, but it can also be used to make other tasty vegan meals like:
- Jackfruit Tacos: If you don't have time to bake the enchiladas or if you don't want to heat up the oven, you can use the filling to make delicious vegan tacos! Add lettuce, tomatoes, onions, vegan sour cream, and vegan cheese to make it a more substantial meal.
- Jackfruit Enchilada Bowl: Skip the tortillas altogether and serve the black bean and jackfruit filling in a bowl with brown rice (or low-carb cauliflower rice), lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, avocado slices, vegan cheese, and drizzle vegan chipotle mayo over the top.
- Jackfruit Quesadilla: Spread 1 cup of the jackfruit black bean filling out over one medium tortilla and top it with shredded vegan cheddar cheese and place a second tortilla on top. Warm the quesadilla in a large pan over medium heat until it's crisp and then flip and repeat.
Notes & Substitutions
- Gluten-Free: This recipe is not gluten-free because I used flour tortillas. To make it gluten-free, you need to use gluten-free tortillas or corn tortillas.
- Black Bean Substitutions: You can substitute green lentils, brown lentils, french lentils, kidney beans, pinto beans, or great northern beans for the black beans.
- Jackfruit Substitutions: It's not going to be exactly the same texture, but you could use artichoke hearts, seitan, soy curls, or hearts of palm instead of the jackfruit.
- What Brand of Canned Jackfruit Should I Use? I recommend that you use this canned jackfruit or Trader Joe's canned jackfruit. I've found both brands to be the best quality and have big pieces of jackfruit with smaller seeds and fewer hard centers that need to be trimmed off.
- Is It Spicy? The jackfruit enchilada filling is a little bit spicy. If you don't like spicy food, you should omit the adobo sauce. However, if you'd like to add more heat, you could mince one of the chipotle peppers and add it to the jackfruit and black bean filling.
Success Tips
- Make sure you use canned young green unripe jackfruit, don't use fresh jackfruit or canned sweet jackfruit in syrup for this savory jackfruit enchilada recipe.
- To save time, you can use the premade vegan enchilada sauce that I used. However, if you want to make homemade enchilada sauce, I really like this oil-free recipe.
- If you think that you're going to have leftovers, reserve 1-2 tbsp of the enchilada sauce to use when reheating. Or add a splash of water to the sauce to help loosen it up when reheating.
- Store leftover enchiladas in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
Want More Vegan Jackfruit Recipes?
Chipotle Jackfruit Enchiladas
Equipment
- Large 9x13 Casserole Dish
- Large Pan
Ingredients
- 8 medium flour tortillas
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce
Enchilada Filling -
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 4 medium garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce (just the sauce from the can of chipotle peppers)
- 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp himalayan pink sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- (2) 14 oz cans young green jackfruit (rinsed and drained)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ½ cup water
- (1) 14 oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
Enchilada Toppings -
- ½ cup shredded vegan cheese (I used Violife shredded cheddar)
- 4 cups romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 medium roma tomatoes diced
- 1 medium avocado mashed
- 1 cup vegan sour cream
- 1 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 small jalapeno seeded and sliced
- ½ cup green onions sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large pan over medium heat, saute the diced onion in 3-4 tbsp of vegetable broth (or water) until they’re soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp adobo sauce, 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper to the pan. Stir to combine and let it cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the rinsed and drained jackfruit, lime juice, and water to the pan. Cover the pan and let it cook for 30 minutes or until the jackfruit is tender, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the lid and use a wooden spoon (or potato masher) to lightly mash and break up the chunks of jackfruit. The jackfruit should shred easily. Mix the jackfruit with the rest of the sauce. If there is any liquid left in the pan, let it cook a few more minutes with the lid off until the liquid has been absorbed. Add the black beans to the pan and mix well to combine.
- Pour ½ cup of red enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Swirl it around to evenly coat the base.
- Lay one tortilla on a flat surface and fill it with ¾ cup of filling. Press the filling down and roll it up. Place the enchilada into the casserole dish. Repeat this step until you're out of filling. You should be able to make 8 large enchiladas.
- Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Top with shredded vegan cheese, cover with parchment paper, and bake the enchiladas for 30 minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before you add all of the toppings.
Notes
- Make sure you use canned young green unripe jackfruit, don't use fresh jackfruit or canned sweet jackfruit in syrup for this savory jackfruit enchilada recipe.
- To save time, you can use the premade vegan enchilada sauce that I used. However, if you want to make homemade enchilada sauce, I really like this oil-free recipe.
- If you think that you're going to have leftovers, reserve 1-2 tbsp of the enchilada sauce to use when reheating. Or add a splash of water to the sauce to help loosen it up when reheating.
- Store leftover enchiladas in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
Absolutely AMAZING! Used lentils instead of black beans and homemade mole for the sauce. Will definitely make again! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Can you make this recipe with green enchilada sauce?
Sure! That would be delicious too!
This is my favorite dinner ever! The jackfruit has such great flavor and it's so easy to make! I added a few slices of diced up jalapeno to the filling to give it a spicy kick and it was perfect.
Adding jalapenos is a great idea!