These Black Bean and Kale Enchiladas with Avocado Cream are vegan and so full of flavor you won’t even miss the meat! Topped with a homemade enchilada sauce!
About six months ago, we got rid of cable. Even though we had “on demand,” it seriously seemed like there was never anything to watch. We couldn’t start new shows because older seasons weren’t on demand. And our schedules are too weird and hectic to actually follow shows week by week.
We don’t miss it.
Well, we miss the news a little bit. But that’s what smartphones and apps are for, right? And we definitely missed football. Luckily, we have lots of friends with cable and it’s more fun to watch football with friends anyways!
Other than that, we don’t miss it.
When we got rid of cable, we signed up for Netflix. So now instead of paying $70 a month for cable we never watched, we pay $9 and have discovered so many new shows! We love nature shows, and Netflix seems to have a never ending supply.
I also really like how many documentaries you can find on there. The other day I watched Forks Over Knives. Have you seen it? I went into it thinking it was going to be all about all-natural, whole foods (and how disgusting fast food and America in general is). It kind of was. But it was also super pro-vegan, which I was not expecting. Though I’m big on good quality, whole foods (including tons of veggies, fruits and whole grains), I’d never really thought about only eating plants. At the beginning of the movie, I was kind of thinking eh, this is just some crazy propaganda. But man… they present some pretty convincing evidence for the benefits of plant-based diets.
We have definitely been eating less meat and more plants over the last year or so, and we don’t even miss it that much. But no cheese? Yogurt? Eggs? MILK CHOCOLATE? Ahhhh!
While I don’t think a vegan diet is ever going to be realistic for us, the movie definitely did get me thinking. There’s nothing wrong with replacing a few more animal products with extra plants here and there.
So I was on a quest… to see if I could create a vegan meal that was so delicious that we didn’t even miss the animal products. To make it even more challenging, I took on Mexican food. Mexican food without any cheese or sour cream!?
You betcha!
And guess what? These enchiladas were amazing. We still have a ton of kale in the garden, so I started with that. I added some black beans for protein, and some corn for a touch of sweetness. Stuffed it inside tortillas and topped it with a homemade enchilada sauce. After it baked, I topped the whole thing in a whipped avocado topping that was so creamy that Nick swore it had Greek yogurt in it. It was really good. The thing about Mexican food is that there are so many flavors going on that the cheese gets lost in the mix anyways. We didn’t miss it, and loved this healthy meal.
To be fair, I have no idea if these tortillas were vegan. I know some tortillas have lard in them. But there are definitely ones that don’t, and if you’re actually a vegan, I’m sure you know where to find the good stuff. 😉
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- FOR THE ENCHILADAS:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 1 (15 oz can) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 8 large flour tortillas
- Cilantro, for topping
- FOR THE AVOCADO CREAM:
- 3 medium avocados, peels and pits removed
- Juice of 1 lime
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 more minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin and oregano, and cook 1 minute.
- Add the tomato sauce and veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and cook until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the black beans and corn and continue cooking until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
- Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of filling, roll up, and place in the baking sheet.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, to make the avocado cream. add the avocados and lime juice to a blender and blend until creamy.
- When enchiladas have finished baking, cool in the pan 5-10 minutes. Serve topped with avocado cream and cilantro.
Enchiladas are such a great vegetarian meal idea. Check out these other varieties!
Green Chile and Chard Skillet Enchiladas
Black Bean and Quinoa Enchiladas
Roasted Red Pepper and Quinoa Enchiladas
What do you think about eating vegan? Yay? Nay? Maybe sometimes? I’m curious!
I could never be vegan, Jess. I love dairy too much, but I do eat mostly plant-based foods. Occasionally I eat chicken or turkey, but usually I stick to fruits, vegetables, and grains. I’m totally with you on the cable thing. I barely watch television, but we keep cable for the news and like three shows. 🙂
I’ve never heard of the Forks Over Knives show, but it sounds so interesting! And I’m so glad you made these enchiladas. They looks so amazing, Jess! I’m seriously craving this for breakfast right now, especially with that avocado cream on top. Yum!
Never heard of this show, but would love to watch it! These enchiladas look amazing! And the avocado cream is the perfect finish! Pinned!
I cancelled my cable a few months ago too. I thought I would be lost without my DVR’d shows but now it’s crazy how little TV I actually watch and don’t miss it! I have Hulu plus for current shows and Netflix for others, and sometimes I feel like I don’t even need that. It’s nice to think of all the time I’m not spending watching TV that can be spent more productively. With that said I have seen that documentary and those types of movies are why I love Netflix. I can experiment with being vegan for a meal or two but I don’t think I could go that long without cheese!
Agreed!! Cheese is my downfall. And maybe, bacon, too. LOL!
We got rid of cable too, Netflix and Hulu have everything we want to watch! I never feel like we are missing anything. I am so glad we did! And I am loving these enchiladas. That avocado cream sounds amazing!
These look SO amazing!! Kale and black beans sound like such a delicious and healthy enchilada filling. and your avocado cream and homemade sauce….yum. Just everything…yum. I want to eat them. Now.
Netflix is great isn’t it? I haven’t had TV since I was in elementary school..my parents weren’t into watching it, and I wasn’t really interested in it because I liked climbing trees or reading MUCH better. I seriously didn’t think I was missing out. But a couple of years ago, people kept talking about these shows to watch and I thought “hey, this Netflix thing is free for the first month…may as well try it out.” I was hooked! Even though I just watch it with my laptop (I still don’t have a TV) it’s a great way to relax when you have read all the books in your house (I need to find some new books!)
Also, I JUST made a skillet pizza, but I wish I saw this first. This looks amazing!
We never had cable growing up, so Sesame Street was pretty much the extent of what I watched. It kills me to see kids these days watching videos on their ipads literally every waking second. AHHH!
These enchiladas are right up my alley — I love kale with black beans and corn, and that avocado cream is such a delicious topper! Pinned. 🙂
I’m planning to get rid of our satellite TV too, but I kind of had to wait until The Walking Dead was over for this season haha. We watch Netflix all of the time, so I’ll have to check out that documentary. These enchiladas really sound so incredible, Jess! That avocado cream is such a great addition too.
Yeah, we were a little sad about losing Mad Men… but it seems like it made it to Netflix pretty quick!!
I’m with you. I don’t think I could ever go Vegan. But it’s nice to be able to have some healthy vegetarian meals every now and then!
After watching that documentary, Shawn and I were vegan for 6 months! Haha! It started off as a challenge to go a week, and then we went a little longer, and a little longer, and before I knew it had been months. But man oh man did I miss cheese and burgers. After having a few drinks at a 4th of July BBQ, I caved and ate a cheeseburger. But it was fun while it lasted! And I still make a lot of different vegan meals, usually on Monday when we try to go meatless. These enchiladas sound delicious! Won’t even miss the meat : )
LOL! Too funny! It’s definitely nice cutting it out now and then… but yeah… 4th of July with grilling smells all around… I definitely couldn’t resist!!
We make a few vegan meals a few times a week too but I don’t think we (my husband especially) could ever go completely vegan 🙂 These enchiladas look fantastic! Love all the kale in here and the avocado cream looks perfect!
I have truly loved transitioning to a plant based diet. We were stuck in a rut, and this transition has forced me to be more creative. I have things in my pantry that I didn’t even know existed before. One being nutritional yeast. I’ve added it to many dishes, Mexican and Italian mostly, when I’ve wanted that nutty or creaminess that cheese provides -enchiladas, eggplant “meat” balls, chili…
Oooh I’ll have to try that! I’ve heart of it but haven’t tried it yet… and I might need that eggplant ball recipe!
I love this healthy twist on a classic comfort food! Looks delicious!