Looking to spice up your Meatless Mondays? Or perhaps you just want to shake up your enchilada game? Whatever your motivation might be, if you’re looking for a vegetarian enchilada recipe packed with flavor, these cauliflower and pepper enchiladas are sure to hit the spot!
Spiced cauliflower, roasted peppers, and cotija cheese make up the filling for these vegetarian enchiladas. Once they’re all rolled up, these enchiladas are topped with a spicy cream sauce.
Serve these guys with sliced avocado, even more cotija, your favorite hot sauce (mine is Cholula), with lime wedges on the side.
While there are a few different moving parts to this recipe, it’s still pretty quick and easy to whip together on a weeknight! Especially if you have an assistant enchilada roller. My boyfriend helped me out with the assembly process for these bad boys. He’s our household tortilla expert!
Assembling the Enchiladas
First, add about 1/4 cup cauliflower and pepper mixture and a generous sprinkle of cotija cheese inside each enchilada. Be sure not to over stuff them!
Next, carefully roll up the enchiladas. It’s okay if some of the filling spills out, but try to keep as much in as you can.
Finally, place the enchiladas seam side down in the pan.
Smitten Kitchen’s Charred Cauliflower Quesadillas served as the inspiration for the filling in these cauliflower and pepper enchiladas. This recipe is a favorite in my weeknight rotation, and has been for months. If you haven’t tried it before, I definitely recommend! This recipe inspired me to use cauliflower as a Mexican dish filling. Such a fun vegetarian alternative to the classic beans and rice!
Looking for more vegetarian weeknight dinners? Check out this Tofu Thai Red Curry. Or maybe you’ll like this Crispy Tofu and Broccoli Noodle Bowl.
I hope you enjoy these hearty vegetarian enchiladas!
Cauliflower and Pepper Enchiladas with Spicy Sour Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 taco sized flour tortillas
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large poblano pepper
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- 1 cup cotija cheese crumbled
Sour cream enchilada sauce
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 jalapeño finely diced
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Set oven to broil. Roast poblano and 1 jalapeño in the oven until the peppers blister, about 10 minutes, flipping the peppers halfway through. Once peppers have blistered, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Set oven temperature to 375F. While waiting for the peppers to blister, begin prepping cauliflower
- Cut cauliflower into roughly 1/2 inch pieces. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place cauliflower in a large bowl and add olive oil, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper, tossing to combine until cauliflower is evenly coated in spices. Add olive oil to the hot skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until cauliflower have browned, about 5-7 minutes. Once they have cooked, remove cauliflower from the skillet and return them to the large bowl.
- Once peppers have cooled enough to handle, peel off the blistered skin, cut off the tops, and remove the seeds. Cut the peppers into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the chopped peppers into the bowl with the cauliflower, and toss together until peppers and cauliflower are evenly distributed.
- Make the sour cream sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until combined. Let flour cook for about 1 minute, then whisk in vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, and let simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Add sour cream, cayenne pepper, and diced jalapeños, and let simmer until thickened, about 2-3 additional minutes. Season to taste with salt.
- Once the cream sauce is complete, it's time to start assembling the enchiladas! Pour just under 1/2 of the cream sauce into the bottom of a 9'x13' baking pan. Assemble the enchiladas by filling each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the pepper and cauliflower mixture and a generous sprinkle of cheese. Place enchiladas side by side in the pan, seam side down. Pour remaining cream sauce evenly over enchiladas.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
- Let cool slightly, and serve with sour cream, more crumbled cotija, lime slices, or sliced avocado.
[…] These Cauliflower and Pepper Enchiladas are always a fave in my house, and we also love these Poblano, Black Bean, and Quinoa […]
This was my 2nd time making these, and I think they were even better this time! I can’t do spicy things, so I just cooked some sweet peppers and added those to cauliflower. I made them with cojita the first time, and this time, I used pepper jack/monterey jack. The sauce is so easy to make and just the perfect topping. My husband put a little pico on top, and I added some avocado on mine – we both love it! Thanks for such a perfect recipe 🙂
Thank you so much, Whitney! I’m so happy you and your husband enjoy them!
I LOVE cauliflower, and I loved these! I followed the recipe pretty closely, and they turned out great. For my family’s preferences I’ll turn up the heat a little bit next time, either with an extra jalapeño or some cayenne.
I’m glad you enjoyed them!! Yeah I tend to prefer things on the spicier side, but I toned this down a little bit because I figure you can always add more heat, but you can’t take it back if it gets too spicy!
Scrumptious! I will say that it is on the spicier side, so if you’re like me and need things a little more mild, may have to reduce the amount of jalepeno and poblano you use. I just added the peppers slowly, tasting as I went until I reached my comfort zone. I also ended up using corn tortillas and it came out great! Will definitely be making again!
I really liked these, especially the sauce. Will be making this again.