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Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet

Mix it up on your next Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday with this filling & flavorful Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet recipe. So easy, and naturally gluten free!

Raise your hand if you really love enchiladas, yet really hate the process of rolling and assembling them. No? Just me? Well, as my grandmother used to say: It all goes down the same! In that spirit of culinary adventure, let me present today’s Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet recipe: All the enchiladas flavor you want, but with a fraction of the effort.

Spooning out servings of the vegetarian enchiladas skillet with a blue spoon

So the inspiration for this delicious enchiladas skillet came from Southern Living magazine, of all places. Last week I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room flipping through ancient magazines, as one does, and spotted a recipe they’d published for a chicken enchilada skillet featuring torn up tortillas rather than rolled up enchiladas. But then we were finally called in to the doctor… so that’s about all I remember about that.

This whole enchiladas skillet thought, though, seemed like a kind of brilliant idea, so I took it and ran with it in today’s deconstructed vegetarian enchiladas skillet recipe. Enchiladas flavor without the enchiladas effort? Yes, please. Tearing up the tortillas works so nicely for chilaquiles, so how could it go wrong here?

a serving of vegetarian enchiladas on a plate

While we’re being inauthentic… Lacking enchilada sauce (because my ALDI no longer carries it, and I keep forgetting to pick it up elsewhere), I instead kludged together a sauce with salsa, mild green chiles, and spices, adding a little cream cheese for creaminess and tang, and a little cheese because: Enchiladas.

Just add veggies and cheese to a few everyday pantry ingredients to create this easy weeknight dinner recipe — which only takes 40 minutes start to finish, and is chock full of hearty beans, tortillas, and cheese to help keep you satisfied.

Looking for more vegetarian recipe ideas? Take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for additional dinner options — or, check out fifteen favorite meatless meals to jump start your vegetarian cooking.

Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet

some pantry ingredients for vegetarian enchiladas

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 sweet bell pepper, chopped (I used red)
1 can corn, drained
1/4 of a medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
16 oz jar of salsa
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
4 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into chunks
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz can chopped mild green chiles
12 small corn tortillas, torn or cut into pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take out cream cheese to soften, and chop it into smaller chunks. Chop your pepper, onion, and garlic, and drain the corn.

saute corn and pepper in a cast iron skillet

Heat olive oil in a 12″ cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for one minute. Add the corn, onion, and bell pepper and season with cumin & chili powder. Saute over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about six minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, rinse and drain the beans and tear (or cut) the tortillas into pieces.

After sauteing the veggies, reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the garlic. Saute briefly, then stir in the salsa, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar until cheeses are melted and well incorporated.

mix torn corn tortillas into the vegetarian enchiladas skillet

Stir in the black beans, chopped green chiles, and corn tortillas, making sure everything is well distributed and tortilla pieces are nicely coated in the salsa mixture. Top the skillet evenly with one cup of shredded cheddar.

Move skillet into the preheated oven and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Serve with your favorite enchilada toppings. (I highly recommend sour cream and avocado; the chopped green onion here is mostly to add a little color.)

So much vegetarian enchiladas flavor!

Vegetarian enchiladas cast iron skillet recipe

And there you have it: You get all of that enchiladas flavor, just in a mix-up, mash-up, one-pan-recipe skillet format. I’ve been eating enchilada skillet leftovers for lunch these last couple of days, which hold up pretty well (but do get a little soggier). I’m so happy about easy leftover enchiladas lunch, I can’t even tell you! 🙂

This deconstructed vegetarian enchiladas skillet recipe is not only meatless, it is naturally gluten free as long as your tortillas are. The slight spicy kick here is balanced out by the sweet corn and bell pepper, so you can spice things up further if desired — and, adding sour cream and avocado while serving really makes the flavors pop. 

Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet, printable recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet

Mix it up on your next Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday with this filling & flavorful Deconstructed Vegetarian Enchiladas Skillet recipe. So easy!
Course dinner
Cuisine enchiladas
Keyword cast iron, enchiladas, enchiladas skillet, gluten free, meatless monday, vegetarian, veggie enchiladas
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 sweet bell pepper I used red
  • 1 can corn drained
  • 1/4 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp minced garlic about four cloves
  • 16 oz jar of salsa
  • 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
  • 4 oz cream cheese softened and cut into chunks
  • 2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
  • 4 oz can chopped mild green chiles
  • 12 small corn tortillas torn or cut into pieces

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take out cream cheese to soften, and chop it into smaller chunks. Chop your pepper, onion, and garlic, and drain the corn.
  • Heat olive oil in a 12″ cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for one minute. Add the corn, onion, and bell pepper and season with cumin & chili powder. Saute over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about six minutes.
  • While the veggies are cooking, rinse and drain the beans and tear (or cut) the tortillas into pieces.
  • After sauteing the veggies, reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the garlic. Saute briefly, then stir in the salsa, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar until cheeses are melted and well incorporated.
  • Stir in the black beans, chopped green chiles, and corn tortillas, making sure everything is well distributed and tortilla pieces are nicely coated in the salsa mixture. Top the skillet evenly with one cup of shredded cheddar.
  • Move skillet into the preheated oven and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
  • Serve with your favorite enchilada toppings. (I highly recommend sour cream and avocado; the chopped green onion here is mostly to add a little color.)

Recipes in the real world

weekly ALDI meal plans from Mashup Mom -- six complete dinners for four, $60 out the door! MashupMom.com, every Wednesday.

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!

Recipe Rating




Julie

Tuesday 25th of October 2022

Always like this recipe. Today, I didn't put the tortillas in with it. I just had everyone either scoop it into or tortilla, or they could have it with tortilla chips :)

rachel

Thursday 27th of October 2022

Yum, sounds good too!

Jenna

Thursday 4th of June 2020

Gah, my cast iron skillet is a 12-inch! Back to the store...

Jenna

Thursday 4th of June 2020

Woops, I meant to say mine is a 10-inch.

Elizabeth Bond

Wednesday 4th of December 2019

Husband's words "Good stuff."

Elizabeth

Monday 20th of April 2020

I made it again today. Husband got second helpings.

Jennifer Whetstone

Sunday 1st of December 2019

What would you do if you dont own a cast iron skillet?

rachel

Sunday 1st of December 2019

Buy one? Not to be facetious, but they are awesome for all sorts of things, go from stove top to oven, and will add a nice char to the veggies. You could probably, though, do the first part in a regular skillet, then move to a casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake. You might need to give it a little longer in the oven if you're not cooking in the cast iron, though.

Lisa

Wednesday 27th of November 2019

"kludged" I learned a new to me word today! And, oh by the way, I'm trying this recipe next week for sure.

rachel

Wednesday 27th of November 2019

LOL -- it's such a useful word, in so many areas of life! :)