Bean enchiladas

Bean enchiladas

30 min
With an easy cheese and bean enchilada recipe, making a quick and tasty Mexican-inspired dinner is incredibly simple. Made with kidney beans, beluga lentils, tomatoes, and chilli cheese, our cumin and chilli-spiced bean enchilada filling packs a lot of flavours. When served with chunky tomato salsa with plenty of colour and freshness as well as a bit of creamy, cooling quark or skyr, these bean cheese enchiladas make for a wonderful meal that does not even take long to prepare.
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https://www.arlafoods.co.uk/recipes/bean-enchiladas/

Instructions

Filling:
  • Let the oil heat up in a pan at high heat. Sauté onion, garlic, and chilli for about 2 minutes.
  • Rinse lentils in cold water and let them drip off in a sieve. Add broth, diced tomatoes, lentils, cumin, and salt to the pan. Let it cook at low heat for around 10 minutes – stir it occasionally.
  • Rinse the kidney beans and let them drip off before mixing them in with the filling. Let them cook for approx. 2 minutes. Season the filling to taste.
Bean enchiladas:
  • Preheat oven to 200°C (convection oven).
  • Transfer the filling to the 8 tortillas and sprinkle them with half of the cheese.
  • Roll the tortillas and place them in an ovenproof dish (approx. 20x30 cm) with the closing facing down.
  • Sprinkle them with the rest of the cheese and brown them in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes.
Tomato salsa:
  • Mix tomatoes, cucumber, and remaining ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
  • Serve the warm bean enchiladas with tomato salsa as well as quark or skyr on the side.
Enjoy!
Tips

It is a good idea to preheat the tortillas before filling them to make them more pliable and easier to roll without cracking. When tortillas are cold, they can be stiff and brittle, which can make them difficult to handle without tearing. Preheating the tortillas softens them and makes them more flexible.

Tips

You can either preheat them on a dry pan at medium heat for about 30 seconds on each side or in the microwave. If you go for the latter option, cover your stack of tortillas with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out as you heat them for about 1-2 minutes, or until they have been heated through and have become tender.

Questions about bean enchiladas

Our bean cheese enchilada recipe makes it easy to plate up savoury Mexican delights in no time. To learn more about bean enchiladas, continue reading below!

Do enchiladas have beans?
Enchiladas can have beans in them as part of their filling, but it is not a necessary ingredient. Enchiladas are a traditional Mexican dish that typically consists of rolled tortillas filled with various ingredients such as meat, cheese, vegetables, and/or beans that are covered in cheese or spicy sauce and baked in the oven. The enchilada fillings can vary depending on personal preferences and regional variations. So, whether or not beans are included in the filling and how prominent a role they play depends on the recipe being used.
How to make bean enchiladas?
Mexican bean enchiladas make for a tasty lunch or dinner when you are in the mood for something comforting with a bit of heat. Make the filling by sautéing onion, garlic, and chilli and adding vegetable broth, beluga lentils, and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and cumin to make the flavours pop and add the kidney beans at the end of the cook. Use the filling and half of the cheese to fill the tortillas. Once they have been rolled, sprinkle them with the remaining cheese and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes, and enjoy straight from the oven!
How long to bake bean and cheese enchiladas?
The exact baking time for bean enchiladas can vary depending on the oven being used. As a general rule, they should be baked in a preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. At 200°C, this should take about 10 minutes. But keep an eye on your bean enchiladas and give them a few additional minutes in the hot oven if the cheese is not yet golden-brown. Since the filling has already been cooked in the pan, you do not have to worry about your bean enchiladas being undercooked.
What beans are used in enchiladas?
The beans for enchiladas may vary depending on the season and the cook's preferences. The most commonly used beans for bean enchiladas include black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans. Black beans have a creamy texture and a slightly sweet flavour, while pinto beans taste somewhat nutty. Kidney beans are a good choice for people who prefer a firmer texture in addition to the sweet, nutty flavour for which these beans are known. Different beans and other legumes like lentils can be used to create a mixed bean enchilada recipe.
How to serve bean enchiladas?
Bean enchiladas should be served warm while the bean and cheese filling is still hot and deliciously gooey. The earthy, nutty, and savoury flavours of the bean filling are perfect with fresh, crunchy salsa with colourful vegetables and herbs. Crispy oven-baked bean enchiladas are also great when served with a creamy component for a bit of textural contrast. Some good suggestions include refreshing quark, cooling skyr, creamy sour cream, and homemade guacamole.

Ingredients

Filling:
Vegetable broth, boiling
200 ml
Beluga lentils (approx. ½ dl)
45 g
Olive oil
1 tsp
Onion (approx. 75 g), finely chopped
1
Small garlic cloves, finely crushed
3
Large green chilli pepper, finely chopped
1
Diced tomatoes (approx. 400 g)
1 can
Ground cumin
½ tsp
Coarse salt
1½ tsp
Kidney beans (approx. 400 g)
1 can
Wholemeal tortillas, about 20 cm in diameter
8
Grated cheese, tex mex
175 g
Tomato salsa:
Cherry tomatoes, cubed
250 g
Cucumber (approx. 250 g), cubed
1
Red onion (approx. 25 g), cut into thin rings
½
Small garlic clove, finely crushed
1
Fresh coriander, chopped
1 tbsp
Coarse salt
¼ tsp
Freshly churned pepper
Serve with:
Quark 0.3% or skyr, natural
250 g
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Savour our chilli bean enchiladas

Our savoury bean enchiladas with kidney beans, beluga lentils, green chilli pepper, and spicy Tex-Mex chilli cheese have just the right amount of spice and bite. As they do not take long to prepare, they make for a great dinner even on busier weeknights. Accompanied by chunky salsa with refreshing vegetables and citrussy coriander leaves, bean enchiladas make for a colourful and enticing meal.

Since it is easy to make a lot of tasty filling at once, our Mexican bean enchilada recipe is also great for dinner parties, where you might also like to serve other Tex-Mex classics like quesadillas, spicy nachos, and guacamole for dipping.

Flavourful, spicy, and savoury filling

The combination of sweet and earthy kidney beans, tangy tomatoes, and beluga lentils makes for tasty, filling bean enchiladas with a great texture. Beluga lentils, also known as black lentils or caviar lentils, are small, round, jet-black lentils that resemble beluga caviar in appearance. They have a rich, earthy, and nutty flavour that pairs nicely with the meatier kidney beans.

Since beluga lentils have a firm texture and, like kidney beans, hold their shape well when cooked, these lentils are perfect for making bean enchiladas with a bite. Vegetable broth, onion, garlic, and cumin give the filling a wonderful depth and savouriness, while the green chilli brings the heat to cut through the richness of the beans, lentils, and cheese.

Easy, cheesy bean enchiladas baked in the oven

Making bean enchiladas is very quick and simple. Since they are baked in the oven, they become slightly crispy with perfectly melted cheese, resulting in a comforting and satisfying meal that is sure to impress. The oven-baking method allows for a hands-off approach, making this a delightfully easy recipe that will yield delicious results every time.

Spicy Tex-Mex cheese for gooeyness and a touch of heat

Cheese bean enchiladas, of course, need the perfect cheese to introduce a bit of decadent richness and creaminess. A spicy, flavourful one with chilli is the perfect choice for a Mexican-inspired meal.

This makes our beloved Tex-Mex cheese, which is a mix of chilli-spiced mozzarella and cheddar, the perfect choice. Since it has already been shredded, you can simply combine it with your filling for a bit of heat and sprinkle it on top of your rolled bean enchiladas for a finishing touch. The deliciously gooey texture of the melted cheese ties it all together and makes eating these bean enchiladas amazing.

Add your own touch

If you want to turn up the heat a notch, you can make spicy bean enchiladas with either more chilli or multiple different kinds of chilli. Since green chillies are usually milder than red ones, you can use a mix of the two, add dried chilli, or use minced chipotle chilli in your filling. In addition to packing a lot of heat, the latter option will introduce a smoky flavour to the dish.

If you do not want to change up the filling, you can instead add pickled jalapeño peppers, fresh red chilli pepper, or diced onion to the top of the bean enchiladas before baking them to add extra spice, flavour, and texture.

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