These vegan lentil enchiladas use only eight ingredients—that’s including the water and salt! If you’re looking for a delicious and easy dinner recipe, this is the perfect dish.
This meal is low maintenance, cheap, and doesn’t require any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients. I purchased all of the ingredients for this dish at Aldi, but you can find them pretty much anywhere.
The filling for these vegan lentil enchiladas is made with a few basic ingredients—lentils, onion, olive oil, salt, cumin, and water. You can add in additional seasonings if you like, but I’ve intentionally kept this recipe as simple with as few ingredients as possible.
For the enchilada sauce, you can use a store-bought version or make your own. There are tons of recipes for enchilada sauce out there—I made one with vegetable broth, flour, tomato paste, and a few spices.
This is one of the easiest vegan lentil enchiladas recipes you’ll find, and you can customize it to what ingredients you have on hand.
Ingredients for these vegan lentil enchiladas:
Lentils: For this recipe I used green lentils, but you can use any type of lentil. The exact cook time and consistency may vary depending on which type of lentils you use.
Onion: I like to add ½ of an onion into the lentils for added flavor, but this can be omitted.
Enchilada Sauce: There are many options for enchilada sauce and whatever type you choose will work for this dish. You can buy a pre-made one from the store or make your own using a few simple ingredients.
Cumin: I like to add cumin to the lentil filling.
Tortillas: For this recipe I used large flour tortillas but you can use any size and type of tortillas.
Substitutions:
Lentils: If you don’t have lentils or prefer not to use them, beans will also work great for this recipe. If using dry beans, follow the package instructions, adding in the onion and cumin. If using canned beans, add them in after sauteing the onion. You’ll only have to cook the mixture for 5-10 minutes if using canned beans.
Onion: Shallot, garlic, or onion powder can be used in place of onion, or it can be totally omitted.
Enchilada Sauce: If you don’t have enchilada sauce and don’t have time to make it, you can use salsa, green chile sauce, taco sauce, or tomato sauce.
Cumin: You can use pretty much any seasoning in this recipe. If you don’t like cumin, you can add in chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric, or whatever you have on hand!
Tortillas: I used large flour tortillas when I made this recipe, but you can use corn, corn and flour, or gluten-free flour tortillas. If you use a smaller size tortilla, you might have to have two layers of enchiladas in your casserole dish.
Optional toppings for vegan lentil enchiladas:
- Vegan cheese
- Vegan sour cream
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced red onion
- Diced avocado
- Fresh cilantro or parsley
- Lettuce or other greens
How to make vegan lentil enchiladas:
Start by dicing half an onion. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot on medium heat and add in the diced onion. Cook for about one minute.
Next, add in the water, lentils, and salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Scoop out any excess liquid.
Then we’ll add in the cumin and cook for 5 more minutes.
Once the lentils are done cooking, remove them from the heat. Pour a little bit of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish, about 2 tbsp, and spread into an even layer.
Divide the lentil mixture evenly between the six large tortillas (or more if you’re using smaller tortillas). Roll them up and place them in the casserole dish. Pour 1-2 cups of enchilada sauce (or more) on top of the enchiladas, spreading it around so it coats the entire dish.
Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling. Add any additional toppings desired and serve hot.
Vegan Lentil Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups lentils
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1-2 cups enchilada sauce
- 6 large flour tortillas
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add in the diced onion and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the lentils, water, and salt to the pot. Stir a little then turn the heat to medium-high. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Scoop out any excess water once the lentils are fully cooked.
- Add in the cumin. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this step you can also preheat the oven to 375°F. After five minutes, remove the pot from the heat.
- Spread about 2 tbsp of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Divide the lentil mixture between the tortillas, roll them up, and place them in the casserole dish.
- Pour 1-2 cups of enchilada sauce on top of the rolled up tortillas in the casserole dish.
- Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
Notes
This post was about how to make vegan lentil enchiladas,
Lyn says
This is a new way to use lentils for me! Lentils are underrated I think, so I need to try this! As usual with your recipes, love the options and ways to make it one’s own 🙂