If you’re looking for a meatless Monday meal, look no further – my Mini Vegetable Enchilada Stacks are not only unbelievably delicious but super satisfying. You’ll never miss the meat!
This recipe was inspired by a dish from Lindsay at Pinch of Yum who started a recipe series on their website called “Feeding a Broken Heart“, where they share comforting, nurturing dishes to share with people in their times of grief. So often cooking for others conveys how much we love, care, and support them when it feels like there’s nothing we can physically do or say to end the pain. Recently my friend Mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. Between taking care of her three young children and being by her mother’s side as often as possible, there’s been zero time to cook. I immediately thought of the recipes from Lindsay’s broken heart series and made her Healthy Mexican Casserole with Roasted Corn and Peppers to take to Carrie’s family. Her Mom had three helpings in the hospital and I know they felt the love that was put into the dish. I personally loved the recipe so much that I wanted to give it a little twist for IGE. Mini Vegetable Enchilada Stacks are a comforting casserole turned perfectly proportioned dinner idea – and so easy, too. Mini corn tortillas are layered with sauted peppers, onions, sweet corn, and black beans, plus plenty of shredded Mexican cheese and savory homemade enchilada sauce. They make the most adorable, individual-sized enchilada stacks that, similar to Lindsay’s recipe, would make a wonderful meal delivery to someone you know in need.
Start by heating 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Add 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 chopped green bell pepper, and 1 small chopped red onion then season with 3-4 teaspoons chili powder blend and salt. Saute until the peppers are crisp tender then add 1 cup frozen sweet corn and saute for another minute or two. Finally, stir in 1 cup canned black beans that have been drained and rinsed then add more chili pepper blend and/or salt to taste.
This is the chili pepper blend I used. It’s a mixture of chili peppers, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, cloves, and allspice. If you don’t have a blend like this on hand, I recommending seasoning to taste with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and just a little bit of dried oregano.
Set the vegetable mixture aside to cool for a bit (this mixture can be made a day ahead of time, btw!) then preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9×13″ baking pan with nonstick spray. Place 5 , 4″ corn tortillas in the bottom of the pan then top with a scoop of the vegetables, 2-3 scoops gluten-free red enchilada sauce (here’s my super easy homemade enchilada sauce recipe >) and a sprinkling of a Mexican cheese blend. You can squeeze 5 stacks in a 9×13″ pan, or use an individual sized baking pan for the 5th stack.
Repeat the tortilla/vegetable/sauce/cheese layers one more time then top each stack with a tortilla, sauce, and more cheese.
Cover the baking pan with foil then bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Use a spatula to transfer each enchilada stack to a plate then top with fresh avocado, cilantro, salsa, etc and dig in. I hope you – and anyone else you might share them with – enjoy!
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