• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe

Easy Cheesy Vegetarian

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian Dinner Recipes

    Feb 18, 2017 by Becca Heyes · This post may contain affiliate links · 27 Comments

    Refried Bean Enchiladas with Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

    356 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Total time: 1 hour
    Servings: 6
    5 from 15 votes
    Jump to Recipe Rate this Recipe
    Vegetarian refried bean enchiladas with a creamy jalapeno cheese sauce - the best enchiladas ever!

    I'll admit right off the bat - there's nothing groundbreaking about this recipe. These refried bean enchiladas are super simple, stuffed with veggies and beans, and topped with a spicy jalapeño cheese sauce. All pretty straightforward - they're not anything particularly novel, they don't use any trendy ingredients, and they're not prepared in an unusual way. But what they are is absolutely flipping delicious - so I wanted to share the recipe anyway.

    And when I say these bean enchiladas are flipping delicious, I mean they're flipping delicious. In fact, I hope you appreciate how hard it was to take these photos. When there's a big, bubbling pan of cheesy sauce in front of me, the last thing I want to do is not eat it. If you look closely at any photo I've ever taken of a casserole-type dish, you'll usually spot an area where I had a cheeky nibble at the crispy bits (top left of the pan in the above photo). I'm sorry, I'm weak.

    Vegetarian refried bean enchiladas with a creamy jalapeno cheese sauce - the best enchiladas ever!

    Since this recipe is super adaptable, I took the opportunity to clear out my fridge, and just added whatever veggies I could lay my hands on. In the end I used courgette (zucchini), mushrooms, pepper and carrot. Feel free to use whatever you have handy though! Along with some spices and a good dollop of my favourite refried beans on the planet, it makes for a quick and easy enchilada filling.

    Vegetarian refried bean enchiladas with a creamy jalapeno cheese sauce - the best enchiladas ever!

    To be honest, the star of these refried bean enchiladas is the spicy jalapeño cheese sauce. I know I said that I'm trying to not add too much gratuitous cheese to my cooking these days, but believe me, this cheese sauce is far from gratuitous. The jalapeños really take a standard cheese sauce to the next level - the spice cuts right through the richness. I did manage to resist adding any extra cheese on top of my enchiladas - they really don't need it, and I like the way the creamy sauce crisps up on top anyway. I added a few halved cherry tomatoes instead, just to make my enchiladas look a bit more interesting (slices of a bigger tomato would work well too - I was still on a fridge clearing mission!).

    Vegetarian refried bean enchiladas with a creamy jalapeno cheese sauce - the best enchiladas ever!

    Anyway, I hope you'll trust me and make these cheesy bean enchiladas - they're so worth it! You'll thank me when you're returning to the pan for a third time to scrape out the last tiny morsels of crispy cheese sauce with your fork...

    Vegetarian refried bean enchiladas with a creamy jalapeno cheese sauce - the best enchiladas ever!

    Refried bean enchiladas with jalapeno cheese sauce

    If you've cooked this recipe, don't forget to leave a star rating!

    5 from 15 votes
    Print Pin Comment
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 6
    Calories:
    Author: Becca Heyes

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 1 red pepper, diced
    • 1 courgette (zucchini), diced
    • 1 large carrot, diced
    • ~ 6 medium mushrooms, diced
    • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1 teaspoon chilli powder (mild or hot)
    • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
    • 6 large flour tortillas
    • 435 g tin refried beans (~ 1 ⅓ cups)
    • 1 ½ tablespoon butter
    • 1 ½ tablespoon plain flour
    • 350 ml milk (~ 1 ⅓ cups)
    • 150 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 ½ cups when grated)
    • 4 tablespoon pickled jalapeños, finely chopped
    • Salt
    • Black pepper
    • ~ 5 cherry tomatoes, halved (or 1 large tomato, sliced)
    • To serve: fresh coriander (cilantro) - optional

    Instructions

    • Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and add the diced vegetables. Cook over a medium heat for at least 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the veggies are soft. Add the smoked paprika, chilli powder and cumin, and mix to combine.
    • Spread a generous dollop of refried beans along the centre of a large tortilla, and add about ⅙ of the vegetable mixture. Roll tightly, and place seam-side down in a large baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, beans and vegetables.
    • To make the jalapeño cheese sauce, melt the butter in a small pan, over a fairly low heat. Add the flour, and whisk together to form a paste. Cook for a minute or two, then add the milk a dash at a time, stirring until smooth each time before adding more. When you've added all the milk and the sauce is smooth, add the grated cheese and chopped jalapeños. Mix well until the cheese has melted. Season generously with salt and pepper, and adjust the consistency of the sauce with a dash more milk if required.
    • Pour the jalapeño cheese sauce over the rolled tortillas, and top with halved cherry tomatoes or slices of tomato. Bake at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 30 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Serve with chopped coriander (cilantro) if desired.

    Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.

    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @EasyCheesyVeg or tag #EasyCheesyVegetarian!

    Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for ⅙ of the recipe.

    Got some jalapeños left over? Try making my vegetarian nacho burgers with nacho cheese sauce!

    Vegetarian nacho burgers

    * This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item using these links, I will receive a tiny (tiny!) sum of money, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for the support!

    More Vegetarian Dinner Recipes

    • Slow Cooker Mushroom Stroganoff
    • Vegetarian Chilli Mac (One Pot!)
    • 30 Super Quick Vegetarian Dinners (20 minutes or less!)
    • 60 Vegetarian Winter Warmers
    356 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Christine says

      December 22, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      Made these with vegan cheese to make them vegan. They were AMAZING!!! I'm a little sensitive to spice. If you are too, lay off a bit on the jalapeno.5 stars

      Reply
      • Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says

        January 07, 2022 at 9:35 am

        Thanks for the lovely feedback Christine! Glad you enjoyed them :D

        Reply
    2. Cate Sirstins says

      July 23, 2019 at 12:33 am

      A delicious change from traditional red sauce. I substituted zucchini for carrot and used fresh jalapeño instead of pickled. 5 stars

      Reply
    3. Jane says

      September 08, 2018 at 3:07 pm

      This is the second recipe of yours that I've made and it's just as amazing, if not more so, than the first. This will definitely be made regularly. I used wholemeal tortillas so I could feel slightly less guilty about all the cheese!5 stars

      Reply
      • Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

        September 10, 2018 at 3:24 pm

        Thanks so much Jane! So glad you like my recipes - I hope you'll make many more :)

        Reply
    4. Jacqueline Meldrum says

      March 06, 2017 at 10:02 pm

      I couldn't resist! I shared this for Meat Free Mondays. The roundup is now live. I hope that is ok! Gorgeous dish!5 stars

      Reply
      • Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

        March 07, 2017 at 9:03 am

        Of course it's ok, thank you lovely! Will share now :)

        Reply
    5. Emily | Oat&Sesame says

      March 04, 2017 at 7:50 pm

      That cheesy sauce looks so good! I can imagine it was hard to dig in while taking those photos!5 stars

      Reply
    6. Choclette says

      March 04, 2017 at 6:30 pm

      I can totally see why you're enamoured of this dish. I would be too. The cheese sauce with jalapeños sounds amazing. And who needs novel ingredients anyway?

      Reply
      • Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

        March 07, 2017 at 9:02 am

        Personally I prefer not having to hunt round several shops for my ingredients, so this is definitely more my kind of recipe :)

        Reply
    7. Emily | Oat&Sesame says

      March 04, 2017 at 1:54 am

      I bet it was hard to wait to dig into that! It was a pretty masterpiece though! That cheese sauce looks amazing!5 stars

      Reply
    8. Pretty says

      March 03, 2017 at 1:24 pm

      these look so good, I want to eat them right now. You have inspired me to make more Mexican food, thanks!

      Reply
      • Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

        March 07, 2017 at 8:57 am

        There can never be enough Mexican food imo :D

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Becca! I've been a vegetarian for 20+ years, and unlike most of my other childhood pursuits, I actually stuck with it! I love cooking vegetarian food that's full of flavour, but doesn't take a lot of effort to make.

    More about me →

    As Featured In

    Healthy Recipes

    • Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs with Feta
    • Creamy Mushrooms On Toast
    • Easy Tarka Dal (Vegan Red Lentil Curry)
    • Creamy Cowboy Caviar (with Avocado Dressing)
    • Creamy Three Bean Stew
    • Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Casserole
    • 10 Minute Lemon and Black Pepper Chickpeas
    • Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

    Most Popular

    • Mushroom Bourguignon
    • How to Make Perfect Roast Potatoes
    • How to Cook Halloumi Perfectly
    • How To Fry Gnocchi (and why you should want to!)
    • How to Make a Perfect Baked Potato
    • Mexican Bean and Potato Bake
    • Creamy Vegetable Bake
    • 15 Minute Mushroom Stroganoff

    Hi, I'm Becca! I've been a vegetarian for 20+ years, and unlike most of my other childhood pursuits, I actually stuck with it! I love cooking vegetarian food that's full of flavour, but doesn't take a lot of effort to make.

    More about me →

    As Featured In

    Healthy Recipes

    • 15 Minute Peanut and Sesame Noodles
    • 15 Minute Creamy Pasta Primavera
    • Roasted Vegetable Fattoush
    • Veggie-Packed Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
    • Sweet Potato Curry
    • Slow Cooker Ratatouille
    • Veggie Burrito Bowls
    • 20 Minute Vegetable Stroganoff

    Most Popular

    • Mushroom Bourguignon
    • How to Make Perfect Roast Potatoes
    • How to Cook Halloumi Perfectly
    • How To Fry Gnocchi (and why you should want to!)
    • How to Make a Perfect Baked Potato
    • Mexican Bean and Potato Bake
    • Creamy Vegetable Bake
    • 15 Minute Mushroom Stroganoff

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe for recipes by email

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Easy Cheesy Vegetarian

    356 shares