Hey friends! Whose in the mood for some Mexican food?
Due to my love for beans, avocado, cheese, tomato (salsa!!), rice, and tortillas, I am definitely a Mexican food fan. Cheese & veggie quesadillas are one of my go-to easy dinner ideas when I want to get something on the table fast, and I could eat guacamole probably every day and be a happy camper.
In the past, I haven’t been a big enchilada fan though. I never could pinpoint why I wasn’t crazy about them until somewhat recently, when my hubby and I had dinner at our friends’ house, and they made us some authentic Mexican grub. I really liked the ones that they made, and I realized it was because they weren’t greasy and soggy as they are in restaurants sometimes. Since then I’ve been to a few healthy restaurants and ordered enchiladas, and it seems that I really enjoy them so long as they aren’t all mushy.
A few months ago, I decided that sometime in the near future, I’d make my own enchilada sauce and put together a flavorful but not overly saucy enchilada dish. I had enchiladas in the back of my head for awhile, but the recipe came front and center in my brain when I spotted some banana squash at the grocery store recently. I thought it would make for an interesting twist on regular veggie enchiladas.
But, the recipe was further delayed for a couple of weeks for a plethora of reasons: the sun goes down early and I couldn’t fit cooking in my day early enough, so then I’d lose natural lighting and my recipe pictures suck; I realized that I ran out of cheese one day when I was planning on making them; I forgot to roast the squash ahead of time and was already hungry for dinner; and so on.
One day last week I said DAMN IT IT’S ENCHILADA DINNER DAY! Of course this was in the morning way before dinner time, because that’s how us nutty foodies think. But then, a work project ran later than expected, so I was rushing to get the recipe done and photographed before the natural lighting went bye-bye for the day. And then this happened…
….My THIRD can opener in the last few months broke. I had the same can opener for years, but lately I’ve been on a bad streak (clearly). I basically beat that black bean can open, and it was not a pretty sight. I’m certainly glad that my dog was the only witness to the shenanigans, which included a few f bombs and me almost giving up. At one point a knife flew off my counter and my dog, always close by, jumped out of the way. Sorry puppy!
Anywho, it wound up working out in the end in that the recipe turned out delicious. It didn’t wind up working out in that the sun did go down, so I wound up with less than stellar pictures of the finished product, but this recipe was too good not to share with you guys – right now, because I’m impatient!
To make the enchilada sauce, I did some research around to see how other people make it, and picked some ingredients that I thought would work well: salsa, chili powder, vegetable stock, red onion, garlic powder. I threw it all in a food processor until smooth, and I loved how it came out.
It’s safe to say that my opinion of enchiladas has totally changed. In fact, I can’t wait to make this recipe again!
Black Bean Banana Squash Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1-15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 6 whole wheat tortillas to make this meal gluten free, use corn tortillas instead
- 8 oz shredded cheddar & monterey jack cheese I used a combo but you could always do one or the other if you prefer
- 1 cup banana squash roasted (I just brushed the squash lightly with olive oil and baked until tender beforehand)
- 1/4 red onion minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup cilantro coarsely chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 TBSP olive oil
For the enchilada sauce:
- 1 cup salsa
- 3 TBSP chili powder
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 TSP garlic powder
- 1 TSP salt
- 1/4 red onion roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Warm olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add red onion, red bell pepper, cilantro and jalapeño pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Chop the banana squash into small chunks. Add the black beans and squash to the skillet. Stir to combine, then remove from heat and place in a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, make the enchilada sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Spoon 1/3 of the mixture into the baking dish.
- Add 1/2 of the shredded cheese to the veggie bowl, and stir to combine evenly.
- Place a few spoonfuls of the veggie mixture onto one half of a tortilla. Add a spoonful of enchilada sauce (use about 1/2 of what's left), then roll the tortilla up. Place in the baking dish with the open side down. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
- Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas and around the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the tortillas.
- Cover the dish with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Nutrition
Tell me: Are you an enchilada fan? What’s a food or meal that you recently changed your opinion about? Share a recent kitchen mishap with me!
What a genius way of mixing up a Mexican dish. And you know how much a fan of Mexican food I am haha.
Thanks, Dannii! I try to get creative in the kitchen, which sometimes works out well (like with this recipe!) and other times flops 😉
YUM!! This looks amazing!! I have to try that squash!! 🙂 Seriously! Wow! 🙂
This was my first time eating banana squash – You should definitely keep an eye out for it!
Love banana squash! And now I’m having a hard core Mexican craving… looks fabulous!
Thanks Laura! Now I’m kind of in a Mexican food mood too! Hmm… what’s for dinner tonight?!
I’ve never seen a banana squash before! I’m with you on Mexican! I love it so much! Especially good guacamole. I never used to eat enchiladas until I made them myself and now I love them!
Good guac = heaven. It’s so easy to make too!
I had the exact same saga with enchiladas! I only just recently had one I liked at a restaurant in Dallas, and I’m so glad that I was able to pinpoint what I don’t like, so I can finally enjoy them. I’ve never heard of banana squash, either, so it’ll be fun to try!
Something I’ve always disliked and am now suddenly craving in everything is coconut. I used to avoid it all costs but lately it’s been everywhere, and I find myself seeking it out. Crazy how tastes can just change all of a sudden!
Too funny! Clearly we see eye to eye on enchiladas 🙂
Interesting, see I’m still not into coconut… but who knows, that may change one day! Like you said, it’s crazy how tastebuds can just change on a dime.
Love banana squash! Okay to be honest I love all squash but banana squash is pretty freakin great. And dont worry about the lighting, they still look absolutely fantastic!!
You’re too sweet, thanks Nicole! I love squash too – my favorite is spaghetti!
Not a huge enchilada fan either! But I’m totally open minded to healthier versions 🙂 these look awesome.. I’ve never heard of banana squash! Does it go by any other names? =)
After seeing your comment, I just was Googling it to find out myself! Apparently banana squash grows so big (Topping 100 pounds often!! Say what?!) that grocers often will sell it in oven-ready portions, like the one I bought… so maybe this makes it not so common in grocery stores? Hmm. I had never seen banana squash before a few weeks ago so maybe that’s the case. Keep your eye out for it! 🙂
OHH I must try this banana squash!! YUM.
What?! How have I never heard of banana squash?! I must try this mysterious vegetable.
And yes, you know I’m a major Mexican food lover so I adore enchiladas. I just made some last weekend, in fact!
Yours look amazing! I want to eat all the veggie enchiladas!! 🙂
……I’ve never tried an Enchilada 🙁
Silly Australia. What you’ve created there, regardless, looks delicious.
That should be on your list for the next time you visit the U.S. (especially California or Texas!), or perhaps if you take a trip to Mexico! Haha.
8-16-2018 Yum! Yum! I made these tonight and even my hubby liked it! He likes the restaurant AQUI’S so I thought he would like this. We grew our own banana squash, jalopena peppers and tomatoes. It was a little spicy so next time I might use only 1/2 the pepper. For the salsa we used Hernandez brand which we love. I think this would be great with a cashew-cream-avocado sauce.. The recipe was really easy.