Spinach Artichoke Enchiladas
Hearty spinach artichoke enchiladas with a simple homemade red sauce! These lightened-up vegetarian enchiladas will please the whole family.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I’m on a spinach and artichoke kick. I blame the new bar in town that offers an exceptionally tasty spinach-artichoke dip. Tessa and I order it almost every time we meet for happy hour and I daydream about it in between our weekly sessions. It’s more spinach-y than cheesy (how do they pack so much spinach in there?) and has passed for dinner more than once. I can’t get enough of the combination and Tessa can’t either, apparently!
I caught a mention of spinach-artichoke enchiladas on a menu in Austin and didn’t get a chance to try them, so here we are with my homemade version. I based them off memories of the enchiladas my mom makes at home. She is not one to change it up, so her enchiladas consistently feature green chilis, sour cream, flour tortillas and store-bought red sauce. Oh and cheese on top, of course.
I made sure to incorporate all of the above into these lightened-up vegetarian enchiladas, but took it upon myself to create a healthier from-scratch red sauce. I tried spice-based sauce first, followed by tomato-based sauce and finally settled somewhere in between. My recipe is made with common dried spices, tomato paste for some umami-rich tomato flavor, vegetable broth as base and flour to thicken it up.
I’m always doing my best to accommodate my vegan and gluten-free eaters, but we might need to crowdsource this one. Vegan eaters, I tried the enchiladas without cheese and sour cream and thought they were a bit lacking. Maybe you could add some cashew cream inside and top with creamy chopped avocado.
Gluten-free friends, you could substitute corn tortillas for the flour tortillas. Just be sure to warm the tortillas first so they don’t crack when you bend them. I’m stumped on what to thicken the sauce with instead of flour—I tried using 1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot powder in place of the flour, but the sauce didn’t sufficiently thicken up and pooled at the bottom of the pan. Let me know if you find a better solution!
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Spinach Artichoke Enchiladas
Hearty spinach artichoke enchiladas with a simple homemade red sauce! These lightened-up vegetarian enchiladas include black beans, a modest amount of sour cream and some golden cheese on top. Recipe yields 6 large enchiladas. You might as well make a double batch of the sauce and freeze it for later!
Ingredients
Homemade red enchilada sauce (yields 2 cups sauce)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Enchiladas
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small red onion)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 heaping cup drained artichokes (either jarred or defrosted frozen), quartered if necessary
- 1 (4-ounce) can green chilis, drained
- 12 ounces baby spinach, preferably organic
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup sour cream
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Handful chopped cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Before you make the sauce, measure the flour and spices into a small bowl and place your tomato paste near the stove. In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, warm the oil until shimmering (it should be warm enough that the spices sizzle on contact). Pour in the flour and spice mixture. While stirring constantly with a whisk, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute. Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, whisking often, for about five minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will further thicken as it cools.) Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- To make your enchiladas, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the middle position and upper third. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch pan.
- In a large skillet, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender and translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the drained artichokes and green chilis to the skillet, then add a few large handfuls of spinach. Cook, stirring and tossing frequently, until the spinach has wilted. Repeat with remaining spinach. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the pan is no longer wet with excess moisture. Remove from heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the drained black beans and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pour ½ cup enchilada sauce into your prepared pan and tilt it from side to side until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. To assemble your first enchilada, spread ½ cup spinach artichoke mixture down the middle of a tortilla, then snugly wrap the left side over and then the right, to make a wrap. Place it seam side down against the edge of your pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas, leaving the very ends of the enchiladas bare. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the enchiladas.
- Bake, uncovered, on the middle rack for 20 minutes. If the cheese on top isn’t golden enough for your liking, carefully transfer the enchiladas to the upper rack of the oven and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until sufficiently golden and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let the enchiladas cool for 10 minutes (trust me!), then sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and serve.
Notes
Enchilada sauce roughly adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. Enchilada filling based on my spinach artichoke lasagna.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Prepared this for a small ladies night. Making my own enchilada sauce was a delight! And they came together so easy. Absolutely delicious!! Thank you for all you do on this webpage
So glad to hear it! Thank you, Resa!
This was phenomenal. My kids loved it, and my six year old asked if we could have it every night! Bravo!
Hooray! Thank you, Nicole!
We had initially planned on making another of your beautiful enchilada recipes on your site, but returned to this one accidentally… What a delight! Our Friday evening dinners are our favorites, and most often come right from your kitchen. Not sure how you do it- but your recipes always knock our socks off!
Thank you, Emily! Your comment made me smile. :)
Hello! I love checking out your creations but hadn’t made any of your recipes until a couple days ago when I made these spinach artichoke enchiladas. SO great! I had a can of artichoke hearts to use, and this recipe was the perfect solution! :-) When I told my husband about the recipe, he kind of grimaced because it was meat-free and unique, but he ended up giving it a 10/10! I love that you tell your readers to substitute things and make it our own, which I had to do for some ingredients. Like for veggie broth..didn’t have it or any chicken broth..not even bouillon cubes! So I mixed 2 Tbsp soy sauce in a measuring cup and filled water up to the 2 cup line. Easy peasy and it still tasted great! I’ll definitely be trying more from your site!
Thank you, Taylor! Delighted that you two enjoyed the lasagna! Great idea for the veggie broth! Hope you enjoy my other recipes just as much.
I love these!!!!!! We are always looking for new an interesting ways to get veggies into every meal. We like a lot of spice so I amped up the chili flavor, and instead of doing tortillas we made it more like a casserole and put crushed tortilla chips on top. It was devoured in no time at all, thank you for posting such amazing recipes!!!!
Thanks, Alessandra! I love your casserole idea!
This really is a terrific recipe. I don’t eat canned food though because I unfortunately know the contents are cooked in the can which is probably not chemical-free. So I substituted chopped poblanos for the canned chilis which turned out well. I also regularly pick up a large batch of fresh artichokes when they’re on sale and remove all the hearts so this was a great idea for using them. Thanks Kate!
Thank you, Gale! Your extra-fresh version sounds spectacular.
I LOVE these! I made them for my fiancé and myself and we both enjoyed them immensely. Everything about them is perfect! I also made them for a friend of mine who had her first child two weeks ago! She and her husband also LOVED them, and asked for the recipe.
Thank you so much, Jen! Yay! Thanks for sharing the recipe with your friends, too!
Try using masa harina which is what is used to make corn tortillas. I think that will thicken up your sauce.
That’s a great idea. Thank you, Mimi!
Although I am an accomplished home cook and make only healthy food, I think that it is never too late to learn something new. I made these enchiladas last night and they were wonderful. I’m especially thrilled with the sauce. It was divine, and not having to buy anything commercial makes me very happy. Thank you, Kate
Thank you, Christine! Happy to hear that these turned out well for you. That sauce is my new go-to!
Mmmmm, my boyfriend made this dish yesterday and it was de-licious!!
I took a bit with me for lunch and all my colleagues were jaleous ;)
Thank you, we like your recipes a lot!
Thank you, Nel! So glad you two enjoyed it!
These were fantastic! I’m on the cusp of going 100% vegetarian and have been needing a confidence boost in my ability to feed myself and my boyfriend a variety of flavorful delicious foods. These did the trick and then some! Best enchiladas (and confidence boost) ever! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hooray!!! Thank you, Haley! Hope you enjoy my other recipes just as much.
I get my best recipe ideas from meals I’ve had at restaurants and have a ton of fun working on duplicating them. I saw your post over on Google+ for kid-friendly recipes and had to stop by to say how delicious this looks!
Well, YUM. I always figure anything designed to appeal to kids will work for me too, being firmly in the camp of liking non-weird food. Sorry, it’s a by product of being raised in the ’50s. Anyway, this one really appealed.
Well, I’m glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks, Susan!
I made these enchiladas last night, and I really enjoyed them! I’ve never made my own enchilada sauce before, and it was easy to make and turned out well. These are some of the best vegetarian enchiladas I’ve had- so much better than the cheese enchiladas that most restaurants offer. Thanks, Kate!
Thank you, Rachel! :)
WOW!!!! I just made a double batch of these (one for a friend’s family) and they were amazing!! Such perfect pairing of flavors. The sauce had a small kick to it, but not too much. The recipe was easy to follow and quick to prepare. I will definitely be making this part of our regular rotation! Thanks so much!!
Thank you very much, Elizabeth!
This is the closest thing to authentic restaurant-style enchilada sauce I’ve recreated in my kitchen! I’ll never use another recipe from now on; it’s just so good. Thanks!
Woohoo!!! Thank you, Sara!
Made these tonight and not only did I love them but my meat loving husband and two toddlers inhaled them as well. These are truly fantastic and the cinnamon gave the sauce such depth! I will be making these a staple from now on.
Thank you, Amy! Glad to hear it!
This was so delicious. My 17 month old loved it and my husband and I were happy to have leftovers the next night. Going into our dinner rotation!
Hooray! Thanks, Julie!
Hello! I’m really excited to make these enchiladas. One question – I live in the Middle East, and finding fresh spinach can be difficult. If I can’t find it when I make them, can I sub frozen? i.e. thaw it, squeeze it out, and use that instead? What do you think? Also – I brought a can of green chilis, a can of artichokes, and corn tortillas back with me last time I was in the US – with this recipe in mind :) Please let me know about the frozen spinach when you have a moment! Thank you!
Hi Sarah! I’m sorry I didn’t answer sooner. Yes, I think frozen spinach would be fine! Apologies again, and hope it turns out great!
No worries! I only just saw your response, and it’s great timing – I’m making these this coming weekend:) Thanks so much!
Oh good! Enjoy! :)
I made these last night, and they were a hit! I used corn tortillas, and did more of a “casserole” assembly (laid them flat and layered the filling), and the frozen spinach worked great. Such a good recipe – thanks again so much!
Hooray, thanks Sarah!
I just made these enchiladas tonight and my boyfriend was so impressed. They tasted so fresh and delicious. I was unsure about the sauce at first but when it was all paired together it was amazing. Thank you for this recipe! I love artichokes and this is definitely going to be a staple in our house!
Hooray! Thanks for letting me know, Neha!
These were so amazing! Our non-vegetarian friend who has a big appetite was very impressed and full! These will certainly be added to our list of staples. So good.
Thank you, Emily! :)
Dear Kate,
Your recipes are genius !
We tried this one with fresh chopped jalapeños instead of canned green chili,yogurt instead of sour cream,and white corn tortillas with muy sabroso results !!
Thanks!
James
Yay, thanks James! Glad you enjoyed these enchiladas, too.
I never comment on blogs but these were great! Such a quick and easy weeknight meal that was filling and felt healthy. Thank you!
Hooray! Thank you, Lauren!!!
Delicious! I added a little fresh grated nutmeg wih the spinach as well. Seemed to add a depth of flavor to the stuffing.
Ohh, great idea!
This recipe is incredibly delicious. My husband and mother-in-law kept saying how much they loved it after each bite. I didn’t have green chilies so I added one chipotle chili (in adobo sauce) which really pleased the palates of everyone at the table. The sauce – OMG! I didn’t know that you could make such a delicious and robust enchilada sauce without the laborious process of toasting and rehydrating peppers. This recipe is real winner. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you so much, Sierra! Love your addition of chipotle.
I’m another that doesn’t often comment on recipes but I felt compelled to chime in on how delicious these are. I hesitated to make them because prep always takes me way longer than it should and there seemed to be a lot of steps to this, but it was definitely worth it and not difficult at all. I would definitely make these again and recommend them to anyone. I also love your lentil meatballs and sun-dried tomato pesto pasta! Weekly meal-planning is a bit of a struggle between my husband and I having busy and erratic schedules plus always wanting to try new things, but you’ve helped make the process more fun and a little easier. Your site is one of the first I turn to since you post such a great variety and your recipes are consistently delicious, so thank you (and I’m looking forward to your cookbook)!
Thank you, Tammy! So glad to hear you’re enjoying my recipes. Stay tuned for that cookbook! Can’t wait to share!!!
Oh goodness, these are delicious! I was salivating reading the recipe so made them tonight and they are wonderful. What a unique and perfect combo, thanks for sharing Kate!
Thank you, Brittney!
This is absolutely delicious! We love to make this recipe for family and friends too and have doubled the recipe for a crowd.
Looking forward to your cookbook.
Thank you so much, Theresa!
I just made this and it’s TO DIE FOR. I made some small changes, like adding a splash of sauce to the filling and some cheese too. I also swapped the sour cream for Greek yogurt.
SO AMAZING.
Better than our usual chicken enchiladas. This recipe is a KEEPER.
Woohoo, thanks Cassandra!
Made these enchiladas for a family feast the night before Thanksgiving. The gang gathers from out of town, so we have lots of meals to cover. These were a huge hit. I doubled the recipe, and the only changes I made were to mix up flour and whole wheat tortillas, and for the grated cheese on top, I mixed sharp cheddar with pepper jack. Served these with a Mexican rice and your kale salad with green apple, dried cranberries and goat cheese. Wonderful meal. Thank you!
Thank you, Doff! I’m so glad you enjoyed the enchiladas and kale salad. That sounds like a great combo!
Amazing! First time I have made enchilada sauce from scratch and I was amazed how easy and delicious it was! Two thumbs up!
Hooray! Thanks, Mary!
I am a native New Mexican, and these are some of the best enchiladas that I have ever had! I’m sure they will become a staple in our house! Thanks again!
Yessss! Thanks, Madeline!
Just found this recipe … with all these wonderful reviews, I must make these soon! So glad to hear that a cookbook is coming!
Thank you, Louise! I hope you love the enchiladas (and cookbook!).
we loved it!
This looks good enough to make the cut as my second enchilada recipe. I will be trying this, sooner rather than later. I may substitute chard for the spinach.
My current enchilada filling is sweet potatoes, black beans, bell peppers, jack cheese and an egg. Really really good.
Delicious and easy! Just made for dinner tonight. Being vegan, I used homemade vegan sour cream and a vegan cheese and it worked great! My family loved it as evidenced by plates completely cleaned! I will make this again!
Thank you for letting me know, Eugenie! I’m glad your version turned out great!
I made these last night for my husband and nephew. I used corn tortillas instead of whole wheat but everything else was according to the recipe. They were amazing! Everyone loved them. The artichoke hearts and sour cream make the enchiladas very rich tasting. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Oh, this recipe was so, so, so delicious! Spinach! And artichoke! In an enchilada! The lasagna is next…
Your blog is now my go-to spot for finding new & yummy recipes to try! I love your tasty ways with healthy ingredients (& alternate suggestions!) and the fact that I never have to ask someone in the store to help me find one of your ingredients.
Thank you so much for all the inspiration!!
I’ve made these twice now and — foolproof! Absolutely delicious, and the boyfriend agrees! Really flavorful, and definitely going to be a regular on the Meatless Monday roster.
I did have a little trouble stopping the spice/flour from clumping, despite constant whisking… after a little while I erm ended up just grabbing the immersion blender stick thing and that fixed it both times. I also made it without the chilies and all was good.
Love the artichoke/spinach combo. I’m going to have to try the lasagna next! Thanks a bunch!
Thank you, Micha! I’m happy to hear it. I am kinda mystified as to why your flour/spices have been clumping. I haven’t experienced that myself (maybe my small whisk does the trick?). Glad you came up with a solution!
This was n excellent recipe. I had my doubts. We have been doing a meatless month and I am ready to strangle a chicken. But we really enjoyed this entree. I served it with the green rice from another recipe. The enchilada sauce is a little spicy, but once combined in the dish it all balances out.
Oh. My. GOSH!!!! Kate!! You’ve done it again! These are incredible! I gave these a try this evening and I am seriously in love! Even my husband, who isn’t a huge fan of enchiladas enjoyed them and said he would eat them again! Everything just tasted perfect! Thank you!!!
My tortillas all split…so this is now a lasagne. I should stop eating the filling – it is so delicious!
Every time I try to used this site my internet crashes. It only seems to happen with this site – not sure why? Anyways, I’ll try to use my phone to access the recipe because these looks so good!
Very yummy and different than a traditional enchilada. I will definitely be making these again!
I made these last night. Really, really good. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight! I am gluten free so I used softened corn tortillas and for the sauce I replaced the wheat flour with King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. It thickened up nicely.
These are hands down the best vegetarian enchiladas I’ve ever had. And I don’t even like spinach all that much! They were easy to make, no crazy ingredients and came together pretty quickly as well. This recipe will definately become a staple at my house :-)
Thank you for all your hard work creating this delicious recipe and taking such beautiful pictures of it. I appreciate it a ton.
I’ve probably commented before but I just want to let you know that I make this recipe every week! My husband and I love it and it’s so easy to make. Try using the corn/wheat tortillas from Trader Joes…amazing. ;)
Made these for the second time last night. They were as great as I remember. I love being able to make your own sauce. The house smelled so incredible! Thank you for amazing recipes and inspiration! Keep up the good work ☀️
Love and light from Florida
Thank you, Resa! So glad this recipe has been working well for you. :)
I just made these with your new enchilada sauce. SO SO good! I made mine vegan with cashew cream and almond cheese. The filling was just so rich and tasty and the sauce – totally on point. I couldn’t believe how quickly it came together and how spot on it was. Thanks for all your work!
These are stunning! I can’t wait to give them a try. Also, which bar in KC has the spinach dip that you love so much?? I am an addict! :)
Summit Bar and Grill in Waldo! It’s cheap at happy hour. So good!
Awesome!! I have friends that bartend / manage there … I’ve only had cocktails there so far though. Now I have to try it out! :D Thank you!