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.
Made these on a recent trip- they were delicious. We did not have flour but we had instant mashed potatoes so used those to thicken. Turned out great! Might be ok for gluten free folks.
This was super yummy! I used kale instead on spinach (since we ran out of spinach), and you’d never know the difference. Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Kate!
Third time I’ve made this and it just keeps getting better. I added a can of corn (not corn season here, sadly) and some green onions to the beans and sour cream. And I used corn tortillas. 505 Green Chile and Chimayo red chile powder from New Mexico work great with this recipe. Fantastic, you are the best! Hi again from New Zealand.
Sue
Hi Kate! I am new to the site and am excited to try your recipes! They look amazing. Question regarding artichoke and spinach enchiladas…did you use marinated artichokes? Thank you!!
I just discovered your blog & it’s amazing. I made this tonight- delicious! We are not vegetarian, but 110% enjoy your recipes. Thank you! Can’t wait to try the spicy sun dried tomato pasta recipe on Friday.
Glad you came across the blog and that you will be trying more! If you would want to leave a star review, that would be great! Let me what you think of the Spicy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta.
Hi Kate, I am making these enchiladas for the third time and realized I haven’t commented on them so far: delicious! I use regular spinach leaves instead of the baby kind (I live in France and get freshly picked, tasty spinach leaves directly from the farmer at the market). The tomato sauce tastes so fresh! My 2 teenage daughters particularly love this recipe. Thanks for providing so much inspiration to our daily cooking!
Thank you, for sharing! I am happy your entire family can enjoy the dish, Nathalie :) If you would want to leave a star review, since you like it so much, I would be grateful!
5 stars, of course!
Thank you, Nathalie!
This looks fab! Planning to make as part of a Mexican themed dinner on Saturday. Question. Has anyone’s tried this minus the black beans? Planning on serving black beans as a side for all. Any input would be appreciated!
You can always add some more artichokes and spinach to make up for missing black beans. Just a thought :) I still think you could serve as it with a side of black beans as the one can in the enchiladas is spread through out. Hope this helps!
I will never buy canned enchilada sauce again!
Love to hear that! Thank you, Cheryl for the comment and review.
My mom and I made this tonight and it was a big hit. So good, we will definitely make it again!
That’s great to hear, Julia! If you would want to leave a star review since you liked it so much, I would appreciate it. Have a great holiday :)
Oops, definitely 5 stars!
I’m going to make these ASAP!!! Sound amazing. I do have a question though…the nutrition facts say they are 480 caledories per 1 enchilada. Is that accurate? I’m not looking for exact numbers or anything. That just caught my eye and seemed rather high for 1. Lol
My nutritional information is an estimate. You can see my disclaimer here for where I get my information. https://capital-fly.pro/nutrition-disclaimer/%3C/a%3E. One is also the serving and is pretty filling! I hope this helps :)
I made this but my family didn’t really care for it much. I was the only one who finished my plate.
I’m sorry to hear that! Was there any particular reasons why they didn’t like it? Combinations, flavors?
We love it. I made it several times, today I’ve tried to substitute an in-season, fresh vegetable for the artichoke (which I usually defrost): opted for parsnip because of the firm texture and rather neutral taste -that was a very good choice !
I love that you try different variations with what’s in season. Thank you, Nathalie!
I made these the other night and they were amazing! I didn’t have any cumin, but it still came out great. I’m going to have to make this again, yum!
Wonderful! Thank you, Giddy for sharing.
these enchiladas were awesome! Thank you so much. We love Mexican food but we like to eat healthy, which can be a conflict. Thanks for this recipe. Can’t wait to try your recipes for butternut squash bowls!
Hooray! I’m happy to hear that Carol. :) Thanks so much for the review.
We are trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our diet this year. So far, this is my absolute favorite! So delicious. I really loved the homemade enchilada sauce. Thank you so much for this recipe and your beautiful blog!
You’ve come to the right place, Amanda! I would welcome your review as you try recipes. Good luck on this journey. :)
It is really delicious and really easy to make. I wasn’t sure about combination of ingredients to start with but once I tasted filling I knew it would be amazing!!!!
Wonderful!! Thank you, Iwona. Thanks so much for the revewi.
Hi Kate,
We made these enchiladas last night and really enjoyed them. My husband is vegan and I am not, so we made all of the enchiladas vegan & used about 1/4 cup coconut cream, the juice of one lemon, and a pinch of salt to imitate the sour cream. It turned out quite well and didn’t taste of coconut at all, which is what we were afraid of.
Since I am not vegan we topped half of them with cheese and left the other half just topped with the regular enchilada sauce. Both of us really enjoyed them! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
For a thicker sauce 2 T tomato paste will never work with 2 cups of water! You’d need to use the whole small can and cook it longer uncovered. Use tomato purée, less water and the paste is optional.
I never heard of using a thickener for a tomato based sauce!
I’d start with 2 C puree, 1 cup water and 1 tsp sugar then your spices (no flour). Taste as you go along; cook about 45 minutes. If too thick then gradually add more water. Good luck!
On a rainy night I had nothing but leftover chicken, spices & tortillas in the house. I found this recipe, and it was simple & fast. And, my husband said they were the best enchiladas he’d ever had & to pleaseee save that recipe. So, thank you
Oh, yay, Jan! I’m so glad to hear you both enjoyed the enchiladas. Thank you for your kind comment and review!
I loved this idea but got a little nervous halfway through making it. turned out to be one of the best things I’ve made in a while! I love love the sauce and can’t wait to make it again when I actually have chiles in the pantry :) oops! my family enjoyed it anyway, even though they were pretty skeptical about the artichokes and always complain about nontraditional dishes – no complaints tonight!
Oh, yay, Cyndil! I’m so happy your family enjoyed the enchiladas. Thank you for the comment and star review!
I forgot to mention that I made this recipe gluten free by using corn tortillas and King Arthur all-purpose gluten-free flour. we also substituted Tofutti better than sour cream. I’ve already made it again this week, this time with a double-batch of sauce!
Hi! I made this recipe tonight with some changes (shitake mushrooms instead of black beans; salsa verde over the top) just because I had those ingredients on hand. The dish turned out great except that the bottom of the enchiladas were soggy and pasty. The top was cooked and crispy because of the exposure to heat. Is there something I can do so that the bottom turns out better?
Hi Maddie! Hmmm, I’m sorry you didn’t love the bottoms of the enchiladas. I wonder if it had to do with your pan. Darker pans and glass pans tend to produce more crispy bottoms. Lightly greasing the pan and placing the enchiladas snugly next to each other should help, too.
Delicious! I made this recipe for 4 adults and 4 kids, and everyone absolutely loved it! We had 1 vegetarian and 1 celiac in the group – it was easy to make gluten free using masa harina in the sauce and using corn tortillas.
Highly recommend this recipe!
Wonderful, Kaitlin!
This is a monthly staple for us. Our first time was Feb 18, 2018, and tonight will be our third recipe. We love this, and we don’t change a thing in the recipe, which is also unique because my spouse is all about the “next time, I think I would…”. Not in this case! Learned after the first round to make a double batch of that wonderful sauce, which makes nights like tonight even easier. Thanks so much.
That’s a win! Happy cooking, Michael. :) Thanks so much for the comment and review!
These are delicious! The sauce is so easy to make, and just as easy to make gluten free with cassava flour. Great for nights when I just don’t have a lot of time to make dinner, but tastes like you’ve spent hours in the kitchen. We use corn tortillas.
I know! That is the best part about this. Quick, but tasty like you spent a lot of time. Thanks for the review, Triva.
Fabulous! So satisfying. I found Artisan corn tortillas (with whole wheat flour) that are the best of both, from Sprouts, that are big enough for this six-enchilada recipe. Used part of the cheese inside with spinach and less on top. I am not a vegetarian but found this filling and lacking nothing! Your comments and directions were helpful and concise!
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad the comments were helpful.
Hi
I’ve made this many times and love it! My mum is celiac and I’d like to make it for her. I have gluten free tortillas and wondering what flour would be best to use in the sauce to make it gluten free?
Many thanks!
Ps I’ve just seen the post above suggesting cassava flour, but I’ve never heard of such flour… any other suggestions? Thanks!
Try Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all purpose. That should work well!
Thank you. It worked well and she loved it :)
I’ve made these before, start-to-finish, and they’re divine! But I’m wondering if you’ve ever made the sauce and enchilada filling ahead of time, then assembled/baked it later? Think you could assemble the entire dish, pouring over the sauce too, and refrigerate during the day before popping it in the oven for dinner? Or would it be better to make the sauce, make the filling, refrigerate, and then assemble just before baking? Appreciate your thoughts!
So delicious and easy to follow recipe.
Thanks, Laura!
I made these the other night and they were outstanding and for some reason even better two days later. I think the sauce is the ticket! Such a beautiful blend of flavors. I have never cooked with artichokes so this was new for me. I love them marinated and remembered how the outer leaves of the heart can still be woody at times so I trimmed off anything that seemed too tough. I live in Mexico and they only had canned or fresh artichoke in my area. I opted for canned but the citric acid they use in the process leaves them with a kind of sour taste. I squeezed them really hard to get out as much moisture as possible. Still had some tough artichoke pieces that I spit out on the first night but surprisingly none on my next meal. Maybe they softened more?? One change I made was that I used Manchego cheese which is so popular here for any dish that requires melted cheese. Delicioso! Thanks for sharing Kate!!
Thank you for your comment, Lin! You’re welcome and I’m glad the met your seal of approval. :)
Hi Kate, id like to try this recipe but what can i substiture sour cream with? Thank u
Hi Liza, the sour cream is a relatively small amount so you could probably omit it without much downside, or replace it with more enchilada sauce. I have a vegan sour cream recipe on the blog, if you’re looking for a dairy-free alternative. If not, Greek yogurt would work.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Normally I always do your recipes exactly as you recommend – you’ve done so much research and they’re always a success – but do you think I could add some sort of mushrooms to this dish? We LOVE mushrooms! If the answer is yes, which mushroom type would you recommend?
I really do like these as is. I’m not sure what to think of mushrooms in this one, to be honest! If you do try it, let me know what you think.
Hey there! I love this recipe & am making it for a friend in exchange for him watching my pup over the holidays. I was wondering if i could freeze it before baking, and then he could throw it in the oven on Xmas day!
Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but I believe other readers have. You can search through the comments to see what has worked for others!
SOOOOO delicious! I didn’t have garlic powder so I subbed for onion powder. I did add two extra garlic cloves. I also didn’t have cinnamon so I just left it out. Still absolutely delicious!!!
Thanks for sharing, Kate!
So yummy! Thank you for this recipe. I moved to the UK and after not finding any enchilada sauce at my local grocer, I found your recipe online. So glad I did – can’t believe I never looked before, this is so much better. My husband actually “licked” his plate – ha!
Cornstarch paste using water thinkens all sauces without a flour taste…FYI. Love your recipes.
Thanks for sharing!
Here in the UK I find all the enchilada recipes I have found so far are nowhere near as good as this one!
I’m so happy to hear you love it, Jen! Thanks for the review.
I loved your recipe!! Thank you!! I am vegan as well as gluten free so I substituted oat flour for the regular flour in the sauce and it was perfect! I also used cashew sour cream and brown rice tortillas! It was a huge hit with everyone here including my teenage daughter!
Thanks for sharing, Mindy!
You’re welcome! You had asked if someone modified for gluten free and the oat flour totally worked!! Thanks for an awesome recipe!!
I made this vegan by eliminating the sour cream and using a slice of monterey jack cheese substitute. The sauce was stellar and spinach and artichokes always go well together. I think I may have made this sauce before on another Cookie and Kate recipe but I’m not sure if it was an exact duplicate. There ended up being some lumps in it, maybe I didn’t whisk it long enough but I didn’t mind :) Either way I don’t like store-bought enchilada sauce.
Thank you for sharing, Heather! I’m happy you were able to make this work so well vegan. I appreciate the review!
Made these enchiladas tonight…. oh my goodness they are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! This enchilada sauce is one of the best I’ve ever had. I was sceptical as I’m used to the homemade red chili variety. The filling is so flavorful! Can’t wait to make these for a family dinner night!
You’re welcome!! I’m happy you loved all of it, Dina.
Great recipe. Is there any way to get the protein, calorie and carbohydrate count for each recipe? Thank you.
I would like an email to answer this question, but NO OTHER EMAILS. Thank you.
Hi Kris, the nutrition information is below the notes section of the recipe. You need to click to expand. Make sure you allow cookies as the information is a plug-in on my site.
Delicious and filling! I also made your Mexican rice to serve with dinner tonight! I used a lot of dishes and utinsils but it was worth it!
I’m happy you thought it was worth it, Kim! Thanks for your review.
Can you make these a day ahead? I’d like to bring them to a sick friend but an afraid they might get too watery?
Thanks!
I believe readers have and it has worked ok. Check the comments to see what they recommend!
This recipe is amazing! Not hard to Make and always a hit with company too. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Mary! Thank you for your review.
These look great! I love the combination of Spinach, Artichokes, and cheese. What’s not to like?
Do you ever flash fry your tortillas before filling them?
Thank you, Alexia! And I don’t.
Kate, can you freeze these assembled and then reheat? Preparing for the birth of my baby and trying to do some freezer-friendly meal-prep. Thanks!
I’m not sure! I believe others have tried it. I would maybe recommend making and then freezing once cooled, but I can’t say for sure. I recommend searching the comments. Congratulations!
This recipe is amazing! Very forgiving if you want to add or subtract veg ingredients. But whatever you do, you must make the enchilada sauce! It is ridiculously good. My family gobbled up every bite, even with my substitution— I discovered I was out of chili powder and used smoked paprika instead. It was lick- the-bowl good. Thanks, Kathryne!
You’re welcome, Karen!
Easy and delicious! One of my dinner staples.
Great to hear! Thanks for your review, Maddie!
I made these last night with corn tortillas and a mixture of spinach and mushrooms. I liked them but if I make them again I will not put in artichokes because the ones I used were very fibrous and I could not chew them. I was not sure if I was supposed to add marinated ones or regular ones, as the recipe does not specify. The marinated ones might have been softer but I opted for the regular ones and then had the fibrous issue. The sauce was fantastic and so much better than the canned stuff.
Oh no! That’s not ideal. I’m sorry you didn’t love these, but I appreciate the feedback.
Holy CRAP THESE WERE SO DELICIOUS. The only addition we will make next time is potatoes. :)
Ha, I’m glad you think so Taylre!