Vegan Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas

This is a vegan version of a similar recipe I prepared in the past. This time I used the vegan cheese sauce I adapted from Jill McKeever's recipe.  It has no nuts but instead uses oats as its base.  It is creamy and as Jill said it can be smeared on anything.  Do top the enchiladas with green onions and also cilantro.  If you have access to corn tortillas, I will use that over the flour ones.  To save time you can resort to using canned enchilada sauce.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Vegan Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas

For the filling:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil or 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-14 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1-14 oz can black beans, drained
• 1 red or yellow pepper, diced
• 5 stalks green onion, sliced and divided (set aside two stalks for topping)
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 6 -8 oz fresh spinach leaves, chopped coarsely
• 10 8-inch medium sized corn or flour tortillas
• 2 cups vegan cheese sauce (recipe below)
• enchilada sauce (recipe below or from a can)
• Nonstick cooking spray
• cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat the vegetable oil or broth in a medium skillet over medium-high heat then lower the heat.  Saute onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add corn, black beans, red pepper, 3 stalks sliced green onions, salt, cumin, oregano, salsa, tomato sauce, vegetable broth and cook till most of the liquid is evaporated.  Add the spinach and continue heating till the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and cool.

Assembly:

Spray a 13 by 9 inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Place 1/3 cup vegetable filling into each tortilla and roll it.  Place each roll in baking dish seam side down.  Top with enchilada sauce and cheese. sauce. Cover with foil and bake in the oven in the middle rack for 20-25 minutes.  Top with green onions and cilantro..

For the enchilada sauce:

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 inch piece chipotle in adobo sauce from a can, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• salt and fresh pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients in a blender and mix till well blended.

Cheese sauce:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp onion flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 of 12 oz jar roasted red pepper in water
•  1-2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 -2 tbsp chopped jalapeno from a bottle
• 2 cups warm water

Using a blender, like VitaMix, with the ability to cook food, blend the ingredients for 5 minutes until the cheese sauce begins to get thick. Once you feel the sides of the blender to get hot and the blender slows down, stop the blender and quickly transfer the sauce in a container that holds at least three cups. The sauce continues to thicken as it cools. Note: You can also mix the ingredients in a blender and then transfer it to a sauce pan. Cook at medium to low heat with stirring until the sauce thickens.