Someone emailed me recently and said that they use white beans in place of chicken in recipes and I was like, “Wait, whoa, why haven’t I done that?” I use black beans and lentils in place of beef all the time, but for some reason it never occurred to me to use white beans in place of chicken. Well, today I tried it with these Spinach White Bean Enchiladas and it was AWESOME. (And yes, you can totally replace the white beans with about 1.5 cups of cooked chopped chicken for a meat version, if you prefer).
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What Kind of Tortillas Should I Use?
Corn tortillas are best for enchiladas because they have a great toasty corn flavor, and hold up well to the sauce. To get the most flavor out of your corn tortillas, don’t forget to toast them first! This enhances the flavor and makes them a little stronger. You can toast the tortillas over an open flame, or in a dry skillet (see the step by step photos below the recipe).
The Enchilada Filling
The filling for these enchiladas is super simple, with just some chopped spinach, white beans, creamy pepper jack, salt, pepper, and cumin. But thanks to all those colorful flecks of crushed peppers in the pepper jack, they’re not lacking in flavor. If you prefer, you can add some chopped chicken to or in place of the white beans in this recipe.
The Enchilada Sauce
Just to make sure these enchiladas were top notch, I drenched the them in a super rich pepper jack sauce. The sauce is creamy, cheesy, a little tangy, a little spicy, and a LOT delicious. I’m absolutely loving these creamy white enchiladas!
Enchilada Toppings
I topped my enchiladas with a handful of chopped cilantro, but if you don’t like cilantro, green onions also go well. If you happen to find avocados on sale, I think adding a few slices to the top of these enchiladas would be amazing.
What to Serve with Enchiladas
These Spinach and White Bean Enchiladas would go awesome with: Cilantro Lime Rice, Easy Taco Rice, Warm Corn and Avocado Salad, or Cumin Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
Spinach White Bean Enchiladas
Servings 4 3 enchiladas eachIngredients
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas ($1.10)
- 4 oz pepper jack cheese ($1.00)
- 1/2 lb frozen chopped spinach ($0.85)
- 15 oz can white beans* ($1.00)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- Handful fresh chopped cilantro for garnish (optional) ($0.13)
PEPPER JACK SAUCE
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.14)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 4 oz cream cheese ($1.00)
- 3/4 cup whole milk ($0.29)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 4 oz pepper jack cheese ($1.00)
Instructions
- Toast the tortillas on each side in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until they are a slightly stiff and have browned just a bit on the edges. Stack them on a plate until ready to use. Toasting the tortillas increases the flavor and helps prevent them from cracking. Shred an 8oz. block of pepper jack cheese. Half will be used for the enchilada filling and half will be used for the sauce.
- Defrost the frozen spinach in a microwave or take it out of the freezer before beginning to allow it time to defrost naturally. Squeeze as much moisture out of the thawed spinach as possible. Place the spinach in a large bowl. Rinse and drain the white beans, then add them to the bowl with the spinach. Also add 4oz. of the shredded cheese, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and a little freshly cracked pepper. Stir until the mixture is evenly combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Begin preparing the pepper jack sauce by adding the butter and minced garlic to a small sauce pot. Sauté the garlic in the butter for one minute over medium heat. Add the milk and cream cheese to the pot. Stir and heat until the cream cheese has fully melted into the milk and the mixture has thickened slightly. Season with salt. Begin adding the remaining shredded pepper jack, a handful at a time, and stirring it in until fully melted before adding more. Once all the cheese has been melted into the sauce, turn the heat off and allow it to cool slightly.
- Coat the inside of a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Begin filling the toasted tortillas with the spinach and white bean mixture and rolling them closed. Line up the filled tortillas in the casserole dish, seam sides facing down. Choose a casserole dish that fits 12 of the rolled enchiladas snugly to help keep them from unrolling.
- Once the tortillas are filled and in the casserole dish, pour the pepper jack sauce over top. Bake the enchiladas in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the edges of the tortillas are brown and the pepper jack sauce is thick and browned on the edges. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over top, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make White Bean Enchiladas – Step by Step Photos
Begin by slightly toasting 12 6-inch corn tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toasting gives them a nuttier flavor and helps strengthen them a bit so they aren’t as likely to crack when rolled. You want to toast them just until they’re a little more stiff, but still pliable enough to roll. Stack them on a plate as they come out of the skillet and set them aside.
Shred an entire 8oz. block of pepper jack cheese. Half will be used in the filling of the enchiladas and half will be used for the sauce.
Thaw 1/2 lb. of frozen spinach (microwave or let sit at room temperature). I suggest getting “cut spinach” or “chopped spinach” so that you don’t have long strings of spinach leaves in your enchiladas. Once thawed, squeeze out as much water as possible from the spinach and place it in a large bowl. Rinse and drain one 15oz. can white beans and add them to the bowl along with 4oz. of the shredded cheese, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
Stir the mixture until everything is evenly mixed. Set the mixture aside.
Begin preheating the oven to 350ºF. To start the pepper jack sauce, add 1 Tbsp butter and one minced clove of garlic to a small sauce pot. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium heat for one minute to soften it up.
Add 3/4 cup whole milk and 4oz. cream cheese to the pot. Stir or whisk until the cream cheese melts into the milk and thickens it slightly. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt.
Once the cream cheese has melted in, begin adding the remaining 4oz. of shredded pepper jack, one handful at a time. Whisk in each handful until it is fully melted before adding more. Once all the cheese has been incorporated into the sauce, turn the heat off and let the sauce cool slightly while you assemble the enchiladas.
Begin filling the tortillas with the spinach and white bean mixture, rolling them up, and then placing them in a casserole dish coated with non-stick spray. I had enough filling for 12 enchiladas, but I chose a dish that was slightly too small, so I only made 10 (if you have leftover filling, you can make quick quesadillas with it in a skillet!). Make sure your enchiladas are in the dish with the seams facing down and that they fit snuggly together.
Pour the pepper jack sauce over the enchiladas. I like to pour it down the center and let some of the tortillas stay exposed on the sides. This gets them extra toasty and delicious.
Finally, bake the enchiladas in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the tortillas are brown and crispy on the edges and the pepper jack sauce has thickened and browned around the edges. Top the enchiladas with chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired.
Creamy heaven!
Dig in!
This recipe has great flavor!
Made this but also made the green enchilada sauce from your chicken enchiladas. Put a layer of that sauce on the bottom and then about 1/4 over top before adding the white sauce. So good!
Definitely going to double the filling and add more seasoning next time as it was a bit bland and not enough for 12 and I plan to bake for only 10-15 minutes as this came out so crispy at 35 minutes it was hard to eat and less enjoyable in my experience. Which was a bummer because i hand made my flour tortillas and they were so soft and amazing before i baked.
Flavor was great and love the simplicity of the filling. Also like idea of toasting the tortillas, it helped them stay together. I will double the cheese sauce next time, not enough for 12 tortillas.
Made these and swapped the white beans for black beans and added the liquid from a jar of pickled jalapenos to the sauce. It was fantastic!
WOW!!! I used fresh spinach and flour tortillas. This recipe was amazing!!!! I never take the time to review anything but this one was worth it. Its a new staple in our house. Will be making it again soon!!
I made these again and added a little of a homemade green enchilada sauce on the bottom, then added the pepperjack cheese sauce on top of that, then added the rolled tortillas on top. I also added a can of green chilis into the filling. I did double the pepperjack cheese sauce recipe since i wanted more sauce on top and was able to make a baby batch to freeze. To save carbs, we used low carb tortilla wraps from Target or Mission Tortilla. Great recipe, thank you.
Great recipe. I used low carb flour tortillas as I’m just not a fan of corn tortillas and didn’t bother to toast them. I think next time, I will put some sauce at the bottom of the pan as I am not a huge fan of the tortillas getting crispy on the bottom. The white sauce was amazing, would be a great nacho cheese sauce!
Could I leave the team cheese out of the sauce? My husband isn’t a fan.
Hi Danie, the cheese is an emulsifier and helps bring the sauce together and thicken it. You can try subbing it with 1/3 cup heavy cream, but we cannot guarantee the results as we haven’t tested the sauce with cream. XOXO -Monti
These were fantastic! Followed the recipe as written. Toasting the tortillas takes a long time, but it is a necessary step. May pull out my griddle next time to do multiple at a time.
WOW. An easy, low-cost, delicious recipe that’s only been in my rotation for 1 month— I’ve made it THREE TIMES. So good!
I love enchiladas but I’m too lazy to cook meat AND toast tortillas AND make a sauce AND assemble them. The yummy filling for these cuts out so much prep time and isn’t super messy when assembling. I may try it with other sauces in my repertoire to see how it works as a vegetarian substitute in other enchilada recipes.
Can these be frozen? Making them tonight but we will have leftovers because it is only 2 of us.
Yes. Cover enchiladas tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze up to 3 months. XOXO -Monti
Wowwww this was so good. We are trying to eat less meat and I’d happily eat these enchiladas over chicken-based enchiladas any day. The flavor combination was perfect. The only thing I changed was to use 10x 8inch flour tortillas instead of 12x 6inch corn, because flour was what I had on hand, and I used 10oz fresh spinach wilted in a pan rather than frozen. I will definitely make this again!
You guys, this recipe is a keeper! My husband, seven year old, and 3 year old all cleaned their plates!
After reading through a bunch of comments, I decided to double the sauce. I also used mixla tortillas (half corn/half flour). It was really good but I honestly think the extra sauce was unnecessary and it would’ve have been even better with just corn tortillas.
So I’m looking forward to making this recipe again but following the instructions next time! I know it will be even better!
I made this recipe again, just as it is written without modifications and I liked it even more! My husband, 7 year old, and 3 year old loved it and went back for seconds. My sister doesn’t like cooked spinach so she wasn’t sure about the recipe but gave it a 10/10 review!
Seriously, this is one you want to try!
Another winner! Thanks, Beth…I doubled the spinach ’cause that’s how I roll :-) otherwise followed recipe –delicious.
These turned out great! Topped with some of my favorite hot sauce and paired up with your slow cooker chicken tortilla soup. Perfect meal!
Since some people said this needed a little extra moisture and flavor, I added a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies, used the whole 8 oz block of cream cheese, and didn’t measure the amount of pepper jack I used. The whole family loved it! I also used pinto beans I cooked instead of canned white beans, but I doubt that makes much of a difference. Thank you for the enchilada recipes on this site. They’re really fun to riff off of!
I am wondering what 1 serving means? Is that one enchilada?
The recipe makes 12 enchiladas and there are four servings, so it would be three enchiladas per serving. I’ll edit that in the recipe card to be more clear! :)
I agree with others, it is lacking in flavor and was really dry! I will make this again, but will add more cream cheese and a jar of salsa verde to the sauce and A LOT more cumin.
While this recipe was a good base, it definitely needs a little more flavor and heat. I thought all the pepper jack cheese would be flavorful enough. I sautéed onions and garlic before cooking fresh spinach (12 oz raw). I added lots of salt, pepper and cumin to the filling plus a small can of diced green chilies. Also added a can of black beans to the white beans. I made 1 1/2 times the sauce and just layered corn tortillas (thick ones from Trader Joe’s) with sauce and filling in 9X13 casserole dish. Next time I will sauté a jalapeño with the onion and add way more cumin and other Mexican seasonings to the filling. My daughter and I added jarred Hatch Valley green salsa also from Trader Joe’s to our servings. I will probably add a jar of this to the filling next time.
Great recipe! Next time I will probably double the sauce recipe so I can put some in the pan before placing the enchiladas. Looking forward to the leftovers!
Thought I was going in a different direction and had green chili enchilada sauce on hand so substituted for the milk everything else the same absolutely delicious thank you!
Made these last night and they were so good! I used skim milk and neufchatel because that’s what I had on hand at home. This will be going in a regular rotation!
Variety is the spice of life. I appreciate when other people offer up their take on a recipe. Thanks to all of those that have shared ! Love cooking, great site for inspiration!
I made this last night, and it was very delicious and satisfying! My fiance especially loved it. He probably would have inhaled the entire casserole dish if I had let him! We both really liked the sauce. We have been trying to eat more plant based meals, and your website has made it easy! Thank you
I love this recipe and how easy these freeze. I use 6 sheets of foil as dividers between and under the enchiladas (so the pan looks like this from the side: -UUUUUU-), two per sheet of foil. Spray some Pam, place the enchiladas, and pour the cream sauce over each section. When they’re done, eat your servings, let the rest cool, then roll up the foil around each pair and freeze in a plastic bag. They reheat beautifully, although I try to let them thaw in the fridge first of I can remember.
I made this recipe exactly as is the first time, which was pretty good. The second time, I made the sauce only and used your (Non) Refried Beans as the filling with the leftover half block of pepperjack shredded inside as well. They are the best enchiladas I have ever made, hands down. My boyfriend and I are fighting over the leftovers lol. This sauce deserves its own post!
Also, I’ve found that I need to cover the entire bottom of the pan with the sauce as well (not just the top). I leave only the outer edges of the tortillas uncovered, otherwise they’re way too chewy.
I made this a few weeks ago and ended up having to use pinto beans instead of white because that’s all I had, also did fresh spinach. The sauce-WOW!!! The dish turned out amazing, it disappeared quickly 😀 This will definitely go into my regular rotation!
I made this recipe for the first time tonight, and it was excellent. My 16 month old niece approved it as well. I was worried the pepper jack may be a little hot for her, but the cream cheese really tones it down so it is absolutely kid friendly. For adults you may want to spice it up a bit more if that is your thing, but I thought it was great as is. I did use flour tortillas instead of corn because I prefer the flavor, and they did not get soggy at all with the sauce! Overall, these were filling, easy to make, quick, and super cheap. Will be adding to our rotation. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve made this recipe countless times and it is always so so satisfying! I use fresh spinach instead of frozen and I try to make a pico de gallo, with spicy serranos, to top them with, it adds a nice spicy kick to the enchiladas. Thanks for your amazing recipes Beth! This recipe, along with the hearty black bean quesadillas are a staple in my heart + kitchen.
Does this recipe keep in the freezer well or no? Wondering if it’d work for meal prepping. Thanks!
Yes it would do great!
These were amazingly good! I cooked my white beans from dry in an instant pot in stock with bay leaves, onion, and garlic and used 2 cups drained in place of the canned beans. I think this is our favorite recipe from your site I’ve made! We’re not full time vegetarians, but your recipes make it so easy and good to go meat free half the time. Thank you!
Wanted to try this but didn’t have pepper jack cheese so made with a Mexican blend cheese combo. To give it some heat, I added some scotch bonnet hot sauce to the sauce. I had some fresh spinach I needed to use so subbed that and cooked in the micro with some veg. Broth for a minute. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh man scotch bonnet you’re brave! Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night as written and it was quite good. I really liked the fact that the tortillas weren’t overly drenched in sauce and came out crispy on the ends. Next time I may bump up the heat a bit by adding a dash of cayenne pepper to the sauce, but overall this is an excellent quick and easy recipe I’ll make many times again. Thanks for sharing!
We support adding more heat if that’s your style! Happy to hear you enjoyed it.
This recipe is FABULOUS. I doubled the Sauce. The cream cheese is the key to the sauce. I used fat-free. Made 12 . Didn’t last long. Yum-Yum! Thanks for a keeper recipe darling!
Best Regards,
Michael W.
Thanks Michael!
This is my absolute favorite recipe! We eat it at least twice a month. I serve it with finely chopped tomatoes on top and some Cholula.
Excellent recipe! I used chicken instead of beans and added green enchilada sauce to the stuffing mix to give it moisture. I would probably make with flour tortillas next time. Corn are tastier but a pain to work with.
Thanks for your review of a totally different recipe. Why do people feel the need to alter a recipe and then leave a “review” of it. Keep it to yourself. Your review offers no help in deciding if someone wants to try a recipe.
Tina made one substitution that Beth even suggested in the description of the recipe (chicken instead of beans) and added one ingredient. That is not such a huge alteration that she made a “totally different recipe”, and since chicken is drier than canned beans I think the addition of the enchilada sauce is actually a very helpful suggestion.
Let me start by saying I love your blog and cook almost exclusively from it. This one just didn’t work. The prep time is way off from 15 minutes. Just toasting all 12 tortillas takes up 12 minutes! You still have to make the filling, make the sauce and stuff the enchiladas. I’m pretty experienced in the kitchen and move quickly, this was time consuming. The flavor of the enchiladas was great, but incredibly dry. I only cooked them for 30 minutes and they were very tough. I’m definitely not a fan of using corn tortillas anymore. Flour would have held up much better. The sauce was delicious, I could have eaten that right out of the pan! Overall though, this was a lot of work, for something I had to throw out.
OMG, made this tonight and haven’t eaten the enchiladas yet but THE SAUCE IS SO DENG GOOD!!! Is there a way to make the sauce less fatty though lol?
I’ve made this a few times and always add a lot of diced mushrooms, onion, and garlic sauted. It is still vegetarian but he mushrooms add a great texture that I felt this was missing with just the beans. I also use fresh spinach because that’s what we have on hand. Really delicious, thank you!
They were very good, but could barely taste the pepper jack.. The second time I made them, instead of cream cheese I used 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Spicy Pepper Jack flavor and that did the trick!
Love this recipe as a template for (not red) enchiladas, as the red sauce / tomato based versions often gives me heartburn. I use any shredded and melt able cheese I have on hand. I have used frozen spinach or shredded zuchini as the veggie. I use beans or chicken as the protein. I add half a can diced green chiles to the inside mix and half a can to the cheese sauce and it’s the perfect amount of spice for us. My partner raved that these were the best enchiladas he’s ever had. Making them today for our anniversary. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
My husband and I tried this tonight and this is our new favorite recipe on this site! So good!! I used fresh spinach instead of frozen because it was what we had and it worked just fine! We will definitely add this to our rotation.
This was a great meal that I almost didn’t make because I thought we wouldn’t like it. I used fresh, finely chopped spinach and I didn’t have pepper jack so I just used mozzarella & mild cheddar + added 1/8 – 1/4 tsp of rosemary and a couple tablespoons of finely chopped jalapeño (pickled, not fresh). Sauce still turned out great!
Could the sauce be made with almond milk?
I haven’t tried it, but I suspect almond milk would not be thick or creamy enough to provide a similar result.
I have made it with almond milk and it came out normal- thick, creamy, and flavorful!
If I wanted to make this with flour tortillas instead of corn, would I need to change anything other than skipping the toasting step?
Nope. :)
It was soooo amazing. Ended up adding a can of green chiles and onions in the tortilla as well as pouring enchilada sauce on top of the jack cheese sauce. I could drink the jack cheese sauce.
Cracking up right now. I was so confused why I didn’t have enough sauce and filling for the tortillas… turned out I had 12” tortillas not 6”! Oops!
Still tasted amazing, even if it wasn’t completely full LOL
Added one small can of chopped green chiles to the filling mix and it was NEXT LEVEL. Husband approved 👍🏻👍🏻
I was JUST thinking when I try this I’ll have to add green chiles. Yum, yum!
Can you make this in advance?
Thanks
I enjoyed the leftovers of this dish, but the texture does change with refrigeration because the tortillas get soft.
I LOVE this recipe! The white sauce is amazing! However, reheated the spinach tastes pretty funky. Do you have any recommendations for an alternative veggie or veggies that would work better for leftovers?
Hmm, I’ve never experienced a strange flavor with spinach as leftovers, so I’m not sure what vegetable might not produce the same result.
Oh my god – this is so good!
Made it for the first time today – it’s going on high rotation!
* I cheated a bit – added shredded roast chook and sautéed mushies to the bean mix – it’s a cracker of a combination!
I love your website! I have found so many wonderful recipes on here!
I found this while looking for a vegetarian lunch option and had two pounds of spinach in my freezer, so I doubled everything and used a combination of black beans and chickpeas for the filling. The cheese sauce is AMAZING! I will be eating these for days and I’m very happy about that! Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe countless times and the whole family loves it! I’m not sure if it changes the flavor at all, but I find it a lot easier to broil (on low) the tortillas for about 45 sec to 1 min on each side – you can do all 12 at once! Then just pull them out and stack them on a plate until you’re ready to stuff.
Great tip!!
I only have fresh spinach. Do you recommend wilting it first? Also, do you think lentils could be substituted for the beans? Apparently I’m out of everything!
Yes, definitely sauté the spinach first to remove some of the moisture. You could use lentils, but I think white beans are much better suited for this recipe because of their creamy texture and milder flavor. I imagine lentils to be a bit too earthy tasting for this.
Delicious!! Everyone took leftovers home with them. Adding it to our rotation!
These turned out delicious. I had pan sizing issues so I ended up with 9 in a 10×7 and the last 3 in a 5×7.
I felt I had a lot of sauce so I’m surprised to hear people doubling it. I threw the extra sauce on some pasta for my 1.5 year old. Was a hit.
I also used Monterey Jack cheese instead in case my toddler decided to try them. They still had great flavor for me and weren’t too spicy for her.
Regretting not buying more cheese this week so I can make them a second time!
This is a great recipe! I used monterey jack cheese and added canned green chilis to mine. Even the non vegetarians loved it! Definitely will make again. :)
I don’t have an oblong casserole dish. Would I want to use 9×9 or 9×13 pan? Thanks!
A 9×9 might work best.
Thanks Beth!
Thank you Beth. I am glad to hear of an alternative to fried tortillas. I use your red enchilada sauce recipe not as often as I would like because I dread the frying in oil and cleaning of oil. Thanks for the tip.
So good! I added adobo chiles to the enchilada mixture for an extra spicy kick. Thanks for sharing :)
Another new favorite from Budget Bytes! I made this with two minor changes: (1) flour tortillas instead of corn since that’s what I already had on hand, and (2) added minced green pepper to the filling since I had a partial pepper to use up. SO. GOOD. I really can’t thank you enough for showing me how easy it is to make my own queso. This dish easily replaces our local Mexican restaurant; it’s hands down cheaper, healthier, and more delicious. Thank you!!
If I leave the sauce off….. do you think these would freeze well? I would then make the sauce fresh on the night I plan to serve. Any feedback?
I’m not sure the corn tortillas would survive freezing and thawing without cracking open.
What great flavor! I found this recipe while searching g for budget meatless meals on Pintrest… The flavors were amazing, and I definitely plan on making this for my family again! I served it with a version of Mexican Street Corn. My dish did turn out really dry, and I’m wondering where I went wrong… I followed the recipe to the tee if I’m not mistaken, and am wondering if you could advise! I’m wondering if doubling the sauce may help… It’s just dry… Thanks for any feedback!
Hmm, it’s hard to pinpoint without having watched you make it, but I think doubling the sauce would be my first attempt at fixing that issue.
Hi Mary! One tip to combat dryness is after you warm the tortillas in the skillet dip them in the sauce, so that both sides of the tortilla is coated, then fill them. I find this helps to keep the tortilla from not drying out while baking but also doesn’t get soggy.
BTW, loved this recipe!
Delicious. I appreciate you so much! The cheese sauce was amazing. I doubled the cheese sauce recipe (everything except for the cheese because I forgot to buy extra) and it was so good. Also, I used fresh spinach, about 8 oz, and these turned out great. They were too spicy for my 2.5 year old.
This is one of my favorite recipes. I leave the sauce off for my 2 & 4 year olds and they just eat it like a taco (I let them bake for 15ish min). They love them and I love that they love them!
Love all your recipes I’ve tried! This is another winner! My husband is super picky and I wasn’t sure he was going to be in to this one, but yet again – he kept going back for more! He was also noding his head up and down saying “Umhum,” throughout the meal. Made me feel great. Thanks so much for helpibg me please my picky hubby!
I accidentally got plain Monterey Jack cheese, so I just added a small can of diced jalapenos to the cheese. It was great that way. Only thing I’ll do differntly next time is make a double batch of the cheese sauce. Delicious!
These were delicious!! Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe!
I made these tonight and the only change I made was to add some chopped green onions to the pepper jack sauce. These were outstanding!
These were fantastic! I made my own corn tortillas with masa flour since I had it. My kids ate them all!
How many calories for this dish?
I don’t have that information, but in my FAQs I have some links to online nutrition calculators that people often use. I don’t trust them enough to publish the numbers.
These were really great! Hubby was highly skeptical but said they were definitely a repeater. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used Mixla tortillas. They are 1/2 corn, 1/2 flour tortillas – they taste like corn but roll like flour so the rolling process was super easy. May add some green chilies next time for a little kick.
Can I use skim milk instead of whole milk for the sauce? or will the consistency be off?
I wouldn’t suggest it.
As usual these were really good. Only change I made was I added a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Added the perfect vinegar-y spicy kick! Everything went well with toasting the tortillas (though it took more time than anticipated) and the cheese sauce was just decadent. Can’t wait to try these again!
This is my absolute favorite meal! They are so easy to switch up with whatever I have on hand like peppers, onions, corn etc. I always found cheese sauces intimidating but this is so quick and easy! I’ve made this 3 times since discovering your site a few months ago. Love it!
We had an abundance of fresh kale so we used it rather than spinach. We also had a few mushrooms that we added to the kale mixture. And, because we didn’t feel like rolling the tortillas we made it lasagne style and covered it with foil while baking. The results were delicious! This is definitely a “Keeper” !!
Forgot to mention, we give this 5 stars!
This looks delicious, but since I’m not a huge fan of rolling enchiladas (they always crack!) , I’m going to do an enchilada casserole!
Tasted great. Only problem I had was ‘toasting’ the tortillas too long. Then they become impossible to roll, and we had spinach white bean lasagna with pepper jack sauce.
Hi there! This looks so fabulous and I plan to make tomorrow for a holiday brunch. If I want to prep ahead of time and bake just before everyone is ready to eat, can I freeze this at some point of the recipe? When do you recommend that I do that? Once all enchiladas have been stuffed and placed in the dish, but before the sauce goes on?
Hmm, I’m not sure if the corn tortillas will hold up to freezing and thawing without cracking. It’s tough to say without testing it first.
your recipes look awesome, and your step by step pictures are super helpful!
Made these exactly as the recipe states and they were awesome! My husband was skeptical with no meat but LOVED them. Even my 10 year old gobbled these up after a minor temper tantrum about having enchiladas for dinner. They were a little spicy for her so she added sour cream oin top of hers. I used my homemade beans instead of canned but that was the only change. This will be a regular in our house!
Really good! Next time (and there will definitely be a next time), I will only bake for 20-25 minutes. The tortillas got too hard, the sauce in the pan burned, and the sauce on enchiladas was no longer creamy. The family enjoyed it, though! Lots of flavor, and very little time (or money) to make.
These were really good! My fiancé and I both liked them (I’m a vegetarian, but he’s not). I brought leftovers for lunch, and they were delicious. I managed to burn the cheese sauce into a semi-solid mass…sounds/looked unfortunate but still tasted good!
This is only the second recipe I’ve tried from this website, but I love the way you get maximum flavor out of minimal ingredients. This recipe is SO good!
I used ground beef as the filler, simply because I was running behind and it was the only thing I had thawed and my husband would lose his mind if the meal was meatless 🙄 I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t personally give a review, but my husband and son ate the entire dish tonight- so I’d say it was 5 star😂
This is delicious and easy to make. I’ve made this several times for my vegetarian family. I think it’s my husband’s favorite meal😋
My family super loves this! And I have found I can make this in a lot of substitution situations. I ran out of beans and used bird’s eye protein mix (california style).
For the cheese sauce.. to make it a little lighter.. I add Verde salsa in place of milk. It gives it a spicy kick!
Salsa Verde, what a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Beth!
I took your recipe and made a few changes. I replaced the white beans with grilled chicken (chopped) and added a bit of sour cream. I also had fresh local spinach, so I used that rather than the frozen. Turned out great! Thank you for the inspiration !
These are so good! I was nervous about toasting the corn tortillas, but everything turned out great! An easy and delicious recipe.
I ended up being too lazy to make the sauce and used a can of green chile enchilada sauce and topped it with melted pepper jack. I also added some southwest chipotle seasoning to the filling. 5 stars! Maybe next time I’ll actually make the sauce lol
One pound dried navy beans plus 2 tsp salt 1 tablespoon cooking oil 30 minutes in pressure cooker on high yields 8 cups of beans, 1.75 cups to a can and 30 cents versus 79 cents for the canned variety. I’ll report back with how the navy beans taste.
Navy beans tasted good. Now I’m off to make navy bean oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from the us dry bean council website.
These were delicious! I used mozarella instead of pepper jack because I had difficulty locating it in my supermarket (Australia) and just some wheat white wrap bread
I had frozen instead of tortillas so it seems like a flexible dish!
Chicken or refried beans wouldn’t go astray either. Yum!
These were so good. I will used shredded chicken when I make them for my boyfriend. But I loved the white beans and I had plenty left over to take to work.
Can these be made ahead and frozen?
I don’t think the pepperjack sauce will hold up to freezing and I’m not sure if freezing would cause the tortillas to crack (they can be finicky).
I froze them and wrapped them individually in wax paper and heavy duty foil. They were great! I used flour tortilla though, not corn.
I made this recipe exactly as stated. My family and I all thought it tasted bland. I added a dollop of salsa on top of each enchilada. It helped a little. Does anyone have any suggestions to add flavor ?
You can season the enchiladas to suit your taste buds.
This was absolutely fantastic! Used Cabot habanero jack cheese and it was perfectly spicy. I’ve always had the problem of disintegrating tortillas anytime I’ve made enchiladas when I’ve used other methods of prepping the tortillas–this is the first method that’s actually worked for me! Thanks. Great dinner and yummy leftovers for lunches.
I made this tonight for an early Mother’s Day dinner. Delicious! I added a little chipotle for some smokey heat. And served it with you Warm Corn and Avocado Salad. My mom loved it.
I really like the flavors in this recipe. The white beans and the spinach was a great combination, and I love love love white cheese! The first time I made this my husband and I thought it was dry, so I tried something the second time that we LOVED.
I didn’t make the cheese sauce. Instead, I put the cream cheese in with the filling, and made them the same, otherwise. Then I topped them off with a red enchilada sauce. It was perfect for what we were after and we’ll be making it again and again. Thanks!
These were really great. The cheese sauce really clinched it! It soaked in and made the tortillas nice and soft but not soggy. Thought I’d maybe add some sort of meat next time, since my husband has to have it at every meal. *groan*
These are delicious!!! We added 2 chopped up chicken breasts to the recipe and used flour tortillas instead of corn (my husband has a corn allergy). We also had half of an avocado on hand so we put a few slices on top. One of my favorite budget bytes recipes.
I made this tonight! It was a fair amount of work, can’t see it being a weeknight dinner, but it was very good. And that sauce! Why don’t they sell pepper jack shredded in the enormous bags I buy cheddar and mozzarella?!
I was wondering how you would suggest making this spicier for those of us who love to eat hot foods! I was thinking possibly mixing green chilies in with the filling, but I have no idea how that would work with the other flavors.
That’s what I was going to suggest! I think green chiles would do great. You could also add a pinch of red pepper flakes or even dice up a jalapeño and toss that into the mix.
These were super yummy and easy to make! The flavor was good alone, and I did add a little bit of green habanero hot sauce once they were done, and that was even better. I had these with a small side salad with homemade lime vinaigrette andnit was a good balance. Yum!
I don’t usually care for corn tortillas but tried it as written and it was yum-o-licious! Thanks for another great recipe.
Great recipe! This got a thumbs up from my meat loving hubby and my 17 month old. I mostly used Monterey Jack because of the baby and it was delicious!
I had issues with the tortillas not rolling and after the first two cracked badly, I changed tactics and I made a layered enchilada pie instead. Worked great and I think I prefer this instead of individual enchiladas because it’s faster to assemble. Next time I will add a bit of the sauce in each layer.
These reheated well too!
I just made these, and they were delicious! Everyone loved them. However, my pepper jack sauce soaked into the tortillas. I did not heat the tortillas in the pan first, time was starting to get away from me, do you think this could be the reason? Otherwise, this recipe was killer! Love your blog, thanks for all the great meal ideas! Dinner was getting really boring around here until I found it :).
Hmm, I’m not sure why that might have happened. It might be something about that particular brand?
Good point. I will switch brands next time and toast the tortillas, like you originally posted. Either way, this one is going on rotation! :) Thanks again!
Another stellar recipe Beth!! We had this for dinner tonight, and it was so, so good! We drink almond milk, so I didn’t have any whole milk in the fridge. Instead, I used a quarter cup of canned coconut milk (full fat, not lite) and half a cup of almond milk. It didn’t taste like coconut at all, and made the sauce nice and thick! I also added half a bag of frozen roasted corn to the filing to bulk it up a little.
The corn is a great idea! I think I’ll try that next time I make this. And there WILL be a next time :)
Do you think these would hold up if they were made the day before? Or if you freeze them? Trying to get in a meal prep routine and these look delicious!
Thanks!
I enjoyed the leftovers quite a bit. The tortillas do get a little soft in the refrigerator, but it was still delicious! I’m not sure how well it will hold up to freezing, though. They might get a tad dry.
Good to know, thank you!! Still looking forward to trying this.
This looks great! My wife and I only keep skim milk in the house – do you think that would be fine in the sauce, or would you recommend any adjustments if using skim milk?
Hmm, adding an extra tablespoon or two of butter might help, but I’m not sure if the sauce will get quite as smooth and creamy with skim.
I uses shredded zucchini in enchiladas instead of chicken. It is so good! And really great in the summer when you have a lot of zucchini. :)
Beth, there can be a little (OK, a lot) of pushback in our house over corn tortillas. Would flour tortillas work in this recipe or would they not hold up as an enchilada? I am making it one way or another, because this is a great vegetarian recipe for us!
I often make enchiladas with flour tortillas, they hold up just fine, but you loose out on that unique corn tortilla flavor.
Same here, and yes, flour tortillas would work fine. The yield will probably be fewer enchiladas as they’re bigger in size.
I’ve made Beth’s other enchiladas with flour tortillas because I had them around and they worked great, so I assume these would too!
They work, but they do get kind of soft. I used to really enjoy the texture of flour tortillas when doused with sauced and baked, but now I prefer corn. So I think it’s jut a matter of preference. :)
Love your recipes! Quick question – you frequently use frozen spinach in lieu of fresh spinach. If we only had fresh spinach on hand, how would we properly incorporate the spinach/spices/beans, and how much would we need? Thank you!
You definitely need to sauté it down until it’s wilted (in a skillet with a splash of oil and it should wilt fairly quickly). For this one after I had squeezed out all the moisture it was about one cup tightly packed.
This recipe sounds delicious!
Do you think it would be alright to use fresh spinach?
Yes, but you definitely need to sauté it down to remove the moisture first. This was about one cup tightly packed after I squeezed out all the moisture.
Never thought to use white beans in enchiladas – genius! Definitely going to be trying that trick out…
Wow. The sauce alone is heaven! (I love me some pepperjack!) Thank you, thank you, thank you!
YES!! I think it’d be great as a pasta sauce, a dip for tortilla chips, or who am I kidding, to eat with a spoon right out of the pan.
OMG I need to make a list of all the things I want to put this sauce on!
Made this last night for meatless Monday, it was very good. Wish it had a bit more of a kick in the spice department so I would recommend pairing the occasional bite with a dash of hot sauce.. I used a tomato based habanero hot sauce that paired nicely :)
Wonderful site. Plenty of helpful info here. I am sending it to some pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And naturally, thanks in your sweat!
That sauce looks killer!! I’m thinking no one would miss the chicken in this dish with all those flavors!
OMG. I’ve got make this recipe, but will have to increase the servings to six for left overs. :-)
This looks like an incredibly delicious must try!
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Roughly how much of the white bean and spinach mixture should go into each tortilla? Between 2 tablespoons and a quarter cup?
About a quarter cup.
Thanks for the clarification. Beth. I evidently overfilled my enchiladas and had and extra tortilla but that was okay because my dish was full! Next time I’ll taquito-style roll them and maybe they’ll all fit.
how would you use fresh spinach instead of frozen??
You need to sauté it down until it is fully wilted and then squeeze out all the moisture. You’ll need about one cup, packed, once all the moisture is out.
Yum! These look delicious. And I love that there’s beans as the filling instead of beef.
What can be substituted for spinach, or can I just add another can of beans? Thanks.
I’m thinking chopped up bell pepper would work nicely.
I’ve got this in the oven now and completely forgot to pick up spinach at the store so I threw in some frozen corn, because it was there.
I’m drooling over that Pepper Jack sauce. I love that you have the step by step directions in picture format so I can see the play by play of that Pepper Jack sauce being poured lol ;)
Great job on those enchiladas! I have never taken the time to successfully make them with corn tortillas and always end up doing a cheater version with flour. These look amazing!