Easy to assemble Vegetarian Enchiladas For One! Seasoned vegetables and black beans are sandwiched between corn tortillas and cheese. The ingredients are layered, casserole style in a small baking dish. Topped with salsa and cheese, this wonderful single serving meal can be ready in under 30 minutes.
Enchiladas are one of my favorite meals to make, especially when I’ve had a busy day and want to fix something quick for dinner. These colorful single serving vegetarian enchiladas are filled with vegetables and cheese and are layered, instead of rolled, and baked in a small baking dish.
Why This Recipe Works
- It’s the perfect amount for one person.
- These vegetable enchiladas can be ready in just under 30 minutes!
- This makes an incredibly delicious meal and is so easy to make.
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Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Tortillas: Corn tortillas are more traditional for enchiladas and this is what I use. You may use flour tortillas instead.
- Oil: I use canola oil to gently fry the tortillas before layering them in the baking dish. When sautéeing the zucchini, I use olive oil. I prefer using extra virgin olive oil in this vegetarian enchiladas recipe as well as in every other recipe on One Dish Kitchen that calls for olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil. It is an unrefined oil and the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. Because of the way extra virgin olive oil is made, it retains more true olive taste. It also contains more of the vitamins and minerals found in olives. It's my favorite type of olive oil to use but you may use a lighter olive oil instead.
- Vegetables: I use zucchini but you can use summer squash, eggplant, or another vegetable instead.
- Spices: Just 1/4 teaspoon of cumin adds a tremendous amount of flavor. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Beans: I use canned black beans. See below for ways to use up leftover ingredients.
- Salsa: Use your favorite brand of jarred salsa.
- Cheese: I use Cheddar cheese.
How To Make This Recipe
Cook the vegetables: The quickest way to cook zucchini is in a small skillet with a little oil and a pinch of salt. The zucchini cooks quickly and becomes fork-tender in about 5 minutes.
After the vegetables have cooked, transfer them to a bowl and add a little salsa, black beans and spices.
Assemble the enchilada:
- Spread a layer of salsa on the bottom of a baking dish.
- Top with a corn tortilla
- Add vegetables.
- Top with cheese.
- Add another tortilla.
- Top with vegetables.
- Add more cheese.
- Top with tortilla.
- Cover with salsa.
Bake: Add the remaining cheese, cover and bake for about 20 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Because we love zucchini around here, I like to use one small zucchini in this vegetarian enchilada recipe. You could also use one small yellow squash, a red pepper, or a combination of either. In the photos shown, I used half of a yellow squash and half of a zucchini because I had both in my refrigerator. One small zucchini, when diced or thinly sliced will yield approximately one cup. Try to keep the amount of vegetables you use the same.
- Yellow corn tortillas hold up well in this enchilada recipe. The tortillas must be softened before they are baked. Frying them gently in a little oil greatly enhances the flavor of the tortillas. It also creates a “barrier” on the surface of the tortilla that allows the tortilla to absorb some of the sauce without falling apart.
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Frequently Asked Questions
You certainly don’t need to top your vegetable enchilada with much – it’s absolutely delicious on its own.
But, I happen to love adding sour cream, chopped cilantro, or green onions.
Any of these single serving and small batch recipes would be lovely:
Guacamole
Tortilla Chips
Margarita
For this vegetarian enchilada recipe, I use a 5-inch baking dish which you can find on our store page. This dish holds about 1.5 cups and has an area of 25 square inches. A 4×6-inch dish has an area of 24 square inches and will work as well. For best results, use a dish of similar size. See our FAQ page for additional information on baking dish sizes.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this vegetable enchilada recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Corn tortillas: Enchiladas Verdes
- Canola oil: Apple Fritters, Gumbo, Red Velvet Donuts
- Olive oil: Tuna Salad, Pesto, Broiled Chicken
- Zucchini: Zucchini Lasagne, Zucchini Noodles With Garlic and Shrimp, Broiled Salmon With Roasted Zucchini
- Cumin: Classic Chili, Butter Chicken, Beef Tacos
- Black beans: Turkey Chili, Black Bean Hummus, Breakfast Burritos
- Salsa: Taco Casserole, Baked Tortilla Chips
- Cheddar cheese: Chili Baked Potato, Broccoli Cheese Soup
RELATED: Single Serving Comfort Food Recipes
If you’ve tried these vegetarian enchiladas or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!
Ingredients
- 3 corn tortillas
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small zucchini , diced or thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ cup black beans , rinsed and drained
- ½ cup salsa , divided
- ⅓ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F (177° C)
- Heat canola oil in a 10-inch skillet. Once the oil is hot, place tortillas in the oil one at a time to soften for about 15 to 20 seconds each. Take each tortilla out and reserve on a paper-towel lined plate. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a separate 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, cumin, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring frequently 5 minutes until zucchini is fork tender. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Stir the black beans and 1/4 cup of the salsa into the cooked zucchini.
- To assemble the enchiladas, place about 2 tablespoons of salsa on bottom of a 5-inch baking dish. Place 1 tortilla on top of the sauce. Top with about half of the cooked zucchini and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cheese.
- Place another softened tortilla on top of the zucchini/cheese and top with the remaining zucchini mixture and 2 tablespoons of cheese.
- Place the last tortilla on top, cover with the remaining salsa and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake, covered for 15 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until cheese has melted.
Notes
- Because we love zucchini around here, I like to use one small zucchini in this vegetarian enchilada recipe. You could also use one small yellow squash, a red pepper, or a combination of either. In the photos shown, I used half of a yellow squash and half of a zucchini because I had both in my refrigerator. One small zucchini, when diced or thinly sliced will yield approximately one cup. Try to keep the amount of vegetables you use the same.
- Yellow corn tortillas hold up well in this enchilada recipe. The tortillas must be softened before they are baked. Frying them gently in a little oil greatly enhances the flavor of the tortillas. It also creates a “barrier” on the surface of the tortilla that allows the tortilla to absorb some of the sauce without falling apart.
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.
I haven’t made this yet, but it looks very tasty. I’m trying to figure out which ingredient I can adjust so it won’t have so much sodium (besides not adding the salt). Any suggestions?
Rinsing the beans will remove some of the sodium and I would look for lower sodium cheese such as Swiss or Gruyere which has less sodium than cheddar.
What other size pan (similar size) can I use hard to find your pan
Use any baking dish that comfortably holds the corn tortillas. I use a 5×5-inch dish and also a 4×6 dish. We link to the dishes we use on our bakeware page: https://onedishkitchen.com/bakeware-cooking-for-one-kitchen/
Simple, delicious recipe! I followed the directions as written. I ate half, as it was very filling. I am looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for taking the time to let me know.
I never expected such a simple recipe to make such a flavorful and satisfying dinner. This is definitely going into my regular meal rotation. The chunkier the salsa, the better!
I missed rating this earlier. It is a winner in my books!
Nancy
Thank you, Nancy! I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
I made this as written and it is absolutely delicious! I ate half of it and several days later reheated the remainder in the microwave. It was just as good if not better!
Love this recipe.
Nancy
I didn’t have salsa so I used homemade roasted tomato sauce which worked our well with leftover pepper jack cheese. Great recipe!
I’m confused this recipe states 1/4 cup cheese, the first 2 steps use 2 Tbsp cheese per layer, yet the last step says to add the remaining cheese on top, so wouldn’t the total amount of cheese actually be 1/3 cup or thereabouts, so there is in fact some left for the top layer?
Hi Wendy, Yes – use 1/3 cup of cheese. The recipe has been adjusted to reflect that change. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Yum! Thanks for the tasty and easy recipe. I added some tomatoes. I probably used more cheese than recipe called for. It would kind itself to whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Ugh. Autocorrect. It would LEND itself . . .