We make zero claims as to the authenticity of this dish, but we do know that it's extremely tasty! We love how the tortillas get soft and chewy during cooking, absorbing some of the salsa and providing the perfect vehicle for lots of oozy cheese. This is one of our go-to meals when we're out of ideas, and it always hits the spot.
We also like that this is a classic dump-and-cook crock pot recipe. It only requires you to mix the filling and roll the tortillas before plugging in the cooker and walking away. Perfect for when we don't want to dirty a lot of dishes or deal with an extra step of pre-cooking vegetables.
Serves 4-6
1/2 yellow onion, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, diced small (any color)
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cheese, shredded and divided - we like monterey jack
2 16-ounce jars of your favorite salsa
12 6"-8" tortillas, flour or corn
Optional: 1 cup leftover meat - chicken, pork, hamburger, or shredded beef
In a medium bowl, mix together the onion, pepper, black beans, corn, spices, meat (if using), and just 1/2 cup of the cheese. Pour about a cup of salsa (half a jar) into the bottom of the slow cooker and spread it around evenly.
Scoop about 1/3 cup into one of the tortillas, roll it up, and nestle it into the bottom of the crock pot. Repeat with the half of the remaining filling, rolling tortillas until the entire bottom of of the crock pot is filled. Spread another cup of salsa over this layer and sprinkle it with another 1/2 cup of cheese.
Continue with the remaining filling and tortillas to create a second layer. Top with another cup of salsa, but reserve the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese for later. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-4 hours. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the leftover cheese over the top and let it melt.
Serve the enchiladas with the remaining salsa. Leftovers will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Additional Notes:
• You can cook the enchiladas for longer (6-8 hours on LOW), but we found that the tortillas in the middle start to get mushy while the ones touching the sides of the cooker get crispy. Still tasty, though!
• To cook these enchiladas in the oven, layer the rolled tortillas in a 9x13 baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese, and bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes.
• We haven't tried it, but we so reason why this recipe couldn't be doubled if your slow cooker is big enough. Just continue creating layers in the slow cooker and bake as usual.
Related: Seeking Suggestions: Ways to Use Up Leftover Tortillas
(Images: Emma Christensen)
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Comments (41)
Slow cooker on high or low?
That's great!
Quick question: do the onions soften in that time, or are they still crunchy? I really hate crunchy onions in my cooked food, so I'm trying to figure out whether I should saute them a bit before all the adding and mixing to ensure softness...
Yeh, I'm with sagekitten85, high or low setting on the slow cooker???
I would guess it's 2 hours on High and 4 hours on Low. I'm still wondering whether those onions cooked down enough...
It's 2-4 hours on HIGH (on my slow cooker, 4 hours is a HIGH setting).
I didn't cook the onions beforehand and honestly didn't notice any crunchiness. If you like really soft onions, though, I'd saute them in a little olive oil until translucent and then add them to the mix.
oh my gosh, yum! i am making these soon!
Is one 16oz can of black beans really enough if you dont want to add meat? Doesn't seem like it would be enough filling for 12 shells.
I often use my big Dutch oven for slow cooker recipes (we just don't have the storage space for another kitchen gadget)...What settings would you recommend if I wanted to do this on the stove top? Sounds yummy!
I think you could do in the dutch oven in the oven at 250 for 2 or so hours or 300 for an 1 hour or so hours and achieve the same effect.
Great idea. I am always trying to think of something besides pot roast that I can make in my crockpot.
@Smasher - I felt like one can of beans was enough for 12 tortillas once you mix all the ingredients together (you're only putting 1/3 cup in each tortilla, after all). But you can always round things out with another cup of veggies or another can of beans. The amounts here are totally flexible - just keep rolling until you're out of filling!
Ditto on Cherrybomb's oven method. I'm afraid the bottom might burn on the stove top, but maybe it would be ok on the very lowest setting or maybe on a simmer plate?
We absolutely love mexican food ....Can somebody give me reciepe for authentic red mole and green mole sauce which is vegetarian?
Great, oven it is. Thanks!
Archie - Check back tomorrow! I have a post rounding up a few different moles on deck. And I'm pretty sure the mole sauces themselves are all vegetarian!
Fantastic- I've been craving enchiladas, and looking for more slow cooker recipes, so thanks!
I'm totally making these this weekend, with Hatch green chili sauce, chicken, and poblano peppers.
you lost me on the canned beans. love beans, especially black beans. hate canned food.
I made these this weekend using the Oven method. They turned out great!! I didn't add a full can of beans, but did add some shredded chicken breast I had after making stock.
I sauted the onions, peppers, a chopped tomato and zucchini (instead of corn) before mixing with the beans, chicken, salsa and cheese.
It baked for about 40 minutes and was absolutely DELICIOUS!
SO easy too! great recipe! Can't wait to try it in the slow cooker.
I made these yesterday and they were UNREAL! So incredible...thanks for the recipe.
I made these tonight (in the oven) and they were superb! I made a couple of small changes. I blogged about it here:
http://deeskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/09/easy-vegetarian-enchiladas.html
Regarding beans: I cook a great big huge pot of beans at one time, cool them and bag them in smaller portions. Then I freeze them. When I need beans, I just grab a bag out of the freezer. If I think ahead far enough, they thaw in the fridge. If not, they can be cooked frozen in many recipes, or defrosted in microwave or cooktop on low. If on cooktop, you might want to add a little water, then drain when heated through, like you do for corn or green beans. I too, don't buy canned food hardly at all and am always trying to figure out ways to avoid them, yet still have some convenience.
Anyone ever tried Celebrating Home Bean Pots? They are like a crockpot...without the cord! Bakes in half the time of a crockpot! Also microwavable and dishwasher safe making dinnertime quicker and cleanup a snap.
Just have to share, these Bean Pots are clay and naturally thermal...keeps hot food hot up to 3 hours...or desserts and salads cold up to 3 hours!
What exactly is the benefit to the slow cooker? In case we want to eat later?
YUMM! Totally into crockpot meals now & this is perfect.
These were delicious, but very mushy! When I tried to spoon them out of the slow cooker, some fell apart.
Although they looked messy, they were still very good. I served them with some sour cream. They were a bit too spicy for my taste, so I'll add less chili powder next time!
Here's a secret for making your tortillas nice and soft to roll - wrap them in a paper towel and put them in the microwave for 30 seconds. That's how the mexican ladies do it!
These are fantastic--the BF is a vegetarian, so I'm slowly compiling a list of good recipes that suit him and that I (as a decidedly non-vegetarian) still lke. These were perfect! Served with sour cream, and added several spoonfuls of chipotle and adobe puree to the filling (we both like extra-spicy). Great recipe!
This recipe is awesome, and will probably be a staple in our house from now on =)
We used the oven and Ms. Renfro's jalepeno green salsa. Its super spicy, but VERY YUMMY.
As a tip, I had to microwave each tortilla for 10 seconds in order for them to fold without breaking.
kevstephb - really useful comment. thanks for sharing the knowledge!
For those who have made these did you use flour or corn tortillas? The corn is what I typically use for enchiladas, but it seems like they would get all mushy.
@RueLaLa, the "mexican ladies" actually cook them in oil first on the stove. :)
@RueLaLa, I'm Mexican and I've never heard of that. In aunthentic enchiladas you should lightly fry corn tortillas on the stove.
And we never, ever use flour tortillas for enchiladas.
Yep, definitely making this tonight for dinner. Don't need to buy a single ingredient...unless I wanted meat.
I second thelwcole's question: What is the benefit to cooking this in a slow cooker? It seems like it would turn out better (less prone to mushiness) in the oven. I find myself asking this question with most slow cooker recipes.
@ENGINEERGIRL: The only benefit I can see here is that the slow cooker won't heat up the kitchen as an oven would. 'Course, in the winter, the oven heat might be a plus!
Fwiw, I became a slow cooker semi-pro when we coached 2 kids in 2 sports who each had 2 practices & 2 games each week. (It was either that or we all starved). As to your comment: " I find myself asking this question with most slow cooker recipes." Really it depends on your lifestyle & preferences. For years, we drove straight from work to a practice or game and it was a lifesaver to come home to a meal that was ready to plate.
And now that we're empty-nesters, I find it blissfull to arrive home after a long day at work to find dinner DONE already! It's much less stressful for me to toss a few ingredients in the crock for tomorrow as I clean tonight's dishes than it is to come home & face preparing an entire balanced meal. I can do it at my leisure, stick the crock in the fridge & pop it in the base on my way out the door in the morning.
It's all about CONVENIENCE. If you've got the time and you don't mind heating up the kitchen, sometimes the oven is the best choice.
Hope this answers your questions.
I am trying to learn to use our (hand me down) slow-cooker in the hopes that we can heat up our un-AC'd kitchen this summer. In this spirit, we made these with ingredients we had in the freezer and pantry, and they were super tasty. Yay!
Thank you for the recipe! I made these for my family last night. They were a big hit!
I made these in the slow cooker, and they were really mushy. I'm making them in the oven tonight, so we will see.
Update: they were much better in the oven. However, overall, I was a little disappointed.
As @discerning stated, this recipe is about CONVENIENCE. I had all of the ingredients on hand, except for the salsa, when I decided to try this as a possible new Lenten recipe. I used a couple of cans of prepared hot enchilada sauce that I had in my pantry, instead. My own opinion, these did come out rather mushy, as others noted. But on the plus side, they were actually very tasty and made for a great reheat/leftover! Yum!