These delicious sour cream and green chili enchiladas are a family favorite. If you are vegetarian or just trying to add a few meatless meals to your repertoire, give this recipe a try. I’m willing to bet this will become a favorite in your house, too.

Sour Cream and Green Chile Enchiladas

Several years ago we decided to become vegetarian. A friend was struggling with the vegan diet he had been prescribed for his cancer diagnosis (stage 4) so we did this in solidarity with him. We didn’t go vegan but just vegetarian. We ended up doing this for a year and surprisingly, didn’t find it that difficult.

I took on the challenge of finding delicious recipes as well as altering old family favorites.

For many years, one of our favorites was chicken enchiladas made with cream of chicken soup. I’m no fan of canned soups but this was one I still used, for convenience sake.

Our new vegetarian diet required a new approach to this recipe. I experimented a bit and came up with an alternative which is SO MUCH better than the original, even without the chicken. In fact, it’s so flavorful we all agreed we didn’t miss the chicken one little bit.

We are no longer eating a vegetarian diet so theoretically I could put chicken in these enchiladas. But there is honestly no reason to do so. I still like to cook meatless meals fairly often and this one is a keeper.

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Sour Cream Green Chile Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 dozen flour tortillas
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese - softened
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1-2 (4 oz.) cans of diced green chiles
• 1 (16 oz.) jar green enchilada sauce
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt, pepper and Creole seasoning (or cayenne pepper) to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter over medium high heat in large skillet.
3. Add flour and stir constantly a couple of minutes.
4. Add green chiles, undrained, and stir to combine.
5. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper and Creole seasoning to taste (or a pinch of cayenne).
6. Stir and cook one minute.
7. Lower heat to medium and add softened cream cheese, stirring until combined.
8. Add heavy cream, stir to combine and remove from heat.
9. Stir in sour cream.
10. Warm tortillas in microwave or low oven to make more pliable.
11. Pour a few tablespoons of green enchilada sauce in bottom of greased, 9x11 baking dish.
12. In each tortilla, spoon a couple of tablespoons of the sour cream sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.
13. Roll and place seam side down in baking dish.
14. Repeat until all tortillas are filled.
15. Pour any remaining sour cream sauce evenly over the enchiladas.
16. Pour green sauce over, making sure enchiladas are well covered.
17. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and bake until bubbly and the cheese is lightly browned - about 35-40 minutes.

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Even though I’m normally just feeding three, I usually still make the full recipe. The leftovers are still really tasty heated up the next day or two for lunches.

Sometimes, though, I just make half. This picture was from the last time I made them and I just used 6 tortillas (because that’s all I had). Even so, I was able to take half of this dish to my parents and they still had leftovers. These enchiladas are very rich so you won’t need a large portion. Oh, and please excuse my old, chipped baking dish. Just keeping it real, y’all!

This is what you want it to look like after baking. That is, unless you don’t like your cheese to be this browned. I’ve heard some don’t. Personally, I loved it this way.

I often serve these enchiladas with rice, salad, chips and salsa. Or sometimes refried beans. You could serve with a dollop of sour cream on top (calories, be damned!) and maybe a few black olives. For company I would likely do that to dress it up a bit.

This particular night we were eating early and we’d all had late lunches so I skipped the rice.

Do you like enchiladas? If you try this recipe I’d love to hear what you think. Leave me a comment!

Note: I use this brand of organic green enchilada sauce:

However, one of these days I plan to make my own and freeze in recipe-size batches. Here is a recipe that looks good:

Homemade Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

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We all need a repertoire of easy weeknight meals. And since many of us are trying to eat less meat, if some of those meals are vegetarian, even better. My Easy Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas are both easy and meatless. Using canned beans and a jar of enchilada sauce means preparation time is greatly reduced. In less than 45 minutes, 30 of which is baking time, you can have a delicious home-cooked meal on the table that your family will rave about. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

I made these last night and David loved them. In fact, he said that I’ve just about ruined restaurants for him because of my cooking. Wasn’t that sweet? On the other hand…what have I done?! Ha!

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Easy Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• 1/2 cup salsa, divided
• 1 jar (or can) red enchilada sauce (15-16 ounces)
• 6 flour tortillas (warmed enough to soften)
• 16 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• seasoning to taste (garlic powder, salt, pepper, cumin, Creole seasoning)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Over medium high heat cook onion and bell pepper in oil until onions are translucent.
3. Add drained black beans and 1/4 cup of the salsa.
4. Heat through and taste. Season as desired.
5. Pour some of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of baking dish to cover.
6. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of bean mixture in tortilla.
7. Add small handful of cheese.
8. Roll and place in baking dish, seam side down.
9. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
10. Spoon the other 1/4 cup of salsa over and spread evenly.
11. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas making sure to coat the tortillas.
12. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until hot and bubbly - about 30 minutes.
13. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired.
14. Serves 4.

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Last night I just served them with homemade guacamole (I’ll share that recipe soon) and organic tortilla chips. Mexican rice and a salad would be good accompaniments, too.

Ordinarily I prefer cooking black beans from scratch and as soon as I get some room in my freezer I plan to cook a big batch in my Instant Pot and then freeze in 1-2 cup portions. However, sometimes you just need quick and easy. Aldi’s carries organic canned black beans which are exceptionally good. That’s what I used in this recipe.

As for enchilada sauce, again, homemade is best but if a jar of sauce in the pantry means I can get a meal on the table on a busy night when I might otherwise be tempted to have David pick up a pizza, I count that a win.

I buy Sweet Creek enchilada sauce from the Azure Standard coop. I looked to see if Amazon carries it but at the time of this posting, they don’t. You may be able to find it at a health food store. Here is what it looks like:

Now, if you would prefer your enchiladas with meat and have more time, I highly recommend “The Best Ever Enchiladas”. But for a quick weeknight meal and/or a vegetarian version, you can’t go wrong with Easy Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas.

Instant Pot

This post is linked up on Miz Helen’s “Full Plate Thursday”. Check it out! 

I love main dish/starch/vegetable/salad type meals but sometimes you just need a quick, one-dish dinner. Taco Frito Salad to the rescue! You can whip this up in about 15 minutes or less and cleanup is minimal – another plus for busy nights.

It’s also quite versatile. The version here is vegetarian but you could easily add or substitute ground beef or chicken. You can also add or substitute anything else you like on tacos in order to suit your family’s tastes.

I made this last night and we both really enjoyed it. The quantities in this recipe made enough for both of us to have seconds, plus some leftovers for my lunch (that’s why I don’t add the Fritos to the mix so they don’t get soggy).

Taco Frito Salad

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Taco Frito Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 large head of lettuce, washed, dried and torn in bite-size pieces
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tomato, diced (or large handful grape tomatoes, cut in half)
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced (red, green, yellow, or combination)
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2-3 teaspoons taco seasoning (or combo of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup ranch dressing
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
• Fritos

Instructions

1. In large bowl, place drained beans, green onions, bell pepper and taco seasoning. Mix well.
2. Add lettuce, tomato and about 2/3 of the grated cheese. Toss lightly.
3. In small bowl combine sour cream, ranch dressing and salsa.
4. Add dressing to other ingredients and toss to combine well.
5. To serve, place a couple of handfuls of Fritos in bowl or on plate. Add salad and top with grated cheese.
6. Options: Add cooked, seasoned ground beef or cooked chicken in place of beans. May also add sliced black olives, drained green chilies, and/or hot sauce.

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I’ll definitely be adding this one to my list of quick and easy weekday meals!

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These are the beans I use:

Homemade taco seasoning recipe:

My collection of vegetarian recipes:

This post is linked up at Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday. Check out all the delicious recipes!

We have a trip to the beach coming up this summer so I’m upping my exercise and trying to lower my calorie intake. Do you recall that old cabbage soup diet? It’s a seven day diet that has you eat very specific food items each day while also consuming as much cabbage soup as you desire. I’ll leave it to you to decide the merits (or lack) of that diet but there is something to be said for a good bowl of vegetable soup as part of a weight-loss plan.

It’s also handy to have a big pot of soup in the fridge for quick lunches. Plus, I just happen to really like soup!

Here is my version of “Low Calorie Vegetable Soup”:

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Dee’s Low Calorie Vegetable Soup

I made this in my Instant Pot but you can certainly make it in a crockpot or on the stove. I used organic chicken broth because that’s what I happened to have in my pantry but you could easily substitute vegetable broth which would make this recipe vegan. I included some frozen corn when I made it last night because I had a little left in the freezer which I wanted to use up. I purchase 5 pound bags of frozen organic veggies (corn, green beans and peas) from Azure Standard and will be placing an order today. I was out of green beans or I would have included those, as well.

Aside from the cabbage and onion the vegetables you use are up to you. I used yellow squash because that’s what looked best at the store. Zucchini would be a good choice, too. Leeks would be great. Use what you have on hand or what is freshest at the market. This is a very adaptable recipe.

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Low Calorie Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 medium cabbage, chopped
• 3 medium yellow squash, cut in chunks
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut in chunks
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 package frozen spinach (10 ounce)
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• seasonings to taste - I used salt, pepper, garlic powder and Creole seasoning

Instructions

1. If using an Instant Pot, place all ingredients in pot, close lid and the release valve. Use soup setting which cooks for 30 minutes after achieving pressure. When done, release valve. Serve in large soup bowls. May top with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream if desired.

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I’m still learning to use my Instant Pot but I must say I love being able to dump in the ingredients, set the timer and have dinner ready in about half an hour with no stirring. I’m going to try to put at least one Instant Pot recipe per week on my menu throughout the summer, plus one crockpot meal. Both of these appliances help keep the kitchen cooler, especially since I have a vintage stove with minimal insulation!

This recipe was linked on the site “Instant Pot Resources” in an extensive list of healthy recipes. Check it out!