Spanish-Style Creamy Enchiladas

Other Name For This Recipe: *Spanish Vegetarian Enchiladas

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Creamy enchiladas are one of my favorite things. I love the soft texture, gooey cheese, and one of my favorite parts of the best enchiladas is using whole wheat tortillas. They add a delicious, nutty depth of flavor with a nice chewy texture that rounds everything out perfectly. This recipe was created and inspired by the beautiful country of Spain and some of their classic flavors and ingredients—taking a traditional Mexican dish on a little culinary adventure to a new continent, with a fresh take on this saucy, cheesy comfort food.

I was actually sitting in bed thinking about dishes when this idea came together. I always try to think of concepts I want to test out each week—sometimes they’re inspired by places I’ve visited, or places I’d love to visit one day. This week, this recipe is inspired by Spain—specifically Madrid—and the few days I spent in the capital of this culturally rich country. For some reason, I’ve also been learning more about Morocco and digging deeper into their culinary focus on spices, so I naturally took a little hop and skip up to Spain, which is rich in its own unique ingredients. I couldn’t help but mix those influences with a family-favorite Mexican concept: enchiladas.

This recipe is bright and comforting, saucy and cheesy, with a gentle, warm heat and a soft, mellow texture that melts in your mouth. These enchiladas are vegetarian and loaded with fiber to help balance out the fats from the cheese. The romesco sauce is packed with peppers full of antioxidants (with anti-inflammatory properties), fiber, and heart-healthy fats from olive oil and almonds, which also support healthy gut bacteria and digestion. It’s finished with protein-packed cottage cheese, bringing the body what it needs without relying on meat proteins that can sometimes be harder to break down and absorb all the health benefits from.

Like I always say, the best way to eat is balanced. Mixing in vegetable-focused dishes throughout the week helps balance everything you eat, giving you a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients—all in moderation.

Health Notes on These Enchiladas

• Loaded with fiber:
  One of the most important nutrients to focus on is fiber. It helps carbohydrates absorb more slowly into the bloodstream, giving you steady, natural energy throughout the day. Fiber also supports a healthy digestive system and promotes balanced gut bacteria. With slower digestion, your body can absorb more nutrients from every bite of these enchiladas. This recipe includes both soluble and insoluble fiber from the whole wheat tortillas, peppers, almonds, and especially the white beans tucked inside each cheesy smothered tortilla.

• Balanced with vegetables:
  The more vegetables you pack into a recipe, the better. This opens the door to a wider range of vitamins and minerals in a single dish. These enchiladas feature a vegetable-forward sauce made with three types of peppers, each loaded with unique antioxidants that help protect your cells and support your body’s systems with less inflammation. Tomato purée adds brightness and provides immune-supporting vitamin C (yes, tomatoes are technically a fruit—but definitely a culinary vegetable).

• No heavy sauces, butter, or cream:
  These enchiladas aren’t covered in an oily, butter-forward, heavy-cream-based, or roux-thickened sauce. Instead, the sauce is made from whole, nourishing ingredients: peppers, tomatoes, olive oil, sliced almonds, spices, vinegar (with digestion-supporting antibacterial properties), and blood-sugar-friendly low-fat cottage cheese. It’s flavorful, satisfying, and still light and nourishing.

• Still packed with protein:
  You might be wondering how a mostly plant-forward enchilada dish still delivers enough protein—and the answer is beans + cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is made from concentrated milk curds and contains essential amino acids that help build and support muscle structure. Using the low-fat version gives you all that protein all well making it easier to digest than animal meat protein sources. Add in white beans, which provide plant protein plus fiber, and you get a combination that helps your body absorb those amino acids more efficiently—supporting both physical and heart-health goals in a smart, nutrient-dense way.

Best Ingredients for these Enchiladas

• Whole wheat tortillas (my favorite):
  You can use flour or corn tortillas, but whole wheat tortillas are my go-to. They’re “smart” tortillas—higher in fiber, which helps slow the absorption of carbs. They also typically don’t contain added sugars, making them an easy way to reduce daily refined sugar intake. Plus, their richer flavor enhances everything they’re wrapped around.

  *You can also make these enchiladas gluten free - swap tortillas for a gluten free option!

• Low-fat cottage cheese:
  Low-fat cottage cheese provides protein, vitamins A and D, and bone-healthy calcium—without excess saturated fat. It adds creaminess without making the dish heavy or overly rich. Once blended, it melts right into the sauce and you’d never even know it’s there.

• Chihuahua cheese:
  This Mexican-style, melty white cheese is perfect for achieving that gooey, stretchy enchilada texture—while still keeping cheese in moderation. It has a mild flavor and delivers that melt-in-your-mouth satisfaction without overpowering the dish.

• Pimiento peppers:
  These peppers bring a naturally sweet flavor and slightly jammy texture, that adds depth to the romesco sauce. They give the dish a more Spanish-forward feel and help make the recipe both classic and unique.

• Sliced almonds:
  The perfect neutral nut for an authentic romesco sauce. Sliced almonds blend smoothly and create a velvety texture when combined with bell peppers and pimiento peppers—resulting in a sauce that coats and smothers the enchiladas beautifully.

• Tomato purée:
  Tomatoes are a traditional romesco ingredient and add just the right balance of sweetness, acidity, and tang. Tomato purée works especially well with red wine vinegar and provides the benefits of whole tomatoes—their fiber and nutrients—in a smooth, easy-to-blend form.

What to Serve with Spanish-Style Enchiladas

• Spanish-style rice

• Chips & salsa

• Mashed avocados

• Fresh salad with red wine vinaigrette

• Fresh fruit salad

• Roasted broccolini or blistered Padrón peppers

Ingredients:

Enchiladas

• Whole wheat tortillas (or tortillas of choice)

• Chihuahua cheese

• White beans (navy beans), drained and rinsed

• Paprika

• Cayenne pepper

• Romesco sauce

Romesco Sauce

• Green bell pepper, sliced

• Orange bell pepper, sliced

• Olive oil, for drizzling

• Pimiento peppers

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Tomato purée (or tomato sauce)

• Red wine vinegar

• Sliced almonds

• Paprika

• Garlic powder

• Cayenne pepper

• Low-fat cottage cheese

• Salt and pepper, to taste

How to Make These Spanish-Style Enchiladas

Step 1 - Roast the peppers:
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with foil. In a large mixing bowl or zip-top bag, toss the sliced green and orange bell peppers with enough olive oil to lightly coat them. Spread the peppers evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until fork-tender and lightly charred around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5–10 minutes.

Step 2 - Make the romesco sauce:
In a blender, combine the roasted bell peppers, pimiento peppers, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon tomato purée, 1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar, ½ cup sliced almonds, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Blend until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese and blend again until creamy and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, blending briefly to combine everything into one cohesive sauce.

Step 3 - Prepare the baking dish:
Keep the oven at 350°F and lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.

Step 4 - Season the filling:
In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon paprika with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Step 5 - Assemble the enchiladas:
Spread a thin layer of romesco sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish (about ¼ cup). Lay one tortilla on a clean surface and spoon about 2 tablespoons of white beans down the center. Sprinkle lightly with the seasoning mixture, then generously top with 2–3 tablespoons of Chihuahua cheese. Roll the tortilla tightly and place it seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Once all four enchiladas are assembled, pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with ½ to 1 cup of additional Chihuahua cheese. Use as much sauce as you like—I love mine extra saucy, but feel free to adjust. Any leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used for dipping chips, drizzling over grilled chicken, adding to wraps, or tossing into salads.

Step 6 - Bake:
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Switch the oven to broil and lightly brown the cheese to your desired level, watching closely to avoid burning.

Step 7 - Serve:
Remove from the oven and serve warm. Alternatively, let cool, refrigerate, and enjoy within 2–5 days.