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    Vegetarian Enchilada Skillet

    January 23, 2024

    Healthy, and easy, our one-pan vegetarian enchilada skillet recipe brims with fresh squash and mushrooms. Finished with plenty of cheese, it’s a weeknight crowd-pleaser.

    Homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet topped with cheese, cilantro and lime wedges in a skillet on the counter

    Our Mostly-Healthy, Fast, Veggie-Loaded Enchilada Skillet Recipe is Here to Save Dinnertime!

    If you’re not sure what an enchilada skillet is, think of it as kind of like a deconstructed enchilada. An enchilada skillet is everything you love about enchiladas-—cheesy, saucey, bubbling hot goodness—but made in a single skillet for ultimate ease. If you have a skillet that can go from the stovetop to the oven, this is it’s time to shine! But if you don’t, you can still make this recipe easily. When it’s time to move from the stove top to the oven, just carefully transfer the enchilada-ish mixture from the skillet to a baking dish—no biggie. If you love this enchilada skillet put our Vegetarian Tortilla Soup next up on your to try list!

    Olive oil, vegetables, Taco seasoning, green chilies, enchilada sauce, Corn tortillas, and Cheese in bowls on the counter

    What’s In This Enchilada Skillet Recipe?

    One pan, a few fresh things and a few canned things, plus cheese equal a speedy, delicious skillet dinner that your family will gobble up in no time!

    • Olive oil

    • Zucchini

    • Yellow squash (aka summer squash)

    • Yellow onion

    • Taco seasoning

    • Mushrooms

    • Canned green chilies

    • Red enchilada sauce

    • Corn tortillas

    • Cheese

    sliced zucchini and yellow squash sprinkled with taco seasoning in a glass bowl on the counter
    sliced zucchini and yellow squash seasoned with taco seasoning being fried in a skillet
    cooked zucchini and yellow squash in a skillet with mushrooms and onion
    zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and onions being cooked in olive oil in a skillet

    How To Make Our Easy Cheesy Enchilada Skillet

    One skillet and a tiny bit of prep, enchilada skillets are dinner time magic. They’re speedy, cheesy and pretty darn healthy, too!

    1. Sauté the zucchini and summer squash until every piece is golden brown and a bit firm. Don’t rush this—you want to get a lot of the moisture out of the zucchini so that the final enchilada skillet isn’t overly soupy. Set them aside!

    2. Sauté the onions and mushrooms.

    3. Stir in all of the delicious seasonings—taco seasoning, enchilada sauce and green chilies.

    4. Bring the mixture to a boil, add the tortillas and simmer for a couple of minutes.

    5. Kill the heat, stir in the squash, top the whole enchilada skillet with cheese and bake it!

    6. When the cheese is bubbling and everything looks just TOO GOOD, pull it out and serve! Sour cream on the side is basically a must.

    cooked vegetables in a skillet with taco seasoning, green chilies and enchilada sauce for vegetarian enchilada skillet
    cooked vegetables in a skillet with taco seasoning, green chilies and enchilada sauce for vegetarian enchilada skillet
    cooked vegetables, taco seasoning, green chilies, enchilada sauce and cut up corn tortillas in a skillet
    cooked vegetables, taco seasoning, green chilies, enchilada sauce and cut up corn tortillas stirred together in a skillet

    Make It Dairy-Free and Vegan!

    This easy, speedy vegetarian enchilada skillet has cheese and sour cream, because those things rock. But, if you don’t do dairy or are trying to stick with a totally vegan diet, it’s super easy to make this recipe work for you. There are a few options to make this into a vegan enchilada skillet. You can either:

    • Use plant-based substitutes for the cheese and sour cream. If you haven’t bought vegan cheese or vegan sour cream lately, give it another try! There are more and more options on the market and some of them are really darn good dupes for the real thing.

    • Just leave them out! With all those veggies—the zucchini and onion and meaty mushrooms—this enchilada is not lacking in flavor or texture. We love cheese, so we’d miss it a little, but honestly it’s still going to be quite delicious without it.

    homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet made with zucchini, squash mushrooms and onions in a skillet
    homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet topped with shredded cheese ready to be baked in the oven
    homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet topped with melted cheese just out of the oven
    homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet topped with melted cheese, cilantro and lime wedges in a skillet on the counter

    Tools You’ll Need:

    More Easy Skillet Dinner Recipes to Try

    These one-pan dinner recipes are our weeknight faves. Give them a spin!

    Homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet topped with melted cheese, cilantro and lime wedges in a skillet on the counter
    Homemade vegetarian enchilada skillet topped with melted cheese, cilantro and lime wedges in a skillet on the counter

    Meatless Monday, Or Anytime!

    Whether you’re someone who takes brief jaunts into vegetarianism, or you’re a committed herbivore, we hope this enchilada skillet recipe hits the spot! When you make it, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

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    Vegetarian Enchilada Skillet Recipe

    Updated January 23, 2024

    • Serves:  6
    • Prep Time:  15 min
    • Cook Time:  50 min
    • Calories:  272
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    Ingredients

    • 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
    • 2 medium zucchini, 1/2-inch sliced
    • 1 yellow squash, 1/2-inch sliced
    • 1 small yellow onion, diced
    • 2 Tbsp taco seasoning, homemade or store bought
    • 8 oz cremini or white button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
    • 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies, mild
    • 1 (15-19 oz) can red enchilada sauce, mild
    • 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1.5x 3 inch strips
    • 1 1/4 cups shredded, Mexican-style four-cheese blend
    • sour cream, optional
    • cilantro leaves, optional

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

    2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat.

    3. In a large bowl, toss the zucchinis and yellow squash together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the taco seasoning until fully coated. Add the zucchini and squash in a single layer to the pan, cook until golden brown on both sides (the zucchini will continue to cook in the oven, so it doesn’t need to fully cook through here, you want it to retain a little firmness). Turn the heat up if they are browning too slowly, about 3-4 minutes total. This might take 2 batches to cook all the zucchini. Move the browned zucchini onto a plate. Deglaze the pan with a little water or stock if the zucchini is sticking or the seasoning starts to burn.

    4. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the onions and the mushrooms. Cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes.

    5. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of taco seasoning, green chilies and enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low, add the tortilla strips and cook, stirring until soft, about 2 minutes. Separate the tortillas as best as you can.

    6. Remove from heat. Stir in the cooked zucchini and yellow squash. Spread the mixture out as evenly as you can in the skillet.

    7. Top with cheese and bake on the center rack for 25 minutes.

    8. Top with cilantro and serve family style, with sour cream if desired.

    Notes:

    • While cooking the zucchini you can go between medium and medium-high heat. Turn the heat up if the zucchini isn’t browning, but turn it down if you see signs of burning.

    • Deglaze the pan as needed with water, but use just 1-2 tablespoons at a time.

    • If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, you can transfer everything to a 9x13 pan before adding the cheese and baking it.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 272
    • Protein 10 g
    • Carbohydrates 26 g
    • Total Fat 13 g
    • Dietary Fiber 4 g
    • Cholesterol 17 mg
    • Sodium 712 mg
    • Total Sugars 5 g

    Vegetarian Enchilada Skillet

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • PARTHAVI

      Is there any other substitute for Mushroom?

      Whatever vegetable you like you could replace it with. Hope you enjoy!

    • Ashley

      This looks amazing but I'm allergic to mushrooms. Think eggplant would be a decent substitute? Or just more of the other veggies? Would love to hear if you have any additional suggestions. I've been loving your recipes! Everyone of them has been a huge hit. <3

      Eggplant or more of the other veggies would work fine! Hope you enjoy!

    • Tamara

      Tried this out tonight and it was delicious! 2 questions, though: 1) do you include the canned juice that comes with the green chilies or are you supposed to drain? I didn’t know, so I sort of half-drained and included some of the juice. 2) It took me forever to brown the zucchini and yellow squash (at least 5 batches) — maybe I sliced them too thinly or maybe it just takes me forever to do everything, which is a definite possibility, but was wondering if you ever oven-roast or think oven roasting the squashes would be good to save time and then add them later as indicated in the recipe. My only hesitation with that is that I’ve tried that on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and they expel a lot of water. Thanks!!!

      1. You can include the juice that is in the green chilies. 2. You perhaps sliced them too thin, they should be about a 1/2 inch. Try slicing them thicker next time and perhaps using a larger skillet.We like a 12 inch skillet for this recipe. Hope this helps!

    • Taylar

      I’m in love with this recipe! I’ve made this so many times and every time it comes out so good and I get endless compliments!

      Thanks Taylar, we are so happy you love it!

    • Emily

      Earlier this week I made the beef birria recipe from this site and had quite a bit leftover as the roast was larger than what the recipe called for. I ended up making this enchilada skillet and threw in some of the leftover meat as well as sauce from the birria in lieu of one can of enchilada sauce. The skillet was flavorful and hearty and got two thumbs up from my husband. Will definitely be making this again, with or without meat!

      Thanks Emily! So happy you both loved it! Love to hear you improvised with left overs as well, that sounds delicious!

    • Colleen

      Outstanding. Browned thick slices of zucchini in a cast iron first. When they were added back in to the skillet, we layered then on the very top and covered with cheese. Broiled the last minute. They stayed al dente and crispy on top! Would definitely make again!

      Wonderful. Sounds delicious.

    • Tamara

      Delicious! Also used your taco seasoning recipe 🙌🏻 Thanks!

      Thanks Tamara! Glad to hear you loved both!

    • Jenn

      This enchilada skillet was so delicious!

      Thanks Jenn, glad you liked it!