Love enchiladas but can’t find any? healthy, plant-based and diet-friendly Possibility? The search is over! Here at Foodciously, we’ve created the ultimate vegan and low carb alternative to this classic Mexican comfort food. So let us show you how to make these delicious zucchini enchiladas that are stuffed with shredded jackfruit and topped with tangy sauce – simply divine!
Enchiladas are a popular Mexican dish consisting of corn tortillas wrapped around a meat or bean filling, then topped with a chilli-based sauce and lots of cheese. There are countless variations with different toppings, fillings and even shapes. Unfortunately, the classic recipe is not suitable for people who eat a plant-based or low-carb diet. But don’t worry, we’ve got it covered!
First we made a delicious vegan filling with a Mexican flavor. Beans are usually our top choice for healthy vegan meat swaps, but they’re still relatively high in carbs for this recipe. So we turned our attention to the super versatile green jackfruit. By weight, this tropical fruit has 80% fewer net carbs than beans. For example, a 100g (3.5 oz) serving of black beans has 6g net carbs[1]while the same amount of jackfruit comes canned with just 1g net carbs[2].
Jackfruit has one too fantastic “fleshy” texture, and it can be easily shredded into chicken-like strips after cooking for a while. Just what we needed for these meatless enchiladas! To add flavor to the filling, we paired jackfruit with a low-carb combo of mixed peppers and shallots, along with fresh coriander and a tangy tomato sauce.
After sorting the vegan filling, we ventured into the wraps. The classic corn tortillas are a no-go on the low-carb diet. So we thought we could peel the zucchini into strips and use them to wrap the stuffing. It worked perfectly! And that’s easy to do: just overlap three or four zucchini slices lengthwise and then roll them around the jackfruit mixture.
Finally, we assembled the enchiladas in a casserole dish, doused them in smoky sauce, and baked them to perfection. We left out the cheese topping to keep the fat content low, but we give you the option to use vegan cheese if you’d like. Alternatively, you can drizzle the zucchini wraps with homemade vegan sour cream. All you have to do is enjoy them with your loved ones!