Roasted Butternut Enchiladas with Mole Sauce – filled with roasted butternut and black beans and baked in a simple flavorful Mole Sauce, topped with cilantro, avocado and toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds. Serve this up with this Mexican slaw for a fast and delicious vegetarian dinner, perfect for fall! Vegan adaptable! Or add meat.
In the fall, I usually have a bowl filled with colorful winter squash sitting on my counter, taking the place of fresh-cut flowers. To me, they are just as pretty.
Plus, you get the added benefit of getting to eat them! This recipe for Butternut Enchiladas with Mole sauce (deep smokey spicy sauce with a hint of chocolate), can be made with any roasted winter squash, so feel free to experiment with new kinds.
Beautiful red Kuri squash, acorn squash, sugar pumpkin, kobacha, delicata, sweet dumplings, even roasted spaghetti squash will work well here. I’ve even used roasted sweet potato, which is not a squash at all –my point is here, the recipe is very forgiving and so, use what you have!
Today instead of butternut I picked this pretty pale butter yellow acorn squash my neighbor, Kathy, grew.
For most squash, you will need to peel and dice them before roasting, except spaghetti squash. ( Just split the spaghetti squash in half, remove seeds, and roast skin side up for 40 minutes. Then scoop out the flesh.)
Dice the squash into ¾ inch cubes. You’ll only need 2-3 cups.
Place them on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes, being careful that they don’t get too soft. A little texture is good here.
While the winter squash is roasting in the oven, make the Quick Mole Sauce.
Now I realize, to some, this is not “real”, traditional Mole Sauce, the kind that takes hours to build depth and flavor, but instead, a time-saving “cheater” version. This can also be used as a simmer sauce for chicken, beans, or even tofu.
Place the mole ingredients in the blender – onion, garlic, spices, tomato sauce – everything except the chocolate and tahini, and blend until smooth. Then you will simmer it. A little backward, but it works.
Once the mole has simmered and cooked, stir in the dark chocolate and tahini ( or peanut butter).
Pour the Quick Mole Sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and get the rest of your ingredients in place, to roll up the enchiladas.
Warm the tortillas in the oven to get them pliable, then stack them. Alternatively, you can grill over the gas flame on your stove, or pan-fry them with a bit of oil- which really makes for the best enchiladas, but also the highest in calories. Your choice. Today I simply warmed them in the oven, placing them directly on the oven rack for a couple of minutes.
Fill them with the roasted squash, black beans and bit of cheese and place seam side down in the baking dish, over the Quick Mole Sauce.
At this point you could also use vegan cheese, or add shredded chicken or even this healthy chorizo.
Brush more Mole Sauce over the top, saving any extra for touching them up at the end.
Place in the oven to bake.
When they come out, sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, more crumbled queso fresco cheese, diced avocado and fresh cilantro. Serve with a leafy green salad.
Take the leftovers to work for lunch.
A very comforting vegetarian dinner recipe, perfect for fall!
I really like this with this light and healthy Mexican Slaw!
Hope you like these Roasted Butternut Enchiladas as much as we do! Have a beautiful week.
For more Mexican recipes take a look at these!
xoxo
Butternut Enchiladas with Quick Mole Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: vegetarian, main,
- Method: Baked, roasted
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Roasted Butternut Enchiladas with Quick Mole Sauce – topped with cilantro, avocado and toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds. An easy delicious vegetarian main. Seve with Mexican Slaw! Vegan Adaptable!
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut, pumpkin, acorn or winter squash, peeled and diced( 2–3 cups)
- oil, salt and pepper
- 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
- 6 ounces crumbled queso fresco cheese- (or shredded jack, mozzarella or meltable vegan cheese)
- 6–8 x 7 inch corn tortillas
- Garnish- cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, avocado, sour cream
Quick Mole Sauce:
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ an onion- rough diced
- ½ Cup water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2–3 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, plus 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp salt and Pepper, more to taste
- 3–4 Tablespoons sesame tahini paste or peanut butter
- 2 ounces dark chocolate squares
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Peel and dice winter squash into ¾ inch cubes. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and drizzle with oil, generous salt and pepper, Stir and roast in the hot oven for 15 minutes, and feel free to broil for just a minute or two to get them crispy.
- Make the QUICK Mole Sauce: Place all the ingredients ( EXCEPT CHOCOLATE and TAHINI PASTE) in a blender. Blend until smooth. Place this Mole sauce in a small pot, bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover (it will splatter) and cook 7-8 minutes over medium low heat. Stir in tahini sauce and chocolate until melted and combined. Taste, adjust salt and sweetness, adding a teaspoon of maple if necessary (some chocolate is sweeter than others). Turn heat off and set aside.
- In a 9 x 13 greased baking dish, brush a third of the quick mole sauce, coating the bottom.
- Warm the tortillas (place in the oven, fry in a skillet, microwave, grill over a stovetop gas flame) to make them soft and pliable, then stack them.
- Gather your ingredients: crumbled queso (or jack cheese, drained rinsed black beans, roasted butternut squash and begin assembling the enchiladas.
- Fill each tortilla with 2-3 tablespoons crumbled queso, ¼ cup butternut squash and ⅛ cup black beans. Roll and place seam side down in the baking dish over the mole sauce.When you have filled the baking dish, brush a generous amount of mole sauce all over the top of the enchiladas, saving any extra for touching up later.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 5-10 more minutes, adding extra mole sauce, if necessary. Pull from oven, sprinkle with more crumbled queso (if you want) toasted sesame seeds, avocado, pumpkin seeds and fresh cilantro and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
Feel free to add other veggies to the mix- corn or bell pepper would be nice. For meat eaters- add cooked meat or chicken. Or keep these totally vegan with vegan cheese!
Keywords: vegetarian enchiladas, vegan enchiladas, mole enchiladas, easy mole sauce, butternut enchiladas, mole sauce, black bean enchiladas, healthy enchilada recipes, vegetarian enchilada recipes
Oh my gosh, I loved everything about this recipe… The squash was a nice change from heavier yams in similar recipes. The mole was perfectly balanced and so flavorful. And the leftovers tasted amazing heated up the next day too. Thank you!
★★★★★
SOOO GOOD! We made a few modifications for our toddler – whole wheat tortillas instead of corn, no chipotles or adobo sauce, extra cheese. Will definitely make again!!
★★★★★
Tasty and easy to make. The only thing I would do differenty next time is omit the tahini, it felt out of place to me and also made the sauce a little too thick.
★★★★
(Oops, I accidentally left this review for a different recipe, so I’m posting it again here)
Made this tonight, was very very tasty!!! Skipped the beans, used roasted cauliflower and butternut squash instead. Did not have queso fresco, so I subbed farmer’s cheese and a little grated white cheddar.
For the sauce: I used 80% dark chocolate. I omitted the adobo chilis in a can, used only a pinch of chipotle and chili pepper (since we can’t tolerate too much heat), added mild smoked paprika and a good handful of dried oregano. It turned out really delicious!
I served it w/ sour cream mixed w/ lime juice & zest, this added a little brightness to counterbalance the rich flavors.
Thanks Sylvia for another great recipe!
★★★★★
So good! This won over some committed carnivores at my house. It’s comfort food without the over-stuffed feeling. We ate it with your Mexican Slaw and avocado. Thanks for another winner, Sylvia! Your site is my inspiration!
★★★★★
Thanks so much- happy you liked it!
Very easy and tasty!
★★★★★
My husband says these tasted like they were from a restaurant and that they had to be added to the rotation. Reviews don’t get much better than that around here! These were so delicious and fun to make. we only had small tortillas so it made a LOT. They refrigerated and re-heated very nicely. They definitely have a kick! (we made ours with peanut butter, btw)
On to the next feasting at home recipe to try and most likely love!
★★★★★
Yay!!! Glad you liked them!
What percentage of dark chocolate do you recommend? There are so many options.
★★★★★
60-80%. 🙂
Thanks!
★★★★★
They turned out really good! I actually had a bar of 70% dark chocolate in the pantry. I just wasn’t sure if the sauce was supposed to be a little sweet. Also, I used smoked goat cheese, instead of queso fresco, as my store didn’t have it. Really a good addition to the slightly smoky mole.
★★★★★
Ooooooooh, love that! Smokey Mole, sounds yummy!
This was DELICIOUS! Definitely will make again. It went very well with frozen corn, pan “roasted” in a bit of coconut oil.
Unfortunately we only had small corn tortillas. I arranged them in U shapes in the pan, as many as would fit, and filled them. It turned out perfectly well with them being open on top.
★★★★★
Need full nutrition details please
Sorry about that- just added!
This mole recipe is nothing short of wizardry. Have made it twice now to use in various ways. Even better the next day or after simmering a while longer.
★★★★★
I’m going to make this tonight and I’m looking forward to it. Can you tell me what the portion size is? Are the 245 calories for 1 enchilada?
★★★★★
Yes, that is correct.
Really good! My husband and I devoured it – a bit too spicy for the kids, I’ll maybe make a chipotle-free half for them next time. So good! Thanks!
★★★★★
Awesome Lisa, yes this can easily be toned down.
So delicious! My husband and I worked on this together and it was pretty quick. We also used squash stored from last summer and our frozen tomato sauce. It was like a bit of sunshine on this cold, wet, dark day in Western Washington.
Awesome Reba- glad to hear!
These Enchiladas are delicious! I made them for my (non-vegetarian) family on Thanksgiving and they loved them! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you liked them!
Wonderful! These were a big hit indeed. I will keep this in my holiday favourites! The mole sauce is easy and delicious. I did spend more than 20 minutes on prep time and I am fast! But doing your own squash, beans and mole are well worth it. Thanks!
★★★★★
I’m sp glad you liked it- I will adjust cooking time, thanks!
So amazing and easy! Thank you for all your great recipes
★★★★★
Thanks so much Denise!
there is no chocolate mentioned in the ingredients for the mole. amt?
It’s there… just hard to see! I changed it so it’s easier.
Delicious recipe! I just made this tonight and it was great! I used goat feta inside and topped with soft goat cheese. Love this! Will definitely make it again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks and that sounds divine with the goat cheese!
I found your blog by pure chance and I thought i can hardly be surprised by vegeterian/vegan recipes…however,Im bliwn awayby your imaginationand knowledge of different cusines!Keep goung and I cannot wait to check out all your recipes(only have seen one page!!!).Greeting from England:)
★★★★★
Oh my gosh, I made this for dinner tonight, and I can’t even put into words how divine it was. It looks like my conversion from ounces to grams regarding the chocolate was off, so I used a tad too much for my liking, but that certainly wasn’t the recipe’s fault, and I will make sure to correct that next time I make it. And I can say with a high level of confidence, there will be plenty of next times with this one.
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Just discovered your blog while searching for mole sauce. These enchiladas looks amazing, well-so does your whole blog! Gorgeous photos!
Thanks so much Kaleigh!
Thanks so much!!
My kids will love this especially when I tell them there’s chocolate in it! And I will like making an easy mole! (:
Wow! I found this recipe on TheKitchn yesterday, and with leftover black beans, tomato sauce, roasted sweet potatoes and even a small chunk of dark chocolate already in the house, this was a GENIOUS way to finish the leftovers. What a great and delicious recipe, and vegetarian to boot! I couldn’t get chipotles, but the chef at my deli counter said I could just add smoked paprika to chilies to get the right smokey flavor r- which worked. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Thanks so much…love the idea of smoked paprika instead of chipotles… thanks for sharing!!
This looks wonderful. I’m preparing a lot of food for 16 people on Christmas. Can this be made ahead of time and refrigerated and re-heated?
Absolutely!
I love to cook but tend to have delusions of grandeur when it comes to my weekend chef abilities. I am always looking for unique, fancy and simple recipes to blow my friends and family away. I always had the vision for what I wanted the food to look and taste like but I was never able to completely put it all together. That is until I found Feasting at Home. This is the type of food I would create if I had the ability, skill and understanding of food that you do. Simply put, I LOVE this website. I have made so many of your wonderful and inventive creations and they have all been amazing.
My most recent endeavor was the Roasted Butternut Mole Enchiladas. What an incredible meal. I will admit they were a little on the hot side (my mistake for using too many chipotle peppers), but what an unbelievable mixture of flavors. The sweetness of the squash danced eloquently with the spice and richness of the mole sauce. Another favorite recipe that I will share with friends and family many times over. Thank you again for sharing your incredible talent and I look forward to making your next recipe. Cheers!
Thank you so much for this- you seriously made my day! I never really know people’s experiences with the recipes until they comment, so hard to know if I’m on the right track. So glad you are enjoying the recipes. Cheers back.;)