Vegan Pinto Bean & Swiss Chard Enchiladas

I like to roll alllll the things in corn tortillas and call them enchiladas.

Cashews are sexy. I mean I'm wholeheartedly convinced that they have magical powers. Who needs cheese in cheesecake and lasagna when you can use freaking cashews? Those vegans are onto something. Okay I have a story for you. So I had a nutrition professor in undergrad who pronounced vegan like "vay-gan." But wait. It gets better.

It was essentially a class on the science behind cooking, and on the first day he asked if anyone in the room was Jewish (the whole Kosher thing). I reluctantly raised my hand. Needless to say, I was the only one in the room with my hand in the air. Classic.

Then he asked if anyone was vegetarian. CRAP. I put my hand back up in the air. Alone again. Yeah... don't mind me, I'm just the weird vegetarian Jew. Glad to be here. Mazel mazel, good things.

I should've made these enchiladas for my professor and shoved them in his vay-gan cheese-loving face with a note signed "warmly, the vegetarian Jew." Coulda shoulda woulda.

Raw soaked cashews make the filling of these bad boys taste exactly like nacho cheese, minus all the unpronounceable chemicals and fake colors. Seeing as this recipe is made for lazy people like me (note the store-bought enchilada sauce), I totally give you permission to pour boiling water (I used my tea kettle) over the cashews and let them do their thang for oh, let's say five to ten minutes. Drain 'em, toss 'em in the nutribullet and watch 'em turn into heaven before your very eyeballs. Of course you can soak them overnight like a responsible meal planner, but let's not kid ourselves here.

Of note: your tortillas will most likely fall apart in the stuffing and folding process, especially if they're the kind from Whole Foods with only a couple of ingredients. Have no fear. Cover them with sauce and we won't even tell anyone. Shhhh.

Oh and if your cashews don't turn into creamy goodness right away, fear not. Add the salsa and BOOM. Done and done. We're all semi-cashew virgins, anyway.

Nach-YO cheese, if youknowhwhatimsayinnnnnn.

Vegan Pinto Bean & Swiss Chard Enchiladas

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• Author: Alexis
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Entree

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Description

These enchiladas have a super creamy filling that you would never guess is guilt-free and vegan!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup raw cashews, soaked
• ½ cup salsa
• 1-15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¾ tsp salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 large chard leaves, de-stemmed and torn
• 8 oz enchilada sauce (I use Frontera red enchilada sauce)
• 12 corn tortillas
• Cubed avocado, for topping

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Instructions

1. Place cashews in a small bowl. Cover with water and allow them to sit overnight, or for at least two hours. If you're in a hurry, pour boiling water on top of the cashews and let them soak for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Drain cashews and place in a high-speed blender or large food processor. Blend for a minute or two and then add salsa. Blend for a minute more, or until mixture is smooth and creamy.
3. Add beans, pepper, cumin, salt and cayenne. Pulse until well-combined but still a bit chunky. Add chard leaves and pulse until they're broken up. You want them in small pieces, but you don't want to over-blend and turn the whole mixture green.
4. Using a 13x9 pan, pour just enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom.
5. Spoon filling into corn tortillas, fold them up, and place them seam-side down on the pan. If the tortillas break, that's ok. You can try microwaving the others to soften them up a bit. Once all enchiladas are all next to each other in the pan, cover them liberally with the rest of the enchilada sauce.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with avocado and salsa.

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