These smoky jackfruit enchiladas are a delicious vegetarian twist on classic Mexican enchiladas. Made with pulled jackfruit, black beans, rice, sweetcorn and melted cheese, they’re packed with flavour and perfect for an easy meat-free dinner. Wrapped in tortillas and baked with a rich homemade enchilada sauce, this jackfruit enchilada recipe is hearty, comforting and easy to adapt for a vegan diet.
Smoky & Saucy Jackfruit Enchiladas
This pulled jackfruit enchilada recipe is a delicious meat-free twist on traditional enchiladas. The filling is made with pulled jackfruit, red pepper, rice, black beans, corn, cheese, and fresh coriander smothered with a super tasty homemade enchilada sauce. This hearty and flavoursome Mexican-inspired dish makes a fantastic family Mexican-inspired vegetarian dinner bound to please everyone.
The jackfruit enchiladas are topped with some more enchilada sauce and cheese before being baked in the oven and served with sliced avocado, chillis, sour cream, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. You can also serve these enchiladas with jackfruit with my vegan chipotle mayo on the side.
This easy enchilada recipe is perfect to use any leftover cooked rice you might have in the fridge.
TOP TIP: to make vegan enchiladas simply swap the cheese and sour cream for plant-based alternatives.
Since embracing the flexitarian diet, I have become big fan of jackfruit.
Jackfruit is a tropical fruit native to South and Southeast Asia. When young and unripe, it has a neutral flavour and a meaty texture, making it a popular meat substitute in vegan and vegetarian dishes. I am using canned young green jackfruit preserved in water for this recipe. You can easily find it in the international or Asian foods sections of supermarkets or health stores. Make sure to get jackfruit packed in brine or water, not syrup.
Other Jackfruit Recipes To Try
- Air-Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes with BBQ Pulled Jackfruit
- Jackfruit Stromboli
- Loaded BBQ Jackfruit Nachos
- Pulled Jackfruit by Jack Stein
Why You’ll Love These Jackfruit Enchiladas
If you’re looking for a hearty, flavour-packed meat-free dinner, these jackfruit enchiladas are guaranteed to become a favourite. Filled with smoky pulled jackfruit, black beans, sweetcorn and rice, then baked in a rich homemade enchilada sauce, they’re comforting, satisfying and surprisingly easy to make.
Here’s why you’ll love them:
Packed with Bold Flavour
The tender jackfruit soaks up smoky spices and enchilada sauce beautifully, creating a rich, savoury filling that tastes incredibly satisfying. Topped with melted cheese and baked until bubbling, these vegetarian enchiladas are full of comforting Mexican-inspired flavours.
A Great Meat-Free Alternative
Young green jackfruit has a shredded texture that makes it a brilliant substitute for pulled chicken or pork. Combined with black beans for extra protein and texture, these jackfruit enchiladas are hearty enough to please vegetarians and meat eaters alike.
Easy to Adapt
This jackfruit enchilada recipe is easy to customise with whatever you have in the fridge. Add peppers, swap rice for quinoa, turn up the heat with chillies or make them vegan by using dairy-free cheese and sour cream.
Perfect for Meal Prep
These enchiladas are ideal for busy weeknights. You can make the filling in advance, assemble everything ahead of time or even freeze them for an easy homemade dinner later in the week.
Family-Friendly Comfort Food
Cheesy, saucy and packed with flavour, these pulled jackfruit enchiladas are a crowd-pleasing dinner the whole family will enjoy. Serve with avocado, fresh coriander, lime wedges or a crisp salad for a complete meal.
Why Jackfruit Is Perfect for Enchiladas
If you’ve never cooked with jackfruit before, enchiladas are one of the best places to start. Young green jackfruit has a naturally shredded texture that makes it an excellent meat-free alternative in savoury dishes. When cooked with smoky spices and rich enchilada sauce, it absorbs flavour beautifully, creating a filling that’s hearty, satisfying and packed with taste.
Unlike ripe jackfruit, which is sweet and fruity, canned young jackfruit has a mild flavour that works perfectly in savoury recipes. This makes it ideal for jackfruit enchiladas, where it takes on the warming spices, garlic, onion and smoky chipotle flavours in the sauce.
Jackfruit is also a brilliant ingredient for anyone trying to eat less meat without sacrificing texture or comfort. Its pulled texture is similar to shredded chicken or pulled pork, making these vegetarian enchiladas feel just as hearty and satisfying as traditional versions.
For extra protein and fibre, this recipe combines jackfruit with black beans and rice to create a filling that’s both nourishing and delicious. Whether you’re vegetarian, flexitarian or simply looking for new meat-free dinner ideas, these pulled jackfruit enchiladas are a comforting, flavour-packed meal everyone can enjoy.
Best of all, jackfruit is affordable, versatile and easy to keep in the cupboard, making this jackfruit enchilada recipe perfect for busy weeknights or relaxed weekend dinners
Watch How To Make These Jackfruit Enchiladas
In this post
- Smoky & Saucy Jackfruit Enchiladas
- Other Jackfruit Recipes To Try
- Why You’ll Love These Jackfruit Enchiladas
- Why Jackfruit Is Perfect for Enchiladas
- Watch How To Make These Jackfruit Enchiladas
- How To Make Vegetarian Jackfruit Enchiladas
- Common Questions About This Jackfruit Enchilada Recipe
- Other things you might enjoy
How To Make Vegetarian Jackfruit Enchiladas
Ingredients Needed And Substitutions
FOR THE FILLING:
- Canned jackfruit: Young green jackfruit in water
- Red pepper
- Canned black beans
- Canned corn
- Cooked rice of choice (any rice or grain leftover works here so you can also use quinoa, barley etc..)
- Freshly grated cheddar cheese (or plant-based alternative)
- Vegetable oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ground cumin
- Fresh coriander
- Salt to taste
- 8 regular soft corn tortilla wraps (about 20cm / 8inch in diameter): flour tortillas work too but might get soggy
FOR THE ENCHILADA SAUCE:
- Vegetable oil
- Flour
- Ground cumin
- Dried oregano leaves
- Smoked paprika
- Hot chilli powder (or mild chilli powder if you prefer less heat)
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Teaspoon salt
- Vegetable stock
- Passata (or tomato sauce if you are in the US)
GARNISH (optional):
- Avocado
- Chillis
- Sour cream (or plant-based alternative)
- Fresh lime
Step 1: Make The Enchilada Sauce
To make the enchilada sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the flour. Whisking constantly, cook until browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the spices and salt and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the vegetable stock and passata. Bring to a boil, then, whisking continuously, cook until the sauce has reduced to about 650ml (2 3/4 cups) and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
You can make this enchilada sauce ahead. It will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Step 2: Prepare The Jackfruit
To prepare the jackfruit, first, you will need to drain the jackfruit chunks and transfer them to a kitchen towel. Gather the edges of the kitchen towel and squeeze the jackfruit to extract as much water as possible. Break up the jackfruit chunks with your fingers by pulling them apart and cutting any hard chunks into smaller bits with a knife.
Step 3: Make The Filling
To make the filling, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 6 minutes.
Next, add the red pepper, jackfruit, garlic, and cumin. Season with salt. Fry until the red pepper is soft, about 6 minutes.
Switch off the heat and stir in the rice, black beans, corn, half the cheese, and coriander. Season to taste with salt. Mix in 180ml (¾ cup) of enchilada sauce.
Step 4: Roll The Jackfruit Enchiladas
When you are ready to build the enchiladas, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the jackfruit mixture in the middle of the first wrap. Roll the wrap and place seam down in a rectangular oven-proof dish (approximately 28 x 20cm / 11 x 8 inch).
Repeat this process with the rest of the rice mixture, arranging the rolled wraps snuggly next to one another. (If you have any rice mixture left, spoon it directly into the dish on the sides of each enchilada).
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and scatter the remaining cheese.
Step 5: Bake The Jackfruit Enchiladas
Cook the enchiladas in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Step 6: Garnish And Serve
If desired, garnish with avocado, chillis, chopped coriander, sour cream, and some lime juice before serving.
Common Questions About This Jackfruit Enchilada Recipe
No, you should not use ripe jackfruit to make this enchilada recipe. Ripe jackfruit has a sweet flavour and a different texture compared to young green jackfruit. Ripe jackfruit is more suitable for desserts and sweet dishes.
Yes, you can freeze jackfruit enchiladas for future meals. After assembling the enchiladas, wrap the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminium foil before placing it in the freezer. To reheat, thaw the enchiladas overnight in the refrigerator and bake as instructed.
Yes, you can easily make these enchiladas vegan by swapping the cheese and sour cream for plant-based alternatives.
Yes, young green jackfruit has a shredded texture similar to pulled chicken, making it ideal for vegetarian enchiladas. However, do keep in mind that jackfruit is not a high-protein food (it contains about 2g of protein per 100g of jackfruit).
Young jackfruit has a mild flavour and absorbs spices beautifully, which makes it perfect for smoky enchilada sauce.
I hope you enjoy this meat-free jackfruit enchilada recipe as much as we do. If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Jackfruit Enchiladas Recipe
Equipment
Disclaimer: the equipment list above includes affiliate links to products I use and like.
Watch How To Make This Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g can young green jackfruit in water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 125 g onion finely diced
- 1 medium red pepper cut into small dice
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 125 g cooked rice
- 400 g can black beans rinsed and drained
- 160 g can corn rinsed and drained
- 125 g freshly grated cheddar cheese divided
- 20 g finely chopped coriander plus extra for garnish
- Salt to taste
- 8 regular soft corn tortilla wraps (20cm / 8inch)
FOR THE ENCHILADA SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon hot chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 350 ml passata (US: tomato sauce)
GARNISH (optional):
- 1 large avocado
- chillis
- Sour cream
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Make the enchilada sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the flour. Whisking constantly, cook until browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the spices and salt and cook for another 30 seconds.2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 3/4 teaspoon hot chilli powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the vegetable stock and passata. Bring to a boil, then, whisking continuously, cook until the sauce has reduced to about 650ml (2 3/4 cups) and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.500 ml vegetable stock, 350 ml passata
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
- Prepare the jackfruit: Drain the jackfruit and transfer it to a kitchen towel. Gather the edges of the kitchen towel and squeeze the jackfruit to extract as much water as possible. Break up the jackfruit chunks with your fingers by pulling them apart and cutting any hard chunks into smaller bits with a knife.400 g can young green jackfruit in water
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 6 minutes.2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 125 g onion
- Add the red pepper, jackfruit, garlic, and cumin. Season with salt. Fry until the red pepper is soft, about 6 minutes.1 medium red pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Switch off the heat and stir in the rice, black beans, corn, half the cheese, and coriander. Season to taste with salt.125 g cooked rice, 400 g can black beans, 160 g can corn, 125 g freshly grated cheddar cheese, 20 g finely chopped coriander, Salt
- Mix in 180ml (¾ cup) of enchilada sauce.
- Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the jackfruit mixture in the middle of the first wrap. Roll the wrap and place seam down in a rectangular oven-proof dish (approximately 28 x 20cm / 11 x 8 inch).8 regular soft corn tortilla wraps
- Repeat Step 9 with the rest of the rice mixture, arranging the rolled wraps snuggly next to one another. (If you have any rice mixture left, spoon it directly into the dish on the sides of each enchilada).
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and scatter the remaining cheese.
- Cook in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
- If desired, garnish with avocado, chillis, chopped coriander, sour cream, and some lime juice before serving.1 large avocado, chillis, 1 lime, Sour cream
Nutritional Information
Find this recipe online:
https://theflexitarian.co.uk/recipe-items/jackfruit-enchilada-recipe/
I cannot wait to see your posts!
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