Put a fall spin on your favorite Taco Tuesday enchiladas with an easy and delicious and pumpkin enchilada sauce!
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Jackets, jeans, and fuzzy hats…
Yup, we pulled out the ‘ol fall bin of outside gear this past week, and it looks like it’s pretty much here to stay! It kinda feels like I just put all of this stuff away, but the reality is, our fall season is pretty amazing, and we’ll take all the chilly autumn hikes and pretty fall colors as we can!
A new spin on a family favorite!
Enchiladas are always a very enthusiastic dinner night in our house! Maybe a once a month treat during warmer months, they become more like an every other week thing when the weather turns cold. Last fall, I played around with the idea of a pumpkin base for the enchilada sauce instead of my original tomato based enchilada sauce, because I didn’t have tomato sauce in my pantry. The result was a very rich, perfectly decadent pumpkin enchilada sauce with subtle hints of the fall season. My crew was in love!
The Method :: The Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce
In under 10 minutes, your pumpkin enchilada sauce will be done, and I think you are going to be floored at the rich flavor! You can make your sauce ahead of time on a prep day too. Just cook the aromatics in some butter and then simmer with canned pumpkin, broth, and warm seasonings. You’ll then use an immersion blender to smooth it all out into a velvety sauce for the enchiladas.
The Method :: The Pumpkin Enchilada Filling
You’ll have to restrain yourself from sneaking spoonful after spoonful of this enchilada filling before you stuff your tortillas! The veggies cook down super sweet, not only giving the filling amazing flavor, but also packing out the meal with mineral rich veggies for the family! You can use whatever protein you wish! We purchase a half of a grass-fed cow each year, so I usually use our ground beef, but chicken or beans work great here too. Once the filling cooks, you will stir in some of the pumpkin enchilada sauce and some cheese, making a seriously addicting enchilada filling!
The search for the best gluten free tortillas
If your household has to be gluten free, it is SO worth the little bit of time it takes to make your own tortillas with my new tortilla recipe! Most gluten free wraps that you get from the store are fussy to work with, and they are so expensive! You can make a batch of these tortillas up to a day in advance, and they will roll right up for you with the greatest of ease. You could also make them on a prep day and just stash them away in the freezer so that you can use them when you are ready.
Feed a crowd!
I think this fun spin on a classic would be perfect to serve on Halloween night before trick-or-treating, or at any fall parties! The recipe as written feeds my family of 2 adults and 3 older kids for one meal with some leftover for one or 2 people the next day. If you have a smaller family or younger children, this will definitely feed you for 2 meals. If you are feeding a crowd, perhaps roll the tortillas tighter with less filling, or cut the tortillas in half so that the enchiladas themselves are smaller, party sized portions.
Gluten Free Pumpkin Enchiladas
Ingredients
FOR THE PUMPKIN ENCHILADA SAUCE ::
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil for cooking
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 orange bell pepper diced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups pumpkin puree about 1 can
- 1 – 4 oz can green chilis
- 2 cups of water or bone broth
FOR THE ENCHILADAS ::
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil for cooking in
- ½ medium onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- ¼ head of cabbage sliced into strips
- 1 lb grassfed ground beef
- 1 cup frozen organic corn
- 1 heaping handful of baby spinach chopped
- 2 cups of cheese divided
- 1 recipe of the above Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce
- 8-10 tortillas of choice depending on the size of your tortillas (I use my own GF Tortillas, but store bought is fine too)
Instructions
Make the Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce:
- Melt the butter in a large sauce pot over medium high heat and add the onion and pepper with 1 tsp of sea salt. Cook the veggies until soft and sweet, about 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon and stir to combine, cooking for 1 minute.
- Add the pumpkin, green chilis, and water, stir to combine and bring to a simmer for 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and use an immersion blender or regular blender to blend the sauce until smooth. Sea salt and pepper the sauce to your taste.
Make the Enchilada Filling:
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, and add the onion, pepper, and cabbage with a big pinch of sea salt. Cook over medium high heat for 10 minutes until the veggies are soft and sweet.
- Add the ground beef and cook through until browned.
- Add the corn and baby spinach and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until the spinach wilts and the corn is soft.
- Turn the heat off and stir in ½ cup or so of cheese, and 1 ½ cups of the Pumpkin Enchilada sauce.
Assemble and bake the Pumpkin Enchiladas:
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Spread 1 cup of the Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish or casserole pan.
- Scoop the pumpkin enchilada filling into your tortilla shells (I use my own GF Tortillas but store bought is fine too), roll them up, and line them up in the casserole pan. The amount of filling in the shells will depend on what the size of your tortillas are.
- Once you have all of your enchilada tortillas filled and lined up, pour the remaining pumpkin enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled up tortillas and sprinkle with 1 – 1 ½ cups of cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until the sauce and cheese are bubbling. You can put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes if you would like a pretty browned top.
Everything is fused together to create a great taste
2 years later, my kids still get excited when they see this is what’s for dinner!