Happy Cinco de Mayo to you! Hope you are going to be having a festive day today. Lots of spicy foods maybe? Colorful clothing, and margaritas? Well over here, spicy and drinks? Not so much. Colorful clothing…well, maybe not so much. I prefer dark colors. But, this dish is very bright, and yes it is an enchilada! Vegan and gluten-free Cauliflower Alfredo Enchiladas to be exact. Hope you love this remake on the old spicy classic!

I figured since I have done so many Southwest-style recipes lately that I would do something a little different. And, with cauliflower on sale for one dollar this was just the different I was looking for! Cauliflower Alfredo is yummy all on its own and smothering noodles. This time I decided to make a little looser version like a normal enchilada sauce. I just boiled one large head of cauliflower in about 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock then pureed the cauli with Rice Dream milk, tons of minced garlic, herbs, and Daiya plain cream cheese. Yum.

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While the cauliflower is boiling chop your onion and mushrooms, and defrost the spinach by putting it in a bowl with hot water. Sauté the onion and minced garlic with about two tablespoons stock until just soft – you can do the veggies all together, but my area is smaller so I started with the onion and garlic then poured into a mixing bowl when done. Then I sautéed the mushrooms with about three tablespoons vegetable stock until stock was gone, then poured into the bowl. While mushrooms were cooking I chopped the zucchini then added that to the pan after mushrooms were done. Sautee that with stock until just tender, then pour into bowl. Squeeze liquid out of spinach and drain artichokes, and chop chicken into small chunks. After zucchini is done add those three to pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper to season the spinach. Sautee with stock until stock is gone.

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Warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds to get them flexible. Spoon a little Alfredo onto the bottom of your pan. Add a little Alfredo sauce to the veggies and mix everything together. Start making your enchiladas by holding a warm tortilla in your palm then spooning veggies down the middle and folding over the sides. Carefully flip over and place in side of pan. Keep going squeezing them together as you go. My tortillas break no matter how soft or warm they are, but no biggie – you will eat it anyway  I obviously made a lot so I used a second smaller pan and made 18 enchiladas total. Spoon the Alfredo over the top then bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

This tastes awesome and it may seem like it isn’t flavored at all since I didn’t add any seasoning to most of the veggies, but with the Alfredo having all the herbs and tons of garlic and the veggies all being cooked in the vegetable stock (no oil used at all) everything tastes great. The Alfredo when you taste it right after it is made is very garlicky but after the enchiladas are cooked it is a subtle flavor – not overpowering. The veggies, all being sautéed until just cooked, are awesome and have a great semi-crunchy texture. It is all so good! Also, unlike normal Alfredo and enchiladas, no cheese (except the half container of cream cheese) was used, so not a lot of calories going on here!

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Cauliflower Alfredo Enchiladas, 9 servings

1 Large Head Cauliflower, chopped
1 Cntr Low Sodium Vegetable Stock
3 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Tsp Marjoram
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Dried Parsley
1 Tbsp Chives
1/2 Cntr Daiya Plain Cream Cheese
1/2 C Rice Dream Unsweetened Milk
1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Pkg Sliced Mushrooms, chopped
2 Medium Zucchini, chopped
1 Can Progresso Whole Artichokes, drained and quartered
1 Pkg Frozen Spinach, defrosted
1 Pkg Beyond Meat Lightly Seasoned Chicken, chopped
18 Mission White Corn Tortillas

1. Chop and boil cauliflower in 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock until fork tender.
2. Pour cauliflower and stock into high-power blender or food processor. Add garlic, marjoram, pepper, parsley, chives, cream cheese, and rice milk and blend until smooth.
3. Chop onions and add to saute pan with garlic and 2 tablespoons stock. Sautee until just tender. Pour into mixing bowl.
4. Chop mushrooms then sautee with 3 tablespoons stock until stock is gone. Pour into bowl.
5. Chop zucchini then saute with 2 tablespoons stock until stock is gone. Pour into bowl.
6. Defrost zucchini either in microwave or in a bowl with hot water. Carefully squeeze out liquid (don’t burn yourself!) until liquid is out. Drain artichokes and quarter. Chop chicken strips into small pieces.
7. Sautee zucchini, artichokes, and chicken with 3 tablespoons stock and a sprinkle of salt and pepper until stock is gone. Pour into bowl.
8. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Mix the veggies then add about 1 cup Alfredo sauce to bowl and mix all together.
10. Warm a few tortillas for 10 seconds as you go.
11. Pour a little sauce onto bottom of pan then make enchiladas.
12. Holding a tortilla in your hand spoon veggies down middle of tortilla then fold sides over. Carefully flip and place folded side down into pan. Continue making enchiladas squeezing them together as you go.
13. Once all made pour and spread the Alfredo over the top.
14. Bake 35 minutes.
15. Let cool slightly, then enjoy!