Lentil enchiladas with homemade red sauce
Hearty spiced lentils and melty cheese rolled in corn tortillas and baked under a from-scratch red chile sauce that’s easier than it sounds, a freezer-friendly, protein-packed dinner.
- 70 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.35 a serving
- 740 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup lentils, brown or green, rinsed
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, divided
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
From your pantry
- 2½ cups water
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Each serving has about 740 calories, 33 g protein, 83 g carbs and 33 g fat, and costs about $2.35 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No Mexican blend cheese? Shredded cheddar or cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the lentils, water and of salt in a and over high heat.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
20 to 25 minutes, until tender. .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Medium heatTimer: 22 min
Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a over medium heat, in the flour, and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, the garlic powder and oregano for 30 seconds.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Keep whisking. Chili powder turns bitter if it sits and scorches.in the tomato sauce and broth and 5 to 7 minutes, until it’s slightly . Add ½ teaspoon salt.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
the oven to 375°F. Heat the last tablespoon of oil in a over medium heat and cook the onion and pepper 6 minutes, until soft.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Stir in the lentils, the rest of the cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup of the sauce and 1 cup of the cheese. Spread ½ cup more sauce in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave 1 minute, until soft.
Timer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: Warm tortillas roll. Cold ones crack.Fill each tortilla with about ⅓ cup of the lentil mixture, roll it up, and set it seam side down in the dish.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the top, covering the edges, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and 20 minutes, until bubbling.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 20 min
Let them sit 5 minutes, then top with cilantro and sour cream.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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