A lightened version of authentic enchiladas made from brown rice and lentil meatballs seasoned with Mexican spices simmered in enchilada sauce all topped with your favourite enchilada toppings.

This recipe uses mostly pantry staple ingredients and requires a few fresh ingredients like avocado, cilantro, green onions and some cheese to top it all off with. Personally for us enchiladas are often all about the toppings. So be sure to have on hand what you love.

This recipe is a great weeknight-style dinner as it all comes together in 1 skillet and in just over 30 minutes. The meatballs can be prepped ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Simply roll them out ahead of time the same day omitting the baking time. When it comes time to prepare the dish bake the meatballs according to the directions. We don’t recommending freezing big batches as you can risk the brown rice and lentils becoming mushy. This recipe is best enjoyed fresh.

Once you’ve got the meatballs all rolled out this recipe comes together pretty quickly. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. This dish is all about the seasoning and the enchilada sauce. We opted for store bought as we typically have some on hand in our pantry and it makes this recipe go much quicker. Use something store bought that you love and good quality. If you’ve got a good homemade sauce that you typically make and of course some extra time by all means make it your own.

Once you’ve got the sauce simmering, we always recommend giving it a little taste to check the level of seasoning and spice. At this point it leaves you with time to make final adjustments to ensure its exactly to your licking. Store bought sauces can come off a little spicy and with the added spices you’ll get a touch of spicy and smoky flavours.

Serve with your favourite toppings, homemade salsa and chips.

Print Recipe

skillet meatball enchiladas

A healthy alternative to authentic mexican enchiladas made with vegetarian meatballs simmering in an enchilada skillet.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Weeknight Dinners

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños
• 2 cups enchilada sauce store bought or homemade
• Meatballs
• 1 cup lentils canned
• 1 1/2 cup brown rice cooked
• 1 TBS grape seed oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper
• 1 TBS potato starch or cornstarch
• Garnish: cilantro lime, avocado, green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream

Instructions

• Start by making the meatballs: Combine cooked rice, lentils, oil, spices and salt and pepper in a food processor and blitz for 30 seconds until fine and just combine. If you don’t have a food processor combine in a bowl and mash together with a fork or potato masher. Add the potato starch afterwards and mix to combine. Roll out 1 inch meatballs and set on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
• While the meatballs are cooking heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sautee onions on medium heat until translucent for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and pickled jalapeños cooking until fragrant for 1 minute. Season with some salt and pepper. Stir in the enchilada sauce and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
• Once the meatballs have finished cooking, add them to the skillet tossing them to coat and cover with sauce. Remove from the heat and top with cilantro, lime juice, and green onions.
• Serve with avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream and chips.