Jackfruit is often used in plant-based cooking and rather misunderstood until tried. You’ll often find it as an alternative to pulled pork BBQ as it mimics the texture of pulled chicken and pork very well. It is soft, mildly flavored, quick to cook and takes on any flavors you put with it. It also has a lot of nutrients we don’t often find naturally while being low in calories and higher in fiber. So let’s get to it!

Jackfruit Enchilada Suizas
Makes 8 enchiladas
Ingredients:
Two cans of jackfruit drained and chopped (see this website for how to chop it: https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/easy-vegan-jackfruit-tacos/)
1 tsp olive oil or avocado oil
Chopped garlic (I like a lot, do what you like)
One onion, sliced
One bell pepper, chopped
8oz mushrooms, sliced
Vegetable broth
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 Tbsp paprika
Whole wheat tortillas (we use La Banderita Carb Counter Whole Wheat Wraps that are 50 calories each)
3/4 cup divided Herdez Roasted Salsa Verde

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a non-stick pan over medium heat add the oil and start sauteeing the sliced onion, chopped bell pepper and garlic over medium heat until soft. Add the chopped jackfruit and cook for 5-10 minutes to start softening. Add broth and remainder of seasoning then cover, continue to cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally, add more broth if what is there evaporates or anything starts to stick.

In the meanwhile, prep your pan, add half of the salsa verde to the bottom of your casserole dish to prevent the enchiladas from sticking.

Once the jackfruit is cooked through and most of the cooking liquid is absorbed use a potato masher or the back of a spoon to finish breaking up the chucks so it resembles pulled chicken or pork.

Divide mixture among the wraps and place in the casserole dish with the seam down, top with remainder of salsa verde. A typical 9×13 pan will fit 6, for a full 8 to fit you’ll need a bit bigger pan or two pans. Finish in oven for 20 minutes. Plate and top with plant-based queso.

Plant-based Queso
Serves approx. 30 tablespoons of cheese sauce
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Silk non-dairy yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 cups vegan cheese (I prefer Follow Your Heart mozzarella; or you can mix up cheeses)
1 tsp garlic powder
5-6 drops Tabasco, optional for spice

Start with a non-stick sauce pan on medium heat. Combine all ingredients and stir often until melted and creamy. Add a splash of almond milk if you feel it’s too thick. Watch it closely as you don’t want it to burn. Once everything has come together reduce heat to low until ready to serve.
Keeps in the fridge for 1 week in air tight container. Once cooled it’s pretty much the texture of Velveeta.

Note on vegan cheeses: some melt better than others. My favorite melting cheeses are Follow Your Heart and Chao. I used VioLife Cheddar shreds (using what I had on hand before it expired) when I made this the first time and they took close to a half hour to melt into the sauce, just keep stirring if this happens…it will melt together eventually.