Jackfruit Recipe | Jackfruit Enchiladas (2024)

Jackfruit! I can’t believe this is my first ever journey into the crazy world of jackfruit. If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, jackfruit is a weird green tropical fruit that can weigh as much as 100 pounds (!) and has a white flesh that kind of tastes like… nothing. So what’s all the fuss about? The texture. It has a firm, meaty texture that pulls apart into little shreds, and once the vegan crowd heard about this, they started using it to make bbq pulled “pork” sandwiches… and more bbq sandwiches… and more bbq sandwiches. Literally, every vegan blog on the planet has a pulled bbq jackfruit sandwich. But, there is so much more you can do with jackfruit, people!

That’s what I want to show you today. What we’re doing here is stuffing it into enchiladas to make a vegan version of the popular pulled pork enchiladas verdes and, wow, they are delicious! By sautéing the jackfruit in a little soy sauce and some spices, the shreds soften and develop this amazing meaty flavor. Stuff it into some corn tortillas, top with homemade green enchilada sauce, and bake until golden for one incredible dinner.

Makes about 3 entree servings

Part One – The Green Enchilada Sauce

You can use canned enchilada sauce if you need to, but it has a ton of ingredients, preservatives, and other things. I prefer to make my own and it’s really easy:

Simply combine all the above ingredients (minus the whole wheat flour) into a small saucepan and allow to simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Then, you’ll want to blend the sauce into a more smooth puree. It’s easy to do this with a stick blender if you have one, or you can transfer to a blender for a few seconds. Also add about a tablespoon of flour (to thicken) while blending. Finally, return to the saucepan and simmer for another 5 minutes until slightly thicker and adjust any spices/seasonings to taste. Done! This will save in a mason jar for up to a week.

Part Two – The Jackfruit Filling

If using canned jackfruit (I’ve never seen it fresh before) drain and rinse thoroughly, then pull the junks apart until it looks like pulled pork. Add to a saucepan with the garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, and chili powder. Then, simply let it marinate over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly to coat the jackfruit evenly. After 10 minutes, it will be darker and more tender. Basically, what would take 10 hours with meat takes 10 minutes with jackfruit. Amazing.

Also at this point, grab some fresh or frozen corn, some cooked or canned black beans, and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro. Then, preheat the oven to 350º F.

Part Three – The Enchilada

The first step of making the enchiladas is softening the tortillas. If the corn tortillas are hard and brittle, they’ll be a nightmare to roll. My favorite way to do this is to moisten two paper towels, sandwich two tortillas between them, and microwave for 10 seconds. Then, while rolling those enchiladas, repeat the process with two more.

To make the enchiladas, grab a deep 9×13 baking dish (or something similar) and lay out a thin layer of the enchilada sauce. Then take one of the warm tortillas and line with the jackfruit, the corn, the beans, and the cilantro. Roll lengthwise around the filling, then place seam-side down in the pan. Repeat about 7 more times until the pan is full, then pour most of the remaining sauce over top (but reserve a few tablespoons for after cooking). Cover with foil and pop in the oven for about 25 minutes until the edges just start to turn golden. Note: You may have enough extra ingredients to make another smaller pan as well; just repeat the same process.

At this point, you can use your blender to pulverize some raw cashews into powder, which can be sprinkled on top for a cheesy garnish. Or, you can skip that and just add a few more tablespoons of the green sauce. Then return to the oven, uncovered, for just a few minutes to further crispify the tortillas. Finally, use a spatula to plate the enchiladas and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.