So here’s the deal: enchiladas are just delicious. Fact. And they taste great with cheese – that’s just science. Buuut, I’m trying to eat less cheese. How do I make delicious, satisfying enchiladas without cheese?

For the last year before I was pregnant I was eating maybe 1 or 2 very small servings of cheese a week and I felt fine. I hardly had any dairy for that matter – even Greek yogurt. I don’t have a lactose-reaction to cheese and dairy, but I never feel energized, sharp, or great after eating it. Maybe the sugar in dairy doesn’t agree with me as much as naturally occurring sugar from some low glycemic fruits. I remember my first endocrinologist telling me lactose and maltose are very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.

I was doing very good with this whole little-dairy-eating-thing and then when I became pregnant, it’s like a switch flipped in my mind: my 2 most consistent cravings are lemonade and cheese (separately).

I’m trying to take the cheese craving as a sign that baby wants more calcium? So I’m eating a lot of calcium rich vegetables. My acupuncturist has also suggested if I’m really craving cheese, try to eat feta instead of cheese like mozzarella and cheddar (I’m definitely not a stinky French cheese type of gal), and pair it with something of opposite properties like watermelon. My doctor has given me the go-ahead to eat pasteurized cheese, so I feel comfortable eating high quality pasteurized feta in moderation.

I make a lemon-tahini dressing on my cauliflower recipe that almost perfectly replaces any creamy texture I’m looking for in most meals. But replacing cheese flavor in enchiladas was a tall order!

Gluten Free and Cheese Free Healthy Enchiladas, 2 Ways: Ingredients

• Cooked organic ground chicken OR organic ground chicken and organic chicken sausage mix cooked OR pulled chicken (I love the pulled chicken recipe from the autoimmune paleo cookbook)
• Organic fresh spinach
• Organic garlic
• Siete almond flour tortillas
• Cumin, salt and pepper
• Salsa of choice and/or enchilada sauce of choice (I don’t have enough time in my life to make a delicious homemade enchilada sauce)
• 1-2 organic onions (sweet preferred), sliced
• Organic cannellini beans OR 1 organic sweet potato (I hate the orange fleshy kind; I only use the purple sweet potatoes or Hannah/Japanese kind with the white flesh)
• 1 organic zucchini squash
• Organic coconut oil

Enchiladas Version 1: Pretending like Siete Almond Flour Tortillas will act like regular wheat flour tortillas

Making “enchiladas” (please note I’m not a chef nor am I can expert on what makes something an “enchilada” – I just make things to taste to my preferences) this way is easy to make them quickly.

Siete also makes some amazing tortilla chips too!

#problem : My favorite grain free tortilla company @sietefoods also now makes insanely delicious #cassava root chips! Not exactly a part of my #cleaneating plan but no one is perfect, certainly not me! Sometimes a gal just needs some #tortillachips & salsa. I prefer these to #organic corn tortilla chips #paleo #paleosnack #paleofoods #siete #nongmo #nosoy #grainfree #snacks #snacktime #glutenfree #glutenfreesnack #avocadooil #chia #chiaseeds #chchchchia

A post shared by Better Beauty + Wellness (@healthymagpie) on Mar 25, 2017 at 12:27pm PDT

Organic Cheese Free Enchiladas Recipe Instructions

1. Add a touch of organic coconut oil and saute organic garlic in a pan until you smell the amazing aroma that is fresh cooking garlic. Add the organic fresh spinach (as much as you want – I normally do at least a bag) and cook until just wilted.
2. In another pan – a larger pan – heat organic coconut oil and add the sliced organic onions (I normally slice mine in rings) and cook them until caramelized. At least 30 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse your organic cannellini beans. Blend in a mini food processor (I use Cuisinart Smart Stick) with salt, better, a bit of organic olive oil and some organic garlic if you wish. This should make a nice puree – make it as this or thin as you want. I like to add organic cumin too at the end to taste.
4. Spread the desired amount of organic cannellini bean puree onto 1 Siete almond flour tortilla. Then, layer your desired amount of organic caramelized sweet onions. This combo together creates a savoriness that makes up for the lack of cheese.
5. Next, layer on as much organic garlic spinach as you can stand.
6. Top with enough cooked organic chicken to be filling, but not so much that it will cause the already precarious gluten-free tortilla to bust open.
7. Add a little organic salsa or enchilada sauce inside if you desire.
8. Attempt to close or roll the precarious almond flour tortilla, then top / smother with your favorite organic salsa (to have totally gluten free and dairy free enchiladas) or top with your fav enchilada sauce. I love San Miguel mole, but I often do a mix of salsa and sauce.
9. Repeat steps 4-8 until you make your desired amount of very fragile cheese free enchiladas. Place in a glass baking dish.
10. Bake in over for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees (note if you bake them too long, the almond flour tortilla turns into an almond flour tortilla chip 🙂 )

Gluten-free tortillas like Siete brand break apart easily when rolled so keep that in mind when you use them for enchiladas or tacos. I prefer to make a layered organic chicken enchilada bake.

Enchiladas Version 2: Being Lazy and Making an Enchilada Bake / Casserole

Because of the extremely vulnerable / spill-able nature of the Siete almond flour tortillas, sometimes I just make a layered enchilada bake or casserole instead of trying to roll the tortillas like above. In this version I substitute organic sweet potatoes for organic cannellini bean puree. And I also add organic zucchini for extra vegetables (my friend told me his fiance made enchiladas before with zucchini and no tortillas – I’m not that good).

Organic Cheese Free Enchiladas Casserole Recipe Instructions

1. Add a touch of organic coconut oil and saute organic garlic in a pan until you smell the amazing aroma that is fresh cooking garlic. Add the organic fresh spinach (as much as you want – I normally do at least a bag) and cook until just wilted.
2. In another pan – a larger pan – heat organic coconut oil and add the sliced organic onions (I normally slice mine in rings) and cook them until caramelized. At least 30 minutes.
3. Scrub, peel and chop your organic sweet potato (I prefer the Japanese kind or at least one without orange flesh). Place in boiling water and cook for about 20 minutes until tender. Allow to cool enough to handle the sweet potato. Blend by hand or with a mini food processor organic cooked sweet potato, a bit of garlic and organic cumin to make a puree. You can add a bit of organic olive oil to help with the blending.
4. Thinly slice the organic zucchini with a knife, peeler or mandolin slicer. Season with salt, pepper and a little organic olive oil. Set aside.
5. Spread the desired amount of organic sweet potato puree onto 1 Siete almond flour tortilla. Then, layer your desired amount of organic caramelized sweet onions. This combo together creates a savoriness that makes up for the lack of cheese.
6. Next, layer on as much organic garlic spinach as you can stand.
7. Top with a thin later of organic chicken. 
8. Add a little organic salsa or enchilada sauce inside if you desire.
9. Finish this layer with some organic zucchini slices. 
10. Add another Siete almond flour tortilla and repeat steps 5 – 8 until you have an enchilada tower. (I normally do about 3 layers)
11. Finish the organic casserole prep by adding a final Siete almond flour tortilla. Then top / smother with your favorite organic salsa (to have totally gluten free and dairy free enchiladas) or top with your fav enchilada sauce. I love San Miguel mole, but I often do a mix of salsa and sauce.
12. Bake in over for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees (note if you bake them too long, the almond flour tortilla turns into an almond flour tortilla chip 🙂 )

I normally make these on Sundays and eat them throughout the week – they hit the spot at lunch for sure.

My cheese free and potentially gluten free enchiladas bake casserole using Siete almond flour or cassava and coconut gluten free tortillas with a cumin sweet potato or white bean puree, caramelized onions, spinach and organic chicken.