Neat "Meat" Enchiladas

There are soooo many plant meats on the market, and some are more nutritious than others. Most are made with soy and/or gluten, and that's just fine with me since I've got no food allergies or sensitivities. But so many people do! It's nice to know there are some great options out there for everyone.

One of those options, if you're not allergic to nuts, is Neat meat substitute. It's made with a mix of pecans, garbanzo beans, white beans, and cornmeal and is sold in powdered form. You simply mix it with water and a vegan egg sub (I used The Vegg, but any substitute would work), and then you can shape it into patties or fry it up like ground beef. It comes in Original, Italian, Mexican, and a Breakfast sausage flavor. Neat recently sent me the Mexican mix and their Neat Egg substitute to review. You can read about the Neat Egg in this post. But tonight, I'm focusing on the Mexican burger mix.

I've tried this stuff before on nachos, and it was fantastic, but I wanted to do something different this time. And I'd been craving enchiladas for awhile, so enchiladas it was! I mixed the powder with water and a The Vegg mix equal to two eggs (by the way, the Neat Egg would be perfect for this, but I actually FORGOT I had some). Then I followed the directions on the bag to make taco filling by adding 1/2 cup of salsa to the mix. I heated a teaspoon of oil and fried it up.

The "meat" tends to stick together a little when frying, so it's really ideal to form it into patties, fry and flip, and then break it up. But I didn't do that. I just kept stirring and using a spatula to break it up. The Mexican mix is seasoned with chili powder and onion powder, and it has a great flavor that doesn't need any extra dressing up. I did, however, add some fresh, chopped onion to the mix because I wanted an extra oniony flavor. Here's a close-up of the "meat" falling out of my enchiladas.

Once the meat sub had browned, I stuffed it into warm corn tortillas, rolled them, and topped with black olives, canned enchilada sauce, and Daiya vegan cheddar. Served with a dollop of Tofutti sour cream and side of seasoned corn and steamed kale. Perfection!

Here's the recipe!

Neat "Meat" Enchiladas

Yields 10 enchiladas (5 servings)

1 package Neat Mexican Mix (prepared according to package directions)

1/2 cup salsa

1 tsp. oil

1 small onion, chopped

10 corn tortillas

1 28-ounce can red enchilada sauce

10 Tbsp. sliced black olives

1 cup shredded vegan cheddar

Vegan sour cream and hot sauce, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the Neat mix and salsa in a medium mixing bowl. Heat a skillet on medium heat and add the oil. Add the chopped onion, and saute for 2-3 minutes or until onion begins to soften. Add the Neat mix and saute for another 5-7 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring often and using a spatula to break it up into small pieces.

Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 15 seconds to make them pliable. Add a couple tablespoons of mix to each, rolling them as you go. Place each one closed-side-down into the casserole dish.

Top with sauce, olives, and vegan cheese. Bake for 35 minutes or until cheese has melted and edges of tortillas are lightly crisp. Serve with vegan sour cream and hot sauce.