PASTA. When I get stressed, I crave pasta. Cheesy or creamy pasta. So, when I saw this recipe for Sour Cream and Jalapeño Chicken Enchilada Pasta, my stomach was all like, “FEED ME, NOW.”
But, I didn’t have any chicken on hand and meat has been really expensive lately, so I decided to try to make a vegetarian version… and I ended up changing it quite a bit in the process (what else is new?). Anyway, my version is still super scrumptious, very filling, and relies on beans and corn to help fill out the pasta. The pasta cooks right in a delicious mix of vegetable broth, green chiles, and spices to make the whole dish packed with flavor, not to mention really easy (one skillet!). Sour cream is stirred in at the end to make everything rich and indulgent, then just a little cheese is sprinkled on top. I went light on the cheese, cuz that’s been hella expensive lately, too.
Oh man… I just realized that a diced up avocado would be awesome on this. If you have extra cash, get an avocado! Do it!
Creamy Vegetarian Enchilada Pasta
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Creamy Vegetarian Enchilada Pasta
Servings 4 to 6 servingsIngredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 4 oz can green chiles ($0.87)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.60)
- 15 oz can pinto (or black) beans ($1.19)
- 1 tsp cumin ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ($0.02)
- 8 oz wide egg noodles ($1.46)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.27)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.71)
- 3 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro (optional) ($0.25)
- 2 oz shredded pepper jack cheese ($0.69)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and sauté it in a skillet with olive oil over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Add the can of green chiles (with juices), frozen corn kernels, can of beans (rinsed and drained), cumin, and red pepper to the skillet. Stir well.
- Add the uncooked pasta and vegetable broth to the skillet. The broth will not fully cover the noodles. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and allow the liquid to come up to a full boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let the skillet simmer for 10 minutes, stirring well half way through.
- While the skillet is simmering, slice the green onions, roughly chop the cilantro, and shred the cheese.
- After ten minutes of simmering, the noodles should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed. Stir the skillet well, then add the sour cream and stir until it has fully coated the pasta. Stir in most of the sliced green onions and cilantro, reserving a little to sprinkle over top.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the skillet, place the lid back on top, and let the residual heat melt the cheese. Once melted, add the remaining green onions and cilantro to the top of the pasta. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Begin my mincing two cloves of garlic, then sautéing them in one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
Next, add one 4-oz. can of diced green chiles, 1 cup of frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw them), one 15-oz can of beans (pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained), 1 tsp of cumin, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (less if you’re sensitive to heat). Stir these ingredients together well.
Add 8 oz. uncooked wide egg noodles and 2 cups of vegetable broth to the skillet. The broth will not cover the noodles, but that’s okay. While it’s simmering with the lid on, the steam will cook the upper noodles while the lower noodles simmer in the broth.
Place the lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and let it come to a boil. Once it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Stir it well once, half way through.
While the skillet is simmering, slice three green onions, roughly chop about 1/4 bunch of cilantro, and shred about 2 oz. of pepper jack cheese.
After simmering for ten minutes, the noodles should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed. Stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream. Add most of the sliced green onions and cilantro, saving just a little for the top.
Lastly, sprinkle the cheese over top, place the lid back on the skillet for a few minutes, and let the residual heat melt the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro and green onion over top, then serve.
Oooh, creamy comfort.
Everyone came back for seconds. Easy to make and I thank you for the recipe!
So easy, filling, inexpensive, and vegetarian! Loved this recipe!
I’ve been meaning to make this for awhile and finally got around to it for today’s WFH lunch. Delish! Easy to make, easy to customize with what is on hand. It’s a winner!!!
Our toughest critic is our 8 yr old and she gives this… Not 2 thumbs up…10 whole fingers up :D
(The only thing I did differently was roast the peppers myself because our pick up order had extra jalapenos and poblanos)
So cute! Thanks for sharing that!
I swapped in canned enchilada sauce for the vegetable broth and penne for the egg noodles. It was great!
Question-Could you provide a suggestion if I wanted to double the amount of noodles using a whole package (16 oz) of egg noodles? Would I just double everything in the recipe, or just the broth and noodles? Thank you!
I would double everything. :)
Thank you! Take Care! :)
Very nice indeed. I used tagliatelle instead of egg noodles.
I’m so impressed with this dish! This is definitely going into our rotation. I did add a can of diced tomatoes and also sprinkled panko crumbs with the shredded cheese and put under the broiler. I’m also hoping to increase the veggies in it and may add chopped red bell pepper and spinach next time. I also used Black Beans instead of pinto because that’s what I had on hand. I believe this recipe would be 5 stars without any changes but just tweaked a few things based on our preferences and what I had in the cabinet. Great recipe!
This was a hit with my husband. He absolutely loved it. I doubled the red pepper for a little more heat.
I make this recipe constantly with little tweaks depending on what I have in my pantry. Sometimes I sub tomatoes with green chilies for the plain green chilies. Sometimes I sub plain Greek yogurt for sour cream.
Today I made it with bow tie pasta since I had half a box left from another recipe.
I can’t wait to dig in. It’s delicious every time.
Huge hit! Dealing with COVID-19 lockdowns so had to improvise on a couple ingredients I didn’t have. No cilantro – just left that out. No green onions – subbed with about 1/4 chopped yellow onion that I cooked along with the garlic. No pepper jack – chopped up some jalopenos and mixed that in near the end, and used shredded mexican cheese mix instead. Had a little extra time so got fancy and mixed some panko with the cheese and put it all in a casserole dish in the oven to get the top crispy. The whole family loved it!
I make this all the time now. I’ve found the broth you use makes a HUGE difference. I’d suggest using broth you made from a bouillon cube rather than what you can buy in a carton as the cartos can be bland. With the stock cubes you can adjust the amount of water to make a more flavourful, concentrated broth and that adds more flavour!
If anyone is wondering, I made this with protein pasta (the red lentil rotini kind from Aldi) and it turned out perfectly with the same amounts of broth and everything. Delicious!
I just made a vegan version of this recipe using Tofutti sour cream and Daiya pepperjack shreds. I also used Farfalle pasta in place of the egg noodles. Oh my goodness this is so tasty! It really does have the flavor of eating a super creamy enchilada.
What would you recommend serving with this?
I would consider this a “one bowl” meal and wouldn’t serve it with any sides. It’s got everything you need in that one skillet. :)
Would white beans work here? It’s what I have on hand. Thanks!
Yes, they would work well. :)
I’m not a vegetarian so I was surprised at how tasty this came out when I made it.
Avocados are cheap here in California so I can use them as you recommended. How many would you recommend? I assume it would be to sprinkle on the top of each plate before serving, correct?
Yep, I would just sprinkle them over top. One would probably be sufficient.
Thanx. I made this and it came out great. Real comfort food. Mmmm….
Would black beans work?
Hi Jay! Yes as noted in the ingredients you can use black beans :)
Hello! Wanting to make this but there’s a couple ingredients I can’t find here in Australia. Could I swap the green chiles for green capsicum? And if yes, how much capsicum? Also, the pepper jack cheese, I can’t find that here, would chedder work?
Unfortunately the green chiles taste quite a bit different than green capsicum, so I don’t think that swap would work. Cheddar would work with this, but you’d be missing the spicy peppers that are in pepper jack. You could try also adding a pinch of red pepper flakes to make up for it.
WOW! Wish there was more than 5 starts for this recipe, I was looking for something simple and quick to whip up before work as I wanted some homemade food for lunch instead of takeout. It’s amazing how something so simple can be so delicious – I’ve been eating it the last few days and look forward to it each time. My tweaks – added some tex mex seasoning for more flavor, and used yogurt instead of sour cream. Served with some veggie on the side (I enjoyed a side of sliced cucumber with this) it’s a perfect, rounded out meal. Thank you for another great recipe :D
I cook my pasta separately, since I find the leftovers turn gluey and it’s just me, eating. For several people, cooking the noodles in the same pot…works fine. I use Greek Yogurt, too…it just adds a little “something”. I like this recipe and have made it several times.
Wow. I couldn’t wrap around how pinto beans, corn, and noodles could taste good together but I followed the recipe, it was easy to make, and the flavor is out of control amazing. It’s like a southwest vegetarian stroganoff. Thank you for sharing this. I will be making this frequently.
Mmm so good! One of the best recipes I’ve tried on the Internet, and so cheap too! I made it for the first time yesterday and today I just had to make it again. I added some leftover fire roasted tomatoes, salsa, and hot sauce. This will definitely be in my regular rotation of meals for the week.
This is so, so good. it’s become a staple recipe that we eat just about every week. It’s fast, delicious, and I almost always have all the ingredients around. Just about everything I’ve made from this site has been very, very good but this one is our absolute fave.
I have made this before exactly according to the recipe and thought it was awesome, but this time I added hamburger and salsa, omitted the cilantro and green onion (since I didn’t have any), and put in a diced tomato instead. I also cooked the noodles in homemade beef broth left over from a previously made beef stew. I kept everything else the same. It was unbelievably delicious this way. Thanks for a great base recipe!!!
I’ll admit, I messed up this dish a bit by subbing rotini for egg noodles. I had to add extra stock to fully cook the noodles, but great nonetheless! Loooove these comfort pasta dishes
I was super excited when I found this recipe because with the exception of the cilantro and green onion I already had all the ingredients on hand so it was super budget friendly for me. (I omitted those two ingredients to save a trip to the store, but I’m sure they make the dish much more flavorful.) I’m a meat lover I was very impressed with how satisfying this dish was! I will definitely be making this one again it was delicious.
This recipe was delicious! I did need more noodles since I cook for 6, but I just added green enchilada sauce to the broth to cook the noodles. The kids were (literally) licking their plates clean. HAHAHA! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
I made this recipe last night for my husband and I. I first cooked two chicken breasts in a pan with the oil, took them out, then sauteed some mushroom and green bell pepper for some added veggies. I also added some sliced black olives, used whole wheat pasta, and I topped it with cotija cheese when serving. This is a really great recipe that I think can be altered to fit whatever you have on hand. And it is delicious!
This turned out amazing. We didn’t get 6 servings out of it, but that’s just cause it’s comforting and delicious, and everyone kept eating more. I replaced the can of chiles for a good sized plop of Hatch green chile (I’m in New Mexico, so of course I did that), and Knorr tomato bouillon for the broth. I’m sure I also added more cheese because I always do. Me and my friends call it Mexican Bean Helper. I definitely recommend this recipe to anyone.
Who doesn’t love a little comfort food? I have included this in my June Real Food Meal Plan post. Thanks for sharing!
I was desperately searching for something quick and easy I could whip up for my lunch today; preferably something without meat (I don’t have a lot of meat on hand right now). I also can’t have any dairy (cow milk) products, but I realized I could alter things a little bit for my own purposes. Instead of sour cream, I mashed an avocado, a little lime juice, and some goat cheese into a creamy sauce and mixed it in. I thought it turned out delicious! And this dish reminded me a lot of that boxed Suddenly Salad stuff. But the awesome difference between Suddenly Salad and this, is that I could alter it to fit my own dietary needs/restrictions. With a box of something, I can’t take out the dairy stuff. Hooray for cooking from scratch!!!
I enjoyed this one. We got four servings out of it. I’m taking off one star because I thought it was a little bit bland. Maybe upping the cheese or spices a bit would make it more to my liking. It’s good enough to try again, though!
I had to stop myself from eating too much of this… the chiles make it really tasty. Thanks for a simple and delicious recipe to make over and over!
I agree with you about it being bland. I thought it was because I used reduced sodium broth… It was still good overall, but I would definitely up the cheese factor. I also put in more than 1/2 cup sour cream, hehe ^_^ I made mine with pinto beans, but next time I think I might like black beans better.
This was a tasty meal! I couldn’t find egg noodles where I shop, so I used linguine, and it turned out fine, although I had to cook it for a little longer. I think next time I’ll throw in a couple chopped fresh tomatoes at the beginning, and wilt in some fresh spinach at the end. My partner snarfed it down and told me to definitely keep the recipe! Thanks?
I mean, thanks! :)
This was amazing! I used roasted corn, and added a red bell pepper and some taco seasoning, and topped it with some pickled jalapeños. My husband and I both loved it; had it for dinner last night, and lunch AND dinner today because we loved it so much!
I am just wondering, do you have any tips for using other pasta? I’m trying to use w.w. for a healthier alternative. Should I increase the fluid amount or pre-cook it half the time? Thanks Beth! We love your site!
I’m sorry, I haven’t experimented with other pasta types. :(
I used linguine noodles tonight, although not whole wheat ones, and they worked fine! I had to cook it for about 15 minutes, instead of 10, but the 2 cups of broth was sufficient.
So good!! And great on the budget. I used whole wheat pasta and left out the red pepper for the sake of my kiddos. I used mozzarella in lieu of the pepperjack. YUM!
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing! Love the one pot aspect. For our dinner, I omitted the red pepper flakes for our toddler. He likes spicy (as spicy as a baby can) and in hindsight I should have added it. Also, I used cheddar and chicken broth instead because that’s what we had on hand.
This was delicious, thanks! I used black beans instead of pinto and chopped up a small jalapeno that was sitting in my fridge. Both my boyfriend and I gobbled it up last night. Great recipe to add into my rotation!
In general, thank you for the yummy and cheap recipes. This foodie grad student salutes you.
I followed this recipe exactly and it came out perfect and delicious!! My brother said it needed a little salt or pepper but that’s a no brainer. This is my go to website for delicious vegetarian and vegan noms :) Thanks for the amazing recipes!!
This was so delicious that we ate the whole thing. My husband was mad that there were not leftovers for lunch tomorrow. We will be making this again and again.
This was easy and delish!!
This recipe was delicious! I used my wok because it’s the biggest pan I have and it cooked everything really well, although I did have to cook the noodles for 15 minutes instead of 10. I also used low fat sour cream and 1/4 of a tbs of low sodium taco seasoning. I am addicted to this recipe! Thanks for sharing :)
just had this for lunch and it was delish! thanks for another great recipe. i didnt have any frozen corn so i used canned and it still turned out great
This was so amazing! I skipped the cilantro but kept everything else the same. The combo of flavors is perfect, and it is going in our recipe rotation. Thank you!
Just wanted to say that I added ground beef and used yellow onions instead of green, and this recipe was amazing. My husband loves it, I love it and my 10-month-old loves it!
Made this tonight, but I added rotisserie chicken and used chicken broth instead of veggie. So good! Next time, I might add a bit more spice.
I made this the other night and it was great. I forgot to pick up cumin at and didn’t have any in my cupboard, so I used a chipolte seasoning I had from Penzy’s instead. I also used black beans which I maybe didn’t rinse as well as I should have. Mine was quite as photogenic as it looks above. It was darn tasty, though.
This recipe is seriously amazing, the egg noodles are the perfect vehicle for this deliciousness. I added some really finely slivered red onions to the garlic start because I had a red onion in the freezer and added some nice flavor. Thanks again, budget bytes is the only website I visit for recipes now!
I made this dish with rice instead of pasta, and it turned out great!
I made this dish yesterday and it was great! I made as written but threw in some leftover rotisserie chicken at the end. It didn’t heat up well the next day; better served immediately. Total comfort food…loved it!
I made this tonight and it was SOOO good. We had chicken we needed to use up, so I threw that in (fully cooked) along with jalapenos and green peppers from my garden. It turned out great! I’m excited about eating the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.
Have made this twice already and my family loves it! I love how quick and easy it is, perfect for rushed nights. Because my girls are sensitive to heat, I wait to add the pepper jack until I serve their plates and just sprinkled Mexican cheese blend on theirs. Then I added the pepper jack to the rest because my husband and I love the spiciness. It makes yummy leftovers too.
Omg I just made this and had to comment while I chew… This is sooo good and sooo easy to make. I omitted the corn and added in chicken! I’ll definitely be back on this site to try other recipes :)
Eating this as I type! Another delicious recipe! I added more corn because I just love corn. Thank you so much for your website. The step by step pictures and specific directions really are so helpful to newbie cooks like me.
I love everything that I’ve tried on this site, it all is sooo tasty
For this dish, I browned some ground turkey and seasoned with smoked paprika, onion powder and chili powder. Also, diced up a jalapeno to add. Soooo satisfying and delicious! Thanks for all the great recipes!
So this sounds amazing but I don’t have sour cream! I do have a bunch of cream cheese I’d like to use up….what do you think??
I think that would work! I stirred cream cheese into a past dish until it melted in this Creamy Tomato and Spinach pasta and it had a very similar effect.
I subbed plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream. It seemed to work well.
Made this yesterday. I was sooo delicious. I subbed red beans for the pinto/black beans, and subbed cheddar cheese for the pepper jack, because that was what I had on hand. Still turned out amazing, and amazingly-simple to make! The sour cream really made this dish.
It, not I.
First let me say that I’m not one of those people who normally makes a bunch of modifications to a recipe and then comments on it. In true Budget Bytes fashion though I was trying by all means to use what I had on hand and avoid a trip to the supermarket. The end result? A whole lot of yum! I had some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and no green chiles so I used those and omitted the red pepper flakes since the chipotles were a bit on the spicy side. I had chicken broth instead of vegetable broth and a bunch of parsley to use up instead of cilantro. Wouldn’t you know, I had about a cup left of some frozen corn that had already been opened in my freezer and the corn in this was the perfect compliment to the spice.
This is so good!! Thank you!! :) my boyfriend and I LOVE your site:)
Looks so yummy! But, not a huge fan of corn. Any ideas with what I can replace it with?
Hmm, you could really put just about any vegetable that you would put on tacos in this pasta. :) Jalapenos, red bell pepper, black olives, diced tomato, lots of options.
This is great! I’m eating it right this very moment & love it. Texted a picture to my sisters because this is the type of food we live for. I didn’t have the green chiles but put in red chiles (I think? They were in my CSA & I wasn’t sure. Oh well!) and it still turned out fine. Your website is my go-to for recipes! Keep on keepin’ on!
I’m wondering if anyone’s tried the corn pasta and whether it holds up in casserole dishes like this.
I substitute gluten free pasta in these types of recipes all the time. Most of the GF pastas are either brown rice, corn, or a combo. In something like this I would precook the pasta, but leave it slightly undercooked, and then add it to the pan just to finish it off and let it absorb the flavors of the sauce. Watch that it doesn’t stay too long on the heat and turn to mush. :)
This looks awesome! I also have a chicken enchilada pasta dish that I love, but a vegetarian version sounds really good and is something I haven’t tried.
I LOVE your website! Ty so much for making budget friendly recipes so easily attainable! TYTYTY!
My only recommendation would be to put calorie approximations per serving for those of us counting calories *cough me* and there are probably others too haha :)
Ty again!
I really enjoy your blog and your recipes. But I have one pressing question: how do you keep your oven so clean?
Hahah, I don’t know… I wipe it down often and when grease gets stuck on and makes that brown residue, I use a fume-free oven cleaner to dissolve it off (it’s basically just an oily substance that dissolves other oily residues). It comes off super easy! :)
The recipe card at the top calls for a 4oz. can of green chiles, but later in the picture sequence you call for an 8oz. can of green chilies. Just a heads up…
Typo, thanks!! It should be 4 oz. :)
Thanks for the great idea!! I love one skillet meals and I got some fresh corn on a good sale and this will be a great way to enjoy it while it is still in season.
Do you think this would be good spread over a couple of days, eaten cold or reheated or is it more of a ‘one batch eat it while it’s hot and fresh’ dish?
Leftovers are quite delicious, I can confirm that. ;)
Loving this vegetarian pasta! And I do so happen to have an avocado to add to it because they were on sale for $0.69 this week:)
Lucky! :)
I’ve never heard of canned green chilies, could I just used fresh jalapeños?
Jalapeños would be really good in this, but definitely different than the green chiles. Canned green chiles have a slightly briny flavor, kind of like pickled jalapeños would. They have a great mild pepper flavor. Look in the Hispanic section of your local grocery store, they’re a fairly popular item (sorry, I should have included a picture of the can!).
This sounds great. I made a pasta this week that cooked with Rotel with green chiles and it added a ton of flavor. (twoforksonelove.com/spicy-sausage-pasta/) Your dish sounds awesome too, but I’d have to get creative because I can’t get my husband to eat beans!!!