These Whole30 enchiladas are out of control! Stuffed with a roasted poblano pepper and ground pork mixture, seasoned with a, wait for it… cilantro-spinach-pepita pesto and plenty of mushrooms, they’re the perfect Whole30 enchiladas recipe and they make a fantastic Whole30 dinner recipe. Topped with a rich, creamy avocado-cilantro sauce, you’ve got the best Whole30 enchiladas recipe ever… or maybe the best Whole30 dinner recipe ever? You decide.
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There are these clear stages of having a toddler that don’t maybe seem so clear at the time. They’re categorized by your communications, what the toddler cares about, what they eat (and what they won’t eat), and how much sleep you’re getting. Fluid as their growth, you can float to the next stage without realizing it, lifted effortlessly and without much notice to the next time in their tiny lives by a wave of fresh realization, brain development, discovery that Bruce Wayne is, in fact, Batman, too.
These shifts in your experience are subtle and nebulous, often only realized after the change has settled in for a while.
“Whoa. He’s really listening to everything we say, isn’t he?”
or
“Did my child just count to ten…? Um, he’s essentially a genius.”
But there’s an easy external marker, a barometer for these toddler times that will help you understand when a shift is occurring or has recently occurred:
What you watch on Netflix.
For the very beginning of his life, we watched, um, nothing. Sometimes, if Leo were feeling especially attached but I needed to cook dinner or something, I’d put his rock ‘n’ play in front of Baby Einstein and let him watch large, slowly moving shapes for a few minutes. And then we transitioned to Daniel Tiger, more of those large, but talking, shapes and lots of songs – Leo’s favorite. From there we moved to Curious George, and we watched it maybe, oh, 600 times in a span of 3 months. No songs, but he recognized the parts of the movie he liked, anticipated splashes in the water and the time when the Man in the Yellow Hat and George flew above the city lifted only by a particularly robust bundle of balloons. The perfect toddler movie that you somehow never even get tired of – a rarity, to be sure.
From there, though, we expanded into movies and shows more typically characterized as “kids.'” We watched Moana and Zootopia; Leo pointed out the “bad guys” (Te Kā, of course; and Te Fiti was “mommy”: giver of life, nbd) and was scared of the fly-swarmed yak, who, to be fair, does kind of look like Beelzebub if you didn’t know better. Just saying.
But lately? It’s all about truly learning shows and, yeah, Batman and dinosaurs. Leo carries around his little dinosaur figurines and his Batman doll, and the only way I can get him to get excited about cleaning up his blocks if I make Batman “hold” them and put them away and direct the little guy in my best Batman voice.
And so, with each stage as we go along, my frame of reference changes rapidly, which explains why, when I went to edit these photos, all I could think about was tree stars from Land Before Time. And that, of course, leads me to think about Little Foot’s mommmy, and that, of course, leads me to think about LITTLE FOOT’S MOMMY DYING and I’m basically crying over here as we speak.
But these poblano-pork Whole30 enchiladas with avocado-cilantro sauce remind me of longneck leaves, with their soft veins and thick stems, their dense nutrition, and their versatility in replacing tortillas and wraps on a Whole30. This recipe is then, dare I say, not paleo but jurassic?
Ugh. I know. I’m sorry. I’m the worst.
Truly, though, these Whole30 enchiladas are out of control; I wrote the recipe so freely, adding every ingredient I love and sparing basically nothing. They’re stuffed with a roasted poblano pepper and ground pork mixture, seasoned with a, wait for it… cilantro-spinach-pepita pesto and plenty of mushrooms. They’re baked with a bit of salsa verde to keep things flavorful and moist, and they’re topped with a rich, creamy avocado-cilantro sauce packed with garlic and jalapeño. Sprinkle some fresh red onion, pepitas, cilantro, and almond meal for a queso fresco fake-out, and you’ve just made every non-Whole30er wish they were Whole30ing.
Speaking of which, I can’t even believe how many entries we already have in the ultimate Whole30 giveaway! Since I published on Friday, I’ve added even more goodies:
- A Whole Inspiration box from Melissa’s Produce, and
- Humm kombucha!
Y’all. Like, you might seriously be able to survive off this box for the entire 30 days. Just add meat? Sold. Make sure you enter! ?
Ultimate Whole30 Must-Haves Giveaway
To make these Whole30 enchiladas, I used…
Whole30 Enchiladas with Poblano-Pork Stuffing & Creamy-Avocado Sauce
Ingredients
Cilantro-Spinach Pesto:
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 3 cloves garlic , peeled
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 fresh jalapeño , stemmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Enchiladas
- 1 bunch collard leaves
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 poblano pepper , roasted, stemmed, deseeded, and chopped
- 2 cups mushrooms , diced
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1 tsp almond flour , for garnish, optional
- 1 tsp diced red onion , for garnish, optional
- 1 tsp fresh chopped cilantro , for garnish, optional
- 1 tsp pepitas , for garnish, optional
Creamy Avocado-Cilantro Sauce
- 1 clove garlic , peeled
- 2 avocados , peeled and pitted
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup red onion , diced
- 1/2 jalapeño , stemmed
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Instructions
Make Cilantro-Spinach Pesto
- Add all cilantro-spinach pesto ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. This pesto should be near the consistency of traditional pesto, but not quite as moist.
Make Enchiladas
- Preheat oven to 375º F. Prepare your collard leaves: with a knife, cut off the edge of the stem where the bottom of the leaf is. Then use the knife to very carefully slice off the round part of the thick stem, so that you have a flattened stem. This step helps you roll the enchiladas, and the stem can be quite large and tough to eat.
- Fill a large saucepan about 1/2 full with water and bring to a soft boil. About 2-4 at a time, blanch collard leaves for about 60 seconds, or until they turn from a soft blue-green to a very bright kelly green. Remove from saucepan and drain.
- Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat, then brown ground pork, breaking up with a spoon or spatula. When pork is browned and mostly cooked through, add mushrooms and sauté until softened. Add cilantro-spinach pesto and stir to completely coat and incorporate, then add poblano pepper. Remove mixture from heat.
- Working one at a time, lay your blanched and drained leaf onto a flat surface. Spread 1/2 cup or pork mixture on one side of the stem, as shown. Fold long edge over then fold bottom and tops over the mixture. Roll towards open edge then place seam-side down in a baking dish. Repeat until remaining mixture is used up, about 8 enchiladas. Top with 1/2 cup salsa verde and spread to mostly cover enchiladas.
Creamy Avocado-Cilantro Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt to taste.
- Bake enchiladas for 20 minutes then remove from oven and let cool slightly.
Notes
Nutrition
Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10 years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of two who lives in Memphis, TN.
Sarah says
I make these for every Whole30 and they are amazing! I save them for a weekend project, because they’re a little time consuming, but worth the effort. I usually use leftover pork shoulder from a crockpot meal instead of ground pork. Great way to repurpose leftovers (and saves some time).
Kathleen Davis says
Delicious and so much flavor! I had to sub lightly salted pistacios as I could not get the pepitas. I left out the salt in the pesto because of the salty pistacios. Still amazing. My hubby could not stop raving about this dish and went back for seconds and thirds. I am dairy free and he is not so I am always on the look out for recipes we can both enjoy. Thankyou for sharing your wonderful recipe!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Aw, yay!
Andrew says
Hey Cheryl,
Should it say 1 poblano pepper in the ingredients where it says 1 tsp poblano pepper?
Can’t wait to try these!
Amelia Camurati says
It SHOULD! Thanks for that catch Andrew! We’ve fixed it.
Brian says
10/10.
Thanks for yet another great healthy recipe. I was nervous that it would be too “green tasting” while making this but that was a non issue.
We found a great use for the leftover filling. Breakfast.
Sweet Potato home fries with cinnamon, chili powder and paprika air fried. Topped with poached eggs, the pork filling with pesto and the avocado cream. I highly recommend it.
One other little thing, I usually add lime juice to the avocado sauce.
Cheryl Malik says
I’m so glad you liked it! I definitely am a fan of adding lime juice to, well, pretty much everything. ?
aimee says
Hi Cheryl! I love these and have made these often.
I pulled this up today and it seems now that the italic subheadings are missing, as I only see the pesto listing at the top, which would imply to put all the ingredients under in the food processor (which I know is wrong, ha). There’s no other subheading showing what is in the enchilada, etc. I’m assuming the pesto ingredients stop at the collard greens, but then thought it was strange that it listed olive oil twice.
Thanks for the help!
Cheryl Malik says
Thanks for letting me know! We’ve been switching my old recipes to the newer recipe cards, and we’ve had some glitches in the transfer. I’ll get this fixed ASAP!
Shawna says
What do you mean by: two pieces avocado peeled and pitted? Do you mean two avocados? Looks delish!
Cheryl Malik says
Yes! Thank you for catching that! Somehow things got changed when we moved all my old recipes to the new recipe cards.
Emily says
Didn’t miss the cheese or tortilla, the sauce and pesto were delicious. The avocado sauce will be used all week on anything I can dip in it. My kids loved it too. Great recipe!
Autumn says
This amazing recipe only takes 40 minutes? Count me in!
Chris says
Could I use cabbage instead of collard greens?
Cheryl Malik says
Sure! The flavor profile will be totally different, though.
Allison says
Delicious recipe! My husband and I both loved it and agreed that we didn’t miss the usual enchilada ingredients like corn tortillas and cheese. Plus it was just totally different than anything we have had before. Also, I used sunflower seeds as a substitute for the pepitas and it worked out great.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Christin says
I made these last night and they were so good! I feel like a lot of paleo/whole 30 recipes lack salt and sufficient seasoning, but these were perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Nicki says
I really want to try these, but we don’t eat Pork. Do you have a recommendation for an alternative meat?
Cheryl Malik says
I think ground beef or chicken would work just fine!
Katie says
These! Are! SO! Good! I couldn’t get over how perfect the collard greens were for a wrap with no strong flavor! As a southern girl, I love my collards, but made these with great trepidation. HA! An amazing, delicious recipe the whole family loved ( my 3 boys all went back for seconds!) that has been added in as a regular dinner dish. Blew my mind! 😉
Cheryl Malik says
I am SO happy you liked these so much!! They’re so full of flavor to us 🙂 I’m a Southern girl, too! In Memphis!
Alyssa says
Hi Cheryl – thanks for sharing! I noticed you put Mrs Renfros hot green salsa but it has corn starch in the ingredients which isn’t whole30 approved. Curious if you used a different green salsa???? Thank you for the information
Cheryl Malik says
My recipe plugin uses one link for every “salsa verde” i ever use, so yes! Totally use a different one if you’re Whole30. There are so many out there – I know the Trader Joe’s is compliant!
Carrie says
Would you be able to freeze this dish to bake later?
Cheryl Malik says
Honestly that wouldn’t have occurred to me BUT I don’t see why not! I’d obviously keep the sauce off and make that fresh, but that should work just fine
Carrie says
Thank you!! I just made this dish last night and it was AMAZING. Literally the best thing I’ve eaten during my Whole30!
Cheryl Malik says
That is such high praise!! I’m so so happy you liked it Carrie 🙂 Did you freeze it?
Shelby says
Just made these for the first time and they were amazing! Love finding new Whole30 recipes to add to our usual mix. Thanks!
Cheryl Malik says
I’m soo glad you liked them so much, Shelby! 🙂
Jen says
Can you make any thing ahead of time? Like the pesto? Or Blanch the leaves ahead of time. Or is it best to do all right before? Looking to do a few steps ahead of time!
Cheryl Malik says
I would do both those things ahead of time! Prepping the leaves will help a lot. The rest should be easy to do right before baking 🙂
Sarah says
As I was making these tonight I was freely snacking on the mushroom/pork/pesto combo (because it’s amazing), and I realized it could be a vegan recipe if you replaced the pork with more mushrooms. BTW I used pork loin pre-cooked in my slow-cooker and it was delightful.
Cheryl Malik says
What a great idea! Yes, that would totally work. And great to know that pork loin was delicious too 🙂
JB says
Cheryl,
Could you tell me what are the macros to this dish? Thank you in advance.
JB
Cheryl Malik says
I’ve updated with a nutrition label! It factors in 4 servings per recipe
Bettinafl says
Dying to try these, but I’m not a fan if mushrooms. What would be a good substitute?
Cheryl Malik says
It won’t have quite the same texture but maybe try 1 cup of chopped onion instead? They’re so small and cooked that they don’t taste mushroomy to me as is, but they help with bulking up the texture without being too dense. You could maybe even add a can of water chestnuts, chopped, for a bit of crunch!
Cassandra @ Uncommonly Well says
Cheryl, my family was obsessed with these enchiladas! Not an overstatement. Pretty sure my dad didn’t believe me when I told him they were healthy. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Cheryl Malik says
I am sooo happy to hear that! So glad you all liked them so much 🙂 And thanks for coming back to let me know!
Amanda says
Wow… I cook A Lot.. and most whole30 recipes make me miss everything I can’t have, but these are Amazing! My super picky husband even lived these. Thank you!
Cheryl Malik says
That’s such a fantastic compliment, Amanda! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂 I agree – they’re great for when you’re feeling very deprived on a round!
Tiffany says
Just made these and they were amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Cheryl Malik says
I’m so glad you liked them, Tiffany!