30-minute al pastor enchiladas

A skillet full of cheesy comfort

It’s officially October, which means that warm, baked, cheesy foods are back in season — and we’re kicking things off with these ridiculously tasty enchiladas.

Don’t worry — I’ll hurl another dinner salad at you soon, but a big skillet full of cheesy enchiladas just screams fall comfort food to me, and we all deserve it.

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not authentic al pastor, but certainly inspired by it

Al pastor tacos are made from spit-fire grilled pork shoulder that has been marinated in pineapple juice and chilies. They are incredibly time intensive — not exactly something you’d whip together for a casual weeknight dinner.

But the flavors are SO GOOD. So I set out to recreate a simpler, weeknight rendition. We’re using salsa verde and canned (yep, canned, GO WITH IT!) pineapple to bring the sweet and savory flavor goodness to this dish.

I love making skillet enchiladas, where I make the filling in the skillet, then load tortillas up with filling and return them to that same skillet to bake. This recipe feeds four, but if you want to double it for a crowd, that’s easy to do — just make the filling in your largest skillet, then bake the enchiladas in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

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30-minute al pastor enchiladas

Serves 4

Tools:

• Cutting board

• Chef’s knife

• Large ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil

• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 pound ground pork

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (from a can of crushed pineapple — see notes for ways to use the rest)

• 1 (16-ounce) jar of salsa verde

• 1 (8-ounce) bag of spinach

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 5 to 6 (10-inch) flour tortillas (see sub note for alternatives!)

• 8 ounces shredded cheddar, Mexican, or pepper jack cheese

• Optional toppings: pickled red onions, thinly sliced red onion, avocado slices, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Warm 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sliced scallions and 4 minced garlic cloves until softened, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 pound ground pork, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt and turn the heat up to high. Break the pork into tiny crumbles with a spatula, stirring frequently until cooked through and all excess moisture has evaporated.

Stir in 1/2 cup crushed pineapple and 1/4 cup salsa verde. Stir until the meat has absorbed the liquid. Stir in 8 ounces spinach until totally wilted.

it should look like this at this step

Turn off the heat and stir in 1/4 cup sour cream.

Roll the enchiladas up by spooning 1/4 to 1/3 cup (depending on how large your tortilla is) of the pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with several tablespoons of shredded cheese. Roll tightly and line the tortillas up, seam-side down, on a cutting board.

Once all of the meat has been rolled into tortillas, pour in enough salsa verde to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the enchiladas into the skillet, again seam-side down. I can usually fit 5 across, then wedge 1 more in along the top.

Cover the enchiladas with the remaining salsa verde followed by the remaining shredded cheese (about 1 cup).

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is totally melted.

Garnish with pickled red onions, avocado, cilantro, scallions, more sour cream, etc., as desired. Dig in!

30-minute al pastor enchiladas

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Notes:

• Leftovers are a good thing: Yep, you can freeze these after they’ve been baked. Put any leftover enchiladas (or the whole batch if you’re food prepping!) in a gallon-sized Ziploc, taking care to squeeze all of the air out as you do. Next, wrap the bag tightly in foil. Freeze for up to three months. To reheat, either let them thaw then bake in a oven-safe dish (like your cast-iron skillet or a casserole dish) for 20-25ish minutes, or until warm, in a 375°F oven. Or you can bake from frozen — again in an oven-safe dish, for closer to 45 minutes, or until warm.

• Special ingredient: You'll have some leftover crushed pineapple. Make a quick pineapple salsa with it by adding some smashed or diced avocado and lots of chopped fresh cilantro. OR freeze the rest of it for next time you make this! Or just add some more on top when you add the salsa verde (they will turn out on the sweeter side) or as garnish.

• Make ahead: You can cook and assemble the enchiladas up to 24 hours in advance, but don’t soak them in the salsa verde yet (unless you like your enchiladas really soggy). Store them in the skillet or casserole dish wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or foil, or in an air-tight container. Before cooking, pour the salsa verde into the skillet, place the enchiladas back in, and top with remaining salsa and cheese.

• Vegetarian: Use an alternative ground meat product like Impossible Foods meat or tempeh.

• Dairy-free: Use vegan sour cream and your favorite df shredded cheese. If you don’t like vegan cheese just omit. If you are going cheese-less you can try this: Use flour tortillas and try to assemble your enchiladas a few hours ahead of time, letting them sit in the salsa verde. The moisture will make the flour tortillas very soft and gooey on the bottom — it’ll feel very cheese-like.

• Gluten-free: Use Siete Foods grain-free tortillas or corn tortillas. BUT FIRST, read the preparation note in the “flour tortillas” sub below.

Substitutions:

• Scallion: 1 shallot or 1/2 yellow or white onion, diced (you may have to cook these a little longer to get them soft)

• Garlic cloves: 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• Pork: Use any other ground meat or alternative ground meat product such as Impossible Foods.

• Chili powder: Paprika or taco seasoning

• Oregano: Another dried herb, like basil or coriander (which is actually dried cilantro)

• Cumin: Chili powder or taco seasoning

• Can of crushed pineapple: If you can’t find crushed pineapple, you can buy another canned pineapple option — like rings or chunks — and crush it up with your hands, a potato masher, or even pulsed just a little bit in the blender. Try to keep it kinda chunky. Obviously you can also use fresh pineapple… but we’re going for ease here, people!

• Salsa verde: Pretty much any other liquidy jarred salsa. Opt for mild if you’re not into a lot of spice or are feeding picky kids. Though I do love pico de gallo, it’s not what we’re looking for here (it’s too chunky/not liquidy enough).

• Spinach: Finely chopped kale, mustard greens, or Swiss chard, but add it the same time that you add the pineapple and salsa verde. Or opt for another veggie like fresh or frozen corn kernels. You could also just omit.

• Sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt, cream cheese, mascarpone, vegan sour cream — this just adds some delicious creaminess to the filling.

• Flour tortillas: Grain-free Siete Foods tortillas or corn tortillas. If using these subs, warm them up quickly either over the flame of a gas burner or in a skillet before assembling your enchiladas (otherwise they’ll just break when you try to roll them). The key is to warm them just enough so that they’re pliable, but not so much that they toast and get hard.

• Cheese: Shredded cheddar, Mexican, or pepper jack cheese would all be great. If diary-free, you can either omit or use your fave df alternative.