Maple pork and butternut squash enchiladas are made with creamy mashed butternut squash, juicy pulled pork and spiced enchilada sauce. Easy to prepare and can be prepped ahead!
One of my favorite ways to meal prep is to cook a big batch of protein and use it up in multiple meals through the week, and that's exactly what we're doing with slow cooker maple pulled pork. We're using it up in fall burrito bowls with sweet potatoes, maple pork tacos with brussels sprouts slaw, and now in maple pork and butternut squash enchiladas.
These maple pork enchiladas are familiar yet a little bit different: Familiar: enchilada sauce. A bit different: maple pulled pork and mashed butternut squash.
Altogether, these flavors work incredibly well: with the southwestern spices and slightly smoky flavor from the enchilada sauce, sweet and nutty butternut squash, and hint of maple from the pulled pork.
Reasons you'll ♡ maple pork and butternut squash enchiladas
- they are slightly different from a normal enchilada and the flavors are amazing
- you can assemble ahead and freeze
- or you can prep components ahead for an easy roll + bake dinner
The pulled pork
For this recipe, we are using slow cooker maple pulled pork. This recipe has subtly sweet flavors of maple, a bit of flavor and spice from chili powder, and tangy kick from apple cider vinegar. If you are looking for a more saucy and traditional flavored pulled pork, try my Crock Pot Pulled Pork.
The pulled pork will take 8 hours of simmering to get tender and juicy pork. Make sure that you start the pulled pork cooking earlier in the day, or even better, cook it the day before.
Butternut squash
To cook the butternut squash, we start by sauteeing in in a pan to get a little caramelization happening, then we add some water and put a lid on the pan for the squash to steam all the way through. Really, you could cook the butternut squash through in any number of ways including steaming, roasting, or even cooking it in the Instant Pot. Once it is cooked through, simply mash with a potato masher until smooth.
Enchilada sauce
I've used a mild enchilada sauce for this recipe, but if you like it spicy, feel free to sub a hot enchilada sauce! Now I live in Canada, and it can be really hard to find enchilada sauce at the grocery store for some reason. I've had success finding Fronterra brand at Loblaws, and La Victoria brand at Co-op. Either of these brands works great.
If you can't find enchilada sauce at the grocery store, I've successfully used this recipe for years. I omit the salt and find it perfect!
Rolling the enchiladas
Once you have your maple pulled pork and mashed butternut squash, assembling and rolling the enchiladas is easy peasy! We start by adding ⅓ cup of enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 9 inch baking dish.
To roll, simply add ¼ cup of mashed butternut squash onto a large corn or flour tortilla, followed by ¼ cup of pulled pork, then roll them up. Place seam side down in the baking dish and repeat.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for around 20 minutes.
What to serve with butternut squash enchiladas
These enchiladas are delicious, but definitely on the heavier side. I love serving with a fresh side salad that helps balance out the heaviness:
- Our Staple Kale Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Pomegranates
- Green Apple Brussels Spouts Slaw
- Spiralized Cucumber Salad
Prep ahead for easy dinners
Enchiladas work GREAT for meal prep! Here are some ways you can do it:
- bake ahead- cover and reheat at 350°F for 20 minutes; best eaten within 2 days
- single portions- reheat in the microwave until steaming hot; they do tend to get a little softer this way but are delicious
- freeze- freeze in a metal baking dish and you can transfer it to the oven from frozen! Bake covered at 350°F for 30-45 minutes, then uncover for the last 5 minutes. It is not recommended to do this with glass baking dishes.
- ingredient prep- you can cook the pulled pork and mashed butternut squash up to 4 days ahead, and shred the cheese up to 7 days ahead.
- roll ahead- I do not recommend this as they get significantly softer while sitting in the fridge. If you plan to roll ahead but not bake, I'd recommend freezing and baking from frozen instead.
More pork recipes
- Pulled Pork Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Amazing Pork Tenderloin Marinade
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Soy Ginger Sauce
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Pulled Pork Meal Prep Bowls
Maple Pulled Pork Enchiladas with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeds scooped out, and cut into ½ inch cubes (4-5 cups, and depending on the size of your butternut squash you may have left-overs))
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ¼ cup water
- 9.6 oz enchilada sauce (284 mL; just over 1 cup)
- 1 cup cheese (shredded )
- 1 cup maple pulled pork
- 4 tortillas (large)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.
- Add butternut squash and chili powder and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add ¼ cup of water, cover pan and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until squash is tender when poked with a fork.
- Transfer butternut squash to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork.
- In the bottom of a 9X9 inch pan, pour ⅓ cup of the enchilada sauce, spreading to all corners of the pan.
- Spread approximately ¼ cup of butternut squash on a large flour tortilla. Top with ¼ cup of maple pulled pork.
- Roll the enchilada and place seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat with 3 more tortillas.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas, and top with cheese.
- Bake for 20 or so minutes, until enchilada sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted all over.
- Serve immediately.
