Before He Became A Vegan, One Of Bill Clinton's Favorite Meals Was A Mexican Classic

The White House has a history of catering to its chief residents' sometimes colorful culinary cravings, from William Howard Taft's steak breakfasts to Ronald Reagan's massive shipments of jelly beans. When 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton moved in, however, the kitchen pivoted to somewhat lighter dishes. Despite his well-documented penchant for post-jog trips to McDonald's, Clinton aimed to take a healthier approach to his diet after getting elected.

According to Clinton's White House chef, John Moeller, cheeseburgers were never on the menu. Rather, the kitchen regularly whipped up fish dishes, like snapper and salmon, "pretty healthy" chicken pot pies, and the occasional rack of lamb, according to Page Six. However, there is one meal Clinton couldn't leave behind from his pre-presidency days: chicken enchiladas.

When he was still serving as the governor of Arkansas, Clinton was a regular at Juanita's, a Tex-Mex eatery in Little Rock, where he would frequently dig into his favorite Mexican entree, chicken enchiladas smothered in cheese. As one of the restaurant's owners, Mark Abernathy, told the New York Times in 1992, "They're made with Smooth Melt Cheese, which is similar to Velveeta but not cheese food. It's real cheese." Indeed, the gooey, meaty meal is a far cry from what you'll find the former president enjoying these days. Clinton went vegan back in 2010 for health reasons. As he told an interviewer at AARP that year, "I've stopped eating meat, cheese, milk, even fish. No dairy at all."

During his time in the White House with Bill Clinton, chef John Moeller told the Santa Barbara Independent that he "came up with a pretty good chicken enchilada recipe from scratch that I still make today." While it's unclear if it's the same one whipped up by Moeller, Bill Clinton's Favorite Chicken Enchiladas recipe does appear in the "The Clinton Presidential Center Cookbook." Published in 2004, before the former president went vegan, the book's recipe calls for corn or flour tortillas, green chilies, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, shredded chicken, and plenty of shredded cheddar cheese. Note that there's no Velveeta-like cheese product involved in this version.

The good news for Clinton (and other vegans and vegetarians), is that it is easy enough to give the Mexican classic a veggie-forward twist. Just consider Tasting Table's own vegetarian jackfruit enchiladas recipe, which sees the shredded meat replaced with hearty jackfruit, a popular meat substitute. There's also our roasted vegetable and black bean enchiladas, which call for sweet potato, zucchini, red pepper, red onion, mushrooms, and black beans all wrapped up in tortillas and covered in silky homemade sauce. Although both dishes do include dairy, there are plenty of vegan cheese brands you can turn to in order to find a cheddar substitute, and still be able to give your enchiladas the same creamy, gooey goodness beloved by the 42nd president.