Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Name: Vegetarian Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes (2 small-to-medium); 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans; 4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese; 2 ounces (1/2 cup) crumbled feta cheese; 2 small cans (4 ounces each) diced green chiles; 1 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced; 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional); 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste; Freshly ground black pepper; 2 cups (16 ounces) mild salsa verde, either homemade or store-bought; 10 corn tortillas; 4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese; 2 tablespoons sour cream; 1 tablespoon water; 1/4 cup chopped red onion; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

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Quick! I’m sharing these enchiladas with you as a suggestion for a post-Thanksgiving meal this weekend (don’t forget, I have lots of vegetarian Thanksgiving options here).

The enchiladas are stuffed with creamy, hearty sweet potato, plus black beans, feta cheese, and spices. The sauce is super easy—just grab some mild salsa verde at the store. Or, you can go the extra mile and make your own.

Most restaurant enchiladas are so cheesy that I leave with a belly ache, but not these. They are delicious, satisfying and leftovers taste even better the next day. If you want to make a vegetarian dinner and hear, “I don’t even miss the meat,” these enchiladas are for you.

This recipe is actually one that I shared back in 2011, but it was missing some key instructions, like how to roast the sweet potato. So, I revisited it and tweaked it a bit, and they’re better than ever.

These enchiladas taught me some valuable lessons about cooking back then, so I’m leaving my notes for you below.

From 2011: Do you ever cut corners when you’re following a recipe? I do—all the time—and I’m always learning from my mistakes.

Take these black bean sweet potato enchiladas, for example.

I blundered through Gluten Free Goddess’ recipe, made it my own, and came out a better cook in the end.

Lessons learned:

Substitutions can be ok: I subbed Target’s salsa verde for the Karina’s green chile sauce, which worked out fine.
Skipping steps is usually not ok: I ignored her recommendation to warm up the corn tortillas first, so they broke to pieces when I tried to wrap the tortillas around the inside ingredients. As a result, my enchiladas weren’t as pretty as they could have been, but it didn’t affect the flavor. I need to trust that my fellow cooks will not recommend additional steps if they are not integral to the dish’s success!
Additions are just fine: I love spicy food, so I knew adding a jalapeño was a good idea. And it was.
Pay more for high quality ingredients: Packaged breads, including tortillas, tend to be full of preservatives and unnecessary ingredients. I paid more for these sprouted grain corn tortillas at my local health food store, and go figure, they taste better than the rest!
Some flavors are so good together, you can’t go wrong: Black beans and sweet potatoes are a delicious combination. Even with all my mistakes, I ended up with a mighty delicious meal.

Please let me know how these enchiladas turn out for you in the comments! I hope they’re your new favorite.

Craving more Mexican-ish, cheesy goodness? Don’t miss my roasted veggie enchilada casserole or baked jalapeño poppers.

Watch How to Make Enchiladas

Vegetarian Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas

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Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 5 servings 1x
Category: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican

★★★★★

4.9 from 476 reviews

Amazing black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, smothered in salsa verde. A delicious, hearty vegetarian entrée. Recipe yields 10 enchiladas, enough for about 5 servings.

Scale

Ingredients

Filling

1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes (2 small-to-medium)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 ounces (½ cup) crumbled feta cheese
2 small cans (4 ounces each) diced green chiles
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Remaining Ingredients

2 cups (16 ounces) mild salsa verde, either homemade or store-bought
10 corn tortillas
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and coat the flat sides lightly with olive oil. Place the sweet potatoes flat-side down on the baking sheet. Bake until they’re tender and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Leave the oven on, since we’ll bake the assembled enchiladas soon (no temperature adjustments necessary).
Meanwhile, pour enough salsa verde into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish to lightly cover the bottom (about ½ cup). In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the remaining filling ingredients.
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked through and cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides with a spoon. Discard the potato skins, and lightly mash the sweet potatoes with a fork or the back of a spoon.
Stir the mashed sweet potato into the bowl of filling, and season to taste with additional salt (I added ¼ teaspoon) and pepper.
Warm up your tortillas, one by one in a skillet, or all at once in a microwave so they don’t break when you bend them. Wrap them in a clean tea towel so they stay warm.
Working with one tortilla at a time, spread about ½ cup filling down the center each tortilla, then wrap both sides over the filling and place it in your baking dish. Repeat for all of the tortillas.
Top with the remaining salsa verde and cheese. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and the cheese is lightly golden.
Let the enchiladas cool for about 5 minutes. Whisk the sour cream and water together to make a drizzly sour cream sauce. Drizzle it back and forth over the enchiladas, then top them with cilantro and red onion. Serve.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Gluten Free Goddess.

Make it gluten free: Use certified gluten-free corn tortillas.

Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese. Stir a scant 1 cup vegan sour cream into the filling, reserving a few tablespoons for drizzling on top. Once baked, thin the vegan sour cream with a little extra water to make it extra-drizzly and drizzle it on top as shown.

▸ Nutrition Information

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Original photo from 2011.