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
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Mexican
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.
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
Original photo from 2011.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Lorrie Crawford
The black bean and sweet potato enchiladas are sooooo good!!
★★★★★
Denise
These are delicious! Will definitely make them again. Only problem was that the tortillas fell apart when I moved the enchiladas from pan to plate. Any advice on keeping them intact?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Denise, glad to hear it! I wonder if a different brand of tortilla might hold up better. Other than that, maybe let the enchiladas cool a bit longer before serving, and use a sturdy wide spatula for scooping. Hope that helps!
Denise Shaw
I TOTALLY forgot to let them cool, so that’s probably the issue. They looked and smelled so good, I didn’t wait!
Denise
Forgot to mention in my earlier comment that I made the vegan version and, instead of vegan sour cream, I added a small can of creamed corn to the filling. It was FABULOUS!
★★★★★
Bekah
Hi! My family loves this recipe! I was wondering if these can be made ahead at all (or frozen)? I wasn’t sure if the tortillas would get soggy? Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Hey Bekah, glad to hear it! I’m planning to do some extensive casserole freezing tests soon in order to offer better guidance. I suspect that you could assemble these a day or two in advance before baking, though I haven’t tried. There’s a chance the tortillas might get soggy, but maybe not terribly so? I’m really not confident in offering freezer suggestions, but will definitely update the recipe notes once I figure it out.
Bekah
Thank you so much! I’ll be so curious what you learn!
Jamie
I froze half of the sweet potato filling for another time, and it held up really well! Then I just needed to assemble and bake :) These are SO yummy, and I share this recipe with everyone. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Nicole
I’ve made this dish twice now and both times froze the left over filling — and both times it held up spectacularly and made the next assembly that much easier.
I love this take on enchiladas! Whenever my friends tell me they are trying to eat more vegetarian meals, I share this recipe with them. Thank you so much!!
★★★★★
Astha
How would this go with red enchilada sauce? My daughter doesn’t eat spicy so I have red and the green sauce. I guess I will know soon! Thanks for the recipe! Love your site!
★★★★★
Kate
I think red enchilada sauce would be great!
Megan
Highly recommend this recipe!! So good!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Megan!
Jen
These are seriously so good! My husband who regularly reminds me that he misses meat even said how much he liked them and is asking if we can make them again pronto! That’s a high compliment!!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful to hear, Jen! Thanks for your review.
Kat
Thanks for this recipe! It was easier than I anticipated, and I’ll definitely make it again. (I also roasted the potatoes a couple hours before I started prepping dinner and that made it all the more a breeze.) It’s harder to find the canned diced green chiles here in the UK, but it was still great without them!
★★★★★
Jenna
I just made this for dinner and it is fabulous!!! Thank you so much for the great recipe! A hit with meat eaters, even!
★★★★★
Nicole Lang
I LOVE this recipe. I was trying out different vegetarian recipes and this dish really stood out to me. I was amazed with how delicious it was and highly recommend giving it a shot if you are on the fence. It was fun to make as well.
★★★★★
Lillian
Can they be frozen?
Kate
These should freeze well, Lillian.
Cathy
My daughter request this recipe all the time. We usually make it as written, which is delicious, but lately we’ve been avoiding dairy. We followed the recipe, but omitted the cheese and sour cream. We topped with homemade cashew cream, chopped red onion, and cilantro. Still amazing. Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Sounds like a great way to make this work for you, Cathy!
Janelle Christian
I made this during the 2020 isolation period, when delicious, comforting food seems especially important. It exceeded all expectations!! The prep was surprisingly easy, and even with mods due to the food on hand (had to sub mozzarella and cheddar for the jack and feta; omitted a can of green chiles), it was incredible! Savory, creamy, flavorful and hearty– I think hubby thanked me 5 times during dinner. :) Thank you so much for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear it was a hit and that you were able to make it work with somethings you had on hand, Janelle! I appreciate your comment and review.
Gloria
I’m making now and want to freeze….should I assemble and then freeze and then bake when ready for them? Or should I assemble bake and freeze?
Kate
Hi Gloria! That’s a good question, and I’m doing some test runs soon for a freezer guide. I’m not 100% confident, but I think the odds would be more in your favor if you bake, allow to cool completely, then freeze. Then, you can simply reheat until heated through.
CT
This recipe came out so good! I wound up using larger lowcarb wraps and cutting them in half to fit across the length of the pan. So tasty and easy to reheat the next day under the broiler! Will certainly make these again.
★★★★★
Lynn
Delicious. Will definitely use again. I used regular salsa but salsa verde will definitely be tried next time.
★★★★★
Molly
This Is one of my favorite dishes!! I was so happy once our store got beans back in stock so I can make it during our “safer at home” lockdown. HORRAY Enchiladas!
★★★★★
AMANDA
Excited to try this recipe today! Have all ingredients except for canned black beans. Darn it. Have cannellini, dark red kidney and retried black beans. Might these work as substitute?
Kate
Out of your list, you could try refried beans or red kidney beans? The texture of refried would be a little different, but still work. Red kidney would give you different flavor too.
Preeti
Loved this recipe! I always tent to steer away from the recipe if I don’t have something but I followed this one 99% and it was absolutely delicious.
Two changes I made:
More beans, 1 extra jalepeno
Result was a delicious spicy enchilada with hints of sweetness in every bite.
★★★★★
Preeti
Loved this recipe! I always tent to steer away from the recipe if I don’t have something but I followed this one 99% and it was absolutely delicious.
Two changes I made:
More beans, 1 extra jalapeno
Result was a delicious spicy enchilada with hints of sweetness in every bite.
★★★★★
Kate
Love to hear that, Preeti!
Kim
So happy to realize that I had all the ingredients on hand to make these, and even happier for the accolades at the dinner table! My husband who normally doesn’t appreciate vegetarian meals went back for seconds. Success! Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Val
Kate, every single recipe I have attempted that is created by you is absolutely stellar. These enchiladas are no exception. My entire family gobbled them up and wanted more. I used your homemade tomatillo salsa with these – WOW. Simply delectable.
I’m always impressed with how you manage to perfectly blend flavors and balance spices and textures. Thank you for sharing your beautiful creations!
★★★★★
Karen
Could this be layered and made into a casserole instead of rounded up enchiladas? If so, how would you modify it? Thanks!
Kate
Hi Karen, You could try it. I do have a enchilada casserole: https://cookieandkate.com/vegetarian-enchilada-casserole-recipe/
Krista B
I made this tonight and used your homemade red enchilada sauce instead of tomatillo salsa since we didn’t have it…wow yum!! Thanks for a great meatless option!
★★★★★
Margo
I made these last night and topped them with your Quick-Pickled Onions — so delicious. Thank you for helping me expand my collection of meatless meals!
★★★★★
Rodney L Scyphers
This was delicious! I agree the sweet potatoes and black are a natural. I used green salasa as the enchilada sauce. I put extra cheese and a sprinkling of raw onion in each tortilla then the sweet potato/black bean mix. Almost-vegan wife was happy. Good, easy meal. Thanks.
★★★★★
Hannah
Made the recipe exactly as described. It is now easily one of my favorite recipes! Even my non-vegetarian family went back for seconds and asked for the recipe.
With about 1/2 c. filling in each enchilada, I ended up with 9 enchiladas.
★★★★★
Karalinh
This recipe is the best! I have come back to this recipe time and time again. Now that we are making bulk meals it’s been doubled and tripled.
Thank goodness for you, Kate!
P.S.
The only thing we add is roasted bell peppers – any extra filling gets eaten on the spot. Haha
★★★★★
robin
These are by far my family’s new favorite. We were not precise with the ingredients, but the general flavors were fantastic. We used turmeric instead of cumin. We omitted the feta. We used chipotles in adobe for a rich, smoky dimension instead of the green chiles. We felt so nourished with the sweet potatoes and black beans.
Thank you.
★★★★★
Carolyn
this recipe has earned a spot in our regular dinner rotation. i usually make it as written, but this week i didn’t have any salsa verde so i used your enchilada sauce and i think it was even better!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Carolyn! I appreciate your review.
Samantha Garcia
How long will these freeze for?
Kate
Hi Samantha! Recipes like this usually last for 3 or so months. If longer, you tend to get freezer burn.
d
delish/made for the family tonight, they loved em. my daughters hate sweet potato.
★★★★★