Hearty, smoky, and full of flavor, my sweet potato black bean enchiladas are the ultimate comfort food! With a scrumptious filling rolled in tender corn tortillas and drenched in zesty red enchilada sauce, this vegan dinner will have you coming back for seconds.
Sweet potatoes and black beans are an unbeatable flavor combo, especially when you add spicy Tex-Mex seasonings! I've featured this duo again and again in recipes like my sweet potato black bean chili, sweet potato black bean burgers, and sweet potato black bean tostadas. Enchiladas are my ultimate comfort food... and you can probably guess where this is going. These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are my favorite sweet potato black bean recipe yet, and I bet it will be yours, too!
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This recipe is surprisingly simple for enchiladas. The sweet potato cooks quickly in the microwave, the filling comes together in one skillet, and then it’s just roll, sauce, and bake. They also keep beautifully and make excellent leftovers, so whip up a big batch and you’ll have cozy, flavor-packed dinners ready to go for days.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Sweet potato. You'll need one large or two medium sweet potatoes. Orange or red sweet potatoes work best — these are sometimes labeled as yams in U.S. grocery stores.
- Vegetable oil. Any neutral high-heat oil will work — olive oil, avocado oil, and canola oil are all fine options.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Ground cumin.
- Black beans.
- Adobo sauce. You'll be getting this from a can of chipotle peppers — it's the smoky sauce they're packed in. You can store your leftover peppers in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for a few months, then use them in another recipe like my sweet potato black bean chili.
- Salt.
- Fresh cilantro. You can skip this if you're not a cilantro fan.
- Red enchilada sauce. You can use store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce.
- Corn tortillas.
- Toppings. Pick your favorites! I went with some avocado and chopped fresh cilantro, but vegan sour cream, cashew cream, guacamole, cashew queso, or pico de gallo would all work well!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Cook the sweet potato. Poke a few holes in it, place it on a microwave-safe dish, and zap it until tender. Cut it open and let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop out and mash the flesh.
Step 2: Cook the onion. Heat some oil in a skillet, then add the onion. Cook it for a few minutes to start softening it up, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Tip: If you prefer to bake your sweet potato, be my guest. Place it directly on the oven rack and bake it at 400°F for 45 to 60 minutes.
Step 3: Add minced garlic and cumin. Stir them in with the onion and cook the mixture for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Step 4: Make the filling. Add your mashed sweet potatoes to the skillet, along with black beans, and adobo sauce. Cook the mixture for a minute or two.
Step 5: Finish the filling. Take the skillet off of heat, then season your filling with some salt, and stir in chopped fresh cilantro.
Step 6: Preheat the oven. Set it to 400°F.
Steps 7-9: Assemble the enchiladas. Start with some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Warm your tortillas to soften them, then stuff each with some filling. Arrange them in the dish and cover them with sauce.
Steps 10 and 11: Bake and rest. Pop them into the oven and let them bake until the sauce is nice and bubbly. Let them sit for at least five minutes when they come out of the oven.
Your black bean sweet potato enchiladas are ready to enjoy! Dish them up, pile on the toppings, and chow down.
Variations
- Sweet potato black bean enchilada casserole. Not a fan of rolling? Layer your tortillas, sauce and filling like I did in my vegan enchilada casserole.
- Swap out the beans. Black beans are my favorite for pairing with sweet potato, but you could use other varieties like kidney beans, lentils, cannellini beans, or pinto beans.
- Add veggies. Throw some sautéed or roasted veggies into the filling! Try corn, broccoli, red bell peppers, spinach, or mushrooms. Make sure you have some extra tortillas and sauce on hand, because you'll end up with a few extra enchiladas.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is, as long as your corn tortillas are certified gluten-free (most are!).
You can, although I'm not a fan of this variation, as flour tortillas tend to get soggy in enchiladas. If you'd like to try it, use small flour tortillas, such as those you'd normally use for soft tacos.
If possible, keep the leftovers in the original baking dish, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Alternatively, you can transfer them to an airtight container. They'll keep in the fridge for about three days, or in the freezer for about three months. They can be reheated in the oven or microwave.
More Vegan Enchilada Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato (or 2 medium, about 20 ounces total), scrubbed clean
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce, from a can of chipotle peppers
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 ½ cups red enchilada sauce, divided
- 12 corn tortillas, plus a few more, if needed
Optional Toppings
- Sliced avocado
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Poke a few holes in the sweet potato with a fork or knife, then place it on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave the sweet potato for about 8 minutes, or until very tender and easily pierced with a fork (Note 1). Cut it open when done and let it cool for a few minutes while you move on to the next steps. Once cool, remove the inner flesh from the sweet potato with a spoon and lightly mash it with a fork. Discard the peel.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 4 minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cumin. Cook the mixture for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Add the mashed sweet potato, black beans, and adobo sauce to the skillet. Cook the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove the skillet from heat, then stir in the salt and cilantro. Taste-test the mixture and adjust any seasonings to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Spread 1 ½ cups of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish (Note 2).
- Working with three or four tortillas at a time, place them on a dish and cover them with a damp paper towel. Microwave the tortillas for about 20 seconds, until they're warm, moist, and pliable.
- Spoon about ¼ to ⅓ cup of the filling into the center of a tortilla, arranging it in a strip. Roll the filling up in the tortilla, then place it, seam side down, into the prepared baking dish. Brush it with some of the remaining enchilada sauce. Repeat this process until all of the filling has been used.
- Bake the enchiladas for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.
- Let the enchiladas sit for at least 5 minutes when they come out of the oven. Then divide them into plates, top with toppings of choice, and serve.
Notes
- Alternatively, you can bake your sweet potato(es) in the oven at 400°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- You could also use a couple of smaller baking dishes, which is what I did, as you can see from the photos.
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