These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are delicious, crowd pleasing and one of our fan favorite best vegetarian dinner recipes!
Here’s one of our favorite recipes we’ve made over the years: sweet potato black bean enchiladas. We created it when we first started our blog, but since we love trying new things, we haven’t had a chance since to re-try it. Here it is again, with an updated photo and a refreshed recipe. And good news — it’s just as delicious as we remembered! We’ve made a few tweaks to the original recipe to make it even more tasty. Keep reading for the sweet potato black bean enchiladas recipe.
How to make sweet potato black bean enchiladas
While not a traditional enchilada filling, sweet potatoes and black beans is a fairly well-known vegetarian filling combination. We recommend using salsa verde (made with tomatillos) to make these “green” enchiladas, but you could substitute with your favorite salsa or enchilada sauce as well. Here we’ve used flour tortillas as we liked them texture-wise compared to corn, but you could certainly use corn tortillas for a gluten-free recipe. We also preferred the flavor of Colby jack cheese to Monterrey jack. We hope you enjoy these sweet potato black bean enchiladas as much as we do!
Read more: Cuban Black Beans & Rice
How to freeze enchiladas for later
The great thing about making homemade enchiladas is that you can easily make a big batch of them and freeze some for later. To freeze these sweet potato black bean enchiladas, you simply need to:
- Assemble the enchiladas — Fill and roll the enchiladas as you normally would, but don’t bake them yet!
- Cover with plastic wrap — Put a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of the pan of enchiladas. (This will prevent freezer burn).
- Cover with aluminum foil — Put 1 or 2 layers of aluminum foil on top of the enchilada pan, making sure to seal the edges tightly shut.
- Freeze — Frozen enchiladas should last 1 to 2 months in the freezer as long as the foil doesn’t tear (if it does, the enchiladas will be more susceptible to freezer burn).
- Bake — When you’re ready to bake the frozen enchiladas, remove the plastic wrap and foil and bake for about an hour, or until fully heated through.
Sides to serve with sweet potato black bean enchiladas
Want to make these enchiladas into a meal? Here are some of our favorite side dishes that go with enchiladas:
- Chips & salsa: Try our Best Salsa or Best Pico de Gallo.
- Coleslaw: Adding fresh veggies is a great contrast to gooey enchiladas. Try this Mexican Coleslaw Recipe.
- Refried beans: These Refried Black Beans Recipe or Homemade Refried Beans are seriously simple. If you have a pressure cooker, try our Instant Pot Refried Beans.
- Tomato avocado salad: Try our Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad to add fresh veggies and zesty cumin lime flavor!
Looking for more vegetarian Mexican recipes?
Outside of this sweet potato black bean enchiladas recipe, here are a few more of our favorite vegetarian recipes on A Couple Cooks:
- Loaded Quinoa Tacos
- Veggie Burrito Bowls
- Artichoke & Quinoa Vegetarian Enchiladas
- Skillet White Chili Cheese Dip
- Chipotle Black Bean and Avocado Quesadillas
- Vegetarian Tamale Pies
- Chipotle Black Bean Lettuce Wraps
- Mexican Lasagna
This recipe is…
These sweet potato black bean enchiladas recipe is vegetarian.
PrintSweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are delicious, crowd pleasing and one of our fan favorite best vegetarian dinner recipes!
Ingredients
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes (3 cups diced)
- 1 red onion
- 15-ounce can black beans (or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 8 ounces canned diced green chilies (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups salsa verde (or homemade tomatillo salsa)
- 8 ounces Colby jack cheese, shredded
- 8 8-inch whole wheat flour tortillas (or 10 6-inch)
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Place them a pot and cover with water; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, around 12 to 15 minutes.
- Finely dice 1 red onion. Drain and rinse the black beans. Chop 1/4 cup cilantro.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked sweet potato, black beans, red onion, green chilies, 1/2 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Mix to combine.
- Warm the tortillas for a minute in the microwave, or in a pan for a few seconds per side, so that they are flexible. In a large baking dish, spread 1 cup of the salsa verde. Fill each tortilla with a heaping ½ cup scoop of the filling, add 1/4 cup cheese, and roll it up. Place each enchilada seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. When all enchiladas are in the dish, top with the remaining salsa verde and the remaining cheese.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Serve garnished with sour cream (mixed with a few drops of water to loosen it) and chopped cilantro.
Notes
As a time saver, you could cook the sweet potato beforehand, and even prepare the entire filling in advance.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
Keywords: Sweet potato black bean enchiladas, Enchiladas recipe, Vegetarian Enchiladas, Vegetarian Dinner Ideas, Vegetarian Recipes, Dinner Ideas, Healthy Dinner Ideas
49 Comments
Beth
October 14, 2012 at 6:00 pmSounds delicious! I love recipes that use sweet potato – I’ll definitely be making this meal soon!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
October 14, 2012 at 7:51 pmWhat a lovely main meal! I’m SO trying this as soon as possible. Great idea!
Cara
October 14, 2012 at 8:30 pmThe sweet potato and black bean combo never gets old to me; I love it! And I can totally relate to not going back and re-making old recipes.We have so many “favorites” that never get made since I am always doing new things. However, it’s always worth to go back – especially when you can snap a nice new photo like this one.
Sonja
October 15, 2012 at 9:11 pmAgreed about sweet potato + black bean — a classic combination! And yes, it’s always fun to revisit old favorites — we don’t to it enough either! :)
Kathryn
October 15, 2012 at 4:26 amSuch a great simple but delicious evening meal. Love that combo of sweet potato and black bean.
Vegie Project
October 15, 2012 at 7:21 amThis looks delicious! I actually just had enchiladas for dinner, with adzuki beans and mushrooms. But I definitely want to try the black bean and sweet potato combination next time.
Sonja
October 15, 2012 at 9:12 pmMushrooms in enchiladas sounds interesting – great idea!
Eileen
October 15, 2012 at 1:18 pmSweet potato and black bean is such a perfect enchilada filling! Love it. :)
[email protected]
October 15, 2012 at 4:42 pmI’ve only had sweet potatoes and black beans together a couple of times, but when I did it was sooo tasty.
(Love that blue plate!)
Sonja
October 15, 2012 at 9:12 pmThanks! Another thrift store find :)
Amanda
October 18, 2012 at 12:12 amMy husband actually asked me to make these when he saw them over my shoulder – and he’s not a fan when I try to cook vegetarian. Thanks for tasty looking recipe and great idea!
Parsley Sage
October 18, 2012 at 7:04 amI could eat black beans every day of the week and I never thought about a sweet potato mash up. Brilliant!
This American Bite
October 31, 2012 at 12:30 pmI think I might make these for Friday night dinner, it’s just the two of us at home – this would be a treat.
Paul Hoff
November 3, 2012 at 10:12 pmI need to try this. We live in Japan where we have great sweet potatoes.
What meat would you add if one were to cater to the carnivores?
Alex
November 3, 2012 at 10:17 pmHmm. I think these might please all the carnivores you know, but I suppose some shredded chicken wouldn’t be too bad. :-)
Anonymous
February 8, 2014 at 8:25 pmI just made these for the first time with some beef (thin little pieces, like carne asada) to my husband’s enchiladas–because he’s a “where’s the beef?” kind of guy. This is an EXCELLENT recipe. Will defnitely be making again!
Chris Rawstern
January 11, 2013 at 4:09 pmThis sounds delightful. I have a pot of black beans simmering on the stove right now. If I was to add a meat to this dish, it would be pork. Pork is a great flavor cooked in with black beans, and pork and sweet potatoes are a match made in heaven. Pork. Definitely. Though I am positive it is a fantastic recipe as is!
Heather
January 9, 2013 at 11:00 amThis recipe is packed with flavor. I have done the unthinkable with this recipe. I was able to please three male carnivores! For my kiddos, they preferred a yellow onion to the red, that was the only change I made on round 2 of making this recipe. I love you guys! Keep being creative & inspiring!
Sonja
January 9, 2013 at 9:53 pmAww, thank you! This is so great to hear — we love to hear when the recipes are made and enjoyed — especially by a whole family! Thanks so much for writing :)
Kristi
January 10, 2013 at 12:35 pmHas anyone tried this with red enchilada sauce? How were the results?
Anonymous
February 22, 2013 at 5:33 pmI made it with red sauce and it was fabulous!
Molly
January 10, 2013 at 4:51 pmI made these last week and they were delicious! I make a very similar recipe myself (without green chiles or onions and with a red enchilada sauce which, to answer Kristi’s question above, is delicious and goes very well with the sweet potatoes). I love the green chiles because I think it gives it the bite this otherwise sweet and savory dish needs. I did do two things differently that I thought others might want to try; I roast the sweet potatoes with a touch of salt and pepper (for added flavor and a texture I prefer to boiling or steaming) and I add probably about 1/4 a teaspoon a bit of cinnamon.
Kristi
January 11, 2013 at 11:57 amThanks so much Molly!
Sonja
January 13, 2013 at 8:41 pmYes, thanks Molly. and great question, Kristi! I also think the red enchilada sauce would taste very good, but agree with Molly that the green chiles bring just the right compliment to the dish.
Kristi, let us know if you try it out! (PS I love the spelling of your name — I have two wonderful women in my life — one of them my mother — with the same spelling :) )
nancy
March 3, 2013 at 5:25 amany opinions on how u think it would be to add fresh corn off the cob, or use a simpler version of froz. or canned?
Alex
March 3, 2013 at 11:04 amSounds good to me!
thoughts du jour
March 4, 2013 at 2:20 pmThis is one of our favorite recipes! We’ve made it several times, and it’s always a huge hit. I made it this weekend for friends who came over for dinner, and they were raving about how good it was!
Feel free to check out the feature on my blog, too!
Sonja
March 5, 2013 at 10:06 pmWonderful! So glad you enjoy them — they’re one of our favorites too! :)
Laura
March 7, 2013 at 8:31 amI have made this recipe twice so far today will be the third. it is soooo good!!!
Miha
March 8, 2013 at 9:54 amI made this today, it was amazing!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Kristi
March 10, 2013 at 10:28 pmIt was super yummy with the red sauce :)
Kate
March 22, 2013 at 8:27 amWhat recipe did you use for the red sauce? Sounds delish.
Sonja
March 24, 2013 at 7:22 pmWe just tried it with a canned red sauce…but preferred the green sauce best here :)
Kate
March 22, 2013 at 8:26 amI’m curious how this recipe would be with butternut squash. Has anyone tried? Any suggestions of what I might do differently?
Sonja
March 24, 2013 at 7:26 pmI think this would taste very similar with butternut squash! I would probably roast the squash as I feel it has a better flavor and texture with squash than boiling. But you could boil it as well. Good luck and let us know if you try it out!
Stacie
April 14, 2013 at 9:02 pmI made this tonight and it was delicious . I think my sweet potatoes might have been extra large because there was enough filling for dinner, lunch tomorrow, and some for the freezer. I’ve definitely made some not so great vegetarian dishes lately and it was so nice to hear my husband request to have these enchiladas again!
Sonja
April 18, 2013 at 11:14 pmWonderful! So glad you liked them!
Erin
August 27, 2013 at 12:45 pmThese look delicious! Has anyone tried freezing them? I’m assuming they would freeze well, but don’t want to waste a great meal!
Alex
August 27, 2013 at 12:48 pmWe’ve never frozen them (they don’t last that long…), but I would think they would freeze OK.
Anonymous
May 13, 2014 at 1:37 pmThey freeze great if you do so before baking. Pull it out when ready, thaw in fridge over night and bake as directed the next day. If they are extra cold, add 5-10 minutes.
Caroline
October 16, 2013 at 1:22 amI made this tonight and it was pretty darn good except I would sauté the onion before mixing it in. Raw onion isn’t really my thing.
maggie
February 19, 2014 at 10:03 pmI made this for dinner today. It was fantastic. I am vegan, so omitted the cheese and sour cream. I topped with fresh salsa and diced avocado.
Julie
February 23, 2014 at 12:03 amThis recipe is a great starter, though I made a few changes – I added more spices than called for and (maybe my sweet potatoes were really big?) ended up filling a lot more tortillas than you called for – 14, actually. As a result of it making so many, they needed quite a bit more sauce, which this time around I didn’t have on hand, so I’ll remember that for next time. Quite tasty!
Rach
April 25, 2014 at 10:39 pmThese were dinner tonight and FABULOUS! Thanks for the great recipe.
Anonymous
June 26, 2014 at 1:52 amYummy!
Sally
July 3, 2014 at 3:25 amI’ve loved this recipe for a while now. Today I made it for my family reunion–27 people–and it was delicious. Went great with Spanish rice and salad. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Abby
August 31, 2014 at 8:17 amAny chance this could be put together in its entirety 1 day in advance for baking later?? I have fam coming into town next week, and thought this would be an easy/ideal thing to toss in the oven after an exhausting day of sight seeing.
Bri
February 23, 2017 at 8:36 pmWe made these tonight and they were AMAZING! So much flavor!! Thanks for sharing!!
Evelyn
November 19, 2017 at 11:18 amSuch a great recipe, one of my go to meals now.