We generally cook in the Mediterranean style (usually Italian), but lately we’ve been on a bit of a Latin American kick. This latest venture may be one of the tastiest thus far, I might contest! It does take a bit of time to assemble, but the extra effort is worth it. These enchiladas had tons of flavor, and are a great alternative for a hearty meatless meal where you don’t miss the extra protein!
The recipe below is the result of a lot of trial and error, but we were pleased with the end result. We made a few perhaps less “authentic” substitutions – flour tortillas were better texture-wise to our liking versus corn, but you could certainly use corn, especially for a gluten-free recipe! We also preferred the flavor of Colby jack cheese to Monterrey jack. We’d recommend using salsa verde (made with tomatillos) for these “green” enchiladas, but you could substitute with your favorite salsa or enchilada sauce as well. Enjoy!
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes (2 cups diced)
- 1 15-ounce can black beans
- 1 cup diced green chilies (canned)
- 1 medium red onion
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- About 2 cups salsa verde (or homemade tomatillo salsa)
- 8 ounces Colby jack cheese, shredded
- 10 flour tortillas
- Salt and pepper
- Sour cream, and fresh cilantro, to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the sweet potato*: Peel and dice the sweet potato. Place in a pot and cover with water; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, around 12 to 15 minutes.
- Prepare the filling: Finely chop the red onion. Drain and rinse the black beans. (If using cilantro to garnish, you could chop it at this time as well.)
- Assemble the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cooked sweet potato, black beans, red onion, diced green chilies, ½ tablespoon cumin, and 1 tablespoon chili powder. Mix to combine, and add a bit of salt and pepper.
- Assemble the enchiladas: warm the tortillas for a minute in the microwave, or in a pan for a few seconds per side. In a large baking dish, spread 1 cup of the salsa verde. Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the filling, add a handful of cheese, and roll it up. Place the enchilada seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.
- When all enchiladas are in the dish, top with the remaining cup of 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 tiny bit of water to loosen it) and chopped cilantro.
38 Comments
Tiffany
October 10, 2010 at 11:33 amI never would have thought….but I like it! Thanks for sharing, we will try it for sure!
Lisa
October 10, 2010 at 2:53 pmWhat a wonderful healthy meals. Thanks for the recommendations.
Couscous & Consciousness
October 11, 2010 at 1:00 amI love anything with sweet potato, so I have to give these a try.
Sue
Amanda
October 11, 2010 at 1:25 pmI love sweet potato and black beans separately, and I’ve heard they make a good combination—but I’ve never tried them together! This looks delicious though, so I’ll have to try something like it soon!
Christine
October 11, 2010 at 2:04 pmThese sound really good! I make very similar enchiladas with spinach and chickpeas in a verde sauce, and now my boyfriend and I will have a way to switch them up. Thanks!
Caitlin
October 11, 2010 at 2:26 pmThese look great! I love enchiladas, and this is a great vegetarian take…. looks way better than just cheese enchiladas!
Lizzy
October 11, 2010 at 3:52 pmLooks like the burritos I just made with sweet potatoes and black beans. Isn’t it a great combination and super filling?
sally
October 11, 2010 at 4:04 pmThese enchiladas look delicious! A nice hearty dish for fall!
sara
October 11, 2010 at 4:44 pmOoooh, these look awesome! I only recently had sweet potatoes in enchiladas for the first time, and it was fantastic! This version looks great too. :)
Trudy ~ veggie num num
October 11, 2010 at 5:57 pmWhat a great light alternative to traditional enchiladas, sweet potato is such a wonderful ingredient in so many things, will be trying this next time we need a little enchilada fix :)
kathryn
October 11, 2010 at 7:39 pmThese look delicious! I just realized I have ALL the ingredients as well. Guess what I’m making for dinner tonight! Thanks
Annie
October 12, 2010 at 5:54 amWow yeah that’s not authentic at all. I mean you could have just put cheese inside and left all that other stuff out and it would have been super authentic except for the wrong kind of tortilla. You could have just used bean filing and again it would have been authentic, but the sweet potato makes no sense. Well whatever I just have to say that it doesn’t look very good or appetizing. The traditional versions of this dish don’t have to have protein and are plenty filling.
sue
December 6, 2012 at 11:37 pmThen don’t make it!
Dei
January 17, 2017 at 3:31 pmActually, it does make sense. Mayans used sweet potatoes in many of their dishes. This is a combo of cultures in a South American Dish. Mayans also used black beans and sweet potatoes together. For more info, google “Mayan Harvest Bake” or “Mayan Cuisine”. Also, try being a little positivity goes a long way. Your response really wasn’t quite necessary… sounds like you were just being salty… maybe having a bad day? Ah – it was years ago, anyway. Have a lovely day! ?
Chelsea
October 13, 2010 at 9:35 pmI made these for dinner tonight, and they were delicious! Even my boyfriend, who usually needs meat in his meals thought they were great :-D However, I did omit the green chilies because I used a spicy tomatillo salsa.
Nice recipe!
jw
October 14, 2010 at 5:01 amI made these these the other night and they were delish!!! Such a good flavor combo. I will make these again. Thanks
Amanda
October 14, 2010 at 9:35 pmHey friends! So, Gabe and I have a weekly BBQ with friends and neighbors, and this week, we went meatless and made these enchiladas! Our neighbors said it was the best vegetarian enchilada they’d ever had! Hooray! Thanks for feeding us such tasty, healthy goodies!:-) See you guys in a couple weeks for the wedding! Much love:-)
Kathryn
October 15, 2010 at 3:28 pmThat looks incredible! I recently made sweet potato bisque with clementines and sage and loved it. You should try it out!
Sonja
October 17, 2010 at 1:42 pmWow, it’s so nice to hear from all of you who made this dish and enjoyed it!! I’m so glad it turned out! We loved it too and can’t wait to make it again :)
RC
November 5, 2010 at 12:42 pmThanks for the great recipe! I made it the other night, cheapening it up by omitting a few ingredients and using regular salsa instead of salsa verde. Though mine aren’t quite as pretty as yours, they were still tasty and very filling, and I’m excited to have leftovers for lunch today. Here’s the link to my blog, where I posted your recipe and linked back to your page: http://pennyforyourpots.blogspot.com/2010/11/spicy-weeknight-delight.html. Great work!
Sonja
November 5, 2010 at 2:21 pmI love your economical take on the recipe! And great blog – I love to see how healthy and delicious food can be made on the cheap! Much tastier and better for you than take-out, if you can afford the time :)
Jennifer Healthy Life Deals
November 8, 2010 at 8:56 pmThanks for sharing!! Looks really good!!
Karina
January 1, 2011 at 1:28 pmI love the flavor combo of sweet potato, black beans and green chiles. It’s been a family favorite for years. And enchiladas make a perfect vegetarian meal. I make mine with corn tortillas to keep it gluten-free.
Jacqueline
July 14, 2011 at 3:18 amIt is way too early in the morning for me to be craving this like I am.
Sally
November 3, 2011 at 2:36 pmI made this for dinner last night and it was GREAT. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Alex
November 3, 2011 at 2:36 pmHaha! You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed them :)
Jessica Kiehn
January 11, 2012 at 5:17 pmSome friends of ours had us over last year for dinner and made this. I was instantly in love. I love every single ingredient. And i could just swim in cilantro, i LOVE IT!!
anyways she told me about your website and i was pleased as punch. Made these enchiladas tonight…just want to say thanks for the great recipe. DELICIOUS!
Alex
January 12, 2012 at 12:19 amSo glad you enjoyed it! You’ll have to let us know if you try any more recipes :) Highly recommend the baked sweet potato if you enjoyed this one. Really tasty and even easier!
http://www.acouplecooks.com/2010/09/baked-sweet-potato-with-black-beans-and-salsa/
Marilyn
January 27, 2012 at 8:51 pmJust made these tonight, we all loved them! Hubby and son ate two! Even good without cheese and sour cream!
Kristin
March 22, 2012 at 5:40 pmWow, these enchiladas are amazing! So, so good. I already can’t wait to make them again, and that says a lot!!!
Kim
October 24, 2012 at 2:03 pmI made these last night and LOVED them. Even my 7 year old ate one. Will be adding to the rotation for meatless Monday regulars for certain!
Sonja
October 24, 2012 at 8:35 pmAwesome! So glad you and your family enjoyed them :)
Michelle
January 23, 2013 at 12:07 pmAwesome recipe! I wasn’t sure how this would go over with the men in my family as they are big meat eaters, but they loved it. This is going in my rotation.
Sonja
January 24, 2013 at 10:01 amWonderful! I’m so glad to hear it was a hit — especially with meat lovers! :)
Cheryl
April 15, 2013 at 8:42 pmWow! Made this tonight and my hubby & I both thought it was delicious!! Leftovers will be great too I’m sure. I put pieces of avocado on top instead of sour cream. Thanks!
Sonja
April 18, 2013 at 11:09 pmGlad it was tasty — you’re very welcome!
Cheryl
November 28, 2013 at 5:14 pmThese enchiladas are to die for!!! They have become my traditional holiday meal! (As well as my go to dish when I want to impress someone special :D )
Sonja
December 1, 2013 at 3:49 pmI love the idea of enchiladas as a traditional holiday meal – we’ll have to convince our families of that (move over turkey and stuffing)! :) So glad you enjoy them!