Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Amazing black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, smothered in salsa verde. A delicious, hearty vegetarian entrée.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
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
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
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.
This is the third Cookie & Kate recipe I’ve made this week and I’m starting to think everything you touch is gold. Most vegetarian recipes online are on one of two ends of the spectrum – super pretentious and complex OR one of a billion quinoa stir fry variations. Thank you for making vegetarian recipes accessible, interesting, and above all, delicious. Can’t wait to see what else you come up with.
You are so sweet, Kim! Thank you. You are very welcome!
These look amazing! I’m totally going to be trying these ASAP.
Let me know what you think!
Love your recipes! Looking forward to making this when family comes over the holidays. Just wondered if it’d work to make it ahead of time & then freeze it. Always prefer to make ahead. Also, can regular salsa be substituted for the salsa verde? Thanks so much.
Thank you! I haven’t froze all my recipes ahead of time, so I can’t speak specifically to this one. But, they do make great left overs so it would be a great one to try! You can substitute the salsa, but it will adjust the flavor profile. Hope this helps!
Really liked this recipe and will make it again. Got about 5 servings. Only tweaks I’d make next time is to use one can of Chile’s and goat cheese instead of feta. I forgot the jalapeno and they still had plenty of heat; probably from the salsa. Also used Chihuahua cheese instead of jack.
Glad you were able to make adjustments to fit what you needed! I appreciate the review.
I made these for New Year’s Eve and they were fantastic! We were short on tortillas so a half-batch was in order. My husband couldn’t stop raving and asked when we were expanding our enchilada menu options! I used Trader Joe’s Handmade Corn Tortillas, fresh salsa verde, herbed feta crumbles and mild green chiles. I added Trader Joe’s frozen Roasted Corn which rounded out the heartiness. Thanks so much for this and all of your amazing recipes. Happy 2018, Kate!
That’s great! Thank you, Anna for your comment and review. Happy 2018 to you as well!
Any idea how these hold up if frozen post-baking? Would like to make them for a friend who’s expecting a baby.
I don’t freeze all my recipes, but I do have freezer breakfast burritos that hold-up well. This is one I would try. Let me know how it goes!
Made these the other night just as described. Let me say they were excellent. The black beans and sweet potatoes make an excellent combination.
Great, Scott! Thanks for your review.
Oh, my God. These were so good! I ended up using corn tortillas in place of the flour ones. They were a bit trickier to keep closed (I flipped them over in the pan), but they were absolutely fantastic. To the person who asked about freezing them for a friend, I froze them and ate as leftovers for the whole week, and they were great.
Just as a quick aside, to any non-American’s out there, I think that these are yams used in the recipe, not sweet potatoes. I’m sure SP would taste good, too, but the yams give a nice pop of colour haha. Fantastic recipe! I’m officially hooked on this site.
Yes, corn can be tricky but I’m happy you were able to make them work! I love to hear from you on how the recipes work frozen since I don’t alway freeze all of mine. On the yams vs sweet potato, I know there is a long debate. But what I used for this recipe were sweet potatoes :) Thanks!
One of my BFFs recommended this recipe to me months ago, and I had just saved it to Pinterest. I’m trying to increase my family’s plant-based meals this year, so I added this to my meal plan for the week. We had it last night, and my husband and I loved it! He ate four of the enchiladas. I think I maybe had a little too much sweet potato in the mixture, so I’d scale that back a bit next time as the other flavors got a little lost in it, but overall this was a huge hit! I’ve already saved several of your other recipes to try and have your cookbook on hold at the library.
P.S. My dogs loved the leftover sweet potato that I didn’t mix in to the filling!
That sounds like a great goal to have for this year! I like how you put it. Thank you for sharing, Claire! I really appreciate it.
Made these last night! They are so tasty and filling :)
Wonderful! Thank you, Maggie.
Made these tonight. Yum! Perfect comfort food for an unusually cold Florida night!
Wonderful!
Yet another winner! My husband said, why do we even ever eat meat when vegetarian tastes like this?
I love, love that! I think he is onto something. :)
Just made it again, exactly as written- my sister was blown away by it. This is becoming a staple in this house!
Hi! I am always on the look out for new vegetarian recipes. I have been eyeing this one for a while and tried it today. Couldn’t find black beans so substituted with kidney beans. Also used greek yoghurt instead of sour cream as I prefer it. This recipe is delicious, easy to make and perfect for batch cooking. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! I’m happy it worked well with your substitutions.
This is so delicious! I substituted the feta for goat cheese, and skipped the raw red onions on top. The only note I have is that this was almost too spicy. Next time I’d either omit a can of the green chiles or insure that my verde sauce was definitely on the milder side. Still tastes incredible. I baked my (giant) sweet potato the day before, so prep was a breeze.
Yes, if you aren’t a lover of spice then those are great ways to cut back! Thank you for sharing, Jessica.
These were great. Will make again. Used Siete brand coconut and cassava tortillas. Also, used the red enchilada sauce recipe from the spinach and artichoke enchilada recipe instead.
Also, if you’re in a hurry for the sweet potatoes, Cooks Illustrated has a good method for the microwave that turns out well. Poke potatoes all over, microwave on high 6 mins on a microwave safe plate. Flip over and microwave 6 more mins. I know you’re probably radiating the nutrients but helpful if needed!
Great combination! Thanks for sharing how you made this your own, Kim.
Hey! Can your (amazing) Enchilada sauce recipe be used instead of salsa verde? Should I use both?
Thanks!
Amazing enchilada sauce can be used if you would like! I think both might overpower the the recipe, but you could sample a little of both. :)
Made this tonight and thought it was delicious. Changes I made:
-carmelize a diced onion and add into each individual enchilada as you fill it
-I used green enchilada sauce — maybe ~3 cups worth? I heated it on the stove and then dipped each tortilla in it before filling the tortilla. I think this helps prevent the “dryness” — mine were plenty moist.
-filled each individual enchilada w. shredded cheese
The filling recipe stayed exactly the same (didn’t use feta cheese or jalepeno) — flavor profile was really yummy.
Thanks for sharing!
Do you think I could sub butternut squash for sweet potato?
By the way, I love your recipes and bought the cookbook and love it! Been recommending your book and website to all my friends.
Absolutely! Know the cooking time could vary slightly. Thanks so much for your support, Lisa.
Made your Vegetarian Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas but instead of sweet potatoes we used butternut squash and they were amazing. We also make our own Salsa Verde so that is a plus. We will be making this again very soon. Love your recipes so healthy and good!!!
That sounds like a great substitution! Thank you for sharing. I appreciate the kind words and review, Thelma.
Absolutely delicious, everyone loved it!!
Wonderful, Catherine!
Our family loves all of your recipes. We’ve been vegetarian since summmer 2017 and it was difficult switching over to all new recipes. Your website has been a huge help with the transition and even my kids love everything I’ve tried! Thank you for these delicious recipes!
I’d like to make this recipe for a “meal train”. Any tips on preparing it several hours ahead? Would you full cook it and have them reheat? Or would you assemble it, keep it refrigerated and have them cook it? I’d need to drop it off around 3 pm but they wouldn’t eat it until 6-7 pm.
I made this tonight. Delicious! And easy.
I’ve made these twice now and the flavors are delicious. But both times they’ve just turned into mush. Tasty mush, but the tortillas lost all texture. Any suggestions?
I have a C+K week – first i made your minestrone and last night the enchiladas. both very very tasty :)
Please keep posting such nice and exciting recipes.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment and review, Esi! I’m thrilled you loved both of those recipes.
So delicious!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for the star review!
I did a mashup of this recipe, the enchiladas from your cookbook, and the enchiladas from Nourishing Traditions, but I have no doubts that this recipe as it stands would be 5 stars, so I gave it 5 stars. I used sprouted grain burrito size tortillas, which I lightly toasted in a pan before filling and rolling (got that tip from NT!). I had a huge block of monterey jack cheese, so I used that in the filling. I always keep homemade enchilada rojo sauce on hand (what else are you going to do with that big can of chilis in adobo?) so I poured that over the top and covered with shredded cheese. Served with slaw mix on top and sour cream, and homemade Spanish brown rice on the side. My meat-loving husband could only finish half of one of these babies because they were so filling. I’ve already added this recipe to this week’s menu and the cookbook version the week after. We might be slightly addicted.
I’m not a vegetarian but I noticed my menu for this week is all recipes from the blog and your cookbook, save for one night where I’m making a traditional lasagna. You’ve won us over!
That’s great and creative, Meghan! Thank you for the confidence in my recipes. :) I’m glad to have won you over and appreciate the review.
OMG, this is so good! I sautéed the onion and garlic and incorporated into the filling. Instead of the sour cream I made the salsa/avocado topping from the spiralized sweet potato and black bean quesadilla recipe (avocado, salsa, lime juice, cilantro) using a red chipotle salsa. We use Shagbark Seed & Mill corn tortillas (organic & local to Ohio). I could take these to any party and look AMAZING when I’m not a very good cook :)
Sounds delicious, Jennifer! Thanks for sharing your variation and for the review.
Hi Kate!
I just wanted to say a quick thank you for providing such high-quality, healthy, and easy to make vegetarian recipes! Your blog is my most favorite cooking blog, and your hard work does not go unnoticed! I love the attention to detail you give, whether it be in your photos or within the recipe itself. I am 24, but I’m old-fashioned in that I have to print out all my recipes. I have like 50 of your recipes printed out at this point (oops!). I can’t wait to get your cookbook too! Sending you so much love! And to Cookie too! :)
Well, thank you! I really appreciate that you notice. I do put in a lot of time testing and creating recipes. I appreciate the review!
These enchiladas are amazing! I made them with my boyfriend at his place and then came home to make another batch to eat all week. Absolutely delicious!
A great meal to have to eat off for the week! Thank you, Michelle for sharing and for your review.
Made this for dinner this evening and it was so easy and tasty! Went down really well with the OH too :)
Anoushka
Wonderful!
I have made these enchiladas 5 times already and I love them! They are also delicious made with gorgonzola as a sub for the feta, yum. Made em for superbowl sunday and the boys never missed the meat and even asked for the recipe—score!
Hooray! Thank you, Nancy.
I can’t wait to make this one because all of the other enchilada recipes I’ve tried from you have been FANTASTIC! Has anyone tried freezing this? I would love to double it for a friend that just had a baby.
This is one I know freezes pretty well! :) A great meal to take to a friend for sure.
Loved this. Made some subs based on preference (cilantro is the devil’s herb) and what we had in the house (smoky chipotle salsa), but it came out great! So delicious, thank you!
You either love or hate cilantro! Glad you still tried it and subbed out what you needed to. Thanks, Ariane.
Made this for a group, it was such a hit with vegans and omnivores!
Kate your helpful, delicious recipes are truly inspired, I am so enjoying your cookbook and blog, and my whole family is love love loving the delicious results. Thank you!
Sheryl R
And family
Thank you for your kind words and review!
Do these hold up ok in the fridge for a couple of days? Or have you frozen them and had them another day? Sometimes, I know the corn tortillas can get mushy. . .
Yes, they do! Just re-warm them as you like in the oven works best.
After eyeballing this recipe for a week, I decided to give it a try. I am soo glad I did! This was absolutely divine! Yum! Thanks for posting; will definitely make this again!
I’m so glad you did too! I love that you eyeballed it for a week. :) Thanks for the review, Alexis.
I do black bean/sweet potato tacos all the time but this was my first go at enchiladas. My changes were roasting the sweet potatoes a day in advance, using half mild and half hot diced green chiles, and using pepper jack cheese instead of Monterey jack. The salsa verde I used was Wegmans store brand roasted salsa verde and I think it added a nice depth of flavor. Definitely a healthy stick with you kind of meal that I cannot wait to have again for lunch tomorrow!
Thanks for sharing, Kate!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was a huge hit! Thank you for another delicious recipe! I hope it heats up well tomorrow.;)
You’re welcome, Abby. Thanks for your review.
Do you know what size the tortillas you used were?
Corn tortillas are typically 6-8 inches. Hope this helps!
Love, love, love this recipe! We’ve made it for vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends and they’ve all loved it as well!
I’m so glad! Thank you, Iralyn for the review.
Loved this recipe, it was simple and delicious!
Thank you!
Made this Saturday night and it was a hit! I used flour tortillas instead of corn…and I doubled the recipe using green enchilada sauce, and one with red (green was the favored flavor). My enchiladas weren’t so pretty because I forgot to add the Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), onions and cilantro. Everyone added their own so it was fine. I was asked for the recipe ;-)
Will definitely make again!
As long as they taste good, that’s what matters! Thank you, Jean for sharing. I appreciate the review.
All I can say is… wow! These were simply awesome! I tasted the filling before I added the spices and it was really good, but after adding the spices, it was amazing! I made my own salsa verde following your recipe and that was great too! Served it with a salad using your Sunshine Dressing – great flavor! I used cotija cheese instead of monterey jack. I’m really looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
I’m glad it’s wow! I love to hear from you, Holly. Please let me know what you think as you try other recipes. :)
That was one of the most delicious dinners I’ve made, especially among vegetarian dishes. My family absolutely loved it! Served it with cilantro lime rice and a slaw type salad.
Wonderful! Thanks, Tracy for commenting and providing a review.
I made these for dinner tonight. They are soooooo good!! My husband and 20-month old son enjoyed them too. The recipe is definitely a keeper. I’m so happy I found your website. Thank you for the delicious and healthy recipes.
Great! Thank you, Jolene.
Made this yesterday afternoon and will be eating leftovers I froze for a few lunches. I used the vegan sour cream suggestion (store bought) instead of the cheese. Since I could only find medium salsa verde I left out the jalapeno but decided I could have used it anyway. It’s high carbohydrate but very tasty. The ingredients, as Kate said, go together very well. Thanks for another winning recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Heather! I appreciate your review. I’m happy they froze well for you.
Just confirming that they froze quite well.
Can you sub greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Sure, if you prefer that. It should work fine.
We love this dish at our house! I’m due in September and looking for meals to freeze . . . have you ever tried freezing this one? Thanks!
I don’t freeze all my recipes but search through the comments and see what success other readers have had!
Will this freezer OK?
I believe other readers have had great luck with this recipe! Feel free to search through reader comments to get recommendations.