Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas
Amazing vegetarian enchiladas stuffed with black beans, broccoli, bell pepper and spinach, topped with homemade red sauce. My favorite enchilada recipe!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
These vegetarian enchiladas are a hearty and satisfying dinner. Make them on a weeknight and you’ll enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day. Or make it on the weekend and invite friends over to make a party out of it! You could make a double batch and freeze the extras—you’ll find freezing instructions below.
You’ll love the fresh filling in these enchiladas, made of sautéed bell pepper, broccoli, onion, spinach, black beans and warming spices. These enchiladas are nicely cheesy, but not overwhelmingly cheesy like many restaurants make them.
This enchilada recipe has become quite popular since I published it nearly eight years ago. I used my spinach artichoke enchiladas as a blueprint and covered them with my go-to homemade enchilada sauce, of course. They’re just fantastic and I hope you’ll give them a try, if you haven’t already.
If you’ve never made enchiladas before, you can do it! You’ll find a detailed recipe, step-by-step photos, and an instructional video below.
How to Make Vegetable Enchiladas
This recipe isn’t the quickest dinner option (enchiladas never are), but it is totally worth the effort. Here’s a basic rundown with some notes and variations.
You’ll start by making my red enchilada sauce, a simple, pantry-friendly recipe using dried spices and vegetable broth. It has an amazing depth of flavor! If you want to change it up, you could use my green enchilada sauce instead, which is made from salsa verde (jarred is fine).
Then, you’ll sauté red onion, bell pepper, broccoli and spinach. Broccoli is an uncommon ingredient in enchiladas, but I love it here. If you’re hesitant and want a more neutral flavor, substitute cauliflower instead. Cumin and a small amount of cinnamon (yes, cinnamon!) ramp up the flavor.
Once the vegetables are done cooking, we’ll transfer them to a bowl and add drained black beans, plus a small amount of cheese and a splash of enchilada sauce for flavoring. Then we’ll assemble the enchiladas, drizzle the remaining sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until golden. If you want extra cheesy enchiladas, you could double the cheese (use a full 8 ounces).
This recipe calls for flour tortillas. I like to use whole wheat for some extra flavor and fiber. Corn tortillas are more traditional, but my mom always used flour tortillas in her enchiladas when we were growing up, so I used flour. If you’d like to use corn tortillas, you certainly can. You’ll need more than 8 of them, likely 12. Gently warm them in the microwave or one at a time on the stovetop before using (otherwise, they might break when rolling).
Watch How to Make Vegetarian Enchiladas
How to Freeze These Enchiladas
You can make these enchiladas as directed and freeze them instead of baking them. I also tried baking and then freezing them, but it was more work with no payoff. To help minimize freezer burn, refrigerate the dish until fully chilled (about four hours), then cover tightly and freeze fully.
Use a freezer-safe dish, like this Pyrex dish. I’ve successfully used Pyrex baking dishes straight from the freezer to the oven. Beware there’s always a slight risk that the dish could break.
Once frozen, they will keep for up to six months in the freezer. Frozen foods technically never go bad when the freezing environment is perfectly consistent, though they generally taste better when consumed sooner.
To bake the frozen enchiladas, first ensure that the exterior of the baking dish is dry by wiping it with a towel—this helps avoid shocking the glass. Bake as directed in the recipe below, then cover the dish snugly with parchment paper or aluminum foil and bake until it is fully cooked through and bubbling, probably about 45 minutes total or longer (covering the dish prevents it from becoming too browned). Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
These enchiladas are a well-rounded main dish offering vegetables, greens, whole grains and protein. If you’re hosting friends, perhaps start with guacamole or salsa with chips. For cocktails, try fresh-squeezed margaritas or ranch waters.
Here are some side dishes that would be lovely with these enchiladas:
- Esquites (Mexican Street Corn Salad)
- Fresh Herbed Avocado Salad
- Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing (or a simplified version of it)
- Simple Healthy Slaw
More Veggie-Packed Main Dishes
Craving more hearty vegetarian meals with Mexican flavors? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
- Epic Vegetarian Tacos
- Fajita Veggie & Halloumi Bowls
- Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
- Sweet Potato, Poblano, and Black Bean Enchiladas in my cookbook, Love Real Food
Please let me know how these veggie enchiladas turn out for you in the comments! I’m always so eager to hear from you.
Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas
Amazing vegetarian enchiladas stuffed with black beans, broccoli, bell pepper and spinach, topped with homemade red sauce. My favorite enchilada recipe! Recipe yields 8 enchiladas, enough for about 4 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cups homemade enchilada sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small red onion)
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 bunch of broccoli or 1 small head of cauliflower (about 1 pound), florets removed and sliced into small, bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 to 6 ounces baby spinach (about 5 cups, packed)
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- ½ teaspoon fine salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 whole wheat tortillas (about 8 inches in diameter)
- Handful of chopped cilantro, for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with one rack in the middle of the oven and one in the upper third. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch pan with olive oil or cooking spray.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil until simmering. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are tender and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the broccoli and bell pepper, stir, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until the broccoli is brighter green and just starting to turn golden on the edges.
- Add the cumin and cinnamon to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach, a few handfuls at a time, stirring until it has reduced in size. Repeat with the remaining spinach and cook until all of the spinach has wilted.
- Transfer the contents of the pan to a medium mixing bowl. Add the drained beans, ¼ cup cheese and a drizzle of enchilada sauce (about 2 tablespoons). Season with ½ teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Assemble the enchiladas: Pour ¼ cup enchilada sauce into your prepared pan and tilt it from side to side until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. To assemble your first enchilada, spread ½ cup filling mixture down the middle of a tortilla, then snugly wrap the left side over and then the right, to make a wrap. Place it seam-side down against the edge of your pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
- Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas, leaving the tips of the enchiladas bare. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese evenly over the enchiladas.
- Bake, uncovered, on the middle rack for 20 minutes. If the cheese on top isn’t golden enough for your liking, carefully transfer the enchiladas to the upper rack of the oven and bake for an additional 3 to 6 minutes, until sufficiently golden and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let the enchiladas rest for 10 minutes (they’re super hot!). Before serving, sprinkle chopped cilantro down the center of the enchiladas. Serve immediately. Leftovers will keep well for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, covered.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my spinach artichoke enchiladas.
Make it vegan: You could just skip the cheese altogether and still end up with awesome enchiladas. For some extra creaminess, you might top them with sliced avocado or a drizzle of vegan sour cream.
Make it gluten free: Substitute certified gluten-free “flour” tortillas, or use corn tortillas (they’re smaller than my 8-inch tortillas, so you might need more than 8 tortillas). If you use corn tortillas, gently warm them together in the microwave or individually on the stove before you try to roll them up, or they might break.
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 BEST MEAL WE MAKE !!!! THANK YOU.. we love it so much ..
These are really good! They do have quite a few steps, so get someone to help it go faster! It’s not “hard”, just time consuming.
I used a yellow onion (instead of purple) and a cauliflower (instead of broccoli) and it was great!
Most of my ingredients came from Aldi (the veggies, whole grain tortillas, and mexican blend cheese).
I’ll make again!
Loved these enchiladas! We snugly wrapped the right side over and then the left instead of the left side over and then the right- and they still came out perfectly. Will make again!
This is awesome! My meat and potato man said he would like to have this again!
Can you make this the night before and cook the next day?
Hi Rita! Yes, that should be fine. Your enchiladas might need a few minutes longer in the oven, since they’re starting off cold.
I love the veg mixture but the enchilada sauce lacked something for me ( I may have added too much salt) I would probably try this again but different sauce
second time i have made!!! so so good! thank you!!
Made these last night for my vegetarian neighbors. Substituted cauliflower for the broccolli, chopped it up pretty small. one diner said the “rice” in the enchilada was so good, to which I replied “cauliflower”. the seasonings in this dish were spot on, and the homemade enchilada sauce, so easy and so good. i mixed in some cream of mushroom soup with the enchilada sauce to make it a creamier casserole, and it was just the bomb! just bought your book last night as I have made several recipes from the website and love them all!
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Janice. I appreciate your review.
Amazing recipe !! Ate way to much of this, the homemade sauce absolutely completes the dish. I used frozen spinach (heated it up before adding to the other veggies), cauliflower and vegan cheese, will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing x
These taste really delicious and work so well. The sauce is brilliant too! Highly recommended!
Thank you, Rebecca!
Excellent!! Very easy to make vegan. I used Follow Your Heart brand ‘cheddar’ shreds. Turned out perfect!! Also, I am not a fan of cumin, so I subbed smoked paprika. Everyone loved this dish AND C+K’s Simple Healthy Coleslaw as a side. Two more winners from C+K!!
First I made your easy and delicious sauce then whipped up the enchiladas – Turned out amazing!!! Whole family ranked it 5 stars!! Thank you for sharing :)
Awesome recipe! My boys loved it!! Thankyou so much ! I made tortillas myself as needed the gluten free version , did a chicken version too with the same ingredients @ chicken . A bit hit Thankyou so much
I declare this THE BEST ENCHILADA SAUCE EVER. Amen
Wow, these came out amazing!! It definitely requires some active work (especially if you’re also making the C+K enchilada sauce), but it was well worth it in my opinion. I don’t know if make these for a quick weeknight dinner but I’d certainly make these again if I was meal prepping for the week or for a fancy dinner party.
This meal is a HUGE hit in my house, and with anyone we show it to. We eat vegan and have swapped the cheese with some vegan cheese. It turns out amazing!
These are life changing :D I used some of the leftover sauce the next day on the inside of a quesadilla and almost died of pure joy. Thanks!
I’ve made this twice. It’s a little more work than I usually take on, but well worth it. My husband loves this recipe, and the leftovers are just as good. I really like the homemade sauce.
I should have paid attention before I printed. Really disappointed this took three sheets of paper. Notes & nutritional should definitely be optional.
AMAZING!!
I made these for all of my friends last night and they were a huge hit. I also made the sauce as recommended.
Definitely will be making again. I made double the amount and had 2 enchiladas leftover, reheated them in the oven the next day and tasted just as good!! I’m in love
Thanks for the recipe! Rolled up the enchiladas with a corn tortilla and enclosed with a quarter slice of vegan black bean burger patty,black beans and chipotle chopped tomatoes and chopped broccoli florets. Added the sauce and topped with vegan cheddar shreds.
Loved this recipe!!
This recipe is a two-fer in my house. Besides the tasty enchiladas, I used the filling to make quesadillas with Gardein “beef” and “chicken” strips. The filling is so full of flavor, that when combined with the “meat”, which can be bland, is absolutely wonderful!
Definitely making this again!
Thanks.
I’m glad it was a hit! Thank you for sharing, Nikki.
I never comment on recipes, but I made this last night and LOVED it! I was a bit skeptical that my kids would like it since it had so many vegetables, but was thrilled to see them take second helpings. My eldest even commented on how much he liked it. Yea!! I will definitely make this again.
I’m happy to hear that, Nancy! Seconds must mean it was a huge hit. Thanks for sharing and for your review!
I had such high hopes for this. But sadly I was disappointed. I also made this with the enchilada sauce recipe (which also was not so good). I really feel the recommended cinnamon just gives such a weird taste. I’ve made 6 different recipes from here in the last couple weeks. And the only one that really was a big hit is the grilled cheese. It’s weird, cause I enjoy all the ingredients individually, but they just don’t quite come together. I’m not a professional chef or baker. But I’m certainly not a beginner in the kitchen. I’ve decided to tinker with and make my own adjustments with all the ones I’ve tried so far. But please know, I do enjoy this blog and the cookbook. You inspire me to try healthier foods
These have become a family go-to favorite. I didn’t anticipate anything spectacular given the ingredients, but was totally blown away. It’s also nice how easy it is to convert to a vegan dish when needed for family members.
This is one amazing recipe.
I’m glad you love it!
Pepper Jack cheese, double amount of beans, half bake time= my improvements to your recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Anne!
The sauce did not taste good. It’s flavour wasn’t good and much too concentrated. Would not recommend this recipe. I would however recommend a recipe that uses a normal tomato sauce.
I love this recipe! Outstanding! Actually very easy to make. YUM!
SO good, especially with the homemade enchilada sauce! I made them twice in a week (because I could only buy 12oz of baby spinach and I didn’t want to waste what was left over)! Such a good vegetarian dinner, definitely will be keeping it in my weeknight meal rotation when the world goes back to normal :)
Made this tonight. I didn’t have broccoli so I used zephyr squash. I didn’t have spinach so I used kale. Both substitutions from our garden and both worked out great. Great recipe even with the changes. I marked it as a repeat.
Made the veggie enchilada and the enchilada sauce – come out really good! Thanks for the recipe. This one is a keeper.
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review, Priya.
Outstanding recipe! Can’t make these enough.
Can these be put together and frozen?
Hi Barb! I believe this recipe does freeze well. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Made these enchiladas tonight. Used corn tortillas and no broccoli just added more spinach. OMG!!! The sauce is heavenly! The entire dish was perfect. Even my 15 year old son loved them – he said he didn’t even miss the meat!
The enchiladas and enchilada sauce were very good.
Omg better than any dish I’ve had at any Mexican restaurant thanx so much for this recipe .
I made theses late last night, including the enchilada sauce and they were incredible! I used only a rounded 1/2 tsp Chipotle Chile Powder from Savory Spice knowing how spicy it can be and WOW…it had a kick! I also used organic gluten free corn tortillas and vegan cheese. Soooooo amazing. I had three helpings they were so good! Your recipes are the very best! Xoxo
I love this recipe, it is so satisfying and yummy. I tried this for the first time when I was looking for some ‘Meatless Monday’ recipies and I was inspiredto try more and more of your stuff. Thank you!
This is incredible!! Can I marry you! Seriously though, this recipe literally made me weak in the knees it was that good. I cheated and just used store bought enchilada sauce and next time will make you sauce. This is incredible, thank you!
These are the best enchiladas I have ever made. I’m making them for the second time tonight. The sauce was amazing (might make a bit extra tonight) and the flavours of the vegetables and spices were amazing. Definitely recommend this recipe!
Thank you for this recipe! I made it for my family, and we loved it!!
Great food but definitely takes some time to put it all together. Worth it though
I have been eying this recipe for soooo long and finally had most of the ingredients on hand to make it! Subbed red potatoes for the broccoli and used canned sauce, because I had opened it for another recipe and needed to use the rest. It was delicious… we are trying to up our vegetarian entrees, this will be a repeat.
Made this tonight for supper and we LOVED it–including your perfect enchilada sauce (fortunately I read the reviews prior and just went for a double batch on the first attempt.) Used cauliflower instead of broccoli this time; added a few mushrooms and black olives, just to use them up, and followed the rest as written. Would def make for guests. Plated with a few cherry tomatoes and some pickled asparagus with jalapeño–we each had two enchiladas and couldn’t have eaten another side dish; these are so filling! Another winner–thanks, Kate :)
Too much cinnamon and not nearly enough spice. I love enchiladas and try to make them two or three times a month trying different recipes — this is my least favorite recipe thus far.
Average
Kate, these are so good and our go to when we’re stuck, thank you so much!
I’m wondering if you think these would freeze well?
Hi! Yes, these freeze well. I’m happy you loved them!
I don’t usually leave comments on online recipes, but for this one I felt kind of obliged to. I made these a couple of times this winter, loved them, made them for a friend one time, and then watched as this recipe made its way to about five other people living in my (relatively small) dorm. Every week for a good few months at least one person was preparing these. I think it’s safe to say that these are crowd pleasers. (They even managed to convert a non-broccoli eater.) So thanks for this recipe, and for all of the nice vegetarian options you show on this site!
Wonderful to hear, Cori! Thanks for making them and taking the time to comment.
DELICIOUS!
I made the enchiladas including your sauce, substituting half the bell pepper (not a huge fan) for a second can of black beans. So scrumptious!
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
made your recipe for my first enchiladas dish!
superb! made your sauce too very pleased with myself! hubby has requested them for our supper tonight, getting better at home cooking its helped me personally. thankyou both :)
Wowowow! This is amazing. I was a bit curious about the cinnamon but am SO glad I didn’t omit it. In our family, we call successful recipes “write down-able” because we write down our favorites on cards (with a link back to the site for safe keeping and credit). This one definitely is write down-able. Can’t wait to try it with the homemade sauce next time!
I recently became vegetarian and have tried many recipes trying to find one that was really tasty. This one was it! This is hands down the best tasting vegetarian meal I have made. Great recipe , and the sauce was awesome. Well done!