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 was absolutely spectacular. It’s totally worth making the homemade enchilada sauce too. I doubled the sauce for the leftovers and freezer and made it a little tiny bit spicier too. Thank you for this outstanding recipe.
This was sooooo delicious! My family absolutely loved it. I followed the recipe to a T and it was wonderful. I will need to double the recipe next time because we had zero leftover!
This shit is delicious! Takes a while for me to chop the vegetables but other than that it’s pretty doable. Also I usually end up making 6-7, not 8. And also I didn’t use the cinnamon.
Made this tonight and man it did not disappoint! Flavorful, filling, and easy. The prep did take some time but the process was easy. 10/10 recommend! You could definitely play around with the veggies!
Oh the story you wrote in this made my heart ache! I really miss gathering and sharing at the table. Thank you for your kind words Kate. We love eating from your recipes!
Thanks Kate. These were wonderful and really easy to make for a quick dinner. I already had cooked black beans and used a ready made salsa I had at home. (Next time I’ll make fresh.)
I made this vegan by adding a some nutritional yeast into the bean mixture and grated some vegan cheese for the top. After I turned off the oven I added chopped tomatoes and avocado on top of the enchiladas and let it warm up in the still warm oven. I don’t think I’ll even add the grated cheese next time.
I used the leftover bean mixture on rice the next day. Was also wonderful topped with the tomatoes and avocado.
This is definitely going to be one of our regular dishes. Thanks.
Thank you for sharing how you made this vegan! I appreciate your review.
Hi! I just saw your comment about making the recipe vegan after posting my own comment on using nutritional yeast for a vegan version. I like your idea of also putting some vegan cheese on top. Thanks! I’ll add that as well next time.
Jim
I thought these were mediocre. Not bad but not great. They weren’t super flavorful, could have used more spice, broccoli was odd in an enchilada, and I thought the whole wheat in the tortillas tasted too wheat-y. I think regular flour tortillas would have been better. I followed the recipe exactly, including the enchilada sauce.
Even though it wasn’t my cup of tea, thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi, sorry you didn’t love this one. I appreciate your feedback, RF.
This was delicious. I like to add some sofritas-style tofu inside to make it a little heartier with a protein.
Excellent recipe! Thank you! My wife and our 12-year-old son both approved.
I did a vegan version – subbing 1/2 cup nutritional yeast for the cheese mixed in with the beans and veggies–it worked quite well.
Thanks!
Excellent recipe! Just made this tonight for dinner…hubby approved! Mahalo for all your wonderful recipes! Aloha from Hawai’i!
Thank you, Tiffanie!
I made these tonight with cauliflower, red pepper, spinach , black beans and threw in sweet potato and quinoa as someone advised as the end result was simply fantastic. Your enchilada sauce was the topper. Great recipe. Thanks so much.
You’re welcome, Deb! Thank you for your review.
Made the enchilada sauce and it was so yummy such a good recipe !! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review.
Amazing! My family is so hard to please with vegetarian dishes, but they LOVED this one! Will be adding this to our cycle of dinner recipes.
Wonderful, Yuna! Thank you for your review.
Made this with both broccoli and cauliflower, omitted any added salt; my wife said this was one of my best meals ever [we’ve been married 30 years, so that represents a lot of other dinners to compare and beat]! Simple recipe with outstanding results. THANK YOU KATE for this recipe. Buying your cookbook today.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved it.
We really enjoyed. Yuuuummmmmm
OMG! These are the best ever enchiladas that I’ve ever had. My family absolutely loved them. Thanks Kate for this amazing recipe!
I’m happy you love them, Ella. I appreciate your review.
This was awesome!!! The only thing I added was a pinch of cayenne pepper and I diced up some shrimp. Simple to make and, oh, how delicious!!!!
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Wilma.
I thought I had broccoli but I didn’t so I subbed pea :) Worked a treat! These are always a hit with our family. And I will never buy an enchilada sauce (its actually hard to find here in Australia).
These were so good! I did make some modifications though…I added corn & used store bought enchilada sauce. I will definitely be making these again soon!!
This has become a staple in our household.. we just mix up the veggies to change things up :)
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Tatiana.
Great recipe, it was delicious ! I would have personally have made some extra enchilada sauce (doubled it) since it is so yummy. It would have also given some more moisture to the dish.
Other than that, I recommend this recipe a 100% !
Thank you for your feedback! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it.
This is one of my favorite veggie recipes!! Thank you so much!!
The sauce is everything! I made this two weeks ago and I still think about it daily.
Came out really good. Kids loved the enchiladas.
Just curious about this recipe. I have not yet made it (Just now finding it) but I am surprised at the high calorie content. The tortilla and beans probably pack the most of the calories, but 687 for two???? I am watching my calories and really want to try this, but not sure if that is worth my effort.
Hi Ann, I can’t speak to the specifics as I’m not a registered nutritionist. But you can read more on my nutrition information. .
Can you tell me what the calorie content for this dish is?
Hi! All the nutrition information can be found below the notes section. I hope this helps!
I made this (but without broccoli) and they were so delicious!! I had no idea how they would turn out since I used wheat tortillas and I normally prefer flour, but this exceeded my expectations! The enchilada sauce was so tasty. Thank you for this recipe :)
You’re welcome!
Oh my these were the BEST! We used cauliflower and added about a half of a jalapeño diced, a couple Tblsp of chopped garlic and some chili powder. Plus added a bit more cheese to the mix. Just so delicious! I can’t wait to make it for guests!! Easy recipe. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Kate!
These enchiladas were incredible! Super tasty especially when made with the enchilada sauce. Officially on the shelf as a family favorite :)
These were delicious! I made exactly as written and used the homemade enchilada sauce recipe. My family of meat lovers said this was a “make again.” I am wondering where all the fat comes from in the nutrition information. Seems like these would be lighter than 36 grams of fat?
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Jane.
Discovered this recipe a little while ago and am IN LOVE. My family has a hard time eating vegetarian dishes but this and the teriyaki soba dish won them over! Definitely recommend for anyone, vegetarian or not. This recipe is DELICIOUS!
I’m excited you enjoyed it, Yuna! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! Was an easy recipe to make, and followed it as written – except omitted the cinnamon – and they came out great! Thank you for the healthy, easy, and tasty recipe!
Delicious! Was an easy recipe to make, and followed it as written – except omitted the cinnamon – and they came out great! Thank you for the healthy, easy, and tasty recipe!
Hi i have a question i am pre making the enchiladas for my daughter and leaving in the fridge for her to cook tomorrow night if i pour the enchilada sauce on the enchiladas and leave in fridge over night (prior to baking)will tbey get soggy.?
Hi Jean, I would assume it would get soggy. I do know these reheat well once baked. What did you decide to do?
Hi, Can I assemble these the night before and cook the next day?
Thanks
Hi! I’m not sure without trying it to say 100%. But, I’m hesitant the tortillas may get soggy sitting over night and not have idea results when cooking.
These are SO delicious – the home made enchilada sauce is a game change, just amazing. This is a firm favourite in our house.
These are my favorite enchiladas! I’ve made them many times and they always turn out great. Instead of one large pan, I use two 8×8 pans and give one to my parents. They love them too! (To other readers: make the enchilada sauce. It only takes about 10 minutes and is way better than anything store-bought.)
Hello! I recently discovered your website and I’m enjoying making your recipes. I was wondering if refried beans would work instead of black beans?
Hi! Black beans work best here to get it even throughout the enchiladas. You could try it, but make sure to get it evenly spread out.
Excellent! Everyone loved it. I was hoping for leftovers, but there wasn’t any. I was out of broccoli and used roasted green beans instead. The enchilada sauce is well worth the extra effort. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing this excellent recipe.
You’re welcome, L! Thank you for your review.
This recipe totally saved me! I had nothing planned for dinner and just happen to have all of the ingredients in my fridge and enchilada sauce in my pantry. I followed the recipe to a T except for canned enchilada sauce and it turned out perfect. I will definitely make again.
Wonderful, Coco! Thank you for taking the time to comment and review.
I made these last week and they came out so awesome ! I used a Mexican cheese blend from Costco but didn’t change anything else. The home made enchilada sauce is so so awesome !
Thank you so much for this perfect recipe !
You’re welcome, Smita! I appreciate your review.
Still one of my all-time favorites! Something about the cinnamon in the enchilada sauce is sooo delicious. They’re a great way to get some hearty veggies while indulging a little.
That’s great! Thank you for your review, Blair.
Hi Kate! Just made the vegetable enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce and it was fantastic! I did use 1/2 part skin ricotta in the mix of veggies to cut a little of the cholesterol down a tweek for our diet and it was still so flavorful. I used organic whole wheat tortillas that weren’t too heavy made by Maria & Ricardos…..thank you for sharing! Always love trying your recipes!
These were absolutely delicious! Made the enchilada sauce as well. Definitely adding to our dinner rotation! Sent the link to multiple friends as well! So good I had to share! Thank you for another fabulous recipe!
I added a pinch of cayenne to the enchilada sauce and used pepper jack cheese. We like the heat!!
This turned out delicious! We are avoiding carbs right now so the only modification I had to make was to substitute “egg crepes” for the tortillas. My husband is often fussy when I give him so many vegetables but he raved about it! Thank you. Keep your creations coming. Take care
Amazing!!!! We loved the sauce and the Enchiladas!!!!! Full of flavor!!!
These were great!!
Thank you, Ardis! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Excellent, thank you! Made this last night and the entire family loved it. I left the cheese out of the recipe since I don’t eat dairy. Instead, I put out a bowl of shredded Monterey Jack as an option to sprinkle on top. I had to make the enchilada sauce twice because I inadvertently burned the spice mix in the oil (too hot and/or too long). Second time’s the charm. Tastes MUCH better not burned :)
Very tasty & fun to make. Thank you for sharing!