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.
Very good! My wife hates sweet potatoes but we get them every week, this time of the year, in our CSA. This was a winner… I used the whole jalapeno, we liked the spice & the crunch…
This meal is now a family favourite! What a great vegetarian go-to.
These are incredible! I make them all the time and I seriously prefer them to meat enchiladas- my boyfriend does too and we aren’t vegetarians. Kate, you are one of my favorite food bloggers. Thank you for the amazing recipes.
Oh my goodness, these were delicious! I have been trying to cut down on eating meat, and these will definitely enter my regular rotation! Just the right amount of spice and much more flavorful than enchiladas I’ve had at restaurants. Yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
I am not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but this was wonderful. We didn’t use green chilies or jalapenos because our kids don’t like spice. But It was so wonderful. I love the cheese combo and the sweet potato pairs so well with the salsa and cheese. I also cooked the sweet potatoes about 2 hours early and made everything but waited 20ish minutes to put them in the oven (cause it was too early for dinner), it turned out wonderfully. Thank you, lovely
Really delicious recipe! I need this in stages first roasting the sweet potato and then later cooking the rest of it up. It will be feeding us for a while. Thank you!
I love Meals So Good Yawl Wont Miss the Meat. This will THRILL everyone at your table. Thanks SO MUCH.
You’re welcome, Mitch! Thank you for your review.
This is by far my families favorite recipe. We aren’t vegetarian but we try to eat less meat these days. But these are delicious, full of good things for you and as you said- don’t leave you feeling heavy. But you don’t feel like your missing out on enchiladas! Thank you for sharing it!
You’re welcome, Jennifer!
Absolutely incredible recipe! My husband said it’s the best vegetarian meal he’s ever had! I think the key is the addition of lime juice to the filling as it balances the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
We’ve swapped Monterey Jack for mature cheddar (as we live in the UK Monterey Jack is not easy to come by!), used wheat tortillas and added some smoked paprika to the filling along with finely chopped green bell peppers for extra crunch – all worked out great. We’ve used store-bought salsa verde which we highly recommend (Gran Luchito Tomatillo Salsa) and also some regular salsa for the bottom as one jar of salsa verde wasn’t enough for the entire tray. It was also easy to heat up the next day (just covered the tray with aluminium foil and left in the oven to reheat and for the cheese to get bubbly).
We’re spreading your recipes across the UK as they’re great!
Hey! This is great. How do you feel about substituting your enchilada sauce for the salsa verde?
Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas would be a good choice!
My corn tortillas broke before I made this. I decided to layer 5 tortilla parts on the bottom of the pan over the salsa verde, spread the filling, then top with the other 5 (broken) tortillas, salsa verde and cheese. The results were great! The flavour combination is perfect. I’ll make these again and I might just layer them on purpose! YUM!
THANK you for posting this. I am a new mom and this will save me valuable time rather than wrapping each one individually as I have done previously with this recipe!!! Seriously, you made this new moms day!
I’m glad this one was a hit! Thank you for sharing, Melody.
Soo delicious! I loved the tomatillo salsa with the sweet potato flavor. I vegan’ed it up by heating/melting 1/4 c hummus and 1/4 c vegan cream cheese (didn’t have sour cream). And shredding some baby spinach in the mix; topped with vegan cheese. Just delicious! Kids loved it
Thank you for sharing, Beth! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Oh wow! Who would have thought these ingredients would work so well together?!? Best dinner I’ve made in a long time! I used Trader Joe’s salsa verde and it was excellent.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Michelle!
My daughter and I love your recipes. She will be having major back surgery soon and I’d love to makes several dishes from your site that could freeze well since I live about 80 miles away from her.would this recipe work? Any of your other recipes work? She has an eating disorder and she always feels safe with your recipes. Thanks for your help!
Hi Cindy! I hope her surgery goes well! Almost all my soups do freeze well so that would be a great place to start :) Wishing you both the best!
This was really good! My store didn’t have salsa verde and I skipped the cheese on top but even though it was pretty plain it had a great flavour.
Made this and it was delicious, even meat focused hubby loved it! Plenty of leftovers since there’s just 2 off us, reheats well. I recommend covering in foil while cooking to retain moisture.
Yes, great for leftovers! Thank you for sharing and for your review, Cara
Made this and it was delicious, even meat focused hubby loved it! Plenty of leftovers since there’s just 2 off us, reheats well. I recommend covering in foil while cooking to retain moisture. Also, I love your dog !
These are amazing! I did not miss the meat at all!!! Soo much flavor with a hint of spice and mine turned out just like the picture! So good and easy to make. Will be a regular in my house from now on.
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it, Celisse. Thank you for your review.
Soooo good! On a weekly rotation for us! Love your recipes, Kate! Question, how long will the filling last in the fridge?
Hi! The whole dish can last 3-4 days so I would go with that, but use your nose and eyes to be sure. :)
Can I use roasted butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes?
Hi! Sure, you could try that. Let me know what you think!
Christine, did you try this? How did they turn out? I was just scanning the comments to see if anyone had done this as I have a huge butternut squash but no sweet potatoes right now. Would really like your feedback. Thanks
Looks delicious! What size corn tortillas did you use?
Hi! I have found some locally in Kansas City that I have been enjoying. In the past, Mi Rancho have worked.
So yummy! They stuck to the bottom of the dish even though I followed the instructions.
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. Was the enchilada sauce spread evenly? Did the top seem over cooked?
This was excellent! Made it with lactose free cheddar for family who can’t have dairy. Toned down the heat for the grandkids. Was a huge success. Shared the recipe.
Made it again just for us, with all the heat and it’s even better. Definitely a keeper!!
I’m glad you all were able to enjoy it, Susan! Thank you for your review.
I don’t even remember what I searched for, but I’m so glad I found this recipe! I added some chik’n (plant based chicken substitute) into the filling and I used medium hot salsa verde (that includes some jalapeno) because I am kind of a wuss when it comes to hot/spicy. I also used some pepper jack cheese mixed in with the monterey jack.
But I just loved the sweetness of the sweet potato against the bean, mixed with the spices. I am a huge cumin fan.
And it was so easy to follow with really easy prep!
Thanks so much for sharing. I will definitely be making this again in the future!!!
I’m happy you found it too! Thank you for your review, Hannah.
I making these tonight for my meat eating boyfriend who is curious about my vegetarian ways! Would I be able to make in the morning then refrigerate to bake off later, or would the salsa verde soak into the tortillas too much?
Hi! I’m not sure they would hold up well without being baked. What did you decide to do?
Thanks for another great recipe!
You’re welcome, Anjie!
These look delicious! Can I assemble and freeze them so they’re ready to go on a night no one wants to cook? Thinking about making a batch for a veg friend about to have a baby (and zero time). If so, what would be the bake coming from the freezer?
Hi! I would suggest baking them first. I don’t have a go-to method for cooking once froze just yet. I would suggest at the same temperature, just for longer. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
GOODNESS, these were extraordinary. So glad to find another gluten free veg recipe to add to my list – my picky 7yo celiac kiddo even ate 1.5, and that’s an indescribable win.
That’s wonderful, Karen! Thank you for your review.
Lovelovelove this recipe and have made it a lot!
Can this be assembled ahead and sit until
Dinner time?
Can I use whole wheat instead of corn tortillas?
Sure, they just tend to run a little larger so you may not have as many.
This was amazing good! In fact the filling was just the exact right amount for the enchiladas. Amazing. I used all my cilantro for the tomatillo salsa so I subbed Avocado for the cilantro garnish. Thank you so much for this recipe. It will definitely be a part of my regular culinary repertoire.
I love that, Sophia! I appreciate your review.
Very good. The feta was surprising and a nice addition, and sweet potatoes and black beans are always a winning combination. Personally, I was not fond of the canned chiles in the filling though. I added a bit of chipotle chile powder in place of the cayenne—next time I’ll omit the green chiles completely and add some chipotle chiles in adobo in their place.
I’m sorry you didn’t love the chilies, but were still able to enjoy the overall dish. I appreciate your feedback, Meg.
It’s rare I make a recipe for the first time with no adjustments or substitutions. 10/10 would make again!
Made this for my husband and my 11 yr old son! My son doesn’t like sweet potatoes! He loved it! My husband said this was a keeper and that is was possibly the best meatless meal he has ever had!
That’s great, Penny! Thank you for your review.
Already posted on this but left one fun note out! We had leftovers for brunch with a sunny side egg on top! Amazing!
That’s a great idea, Penny! Thank you for sharing.
Looking to know how it turned out for those that wanted to make it ahead as a meal prep or for a friend. Thoughts?
Hi! I think these are great reheated. Or, you could assemble the ingredients separately, store and then assemble once it’s time to bake. I hope this is helpful!
I’ve made this recipe at least 10 times! it’s easy, tasty, nutritious and a great way to make food ahead for the week. We love it!
Has anyone tried freezing this before or after cooking?
One of my absolute favourites. We eat it at least ones a month. The combined flavours together just melt in my mouth. Family favourite for sure xx Thank you
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Nina. I appreciate your review.
Wow wow wow! I’ve seen one of my favourite youtubers make this a couple of times and I decided to finally give it a go – it will now become a staple in my household! This was so unbelievably tasty, my dad (a carnivore) went back for seconds! A 10/10 meal!
I’m happy to hear that, Georga! Thank you for sharing.
My husband and I went Vegetarian two years ago and have been very happy with the decision. We have gotten very excited about your website and recipes. Thank you! These were delicious! The whole family loved them! The onion took longer to cook than estimated in the recipe. The warmed sprouted grain tortillas did crack apart and were hard to fold but they still turned out nicely… and firm enough to dish out in one piece. We are making them again tonight and may add chopped pepper and possibly squash.
I hope your family keeps trying more! I appreciate your review, SR.
I made these the other week and we really enjoyed them. But since it’s just two of us, I made the whole recipe but divided it into two pans and froze one before baking. How long should I bake the frozen enchiladas and at what temperature. Thanks for the recipe and we adore your granola recipe too.
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, LuAnn! I appreciate your review.
This was delicious and easy. I didn’t have cilantro (that would’ve made it even better) so I used fresh parsley. Even the meat eaters devoured it!
Super Enchiladas! I may even like these more than my previous favorite of yours — veggie black bean enchiladas! The sweet potatoes it easy to fill the tortillas! The garnishes make the dish look great!
As always, great C&K dinner!
Thank you, Fran! I’m glad you loved it.
Filling was delicious!! Thanks for providing a vegan substitute! Made it like that and didn’t miss the cheese.
Omg!!!! This is one of my absolute favorite recipes!!! My hard to “food-please” family loved it!!! Love the tastes, the colors… A definite keeper!!
That’s great to hear, Lisa!
Hello! This recipe is missing the step about which ingredients to mix for the filling. It just says “add sweet potato to filling mix” – what mix?
Hi Claire, all the ingredients listed in the filling list of ingredients. I hope you love it!
I made this recipe and my husband said they were the best enchiladas he had ever had! I didn’t have a jalapeno pepper, but I used pepper jack cheese and medium salsa verde and the enchiladas were pretty spicy! We’re trying to eat more vegetables and this recipe was perfect!
I love that! Thank you for sharing, Merlin.
I have been so hesitant to try this because of the sweet potato…I made it today and we were blown away!! So amazing it will definitely be in the weekly rotation. My meat loving husband said, after his first bite, “we just have to trust Kate.” Lol!! Thank you for ANOTHER amazing recipe.
Hooray! Thank you for trusting me, Danielle. I appreciate your review! :)
Really great! Made it without the jalapeño but otherwise exactly as written. My entire family LOVED it. Yet another Cookie + Kate win.
I am excited to try this recipe! In looking over the nutrition label is there a way to cut back on sodium? Or is that a concern; it sounds really healthy to me!
Hi Ruth, you can reduce the amount of salt. I hope you love it!