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.
A little different. Fantastic flavor.
Family favorite for Meatless Monday! It’s on repeat because the flavors are so satisfying.
Made this for my family – carnivore husband and vegetarian daughter! They both loved it! Super easy and delicious – packed with nutrients!
Thank you!
Fantastic! Thank you for your review, Rhonda.
Agreed! Everyone had 2nds…including my meat-forward husband! Huge endorsement right there!
One of our favorites! We’ve made double batches and then freeze one! It’s so nice to pull out postpartum and have these already put together.
That’s great, Jo! Thank you for your review.
Do you freeze after baking? How do you reheat?
Hi Rebecca, I would freeze after baking (and cooled) in portion sizes.
We froze it after assembly. When ready to eat, we pulled it out of the freezer and thawed in the fridge the night before (for dinner) and then baked following the recipe.
Did you find it to be mushy after doing this?
Not at all!
I’m making a double batch for the first time and was wondering if I should freeze before or after. I think I’ll freeze before cooking them.
We always freeze them before baking them – just pop them in the oven at 385, no need to thaw!
I added capsicum and leek to the sweet potato in the oven. I chopped them up and added to the bean mixture. Very nice. I also used your red enchiladas recipe without the cinnamon as I’m allergic to it and it tasted better than I thought it would. Very happy with the dinner, thank you. Served with a side of salad.
Fantastic recipe! My son found it and now it’s a favorite. I’m vegetarian and it’s a challenge to find good recipes that satisfy everyone. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Terry!
Kate: I am making these for a large dinner party the next day. Do you have tips on making these ahead? Should I bake them and reheat before dinner? Etc.
Hi Julie! These reheat well. I hope they are a hit!
These are a family favorite! Hoping to make them for my brother and SIL who just had a baby. Wondering how I should do that since they are an hour away. Make entirely and have them warm them up? Just place tortillas with filling in an empty pan and omit the salsa verde on the bottom? Help, please!
I made these over the weekend after seeing the recipe in a tiktok and they are FANTASTIC. I did add some sautéed onion, green pepper, and garlic to the mix. will definitely be making again.
I’m glad you loved them, Hailee!
I love this recipe! Do you have any recommendations for prepping it ahead of time?
Hi Tamar, you can prep the filling and then assemble when ready. I’m glad you love this recipe!
What are your thoughts on adding one cup of shredded dark chicken to your original recipe.
We are all meat eaters.
Question…if I’m making your homemade salsa verde, I notice in that recipe it says it’s thin but thickens up in the fridge. Should I make it ahead to thicken up or use as is for these enchiladas?
That’s interesting, I think it should be just fine as is. Are you sealing it in an air tight container? Let me know what you think!
I make these with Japanese sweet potatoes instead and they are INCREDIBLE. Cannot recommend enough.
Great to hear, Adrianna! I appreciate your review.
Wow. Obsessed with this recipe!!! First of all, I love how easy this recipe is to make. Very minimal chopping/no sautéing. Flavor and texture 10/10. I made the recipe as is and will continue to do so. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful creation!
You’re welcome, Erin! Thank you for taking the time to review. I’m glad you loved it.
I’m trying to decide if when you say salsa Verde if that is green enchilada sauce or the salsa version with the tomatillos? I love the recipe
Wondering if anyone has made these with pinto beans? Didn’t realize I am out of black!
have you made this with traditional enchilada sauce?
Hi! I prefer it as written here. However, I do know others have tried it with red sauce, and they enjoyed it.
First time making enchiladas of any kind and I’m definitely not a great cook but this actually turned out AMAZING! my family is vegan so I used a few substitutions but everyone practically licked their plates clean :) going to check out your other recipes and plan another delicious dinner for tomorrow
That’s great, Leah! Thank you for sharing.
These were amazing! Yum! Topped with my homemade pickled onions.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jill! Thank you for sharing.
WOW! So much flavor. My kids loved them and they are hard to please. A winner here!
Great to hear, John! I’m glad you loved it.
wow wow wow!!! I wasn’t sure this was going to work as I was mixing all of these flavors, BUT it WORKED sooooo well. It was DELICIOUS!! Soooo good!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Liz! I appreciate your review.
My husband said this was one of the top 5 things I have made and I’ve made a lot of things! Loveddddd the flavors and it was so easy to prep and put in the oven right after the kids sports practices. Thank you so much!!
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Angela.
Hi Kate! I am without verde sauce (completely forgot to pickup the ingredients). Any suggestions? Can I make without a sauce? I have sour cream, avocados, cilantro, canned tomatoes…is there another sauce recipe you can suggest?
Hi, You can try red salsa if you like and have it on hand.
For clarity, “bowl of filling” has no instruction preceding it… you could possibly add: mix next 10 ingredients in a bowl.
Also will you really need black pepper after chilli powder & cayenne
Will it work to prep this a day ahead and cook the next evening?
Sara
Hi, You could try prepping the filling and then assembling the next day. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let me know!
Love the recipe. Your cup to ounce conversions seem off, though. Isn’t a cup 8 oz? All the best.
Hi! Dry and wet cups are different ounces. If that makes sense?
For the Monterey Jack cheese and the feta cheese did you use the ounces or the cup measurement.
4 ounces is not a cup
And 2 ounces is not 1/2 cup
I liked it but maybe I was using the wrong amounts.
Hi Judy – I believe the recipe provides weight in ounces, not volume in fluid ounce. My recollection is that cheese is quite a bit less dense than water so a cup of grated cheese probably does weight about 4 ounces on a scale.
I’m getting ready to make this recipe for my daughter’s vegetarian boyfriend for Easter and I was questioning that also. I think with the way it’s written, 4oz. of the cup of cheese goes in the sweet potato mixture and the remaining 4oz is to sprinkle on top after assembled.
These enchiladas were very good. A little bit too sweet for me personally but next time, I’ll just use less sweet potato and add more veggies and spices.
Kate, can the sweet potato bean enchiladas be prepared ahead of time and frozen? Thanks,
Sara
Hi Sara, I would freeze after baking (and cooled) in portion sizes.
The Black Bean and Sweet Potato enchiladas are fantastic! I added some corn to the mix, boiled and mashed my sweet potatoes, and used vegan Mexican cheese shreds for the cheese. Vegan cream cheese swirled with tubed chopped cilantro since I was out of fresh for my drizzle. Creamy texture—great healthy comfort food!!! This will go in our regular rotation for easy crowd pleasing dishes.
These are EXCELLENT. I generally like vegetarian foods but getting my boyfriend to eat a meatless Monday meal is not always easy. These sweet a HIT! He didn’t even miss the meat!
Can you make this recipe with any less carbs? 69.5g of carbs is disastrous for a diabetic. This recipe sounds so good I would love to try it.
Thanks,
Jeanne
Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t provide modifications outside of what is already provided for dietary needs.
I grew up near KC!
This was a huge hit at our house! I used Siete almond flour tortillas for GF and skipped the feta and just added a bit of shredded cheese I had on hand. Used your enchilada sauce recipe, and then raw red onion and cilantro at the end really gave it a good punch. So yummy!
This was amazing, I added shredded chicken.
So darn good! Thank you for this gem of a recipe. I did add a little of both smoked paprika & ground coriander seed.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review.
This is a great recipe. I first made it with flour tortillas because I had them on hand, but then made them with corn ones last night. Family agrees that corn are better! We always have lots of filling left over….I may try assembling more and freezing as other reviews have described. We will just reheat the mix and serve kinda like nachos w chips. Also plan to top w pickled onions next time…good tip from a previous comment.
I’m glad you enjoyed these enchiladas, Rebecca! I appreciate your review.
I have never bothered to comment on a recipe before, but had to for these. I hate picante, so I’ve never had enchiladas I’ve actually enjoyed but these were delicious! Next time I think I’ll at least grate the cheese the night before (maybe do the potatoes too) to cut down on prep time, but these were worth the time.
I’m so glad you decided to comment, Em! Thank you for your review.
Fantastic. My son in law introduced me to this recipe. It’s a family favourite now and my go to recipe.
Delicious as written!
Thank you, C!
Hello, we really enjoyed this dish tonight. I added some leftover pork tenderloin pieces to some. Couldn’t really taste that. My husband wants chicken in it but I loved it without. I am looking forward to making this a vegan dish for my granddaughter with vegan cheeses. I got my corn tortillas made fresh from a Mexican market near me. The only issue I had was cutting the tortillas. They got a little crispy and a little stuck on the bottom even with the salsa verde there. I will make it again and really enjoyed it.
Great to hear, Gay!
Hello! This looks delicious. May I ask what size tortilla you use? Are they small or more towards burrito/quesadilla size? Thanks!!
Hi! Standard tortilla size, not small tacos size. I do know different brands can vary.
Wouldn’t change a thing. Turns out perfect every time!!
Great to hear, Jenny!
Loved this recipe!! Ended up only making 4 tortillas in a 9×9 since there’s only two of us. Do you think I could freeze the rest of the filling?!
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. If you try it, let me know!
Absolutely delicious. I have made this about a half a dozen times and it never fails to please. Not hard to make at all and freezes well. I freeze any enchiladas I am not baking that day.
Have not made this, but I think most of your recipes are 5 star, so giving this one a five star. I was wondering if this recipe would work if you just layered the corn tortillas like a lasagna? I have trouble with corn tortillas falling apart when I roll them, even when I microwave them first in a damp paper towel. Let me know what you think? Thank you.
You should try myRoasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole. Let me know what you think!
Got your response after I needed it. So this is what I did..I sautéed all my veggies. I used zucchini, onions,and peppers. And then added the salsa verde. Then just layered the tortillas and veggies with some cheese. Basically totally winging it with your recipe as the base. And honestly, it turned out amazing !! And I will check the roasted veggie enchilada. Have shared your recipes with many. Keep ‘em coming!! Thank you!!
how much flavor does the feta cheese add? Can I leave it out or just add more monterey jack cheese or is it necessary for flavor?
You can add more of the preferred cheese if you like.
I keep forgetting to comment. My family loved them. Even my husband who loves meat and doesn’t particularly like leftovers was thrilled to take the leftovers to work for lunch the next day. I love your recipes they always turn out so well! I did leave out the feta and just used colbyjack and mozzarella cheese because it is our preferred cheese
Wonderful to hear, Zabe!
Even tastier than I imagined! A little time consuming but definitely worth it and the recipe is a keeper! Looking forward to leftovers!
Great to hear, Dianne! Thank you for your review.
Delicious! I made these for a pot luck and everyone loved them.
That’s great, April! I appreciate your review.
I doubled the filling worried one might not be enough for my family of five. It is so much filling. Can I just freeze the filling and then roll them another time? Thinking that might make it less mushy than rolling in the shells. Thanks so much! Love your recipes.
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let me know!
These are the best enchiladas I’ve ever made. Even my meat loving friends are obsessed with them. I make them often and love sharing them with friends! Soooo good!!!
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Jenn.
I am plant based and used Trader’s Joe’s vegan feta with vegan shredded mozzarella which I wasn’t too sure it actually was fantastic. I also used the corn- flour tortillas from Trader Joe’s.
My family loves this dish!
I have to cook for a crowd in a few weeks, and I’m trying to make some dishes ahead that can be frozen and reheated. What do you think? Is this a candidate for freezing/reheating? Thanks!
I know others have tried it and didn’t mind the results.