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.
The perfect amount of cheese and spice!
I’m a little confused about the cheese quantity needed. Twice in the recipe, it states “4 ounces (1 cup) grated Monterey Jack cheese.” However, 1 cup = 8 ounces. I’m not sure what the correct quantity to be used is?? Thank you.
Hi Lexi! Wet & dry vary with weight. 1 cup or 4oz for this recipe is correct for the cheese.
Love, love, love this recipe! I am yet to try something that I do not like from your blog. However, this dinner is my all-time favorite! The enchiladas are so flavorful and contain the perfect amount of spice. I can’t wait to try another recipe.
I’m excited you love this one, Erica!
I will be making this today. After discovering your site being a vegetarian for the last 5 weeks has been easy! I’m just not sure about the size of the tortillas. They come in about 6 inch and 10 sizes.
I am so grateful a friend told me about your recipes Kate! We have yet to try one we didn’t like, and even my husband can’t believe how delicious meals can be with out meat.
Can’t wait to try this recipe, however I am wondering what can I tweak to make this a bit less spicy? -asking for the kids ;)
Hi, Love these!!! I have made them for dinner, but this weekend I’m making them in appetizer portions using small street taco white corn tortillas! I’m sure my guests will love them.
I made this last night and both my husband and I really liked it. It was a bit more spicy than I prefer, but that worked great because it stopped me from eating the whole pan!! We ate the leftovers for lunch today, and it heated up nicely. Husband asked me to add this one to my dinner rotation, so he was serious about giving it two thumbs up. Thanks!
This is good but I think the black and sweet potato enchilada recipe from her cookbook is much better! This was a little too spicy for my fiancé but I still think it was very good.
I made this last night. Delish! But the enchiladas didn’t stay together. They all kind of melted together, losing any form.
Any suggestions?
It would be a good recipe to make for guests, but I would only want to serve it if I could figure out how to keep the enchiladas intact.
Hi Amanda! Interesting. What type of tortillas did you use?
I used corn tortillas and heated in the microwave before rolling.
Just made these and they are yummy. I followed every step and made no substitutions. Thanks for another yummy recipe!
Tried this recipe today. Its delicious.
Made this for our Christmas Eve dinner. Was a big hit with everyone!
This is a great Meatless Monday dish for the kids. I use traditional sweet potatoes (the white ones) and omit half the diced Green chili’s. I also don’t need quite as much verde as called for. I use low carb flour tortillas and I squeeze 7 into my 9×13 pan.
My only question is if they’re supposed to be baked covered or uncovered? It doesn’t specify on the recipe. And also assuming I bake at 400 degrees because it doesnt say to lower the temp. On the recipe.
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband has acid reflux so only used one can of chilies and no jalapeno. I was afraid sweet potato mixture would be dry so added some of salsa verde to the mix. This turned out to be a fabulous meal full of flavor. I will definitely make this again and again. Its a restaraunt quality meal you can make at home.
Made this for dinner and it was so good!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Robyn!
This is my go to meal prep recipe. I can eat it all week without getting tired of it. Extra filling freezes really well to make smaller batches too! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
This is a great meal prep option! Thanks for your review, Cheyenne!
These are so good, have made them several times my husband really likes them I add chopped jalapeños since we like spice! Going on a quilting retreat and will be making these for my
Sassy Sew Sisters for dinner 1 night. They’re all anxious to try them!
It’s a keeper for sure!
Thank you for sharing, Jody!
LOVE this recipe! My husband was skeptical at first because it’s vegetarian, but after a couple bites he said he didn’t even miss the meat. We love sweet potatoes, so this is one of our go-to meals now. Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Allie!
Delicious! We enjoyed this so much. Simple, and flavorful. Thank you!
My husband really liked these! I did not use the jalapeño. I added shredded rotisserie chicken the second night of eating these. For me that made a difference but hubby was happy without the chicken. Next time I will try a medium salsa verde instead of mild since I didn’t use the jalapeño. Great tip to warm the shells prior to filling them!
We’ve made this recipe several times now with different variations and it’s always turned out great.
The first time we made it with russet potatoes because I wasn’t thinking at all in the grocery store and grabbed those instead of sweet potatoes! We roasted the diced russets first with some homemade taco seasoning before adding it to the enchiladas, and that has probably been our favorite version so far! But most of the time, we stick with the sweet potatoes because they’re healthier/easier.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
Can you make these ahead of time?
I made this dish tonight and my husband and I loved it! I am already sharing the recipe with friends.
Thank you.
You’re welcome, Renee!
I did make this recipe and it turned out well! There was so much filling leftover that my boyfriend and I incorporated it into eggs the following morning for a nice scramble (you should try it!). I wanted to know if the mixture would freeze well (because of the cheese)? Should we decide to prep the enchilada stuff ahead of time, or to freeze the filling for future breakfasts.
Hi! I know these have froze well for others in the past. Let me know if you try just the filling!
Are these good as leftovers?
I made these for my husband last night and he rated them a 10/10! They were easy to prepare and they tasted delicious. I cant wait to make these for friends and family :)
I made this for my wife last night and it turned out fantastic! Easy to make and very tasty.
I’m glad you both enjoyed it, John!
These are wonderful, thank you! I knew I would probably like them, but was unsure about my meat loving fiance. Not only did he really like them, he didn’t even put sriracha on which is pretty much a staple of every meal so that is saying a lot!!! I used hot salsa verde instead of mi!d for more of a kick.
I thought this would be good, but I admit I was skeptical of the ultra-high ratings… until I made it myself and realized it was totally true! The combination of everything together made these super delicious. Just a few subs: I used roasted butternut squash cubes instead of mashed sweet potatoes, and I used both corn and flour tortillas (honestly I couldn’t tell the difference once it was all baked). I made one green (mild) and one red (medium heat) dish – both were great. Will definitely make these again, and will try to experiment with reducing the amount of cheese, maybe subbing crumbled lemoned-salted-tofu for the feta. If you have other ideas, please share them!
I’m glad you thought so, Meg! I appreciate your review.
One word AMAZING! This recipe is going to be added to my rotation.
Great to hear, Adrian!
Can I use spinach wrap to replace corn?
You could try it! I’m not sure how it will hold up without trying it myself.
I went ahead and tried. I used extreme wellness low carb spinach wraps purchased at walmart. It was soooo good! Ive shared it with several friends. Do you have any good tofu recipes? Im trying that next in my journey. Thanks again, Debrah
Hi Debrah! Try my crispy tofu: https://sooka.info/how-to-make-crispy-baked-tofu/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
This was DELICIOUS! We used red salsa and flour tortillas but otherwise followed the recipe. Flavor was great! For those that don’t like sweet potatoes, it really doesn’t have a sweet potato flavor. Just creamy and yummy!
Thank you for your comment and review, Stacey!
One of our favourites.. It is the best combination of ingredients. A weekly special in our household!
This is a great one to have on rotation! Thank you for your review, Steph.
I have made this twice. It is absolutely amazing! My husband loved it also. I did exactly as the recipe stated. I will be making it on a regular basis and it was also good warmed the next day. Thank you for the recipe!
So loved this recipe, although mine turned out a little dry. I wanted to check to see if I was supposed to lower the oven temperature from 400 degrees or cover the dish…I didn’t see mention of either in the recipe. I saw another post had the same question as well! Making for a dinner party again next week, so please clarify! Love your recipes!
Hi Kimberly! I’m sorry to hear that. By dry, do you mean it was crispy or everything dry? If you prefer it less crispy on the edges, you could adjust the cooking time to a little less. Let me know how that works for you!
This recipe was incredible. I started a plant based diet recently and came across this recipe.
Some of the best empanadas I’ve ever had
Hi Kate,
I love all your recipes and your cookbook is amazing!! I’ve been following you for a few years now and you never disappoint.
I had a question about this recipe. I was planning on making it 2 days ahead of time and I wanted to know if I keep it in the fridge covered would it be okay to bake fresh the day I plan on serving it? Or should I bake it the day I make it and re heat it two days later?
Thank you for all that you do and continuing to help feed my family week after week.
Hey Laila! Thanks so much for your thoughtful note, and I’m sorry for the slow response! I’m just now catching up. To answer your question, I think that would work but I haven’t tried to be sure. I suspect the tortillas will soften up over time, but I know I love these enchiladas two days *after* they’ve been made, so I don’t think it will be a deal breaker.
These rock. Made them for a friend today. I cube and roast the potatoes, leaving the skin on, because I like more texture. They always turn out amazing. Do you leave the oven at 400 when you cook the whole casserole (same temp as the sweet potatoes)?
Yes! Everything at 400. :)
This recipe was delicious! I will definitely make it again and again! I think I will omit the feta next time just because I don’t really like it.
I had a couple sweet potatoes I needed to use, and came across this recipe. I’m the only person in my house who will even touch sweet potatoes, so I assumed I would be eating this alone (made my husband and kids a completely different meal). When all the food was done- I was speechless when my family all decided this dish looked best- and we all loved it! Devoured it actually! Thank you for helping me find a way to feed my family more vegetables- without even hiding them!!
I’m looking forward to making these but what size are the tortillas?
Thanks
Hey Clare! Corn tortillas typically come in one size, about 6″ in diameter. Hope that helps!
Thanks, I live in New Zealand and some things are not readily available but we do have a nice range of locally made Mexican food including corn tortillas.
Do you think you substitute another cheese for the feta? Thanks in advance for the advice. M
You could simply omit it, if you’re not a fan! Should still be plenty cheesy.
This recipe is DELICIOUS! The mixture of sweet potatoes and black beans mixed with all the other ingredients is genius. Instead of making individual enchiladas, I make an enchilada casserole by placing tortillas on the bottom of the baking dish, layer the filling in the middle, put a layer of tortillas on the top and finish with the salsa and cheese. We are new to PB eating. Cookie + Kate have made the transition deliciously easy! Thank you for THE BEST recipes.
Without doubt the most delicious thing I’ve ever made! Followed your recommendations almost exactly (added another jalapeno and used pepper jack, because we loooove spicy food) and it came out perfect (though I would not recommend those modifications for the faint of tongue, it was VERY spicy). I could imagine myself in a Mexican restaurant in San Diego it was so good! It was pretty easy and low-mess to make, too, which is fabulous.
My son said this was the best veggie dish he has ever had!
And he is def not vegetarian!
A house of 2 meat eating young men
Two vegetarians plus my daughter and myself who’ll eat anything!
This meal was a great success.
Being in the uk I didn’t have the chopped chillis so bumped up with chopped mushrooms and a bit of extra chilli powder….. fantastic!
On the back of this success… stuffed pasta shells tonight!
Great recipe! I’ll be keeping these items on hand so I can throw this dish together anytime. I kept a small amount of the filling separate to make a rice bowl for lunch the next day. Super YUM! Thanks from the North Georgia Mountains!
Hi Kate! Love all your recipes… making this dish for the first time tomorrow and curious about which size corn tortilla you like to use? Thanks!
Hi Meredith! I used standard 6″ corn tortillas. Hope that helps!
Made these last night. Delicious-!! And we have leftovers for today
All I can say is wow! These were so full of flavor and so delicious. We are not vegetarians but I’m always looking for new ideas. My husband who hates sweet potatoes and is so picky made it through half of one lol! I was impressed by that.
I made these and plan to eat them all week for lunch. Very filling and so tasty. Thanks for the great recipe!
So delicious, I will be making these for years to come!