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.
Delicious! I love this recipe and made it for my vegetarian neighbors when they had a baby. They loved it too! It keeps well for leftover lunch :) Yum!
So, I am wanting to make these, but ingredients are a problem right now. I’m wondering how they would be with your red enchilada sauce recipe instead of the verde?
Hi there! I think the red enchilada sauce would be great here.
These are delicious! Instead of rolling each tortilla like traditional enchiladas, I made layers in the casserole dish. It is now a family favorite like several of your other recipes. Thank you! :)
You’re welcome, Heather! Thank you for your review.
Delicious!
Oh. My. God!!! These are soooo delicious! My family likes a lot of spice, so I doubled all of the powdered spices. My daughter gave it an A+!! As a vegetarian, I appreciate these so much. Tons of flavor!! I didn’t have any feta, so I went half and half with Monterrey jack and sharp cheddar. If you don’t like spicy stuff, put more sour cream on, to balance everything out.
Great recipe! I will definitely make this again. ♥️
THIS IS THE BEST MEAL WE MAKE !!!! THANK YOU.. we love it so much .. This is actually our favorite.
Looks delicious! Can you make in advance, keep in fridge and bake right before serving?
Hi! This does make good leftovers so you could try to reheat as needed. I wouldn’t store too long without baking it as it could result in a mushy and not evenly spread result. If that makes sense?
This is one of our FAVORITE weekend gottahaveleftoversforwork meals! I quick picle the red onion for another burst of brightness and we’ve discovered Trader Joe’s has blue corn/flour tortillas that are GREAT in this! Thank you!!! :)
Recipe notes:
* I bought taco-sized tortillas and the recipe made 14 tacos, not 10
* I used a large jalapeño and then discovered I was out of chili powder, so I used a little extra cayenne. I was worried that I’d overheated the filling until I mixed in the sweet potato and suddenly the spice was well balanced. So don’t panic if you taste test and worry!
Taste notes:
My family was thrilled with the enchiladas. I served it with Cilantro Lime Brown Rice. Since there are 3 of us, I expected it would be two dinners. Much to my surprise, I heard my daughter heat up more at midnight (I have never known her to have a midnight snack before, so that is a huge compliment from a discerning palate!) And then lunch time came the next day–there will be no second dinner! That’s great, I’ll make more!
My family LOVED these!
Super good and easy! I used canned sweet potatoes which cut down on the time and I had them on the shelf which worked great. I also didn’t have lime but I had Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Seasoning which was a delicious kick! Thank you!
We LOVE this recipe!!! Thank you so much! It’s a family favorite! I generally omit the feta bc I don’t have it on hand and I’ll add another can of black beans to make it go further for our family of 5. Thank you!!!
These were PHENOMENAL! We aren’t big sweet potato fans so we made with gold potatoes and they still turned out great. Also misread salsa verde and just used salsa and they still worked out. Everyone was impressed!
Thank you for commenting, Kadi. I’m glad you loved this recipe.
Oh my goodness, this was SO SO good. I made as instructed, minus the onions at the end by personal preference. I used 2/3 chile verde from Trader Joes, and then 1/3 green hatch chile salsa to add more spice. This is a favorite!
YUMMY! I had to sub quite a few ingredients because I live in a small area of the UK, but they turned out so well! Very simple to make. Definitely adding this to my recipe staples. Thank you for the great recipe.
I’m glad your substitutions worked so well, Jessica.
Made these for the second time last night! They are DELICIOUS!!!! Such a good combination of different flavors and just a little bit spicy which we love. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thanks for the recipe. I made it for my wife and she loved it.
I loved this dish SO much. Seriously one of the best I’ve made in awhile. I subbed feta for queso Fresca because feta, to me, doesn’t go with a Mexican dish. And I also added shredded rotisserie chicken to some of them to add a little extra protein.
This was so delicious! I used your enchilada sauce recipe instead of the salsa verde and it turned out great! I did omit some of the spices from the filling just so it wouldn’t be overwhelming when combined with the enchilada sauce. So good! Will def make again!
I just made these and they are spectacular. I’m always on the lookout for a new recipe when we get together with our friends. This one has moved to the front of the line!
Great to hear, Sue!
This recipe is amazing! My family can’t handle spice at all so I left out all the spicy ingredients. I used a regular red salsa on the top. Couldn’t find any Monterey Jack cheese here (Canada) so substituted with gouda. It was so good! We all loved it.
Great to hear you loved it, Beth! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Any updates on freezing and baking later? I’m making it tomorrow to bring to my daughter and granddaughters. If may try to wrap up the tortillas after filling them, wrapping tightly, cut up the toppings and bag separately. Then give them the instructions for pouring the sauce in the pan when they are ready to bake. Might keep for a few days that way. I’m giving it 5 stars cuz I think they will love it.
Hi Karen! You could freeze this once it has completely cooled in a freezer safe container. Either all together or pre-portioned out if you like.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing. I layered these like a lasagna. It worked fantastic. This is a keeper.
They were a hit with my daughter and granddaughter! One more question, what size tortillas do you use? I will make them again for my family and will share the recipe with friends. Thank you!
Hi Karen! I usually use 8inch tortillas.
I LOVE this recipe and so does my entire family who usually are on the fence with sweet potatoes. I’ve made this dish countless times and it’s always a hit. I’ve also used the fresh tortillaland tortillas. You have to cook them, but so well worth the effort!
My husband and I LOVE these!! They’re in the monthly rotation. For some reason, I usually end up with filling leftover so I use it to make quesadillas. Tonight, I did a mashup of the filling from this and your hummus quesadillas! Amazing. It gave me the creaminess without all the cheese. Sooooo good. Thank you!!
I made this last night for my brother and sister-in-law who both are used to eating lots of meat. They loved it!! (And so did I! So tasty!!!) They even asked for the recipe. :)
This recipe is amazing. I can’t count how many times I’ve made it over the past couple of months!
Just made this and it’s delicious! Wondering how I can reheat it since I made this for just myself.
Hi Drew! You can reheat the individual servings, if you like.
Oh my gosh! I made this last week and my husband said he would order it again . Tonight I made it with sweet potatoes, leftover brown rice, black beans, drained rotel tomatoes, and layered it with corn tortillas instead of doing enchiladas. It was so delicious and so easy to adjust to suit individual tastes. Thanks so much for the inspiration. A favorite!
Love to heart that! Thank you for sharing.
Today is the second time I’ve made this dish. Incredibly easy and do delicious!
I so love a new start and thank you for the fav food you put together Amazing cant wait for tonights dinner. I need to cleans with halthy good food I so need this
The measurements for the filling are not stated correctly. 4 ounces is supposed to equal 1/2 a cup, not 1 cup (Monterey Jack cheese). 2 ounces is 1/4 cup, not half (feta). So which is accurate – the ounces or cups? And you definitely do not want 2x 4 ounces (8 ounces or one entire cup) of jalapeños unless you like extreme and painful heat.
Hey Kris, the measurements are correct in both cups and ounces. The ounces are by weight, not by volume (if we were talking about water, you’d be right on the conversion). The recipe calls for 1 jalapeño. The diced green chiles are mild. Hope that clears things up.
I made this recipe for my family, which includes four big meat eating men. They were a bit cynical at first but then they tried it and they loved it. I made a massive batch so we had heaps left over. When I came back the next day all the leftovers had been eaten! Have had several requests for me to make it again.
I almost didn’t leave a comment, because so many people rave about this recipe, what’s one more? But I’m still thinking about this recipe today after making it for dinner yesterday. I’m so glad I tried it! So delicious! I’m used to enchiladas from restaurants being all about the cheese – these were much more complex, and delightful! Cheese flavor was there, but there are so many other flavors to enjoy and they all shined! I left out the cayenne because I thought the jalapeno was spicy enough, and that was still a bit spicy for my kids (although I’m trying to get them used to spicy food), so next time I may skip or cut down on the jalapeno, but they didn’t complain, and we loved it!
I’m so happy you did! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Liz. I’m glad you loved it.
These were SO GOOD!! Be sure to fry up each tortilla before you assemble for the oven so they stay crispy. I made these with the enchilada sauce recipe. It was perfect.
Made this tonight for probably the 6th time – I’ve truly lost count. So delicious and sooo easy. Honestly the hardest part is waiting patiently for the oven timer to go off.
A new favorite and quickly becoming a regular!
I loved this recipe, but had to adjust for the ingredients I had. I can never buy green salsa or tomatillos, so I used a chipotle salsa. And no green chilis, so I just used jalapeños. I used cheddar but did not have feta. And I cubed and roasted the sweet potatoes rather than mash them, and sautéed some onion and red pepper to throw in. We topped them with avocado.
They turned out great despite my changes. So if you don’t have all the exact ingredients, the recipe still serves as a terrific base. Luckily we had enough for 2 pans because my daughter wanted them 2 nights in a row.
Fantastic recipe!! Great flavor combination, will be making again. The feta was a great surprise while eating!
I added the red onion in the mixture because I prefer onions cooked along with a couple dashes of cinnamon. I did not mash the sweet potatoes all the way and think I’ll cook them even less next time before dicing them and letting them finish in the enchiladas. Might try two cans of black beans instead next time and see how they do. Love it, thank you!
Thank you for sharing, Olivia! Sounds like a great way to make it more to your liking.
Hi! I made your regrows bean tostados last night, tonight I continued my Mexican food yearnings with this. What a winning combo this is. I can’t handle spice (curses!) so instead of chillis and jalapeños I added just a chopped yellow pepper. My partner declared he wasn’t eating beans 2 nights in a row…..then tasted it and polished off 3 enchiladas!
I knew there was a reason I love your recipes so much
Great meal to please almost anyone coming over for dinner
Hi Kate, I am vegan so I make the vegan version of this dish and absolutely love it. I like to serve it to friends to show them that plant based food can be delicious. Can you recommend a few of your sides and maybe a dessert to round out the meal? I’m having a crowd of Carnivores over this weekend and want to WOW them! Thanks!
Hi Deborah! I love it. I think my Mexican Rice, cilantro rice or a salad would work well. For dessert, since those others can be more hands on, I suggest keeping it simple. I’m loving these chocolate crisp bars recently. I hope everyone loves it!
Hi Kate, your meatless enchiladas were a huge hit with my meat-eating friends! Everyone wants the recipe! So mission accomplished!
I plan to host more vegan/plant-based dinners for friends this summer to introduce them to the benefits of plant-based eating. If you feel so inclined, please do a round-up of your best plant-based, vegan entrees that work well for casual entertaining. I know I would love that and would certainly use it. Thank you for sharing your gift for cooking with us!
This recipe was delish! Want to try with more beans next time, but the flavor was yummy! Thanks!
Holy! This was so much better than I could ever have imagined! I improvised on a couple things I didn’t have on hand, but tried to follow it as closely as possible and it was delicious. Definitely making this one again.
Black Bean and sweet potato enchiladas were a huge hit. Next time I will leave out the jalapeño and green chilies as the recipe was borderline too spicy for my 9 & 11 yr old.
Kate, I’ve followed your blog and cooked your recipes for years and recently became a full-blast vegetarian again. I made these enchiladas last night and WOW…SO delicious!! It’s been super warm here in Oakland so to reduce oven time, I bought frozen roasted sweet potatoes, zapped them and mashed them into the filling – couldn’t tell the difference. I also found some awesome Mexican crema that made the perfect tart drizzle. I actually had some again for breakfast – they are so satisfying yet light and healthy. Thanks again.
Thus recipe is my favorite!!! My brother wants to add chicken.. any advice?
Hi Taylor, I’m not an expert in adding meat, sorry!
These were yummy…and very easy to make. Will be a regular go to for me when I am thinking of what to make for my vegetarian daughter in law
Hello! Making this tonight :) What size tortillas did you use?
Hi Kayla! 8-10inch ones should work great!
So yummy.