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.
Wanting to make these for a new mother–any advice (beyond removing the spice) in terms of freezing/baking first/etc?
Hi! You can always portion these when you freeze them. I know others haven’t had to change anything when they have froze them and like the results. As for reheating, I’m working though more specifics. I don’t have it nailed down yet, sorry! Just make sure you freeze and bake in a safe dish and let it warm prior to putting it into a hot surface.
Did you ever find a way to adapt for freezing? Or the cooking directions? Thanks!
Hi Christina! Not just yet. Sorry!
If you swap out flour tortillas for the corn ones in the recipe, that enchiladas are EASY to reheat! The best way is in foil in a toaster oven, but you can gently reheat them in a microwave. Just use 70% or 80% power and don’t heat them to NASA hot…just get them hot enough to be safe to eat (165 degrees).
So I made these for another new mom. I cook the whole batch immediately and then halve into two Tupperware. I deliver one refrigerated and one frozen and it’s been a big hit both times.
Question, I see all the food for the filling, is it all just supposed to go into a bowl and get mashed together?
Hi! All the filling components get mixed together. The potato will be more of a mashed consistency and you mix the other ingredients in. See the process photos. I hope this helps!
One of my absolute favorite go-to recipes. Consistently delicious, comforting and satisfying. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve shared this recipe with!
We ate it all, so there is no photo op. Used recipe as a basic guide and substituted colby jack for feta and a pre-made red enchilada sauce by Lidl instead of making my own. Left out the lime juice, chiles, chili powder, and sour cream.
Added extra garlic and cumin, and it was a hit. Added diced red pepper inside and topped with shredded lettuce, cabbage, and tomatoes for extra veggies.
Saved time by baking sweet potatoes whole. Why bother cutting them up if you are just gonna mash them up?
Thank you for sharing how you made this fit with what you had and your tastes, Dinah! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
We LOVE these. My husband, who is usually all about meat and not a fan of sweet potatoes, asks me regularly if we can make these for dinner. I love sweet potatoes and anything without meat so I’m always more than happy to say yes :) Thanks for a real winner!
That’s fantastic! I’m happy these are a hit.
I used the 6” Corn burritos shells and I was able to put 12 in a 9×13 pan. Then made a small casserole size dish and was able to put 6 shells in it (sharing the verde and stuffing). I then doubled the sour cream so I could bless my neighbors with the casserole and fixings. I hope they love it as much as my family loved it! Thank you ❤️
Delicious!! I love how adaptable the recipe is too, I can easily divide up the filling to accommodate my vegan mother, my little girls who don’t like the spicy jalapeño and my husband who likes all the spice. It’s hard to find a recipe that can satisfy everyone’s different taste and this one does! Everyone loves it! Thank you!
Made this tonight for dinner, subbed zucchini for the tortillas and it was awesome. not filling/but very tasty! Thank you!
You would definitely save time if you just skin the sweet potatoes and cut them in half and then bake them it’s hard to spoon the sweet potatoes if they are super hot out the oven and you have to wait for them to cool down. Note to self next time I try to make these!
Hi! I’m sure these are delicious but it is missing the step of mixing the filling. Thanks!
These had a ton of flavor and were pretty good but mine came out mushy. I followed all of the directions to a T so I’m not sure what happened. I was thinking that maybe it would’ve helped to dice the sweet potatoes and roast them that way, then assemble the tacos with the diced sweet potatoes and put the bean mixture on top. Just a suggestion if someone is nervous that theirs will get mushy.
I dice my sweet potatoes small, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
The consistency is amazing! Also, instead of the canned green chilies I used 2 medium sized Poblanos, grilled, peeled and chopped.
Made this tonight. I microwaved the sweet potatoes to save time. So easy. So delicious! Husband loved it.
We made these Enchiladas last night….
OMG! So good.
Thank you for having the best vegetarian recipes!
I’ve made this recipe like 5 times and it never disappoints! Sometimes I add spinach to the filling for some extra veggies. I recently became vegetarian and I find this to be the perfect vegetarian meal — it’s so filling and feels indulgent and nutritious at the same time!! I’m also learning how to cook so I appreciate the clear instructions.
Awesome and yummy. I think if anyone finds them too mushy, you might want to use a little less salsa on top. Mine came out perfect, and my family loved them! Great recipe. I did leave out the jalapeno and it had just a smidge of a kick to it with the chili- which was perfect. The filling is so delicious that I had a spoonful left over and ate it right out of the bowl. -Delicious healthy, filling comfort food.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Kate! I know others will find this helpful.
This was a hit with my family! Everyone loved it. We have been trying new recipes for our “meatless Mondays” and will totally make this one again! It was very easy to throw together and had lots of flavor. Thank you for this!
I’m missing the step where the black beans are added?
Hi Sara, step 3 has you combine all the remaining fill ingredients. This includes the black beans. I hope this helps!
Do you think that a sour cream sauce would be ok instead salsa verde? I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy food. But I am trying really hard to convert to a vegetarian lifestyle.
Yes! I think that could work. Let me know what you think!
Can you sub flour tortillas instead of corn? I couldn’t find large corn tortillas…
Sure! That should work just fine.
Wow these were so good! We don’t eat a lot of meat and are always looking for vegetarian recipes and yours never disappoint. These were particularly tasty and satisfying. They were very filling and easy to make. I’m going to share this recipe immediately.
Will these be okay to prep in the morning then pop in the oven for dinner?
Hi Gina! I haven’t tried it and would be hesitant that as the ingredients sit that the tortillas may get soggy. But, I would be interested to hear if you try it. They make delicious left overs so that’s an option as well!
I prepped the inside a few hrs before, refrigerated then assembled and baked at dinner time! It was it delicious! Thank you
Really good — made them a few times and would recommend!
This was great! I made it weight watchers friendly by eliminating the feta and cutting the Monterey jack cheese in half! Check out my Instagram for the phots! @stefs_ww_journey
I may have overlooked a comment/note but I seem to always have extra filling left. Thoughts on freezing just the filling, not prepared as the actual enchilada tortillas. I’ve actually baked it in a small separate dish at the same time and then just added it to rice bowls which has turned out pretty good most of the time!
This is a great recipe by the way! I’ve used it many times now (including making the homemade enchilada sauce that you link and I definitely won’t use “store bought” anymore!) It’s definitely incredibly forgiving for personalized taste. And I’ve added a bunch of different vegetables at times – spinach, carrots, corn, even squash and zucchini(though they are a bit watering so I would definitely recommend anybody else salt and drain for a little while first otherwise your enchiladas will be pretty soggy). I also substituted butternut squash for the sweet potatoes and it was still delicious!
This turned out awesome and very pretty! Keeper recipe for sure.
Thank you for your comment, Kelsi! I appreciate your review.
We made these tonight and my husband said they’re the best veggie enchiladas he’s ever had! So delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I look forward to making it often.
I’ve made countless CK recipes. All of them really. She’s all I use. However these were absolutely awful. I followed the directions to the T and they came out a sloppy yucky mess. Was basically mashed potatoes. Made to entertain too…such a bummer
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this one, Natalie. Most really love this recipe.
Another great recipe from Kate (& Cookie, too!). Love the combination of sweet potatoes and black beans! I’ll be making this again.
Looks very good! Can these be put together the night before (not baked yet), put in fridge, and then cooked the next evening? Or will they be too soggy? Want to take dinner to a family but need something I can out together night before.
Hi! I don’t recommend leaving these set in the fridge uncooked as they will likely get soggy. You could make and then gently reheat in the oven if you like. These make great leftovers!
I am back to make these again because they are so good! I love the combination of flavors and textures. I thought I didn’t like sweet potatoes because I don’t really enjoy them in sweet dishes but these enchiladas changed my mind. Now I’m having fun experimenting with sweet potatoes in savory recipes.
I made these last night and they were seriously DELICIOUS! I would’ve never thought to include feta in the mix, but I loved it — it adds just a bit of creaminess but isn’t overwhelmingly feta-y at all. My boyfriend rated this a 10/10 :)
Amazing! My picky 16 year old even loved it. Very easy, healthful and filling.
I love this recipe. I used flour tortillas and used the tomato with chiles because I was too lazy to make another trip to the grocery store and have more leftover things. It still turned out great. I also found I like putting plain Fage Greek Yogurt on top instead of any kind of sour cream.
Also I used the microwaveable steam packs for the sweet potatoes and cooked as instructed on the bag.
im assuming you mix the black beans in with the sweet potato before putting in the corn tortilla? Directions does not mention the black beans.
Hi Jessica! Sorry this seems confusing, all the filling ingredients get mixed into the bowl – that includes the beans + everything in the filling ingredients list. I hope this helps!
Hi Kate,
Quick question- if I don’t have access to salsa verde (or tomatillos to make my own) do you think regular salsa would be an okay substitute? Or better to go with enchilada sauce?
Thanks!
Jenna
Hi Jenna! Yes, that could work in a pinch. Let me know what you think!
I made this last week as a tasty weekend dinner. I loved everything except for the raw garlic taste from the minced garlic. Because these are in the oven for such a short amount of time, it does not cook the garlic. Next time, I’ll use garlic powder!
This is so good! I use this recipe a lot to use up homemade canned salsa verde. I have also swapped butternut squash and other squash types in place of the sweet potato and it’s equally delicious! Actually your recipe inspired me to try canning my own diced Anaheim peppers which was a great success. I can make the whole recipe, including the black beans and minus the tortillas, from what I grow in my garden and it’s simply divine.
Loved the homemade salsa verde! Overall delicious flavor combinations. We were delighted with this recipe. Can’t wait to have it again.
My most favourite enchilada recipe of all time. Loved by all in my family (most non-vegetarians). Thank you!!
Love this recipe. It was perfect for using up left over baked sweet potato from Canadian Thanksgiving. I made a few substitutions due to availability of items in Canada. I haven’t been able to find canned chilis so I substituted half a chopped red pepper. I left out the jalapeño because I could only find medium salsa verde. I used old cheddar instead of Monterey jack. It turned out great!
I’m going to double the batch and freeze one. Do you think I should freeze it without the verde sauce – and add it on top after it’s defrosted when I want to bake it?
Any freezing advice would be helpful.
Also, we are moving into our house that’s still under construction in a week, so I’m going to be an Instant Pot/toaster oven/microwave junkie for about 6 months. Any Instant Pot Recipes are very welcomed :)
Hi Lindsey! That may work, although it may get dry. Let me know if you try it. I haven’t tried freezing all my recipes so I can’t quite speak to specifics. Thank you for your feedback on the Instant Pot. I don’t tend to use mine that often, but I will take it down as a request.
I’ve made these enchiladas about a dozen times, and they never disappoint! So filling and delicious, and the leftovers keep so well. Love them!!
That’s wonderful to hear, Claire! Thank you for your review.
This is one of my favourite enchilada recipes. I regularly have cravings for the sweetness in the filling so this recipe is frequently in our meal rotation.
This week I switched it up a little and used the filling for stuffed peppers. I sliced the peppers in half from the stem to the base so that they wouldn’t take forever to cook, filled them with this recipe, then added some cleverly cut up pepper pieces to make the tops of the stuffed peppers look like Jack-o-lantern faces. It was a hit with the kids!
That sounds like fun! Thank you for your review, Susan.
These were amazing! My husband, a meat eater, even commented on how good they are. Will definitely be making again.
We made these Enchiladas last night….
OMG! So good.
Thank you for having the best vegetarian recipes!
You’re welcome, Sherri!
I’ve made this many times and it is delicious! What is a side you would recommend to go with this?
Hi! You could try my Mexican Brown Rice or a salad! Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing
One of my absolute favorite flavor combinations is sweet potato (or butternut squash) black beans and green salsa.. Absolutely delicious.
Today I wanted to make these, but I needed to use up leftover food already in the fridge, so I cut the recipe in half so I wouldn’t have even more leftover stuff. I used a big white sweet potato because that’s what I had and I layered the tortillas and filling in a small, round casserole, like New Mexico style enchiladas. It came out perfect. I have never had a failure with any of your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing all of your amazing recipes with us. ❤
I’m delighted you love this recipe! Thank you for sharing how you made this with what you had on hand, Karyn.
My lack of planning sometimes makes it necessary when I get ready to cook. The recipe is perfect as it is, but I am not the most organized person and I occasionally have to make do, but your recipe is foolproof.
I am also a lover of collard greens because of you , and I never thought that would happen lol, but I thank you .
Thank you, Karyn! I’m happy you feel successful with my recipes. Collard greens done right are really good! Thank you for taking the time to review.
I’ve made these numerous times, they’re always good. Instead of adding jalapeno to the filling, I use pepper jack on top for a mild spiciness. Sometimes I use cotija inside instead of feta, or mix red and green salsa. I even made this for friends on vacation, in a rental house; turned out perfectly.
Pepper jack sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Love the recipe!! My husband and I trying to incorporate more vegan meals into our diet but we don’t want to compromise on taste. I add corn in the filling and make it really spicy for us and mild for the kids. It’s very tasty!
We make these regularly, very good! We love them!
These are SO good. My husband was bummed out when I told him dinner was meatless enchiladas, but when he tried them, he licked the plate clean. 10/10! I will say, the filling made 1/3 more than needed but I froze for later use.
Yes! Winning, I love it. I appreciate your review.