Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

June 18, 2014 · Last Updated on April 25, 2019 By Anjali Shah on· Last Updated on

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Hi Everyone! I’m finally back from a mini-break I took to spend more time with Layla before my maternity leave ended. We spent lots of time hanging out as a family, seeing friends, and celebrating Layla’s 5 month birthday 🙂

I can’t believe it has already been 5 months – time is just flying by. But now that I’m back at work we’re much more on a schedule, and I’ve been cooking in the kitchen on a regular basis. Which means – lots of new, healthy recipes to share with all of you!

Mexican food is a staple in our house and I’m always looking for ways to make classic Mexican dishes both vegetarian friendly and healthy. And while I love my standard, quick and easy enchiladas recipe, I thought it was time to try something new.

These enchiladas are super hearty: filled with sautéed sweet potatoes and black beans, topped with gooey cheese and a homemade enchilada sauce. The enchilada sauce is my secret “ingredient” to make this recipe shine! I used to buy pre-made enchilada sauce from the store, thinking it was too difficult to make a good enchilada sauce at home. But it’s actually really really easy, and much better for you since you can control what’s in it. So for anyone who’s a little nervous about making homemade enchilada sauce, I encourage you to give this recipe a try. You’ll be amazed at how fast it is – takes less than 5 minutes to make!

I also topped this recipe with some diced olives and green onions. It just added a little bit of extra texture and flavor which we really enjoyed.

The Ingredients

Adapted from VegetarianTimes.com

Cooking Spray to grease casserole dish

For the filling: 3 medium sweet potatoes, diced 1 yellow onion, diced 1 red pepper, diced 1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes 2 cups prepared medium salsa 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup vegetable broth 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp chili powder salt & pepper to taste

For the Sauce: 1 15oz can tomato sauce 1.5 cups vegetable broth 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp ancho chili powder 1⁄2 tsp chipotle chile powder (optional) 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp dried oregano

For the Enchiladas: 10 corn tortillas, warmed Shredded Mexican cheese blend (2 Tbsp per Enchilada – 1.25 cups total) Diced olives and green onions (for topping)



The Directions

Step 1 (Sauce): Bring all ingredients for the sauce to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then remove from heat.

Step 2 (Filling): Saute garlic, onion, and red pepper in a large pan until cooked through – about 5 minutes. While that is cooking, dice your sweet potato.

Step 3 (Filling): To the pan, add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, salsa, broth, cumin, and chili powder – bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let cook, covered for ~20 minutes — until the sweet potatoes are soft.

When they are close to done, they will look like this:

Step 4 (Filling): Mash the potato mixture with a potato masher – but leave slightly chunky. Add in the black beans and cook 5 minutes.

Step 5 (Assembly): Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce at the bottom of the dish. Then fill each tortilla with the sweet potato mixture.

Step 6 (Assembly): Roll the tortillas, and pack close together seam-side down in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and all of the cheese.

Step 7: Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Step 8: Top with green onions and olives, serve, and enjoy!

This dish ended up being a huge hit with my husband, dad, and brother. And it was super filling too thanks to the protein and fiber from the sweet potatoes and black beans! The best part – one huge serving is less than 450 calories. Dig in!