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
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Mexican
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 Information
Original photo from 2011.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
David Wagner
Very good! My wife hates sweet potatoes but we get them every week, this time of the year, in our CSA. This was a winner… I used the whole jalapeno, we liked the spice & the crunch…
★★★★★
Caitlin Gascon
This meal is now a family favourite! What a great vegetarian go-to.
★★★★★
Claire
These are incredible! I make them all the time and I seriously prefer them to meat enchiladas- my boyfriend does too and we aren’t vegetarians. Kate, you are one of my favorite food bloggers. Thank you for the amazing recipes.
★★★★★
Laura
Oh my goodness, these were delicious! I have been trying to cut down on eating meat, and these will definitely enter my regular rotation! Just the right amount of spice and much more flavorful than enchiladas I’ve had at restaurants. Yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome!
Mich
I am not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but this was wonderful. We didn’t use green chilies or jalapenos because our kids don’t like spice. But It was so wonderful. I love the cheese combo and the sweet potato pairs so well with the salsa and cheese. I also cooked the sweet potatoes about 2 hours early and made everything but waited 20ish minutes to put them in the oven (cause it was too early for dinner), it turned out wonderfully. Thank you, lovely
★★★★★
Ana
Really delicious recipe! I need this in stages first roasting the sweet potato and then later cooking the rest of it up. It will be feeding us for a while. Thank you!
★★★★★
Mitch
I love Meals So Good Yawl Wont Miss the Meat. This will THRILL everyone at your table. Thanks SO MUCH.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Mitch! Thank you for your review.
Jennifer
This is by far my families favorite recipe. We aren’t vegetarian but we try to eat less meat these days. But these are delicious, full of good things for you and as you said- don’t leave you feeling heavy. But you don’t feel like your missing out on enchiladas! Thank you for sharing it!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jennifer!
Gosia
Absolutely incredible recipe! My husband said it’s the best vegetarian meal he’s ever had! I think the key is the addition of lime juice to the filling as it balances the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
We’ve swapped Monterey Jack for mature cheddar (as we live in the UK Monterey Jack is not easy to come by!), used wheat tortillas and added some smoked paprika to the filling along with finely chopped green bell peppers for extra crunch – all worked out great. We’ve used store-bought salsa verde which we highly recommend (Gran Luchito Tomatillo Salsa) and also some regular salsa for the bottom as one jar of salsa verde wasn’t enough for the entire tray. It was also easy to heat up the next day (just covered the tray with aluminium foil and left in the oven to reheat and for the cheese to get bubbly).
We’re spreading your recipes across the UK as they’re great!
★★★★★
Kay Dee
Hey! This is great. How do you feel about substituting your enchilada sauce for the salsa verde?
Kate
Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas would be a good choice!
Amy
My corn tortillas broke before I made this. I decided to layer 5 tortilla parts on the bottom of the pan over the salsa verde, spread the filling, then top with the other 5 (broken) tortillas, salsa verde and cheese. The results were great! The flavour combination is perfect. I’ll make these again and I might just layer them on purpose! YUM!
★★★★★
Beth A
Soo delicious! I loved the tomatillo salsa with the sweet potato flavor. I vegan’ed it up by heating/melting 1/4 c hummus and 1/4 c vegan cream cheese (didn’t have sour cream). And shredding some baby spinach in the mix; topped with vegan cheese. Just delicious! Kids loved it
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Beth! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Michelle
Oh wow! Who would have thought these ingredients would work so well together?!? Best dinner I’ve made in a long time! I used Trader Joe’s salsa verde and it was excellent.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Michelle!
Cindy McCallum
My daughter and I love your recipes. She will be having major back surgery soon and I’d love to makes several dishes from your site that could freeze well since I live about 80 miles away from her.would this recipe work? Any of your other recipes work? She has an eating disorder and she always feels safe with your recipes. Thanks for your help!
Kate
Hi Cindy! I hope her surgery goes well! Almost all my soups do freeze well so that would be a great place to start :) Wishing you both the best!
Anna
This was really good! My store didn’t have salsa verde and I skipped the cheese on top but even though it was pretty plain it had a great flavour.
★★★★★
Cara B
Made this and it was delicious, even meat focused hubby loved it! Plenty of leftovers since there’s just 2 off us, reheats well. I recommend covering in foil while cooking to retain moisture.
★★★★★
Kate
Yes, great for leftovers! Thank you for sharing and for your review, Cara
Cara B
Made this and it was delicious, even meat focused hubby loved it! Plenty of leftovers since there’s just 2 off us, reheats well. I recommend covering in foil while cooking to retain moisture. Also, I love your dog !
★★★★★
Cellisse Climens
These are amazing! I did not miss the meat at all!!! Soo much flavor with a hint of spice and mine turned out just like the picture! So good and easy to make. Will be a regular in my house from now on.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it, Celisse. Thank you for your review.
Kristen
Soooo good! On a weekly rotation for us! Love your recipes, Kate! Question, how long will the filling last in the fridge?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! The whole dish can last 3-4 days so I would go with that, but use your nose and eyes to be sure. :)
Christine
Can I use roasted butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes?
Kate
Hi! Sure, you could try that. Let me know what you think!
morgan
Looks delicious! What size corn tortillas did you use?
Kate
Hi! I have found some locally in Kansas City that I have been enjoying. In the past, Mi Rancho have worked.
AK
So yummy! They stuck to the bottom of the dish even though I followed the instructions.
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that. Was the enchilada sauce spread evenly? Did the top seem over cooked?
susan
This was excellent! Made it with lactose free cheddar for family who can’t have dairy. Toned down the heat for the grandkids. Was a huge success. Shared the recipe.
Made it again just for us, with all the heat and it’s even better. Definitely a keeper!!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you all were able to enjoy it, Susan! Thank you for your review.
Hannah B
I don’t even remember what I searched for, but I’m so glad I found this recipe! I added some chik’n (plant based chicken substitute) into the filling and I used medium hot salsa verde (that includes some jalapeno) because I am kind of a wuss when it comes to hot/spicy. I also used some pepper jack cheese mixed in with the monterey jack.
But I just loved the sweetness of the sweet potato against the bean, mixed with the spices. I am a huge cumin fan.
And it was so easy to follow with really easy prep!
Thanks so much for sharing. I will definitely be making this again in the future!!!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you found it too! Thank you for your review, Hannah.
Kimberlee
I making these tonight for my meat eating boyfriend who is curious about my vegetarian ways! Would I be able to make in the morning then refrigerate to bake off later, or would the salsa verde soak into the tortillas too much?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I’m not sure they would hold up well without being baked. What did you decide to do?
Anjie
Thanks for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Anjie!
CG
These look delicious! Can I assemble and freeze them so they’re ready to go on a night no one wants to cook? Thinking about making a batch for a veg friend about to have a baby (and zero time). If so, what would be the bake coming from the freezer?
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I would suggest baking them first. I don’t have a go-to method for cooking once froze just yet. I would suggest at the same temperature, just for longer. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Karen Hoffman
GOODNESS, these were extraordinary. So glad to find another gluten free veg recipe to add to my list – my picky 7yo celiac kiddo even ate 1.5, and that’s an indescribable win.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s wonderful, Karen! Thank you for your review.
Katye Killebrew
Lovelovelove this recipe and have made it a lot!
Can this be assembled ahead and sit until
Dinner time?
★★★★★
Charu Dwivedi
Can I use whole wheat instead of corn tortillas?
Kate
Sure, they just tend to run a little larger so you may not have as many.
Sophia Clark
This was amazing good! In fact the filling was just the exact right amount for the enchiladas. Amazing. I used all my cilantro for the tomatillo salsa so I subbed Avocado for the cilantro garnish. Thank you so much for this recipe. It will definitely be a part of my regular culinary repertoire.
★★★★★
Kate
I love that, Sophia! I appreciate your review.
Meg
Very good. The feta was surprising and a nice addition, and sweet potatoes and black beans are always a winning combination. Personally, I was not fond of the canned chiles in the filling though. I added a bit of chipotle chile powder in place of the cayenne—next time I’ll omit the green chiles completely and add some chipotle chiles in adobo in their place.
★★★★
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love the chilies, but were still able to enjoy the overall dish. I appreciate your feedback, Meg.