Sweet potatoes and black beans are two of my favorite foods, though the thought of combining the two had me wondering. I like my sweet potatoes plain and my black beans spicy…would they be good together? When I came across a recipe for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas, they looked so good, I had to to give it a try. And I’m so glad! Whoever decided to put these two flavors together in a tasty Mexican-inspired dish is pure genius. The sweetness and spicy pair beautifully in this dish, and the queso fresco rounds everything out quite nicely.
I like that you can make the sauce and/or filling ahead of time, since they are the most labor intensive (by labor, I mean time to stand over the stove…they’re really quite easy). Assembly is a cinch, and then bake until warmed throughout and the cheese is all bubbly. This recipe makes a lot, which is a very good thing ~ leftovers heat up perfectly!
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1⅓ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (1 cup)
- 1½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (3 cups)
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 16 ounces prepared medium salsa
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, drained and minced
- ½ cup vegetable broth (or water)
- 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 10 ounce round queso fresco, divided
- Cooking spray
- Cooking spray for baking dish
- 16 16-inch corn tortillas warmed
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- 1 avocado sliced (optional)
- Sour cream (optional)
- Cilantro (optional)
- Make sauce: Whisk all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer until slightly thickened (about 3 to 4 minutes) and then remove from heat.
- Make filling: In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened (about 5 minutes).
- Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, salsa, garlic, chipotle chile, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft.
- Mash mixture with a potato masher until combined. Add black beans and cinnamon and cook for 5 minutes, or until black beans are heated throughout. Stir in 6 ounces of queso fresco and remove from heat.
- Assemble and bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread ½ cup sauce in bottom of dish. Fill warmed tortillas with filling (about ⅓ cup), roll and pack close together, seam-side down in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and queso fresco. Bake 15 minutes.
- Broil: Adjust oven to broil and broil enchiladas for 5 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes and then serve.
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
I love the sweet potato/black bean combination – it’s great in veggie burger form as well!
Yum! I’ve gotta try these!
I don’t see the sweet potatoes listed in the filling ingredients, so can you post the amount and are they diced, precooked?
Oops – that might help. The recipe has been updated. Thanks for letting me know!
Oh wow – these look decadent and I just love the use of sweet potatoes 🙂
I love enchiladas and this sounds wonderful. Great combination of flavors and with sweet potatoes. Gotta make this one. Thanks!
Oooh! What a great combination of flavors!! I’ll have to give these a try!
I haven’t had enchiladas in forever! They sound so good though!
What a great combination. I am always looking for recipes with sweet potatoes And putting them in enchiladas is a great idea!
Such creative flavors! I definitely want to try this flavor combo!
These sounds really interesting. I’m not a big sweet potato fan but my mother loves them. If I cut back on the spices I think this will be a great recipe to make when she comes to visit!
These are lovely!
I often make a sweet potato and black bean cold salad with corn and avocado. It’s a great summer time dish. This recipe sounds like a wonderful combination and I’m definitely going to try it.
i made sweet potato and black bean tacos before that were really tasty but I never thought about making them into enchiladas! i even have all the ingredients at home right now- thanks for the dinner idea! and congrats on top 9 🙂
Oooo love this recipe! I’ve never thought to combine black beans and sweet potatoes like this? Looks awesome!
Congratulations on your foodbuzz top 9, today!
Wow ! Looks Spicy And Tasty . Sure Gonna to try this 🙂
Congratulations on Top9! Your enchiladas dish looks ah-mazing! Love the colors and I bet it is delicious!
Yum! 3 of our favourite things – Enchiladas, sweet potatoes and black beans! THanks for the great recipe!
I bookmarked this recipe months ago and finally got around to making them last night. They were delicious! My husband has already requested I make them again very soon.
These look wonderful!!
I made this on new years day (subbed 4 oz dice chiles instead of the chipotle pepper) and it was fantastic! Meat loving hubby likes it too so I am glad to add more vegetarian food to our recipe collection!
Good idea for the substitution. Glad you both enjoyed it!
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/483042777077276672
Thanks so much.