Hands down the best Vegetarian Enchiladas ever. Say hello to these sweet potato, kale and black bean enchiladas!
Table of Contents
Okay let’s get one thing out of the way up front… I’m a die hard enchilada fan but I MUCH prefer them with flour tortillas. They are more pliable and I love their texture once they bake down a bit. I know thats sacrilegious to some, so feel free to use corn if that’s more your jam. I’ve done it before here and I have to admit they are delicious. I’m just a flour kinda girl.
Okay… now that we’ve got that out of the way let’s talk about these easy Vegetarian Enchiladas! I’m having a moment with all things Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Black Beans. They all just work so well together, and I thought why not stuff them into some enchiladas, smother them with enchilada sauce, cheese and a chipotle crema. Match made in heaven. These vegetarian black bean enchiladas are going to be on repeat and I know you guys are going to love them!
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Sweet Potatoes
- Kale
- Diced Green Chiles
- Ground Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Enchilada Sauce (red or green)
- Black Beans
- Flour Tortillas
- Pepper Jack Cheese
- Mexican-Blend Shredded Cheese
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
How to Make Vegetarian Enchiladas
To make Vegetarian Enchiladas start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Them in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the onions and sweet potatoes. Sauté for about 10 minutes until soft and then add the kale and cook down until wilted. Add the diced green chiles, cumin, salt, garlic powder and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Next, add the black beans into the mixture along with ½ cup of your favorite enchilada sauce. Stir to combine and let simmer until sweet potatoes are tender and then remove from heat.
Now move on to assembling the enchiladas. Set up an assembly line including: tortillas, enchilada sauce, veggie mixture, cheese and green onions. Lay out the tortillas on a flat surface and add equal amounts of the veggie and onion mixture, pepper jack cheese, and 1 tablespoon of green onions each and roll it closed.
Pour another ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Place the rolled up tortillas in the dish. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas, and sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, garnished with the remaining green onions, cilantro and plenty of Adam’s Green Sauce.
Variations and Substitutions
Kale – Any kind works – Curly kale or Lacinato/Dino kale.
Beans – If you want to make Vegetarian Enchiladas without beans just omit the black beans and they’ll still be incredible.
Enchilada Sauce – Feel free to use your favorite red or green enchilada sauce here. Trader Joes has an incredible bottled enchilada sauce if that’s close to you. Otherwise I love Herdez Salsa Cremosa.
Cheese – I love a Pepper Jack and Mexican-blend cheese moment because it melts so beautifully. Cheddar, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack or anything similar would also work wonderfully! If you want to make this recipe vegan omit the cheese and top with a few slices of avocado for some extra creaminess.
Tips & Tricks
You’ll see that the recipe below calls for flour tortillas, this is just my personal preference and I understand that some people are team corn tortillas 100% of the time. I support you and you are absolutely allowed to use corn tortillas.
That being said, if you’re using corn tortillas, slightly warm the tortillas in some vegetable oil before assembling (5 seconds on each side.) This helps make them more pliable and easier to roll.
FAQ’s
What else can you put in enchiladas?
Really any combo! Chicken, ground beef, vegetables, beans, rice, cheese, salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole can all be used to fill enchiladas.
Why are my enchiladas always soggy?
Here are two tips to fix soggy enchiladas. First, slightly warm the tortillas by frying them in some vegetable oil before assembling for 5 seconds on each side before filling and rolling. The second tip is to spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan and a thin layer on top of the enchiladas once they’re in the baking dish. You don’t want to drown the enchiladas in the sauce, you’re just trying to coat them.
Which is best for enchiladas corn or flour tortillas?
Traditionally enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, but you’ll see that this recipe calls for flour tortillas. This is just my personal preference, I find flour tortillas easier to roll and less likely to break compared to corn tortillas. That being said, if you’re using corn tortillas, slightly warm the tortillas by frying them in some vegetable oil before assembling (5 seconds on each side.) This helps make them more pliable and easier to roll.
Similar Recipes
- Bean and Cheese Enchiladas (watch how to make Bean and Cheese Enchiladas here)
- Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
- Skillet Chipotle Chicken Enchilada Bake
Tools used to make this
What you’ll need:
Vegetarian Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion medium diced
- 1 ½ cup diced sweet potatoes
- 1 bunch kale thinly shredded
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 15.5 ounce can store-bought enchilada sauce (red or green) divided
- 1 15.5 ounce can black beans rinsed and drained
- 10 large flour tortillas
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese
- 1 cup mexican-blend shredded cheese
- 8 Green Onions finely sliced, divided
- Cilantro
- Adam's Green Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add the onions and sweet potatoes saute for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the kale and cook down until wilted. Add the diced green chiles, cumin, garlic powder and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Season with salt as needed.
- Add the black beans into the mixture along with ½ cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir to combine and let simmer until sweet potatoes are tender and then remove from heat.
- To assemble the enchiladas, set up an assembly line including: tortillas, enchilada sauce, veggie mixture, cheese and green onions. Lay out the tortillas on a flat surface and add equal amounts of the veggie and onion mixture, pepper jack cheese, and 1 tablespoon of green onions each.
- Pour another ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Place the rolled up tortillas in the dish. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas, and sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, garnished with the remaining green onions, cilantro and plenty of Adam’s Green Sauce.
Notes
- If you want to make this recipe vegan omit the cheese and top with a few slices of avocado for some extra creaminess.
This is the perfect fall combination.
Even for non-vegetarians (me), this looks INCREDIBLE! Love all of the bold flavor you’ve packed in!
I’d love to know why only 2 other people commented on this recipe? This needs to be tried by all. Surprisingly ahmazeballs!!!! Wow the flavors. Another Keeper ❤️
I expected this to be good – it is DELICIOUS! Keeping this one in cue to make in the future. Thanks, Gaby!
Mmmm. I have loads of kale in the garden, and this will be perfect for the changing season.
Need to try these gluten free – will get corn tortillas. Recipe looks really good!
Do you have an idea of what are the calories? An estimate is fine. Thanks!
I don’t!! I’m sorry!
I used SkinnyTaste Enchilada sauce (great, easy recipe, always have some in my freezer which itself is about 125 calories for the 1.5 cup I used here), La Banderita brand wheat carb counter tortillas (that are only 50 calories each (highly recommend)), and only 1 cup of cheese (all on top, none inside) and it came about to about 260 calories per enchilada. Hope this helps!
Do you think these would freeze well? Working on some freezer meals for upcoming baby 🙂
absolutely!
I’m making these tonight!! For the mashed sweet potatoes, did you just cook the sweet potatoes in advance?
correct!!
Anything in the mashed sweet potatoes? Or just seasoned with salt and pepper?
salt and pepper
Made these tonight using GF tortillas and Frozen Mashed Sweet Potaoes (such a timesaver) from Trader Joes and it was delicious!!! My kids gobbled them up too. Thanks Gaby!
Thanks made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!
Making these tonight! Any specific type of kale?
any kind works!
I made this for dinner last week and they were so delicious! Great quick meal
Love this both veggie and with chicken! Makes for great leftovers-if you don’t have time to make mashed sweet potatoes, you can find them in the frozen section of Trader Joes!!
Oh my goodness…I am a California native, living in the beginning of a Boston winter. This is the BEST THING EVER! It looked weird to me during the cooking process, but then everything came together in the most delicious, decadent way! There are also def ways to make it lower calorie, though I didn’t do that this time. If you need a warm, delicious “winter/fall dinner” that’s not your typical pot of soup, this is it! So freaking good.
Dumb question…what is the serving size?
2 enchiladas each!
My family loved these, will definitely make again!
What enchilada sauce do you recommend? I want to add this to my “quick dinner” list, but not sure that I trust a store-bought sauce…
Trader Joes has an incredible bottled enchilada sauce if that’s close to you. Otherwise I love Herdez
I love Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce, too!!
SO delicious! My fiancé is always skeptical about a vegetarian meal but he loved this! Definitely going to make this more. Just the right amount of spice.
I swapped flour tortilla for gluten free rice tortillas and it was perfect
Do you think I could sub kidney beans for black? I just realized I used my last can. Thanks Gaby!
absolutely!
Delicious!
I don’t cook sweet potatoes often, and was wondering how you cook them to make the mashed sweet potatoes? Do you cook them in the oven and then mash, or peel and boil them? Excited to make these!
I boil until fork tender and then mash!!
Such a great recipe!!! I tried this recipe for the first time a couple of months ago and it’s really become a star of our dinner rotation. I make my own enchilada sauce and follow the recipe to a T and it always comes out great. This is such a keeper!
This recipe is a staple in our household! We sometimes add ground beef too. A great way to get vegetables into a meal.
The sweetness and softness of the potatoes goes so well with the spice and firmness of the kale and beans. I roasted sweet potatoes ahead of time snd bought pre-chopped kale so it was easy to put together. Such a great recipe, it’s a keeper!
So delicious and very easy to make! It’s a pain to make all the ingredients separately, so being able to cook them in one pan was great!
Would it work to make this a day ahead, up to the point of baking? Then, bake the next day before serving? Thank you!
so tortillas get a little crispy when they sit out so they might crack (even when doused in sauce). otherwise yes, this would work!
Made exactly as written. Was a great way to incorporate greens into a dish! I had leftover baked sweet potatoes from the Southwestern Loaded Sweet Potatoes that I used in this dish, was helpful to save a step. I don’t normally use flour tortillas for enchiladas but I see the appeal now, way easier and less frustrating.
Easy and delicious.
Just wondering how long enchiladas can sit in sauce/pan before baking? Also, can you freeze and then cook later?
I wouldn’t let them sit for more than 3 hours! and yes you can totally freeze and bake later
I love everything about this recipe!!