When I first started experimenting with eating vegetarian, black bean sweet potato enchiladas was a recipe that I made and loved. It became one of those recipes that we stopped making over time and this year I finally pulled it out of the recipe box and gave it a slight makeover.
I used to use canned enchilada sauce, but now I make my own. It is a tomato-based sauce, like the canned variety, but with more flavor.
In the past, I used flour tortillas in this recipe. Now I prefer the natural sweetness of corn tortillas. The smaller size of corn tortillas works better now as well because I prefer a smaller serving in comparison to my younger days. I even make my own tortillas now, recipe to come!
The filling, however, has not changed. Sweet potato and black bean is a classic combination. Add some onion and garlic for fullness of flavor, some spices to heat things up, and some salsa to keep it moist. This recipe will be in my dinner rotation this fall countless times.
Tips and Trick for the Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas recipe:
- Greasing the edge of the baking pan makes it easier to get the enchiladas out of the pan. The sauce down the middle prevents them from sticking in the middle, so you only need to do the edges and sides.
- The exact size of the corn tortillas will determine how many corn tortillas you need to use all the filling. If I have more than will fit in the pan lenghtwise, I simply add a few more to the open space in the edges.
- Cheese: I always have cheddar on hand and we love it on enchiladas, though it is not traditional. You might try monteray jack or oaxaca in its place for something more traditional.
- I use Better Than Broth Boulion as my veggie broth base. It adds loads of flavor, but any brand will do. If you only have liquid broth, omit the tomato sauce and ¼ cup water using 1/3 cup tomtato paste and 1 cup broth.
Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-5
- Category: Dinner
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 large sweet potato, diced
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp each: cumin and chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 15-oz can black beans, drained
- 1 cup red salsa, store bought or homemade
Sauce – Very good!
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 chipotle, plus 1 TBS adobo from the can
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp vegetable broth base
Enchiladas
- 8-10 corn tortillas
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Saute sweet potato and onion in olive oil until the sweet potato is tender. Mix in the garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt and saute 1 more minute, or until fragrant. Remove from heat and mix in the black beans and red salsa.
- Meanwhile, combine the tomato sauce, chipotle, garlic, tomato paste, water amd vegetabe broth base in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Grease the edges of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Then pour about ½ cup red sauce from the blender down the middle of the pan.
- Spoon the black bean mixture into the corn tortillas, rolling them up and placing them seam side down into the sauce in the pan. Once all the tortillas are filled, pour the remaingin sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and the filling is bubbling.
- Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
