Chipotle Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

There’s this idea that enchiladas are a complicated dish to make, but that really doesn’t have to be the case! I certainly fell under this impression, and didn’t try to make them for years after I moved into my post-college kitchen (… I mean, apartment).

The funny thing is, I would make smothered burritos, which are basically the same thing! Fill a tortilla, roll it up, pour sauce over it, bake it. With enchiladas you don’t even have to do any of that fancy burrito-style rolling, you simply roll it around the filling into a tube shape. No biggie!

So, I’m here to encourage you to make some enchiladas! They are not complicated to make at all! They deliver so much mouthwatering, delicious flavor! And they are a crowd pleaser, to boot.

This recipe fills a large baking pan that will provide 4-6 servings, depending on how starving you are, which probably means leftovers! And if you are feeding a family or a larger crowd you can easily double everything.

Which I did with this recipe only a week after we eaten it for the first time, when I made it for a dinner of four and my husband begged me to make more because he wanted, no, needed, to guarantee having leftovers!

The enchilada filling combination of black beans and sweet potatoes keeps things simple without sacrificing any flavor. I used canned black beans, because they are pantry friendly and inexpensive.

Cooking them in a little broth with chipotle and garlic is all you need to infuse them with a lot of flavor and simultaneously save yourself from dry bean filling (the worst). Simmering for a handful of minutes helps the beans break down somewhat, thickening the sauce so you don’t have soupy beans going into your enchiladas.

The sweet potatoes are diced nice and small and roasted with a little bit of ancho chili. It’s all the flavor you need.

Roasting caramelizes the sweet potatoes, which adds layers of flavor to the root vegetable. It also brings out the best texture, delivering a perfect creamy interior. The slight sweetness of the sweet potatoes goes really well with the savory chipotle spiced black beans.

Making your own enchilada sauce is what really brings your enchilada game to the next level. It’s a lot easier than you might think, and quite quick to make.

A deliciously spiced tomato and vegetable broth based sauce, thickened with a little flour (which can totally be gluten free!). Beware, the smell of this sauce simmering on the stove is known to trigger instant hunger, with potent aromatics like garlic and onion, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and cayenne.

Once you have all your components ready, set up your enchilada building assembly line. Beans, sweet potatoes, enchilada sauce, warmed tortillas, vegan cheese (such as my recipe for homemade jalapeño cheese), and your 9 x 13″ pan.

Put some sauce to coat the bottom of the pan, and then pour a little more sauce onto a plate. Taking one tortilla at a time, dip both sides in the sauce on the plate to coat. This soaks into the tortillas while the enchiladas bake, softening and flavoring them.

Spoon some of the sweet potatoes and black beans into the tortilla, roll it up and place into the pan. Continue with the rest of the tortillas until the pan is full.

Then you pour all of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas until they are practically swimming in sauce. Cover the top with cheese and they are ready to bake!

If you try it, leave a comment letting me know how you like it!

Notes:

• It’s a good idea to have a few extra tortillas, in case you have some extra filling, or if one tears in half. If there’s one or two smaller splits don’t stress, they won’t matter once it’s all baked.
• If it’s hard to source fresh and soft corn tortillas in your area, and your tortillas are cracking as you roll them, use steam to help make them pliable. Either wrap up in a damp paper towel and microwave, or heat on a skillet and cover with a damp cloth or in a tortilla warmer.
• You can use a flour tortillas if you want, but I love these with corn tortillas.