Vegan Enchiladas with Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes

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Lip-smacking Vegan Enchiladas are easy to make, delicious, and a real crowd-pleaser. Each enchilada is filled with sweet potatoes, onions, bell peppers, fire-roasted tomatoes, black beans, spices, and they are topped with a 5 minute homemade enchilada sauce!

Mexican food is a staple in our house and I’m always looking for ways to make classic Mexican dishes both vegetarian / vegan friendly and healthy. And while I love my standard, quick and easy enchiladas recipe, I thought it was time to try something new.

The aroma of these freshly baked vegan enchiladas will make your mouth water. They are super hearty: filled with sautéed sweet potatoes and black beans, with your favorite toppings and a homemade enchilada sauce.

What sets these homemade enchiladas apart from other recipes is that you actually make the sauce. Using my 5 minute homemade enchilada sauce is a GAME CHANGER! No matter what brand of store-bought sauce I have used, it just doesn’t compare to the rich flavor of homemade.

Honestly, it’s hard to mess up these enchiladas. So, even if you are a beginner in the kitchen, you’ll be able to make these like a pro! 🙂

These are kid-friendly, healthy, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free enchiladas. They’re so flavorful and satisfying that they are perfect for a family dinner or for feeding a crowd – even meat eaters will love these enchiladas!

Tools and Equipment You’ll Need

Recipe Ingredients & Notes

• Veggies: A combination of sweet potatoes, peppers, onion and garlic work really well in this vegan enchilada recipe, but you could use any combination of veggies you have on hand!
• Black Beans: For added protein and texture. Feel free to substitute with pinto, kidney or white beans.
• Spices: Cumin, Chili Powder, Ancho Chile Powder, Chipotle Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Dried Oregano give the sauce its rich, warm flavor.
• Tortillas: I used corn tortillas, but you could use whole wheat flour tortillas also for this recipe.

Step by Step Instructions

How To Make Homemade Vegan Enchilada Sauce

Making the Sauce Takes Only 5 Minutes! To Make: Bring all ingredients for the sauce (tomato sauce, broth and spices) to a simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then remove from heat. 

How To Make The Filling for Vegan Enchiladas

Step 1: Saute olive oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper in a large pan until cooked through – about 5 minutes. While that is cooking, dice your sweet potato.

Step 2: To the pan, add the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, salsa, broth, cumin, and chili powder – bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let cook, covered for ~20 minutes — until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Step 3: Mash the potato mixture with a potato masher – but leave slightly chunky.

Step 4: Add in the black beans and cook 5 minutes.

How To Assemble

Step 1: Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce at the bottom of the dish. Then fill each tortilla with the sweet potato mixture.

Step 2: Roll the tortillas, and pack close together seam-side down in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. 

Step 3: Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Top with green onions and olives, serve, and enjoy!

What Makes These Vegan Enchiladas Healthy?

• High in Plant Protein and Fiber: The 10 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber in each serving of enchiladas is sure to keep you feeling satisfied. Protein helps with energy and reducing cravings; fiber keeps you fuller longer and aids in heart health and digestion.
• Low in Calories: You get two super filling enchiladas for under 350 calories! That means you can go back for seconds completely guilt free!
• High in Vitamins and Nutrients: Sweet potatoes are packed with Vitamins A, C, Potassium and B vitamins. Black beans are rich in folate, magnesium and iron. This vegan enchilada recipe is a nutrition powerhouse!

Will Kids Enjoy These Vegan Enchiladas?

Oh yes! Because these enchiladas aren’t overly spicy and they have lots of flavors, kids are going to enjoy them. The sweet potatoes and black beans are usually great fits for kids.

For pickier children, I recommend dicing/mashing up the filling super fine and topping the enchiladas with your kids’ favorite toppings (e.g. a vegan sour cream, guacamole, crushed tortilla chips, etc). You can also give picky kids a “fairy portion” and encourage them to try one bite if they are super resistant to new foods! But overall, I don’t think you will have any trouble getting your children to eat them – they are so good!

Recipe FAQs

What To Serve With Enchiladas

There are honestly so many foods that will go perfectly with enchiladas. You can use just about anything you want as a side dish or a topping idea.

Here are our favorite toppings and sides for serving:

• Refried Beans
• Guacamole or Avocado
• Vegan Sour Cream or Unflavored yogurt
• Salsa or Fresh Pico de Gallo
• Mexican Style Rice
• Diced Tomatoes
• Chips and Salsa
• Diced Olives
• Chopped Cilantro
• Diced Green Onions

Top Tips For Making The Best Vegan Enchiladas

• Preparing the sauce first is crucial because it allows the seasonings to develop their flavors together all the way.
• You only need to cook the filling until the sweet potatoes have softened. Then mash and assemble.
• If you don’t place the seam side down on the vegan enchiladas, they will come apart as they are cooking.
• Spray the tortillas with a light coating of light cooking spray and heat them in a pan over medium low heat for a couple minutes before assembling the enchiladas. This helps soften the tortillas so that they roll easily, but also keeps them from getting soggy once you fill and roll the enchiladas!
• Don’t use vegan cheese – I don’t like the ingredients of store bought vegan cheeses and they don’t tend to melt that well either.
• This recipe already makes for gluten free enchiladas! But if you choose to use flour tortillas, make sure you use gluten free flour tortillas.
• If you want to bake the enchiladas all at once, you may need to use two baking dishes – depending on the size of your dish.

Check Out These Other Crave-Worthy Mexican Inspired Recipes!

If you have tried this Vegan Enchiladas Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!