Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Bake
on Aug 23, 2016, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Bake – the best meatless enchilada recipe, made with roasted sweet potatoes and peppers! Plus, it’s got black beans all layered into the enchiladas, with homemade red enchilada sauce and cheese.
I have a several great enchilada recipes. Check these out: Ground Beef Enchiladas and One Pan Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
A Healthy Vegetarian Enchilada Bake Recipe
I love meatless meals that you don’t even notice are meatless. This Easy Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Bake is one of those meals. It has tons of flavor, color, texture, and cheese, so you won’t even miss the meat, and neither will your family. I think that sweet potatoes and black beans are one of my favorite savory pairs, and they go so very well together in this fun dish. I think the sweet creaminess of the sweet potatoes is perfect in a Tex-Mex kind of dish because it compliments all the heat and smokiness so well. You’ll love how easy this is to make, too. Instead of rolling a bunch of individual enchiladas, I just made this dish layered like a lasagna. Some people call this kind of thing “enchilada stack” or “layered enchiladas,” but no matter what you call it, it tastes greats and is easy, one of my favorite combinations.
That’s how I stack them up. With a little tortilla tearing, you can cover the pan really well!
How do I make homemade red enchilada Sauce?
I love my homemade red enchilada sauce for a million reasons and I’d highly recommend trying it! One of the reasons I make enchiladas pretty seldom is because I never have the sauce! I started making homemade red enchilada sauce and homemade green enchilada sauce a few years ago, and I’ve never gone back. Both recipes are super simple to make and they freeze great, so make a double batch to have on hand for later. This easy Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Bake is easy to make gluten-free too. Just be sure to use a gluten-free flour blend in my amazing homemade red enchilada sauce and check the other ingredients to make sure they comply.
Is it better to roast or saute vegetables?
Depends on the recipe. Both are good options, but for these enchilidas I prefer roasting. When you roast the sweet potatoes, onion, and bell peppers with spices and olive oil makes them soft, brings out more of their natural sweetness, and gives them a bit of smokiness, all of which is great in this enchilada bake.
What do I serve with enchiladas?
This dish is great with some fresh sliced avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, and even a little sour cream on top. You can serve it with just about anything, but I’d highly recommend some fresh vegetables, lettuce, pico, or something along those lines on the side. You are going to love it!
Easy Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Bake (meatless, gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 large red onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can black beans, 15 ounces drained and rinsed
- Juice of one lime
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce, try my homemade red enchilada sauce
- 8-10 corn tortillas, cut in half
- 8-12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- Chopped tomato, cilantro, avocado, and/or hot sauce for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- In a small bowl combined the sweet potato, bell pepper, onion and olive oil. Stir to coat the vegetables lightly with the oil. Add the spices (chili powder through pepper). Stir to combine and coat the vegetables with the spices. Pour the prepared vegetables on a large rimmed baking sheet and spread them out so they are in one even layer. Roast until the sweet potatoes are tender 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce oven heat to 350 degree.
- Place the roasted vegetables back in the bowl and add the rinsed and drained black beans and the juice of one lime, stir to combine.
- In the bottom of the 9×9 inch baking dish add 1/2 cup of the red enchilada sauce. Add a single layer of corn tortillas (use about 2 tortillas) add 1/3 of the the sweet potato and bean mixture, then 1/4 of the cheese (about a 1/2 cup), and another 1/2 cups of red enchilada sauce. Repeat with more tortillas, sweet potato mixture, cheese, sauce. Repeat with more tortillas, sweet potato mixture, cheese, sauce. Add a final layer or corn tortilla, enchilada sauce, and then top the whole things off with a heavy hand of cheese.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let the dish cool for 5 minutes before serving with some chopped tomato, avocado, cilantro, and/or hot sauce on top.
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Notes
Nutrition
In the mood for more Mexican inspired recipes, check these out:
- Easy Mexican Black Beans for Tacos
- The Best Chicken Tostada Recipe
- Easy Steak Fajitas
- Easy Restaurant-Style Salsa Recipe
- Easy Salsa Verde Recipe
- Steak Carnitas Meat in the Crock-Pot
- Crunchy Baked Chicken Tacos
I’ve been working on a list of my favorite meatless meals, and I have quite a bit to make and share with you. In the meantime, enjoy this Vegetarian Enchilada Bake Recipe.
I just made this for my family and we loved it!!! I used the recipe for your enchilada sauce, as well. This recipe is so good, you don’t miss the meat (if your an omnivore)!! Love it so much! Thank you for sharing it.
Yay! Thank you for coming back to leave a review, it’s appreciated!
Made it and loved it. I added about a cup of frozen corn and it was amazing.
That sounds like such a great addition. I just made this this week, next time it’s in the rotation, I’m adding corn!
This looks so good, Melissa! I love the sweet potatoes and black bean combo!
So I make this once a week and it is incredible!If I could post a pic I would (I’m perfecting it) thank you this is so amazingly delicious.
This dish was amazing. Next time, I am using your homemade enchilada sauce! Thank you. You’re my favorite food blog!
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it!
We do it backwards, instead of meatless Monday it’s meatless most days and meat once in a while. Some of our favorites are: quiche with baked potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, beans and rice with toppings and corn chips (we call this taco salad, though I know it is not), zucchini parmesan/lasagna, bean burritos or tostadas, black bean burgers (that recipe from Ree Drummond you just shared on Facebook), veggie pizza, and once a week we have breakfast for dinner, usually Saturday and usually waffles (because dinnertime on Saturdays always sneaks up on me and it is super helpful to have an easy and fast standby). Hope that helps! I really prefer meatless meals most of the time, largely because I hate buying meat ;-). We make up for it with lots of eggs, beans, and dairy. Works for us! I would love to see more of your meatless specialties!
umm this looks amazing! I love black beans+sweet potatoes!