Black bean sweet potato enchiladas topped with creamy, smoky cashew cream sauce are total healthy comfort food, and they're super simple to make!
Table of Contents
Instead of vegan cheese shreds, these black bean sweet potato enchiladas use chipotle cashew cream sauce as the topping. It's smoky, creamy deliciousness!
I wanted this recipe to be a fast and simple as possible, so the black bean sweet potato filling involves some shortcuts to reduce your total cooking time.
First of all, I'm not going to specify how you should cook the sweet potatoes. You can make them in the microwave, boil the cubes on the stovetop, or cook them in the Instant Pot. You can also buy frozen sweet potato and defrost it. Do you.
If you want to cook your beans or make your enchilada sauce from scratch, I encourage you to go for it! But in the interest of saving time, this recipe calls for premade versions of both.
I'm using all dried spices for this filling. No mincing, no standing over the stove, no oil. Just measure all of those flavorful spices right into the bowl with the beans and potatoes, mash them up, and you're ready to roll those tortillas.
There is one place where I didn't use a shortcut, and that's the creamy topping for these enchiladas. Instead of bagged cheese, you top these off with smoky, flavorful chipotle cashew cream sauce.
If you'd rather not make this cream sauce (or if you can't do cashews), you can use a bag of vegan pepper jack cheese or your favorite vegan cheese sauce instead.
This cream sauce is great on these enchiladas, and I like to make a bigger batch, because it's also lovely on tacos, in burritos, or drizzled onto a burrito bowl!
And if you love black beans and sweet potato together, also try my super flavorful black bean sweet potato soup!
💖 Why You'll Love Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
- super easy and delicious enchiladas with smoky, creamy sauce
- earthy black beans contrast so well with sweet potatoes and that smoky sauce!
- uses shortcuts to make it quick and easy
- no stovetop cooking required at ALL!
- naturally soy-free. Gluten-free if you use gluten-free tortillas. Easy nut-free option.
✓ Ingredients and Substitutions
- cashew cream - Blend soaked cashews with water, garlic, nutritional yeast, chipotle chili powder, and lime juice. You can use raw or roasted cashews, salted or unsalted. For nut-free, use vegan pepper jack or cheddar cheese shreds or my vegan cheese sauce.
- sweet potatoes - Peel and cook these using your preferred method (oven, stove, Instant Pot, etc). You can also use frozen sweet potato chunks, as long as you thaw them out.
- black beans - You can use canned or homemade black beans in these enchiladas.
- ground spices - We are seasoning the beans with garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, and ground coriander.
- red enchilada sauce - Use store-bought or homemade.
- tortillas - You can use corn, flour, gluten-free, etc.
- garnishes - After baking, I like to top these with chopped tomato, green onion, and fresh cilantro. For some heat, sliced regular or pickled jalapeños are perfect! You can also serve with sliced avocado, if that's your thing.
🔪 How to Make Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Combine all of the cream sauce ingredients in your blender or food processor, and puree until you have a completely smooth, spreadable mixture. You want it thick but not to thick that you damage your tortillas when you spread it over the top of the casserole! If needed, add up to 4 extra tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach this consistency.
In a 9X12" baking dish, pour about ⅓ of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading it across the bottom.
In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, black beans, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, coriander, and 2 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce. Use a fork to mash the ingredients together, mixing well. You want to incorporate the spices, but you don't want to totally mash up all of the beans. Go for an even, chunky mix.
To make one roll, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the black bean sweet potato mixture down the middle of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla into a tube, then place the rolled tortilla seam-side-down in the pan in a single layer. Repeat until you've filled up your pan. This usually takes 10-12 tortillas, depending on their size and the size of your pan.
Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over everything, trying to evenly coat your enchiladas. Do the same with the chipotle cashew cream, spreading it to cover everything, then put the pan into the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes, and let your enchiladas sit for 5 minutes before serving topped with your garnishes of choice.
💡 Helpful Tips
- For the creamiest cashew cream sauce, blend your cashew mixture then let it sit in the blender for five to 10 minutes and blend again. You can repeat this once or twice for the most velvety smooth results!
🫙Storage Directions
You can store leftovers right in the baking pan, if you like. Just cover with foil or, if your pan has one, a lid. They'll keep for three to four days.
Otherwise, transfer the enchiladas to an airtight container, making sure that the rolls are still seam side down. Cover and store for up to four days in the fridge.
You can also freeze these for up to 6 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours. Then, warm them through in the microwave or in the oven on a lined baking sheet.
🍠 More Ways to Use Sweet Potatoes
📖 Recipe
Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Equipment
- 9/12" baking pan
Ingredients
For the cashew cream sauce
- 1 cup cashews soaked in hot water for 10-15 minutes
- ¼ cup water NOT the soaking water - you may need up to ½ cup, but start with ¼ cup
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional
- 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons mild chipotle chili powder to taste
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
For the enchiladas
- 3 cups peeled, cubed, & cooked sweet potatoes
- 1 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce
- 10-12 small white corn or flour tortillas warmed
- optional garnishes: chopped tomato, green onion, cilantro, jalapeño etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Make the cream sauce
- Combine all of the cream sauce ingredients in your blender or food processor, and puree until you have a completely smooth, spreadable mixture. You want it thick but not to thick that you damage your tortillas when you spread it over the top of the casserole! If needed, add up to 4 extra tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach this consistency.
Make the enchiladas
- In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, black beans, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, coriander, and 2 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce. Use a fork to mash the ingredients together, mixing well. You want to incorporate the spices, but you don't want to totally mash up all of the beans. Go for an even, chunky mix.
- In a 9X12" pan, pour about ⅓ of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading it across the bottom.
- To make one roll, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the black bean sweet potato mixture down the middle of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla into a tube, then place the rolled tortilla seam-side-down in the pan in a single layer. Repeat until you've filled up your pan. This usually takes 10-12 tortillas, depending on their size and the size of your pan.
- Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over everything, trying to evenly coat your enchiladas. Do the same with the chipotle cashew cream, spreading it to cover everything, then put the pan into the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, and let your enchiladas sit for 5 minutes before serving topped with your garnishes of choice.
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