A healthy make-ahead dish the whole family will love, this sweet potato black bean enchilada bake is layered with tortillas, cheese and a homemade enchilada sauce. Vegetarian, gluten-free and absolutely delicious!
I know a few of you are going to think I’m crazy, but for whatever reason I’ve never been that big on Mexican food. I like it and definitely have cravings for chips and guac from time to time, but it’s not something that I’m obsessed with. That said, things have changed as of late because I’ve totally been hooked on this Mexican-inspired enchilada bake.
And it’s a good thing that I’m coming around to Mexican food because I’m headed to Mexico next month!! I’ll be in Tulum with one of my best friends doing a ton of yoga, hanging on the beach, exploring and enjoying authentic Mexican food. Just a few more weeks and we’ll be on our way. I literally can not wait.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE THE SWEET POTATO ENCHILADA BAKE:
Okay so back to the sweet potato black bean enchilada bake… we’ve already made it three times because it’s SO good. The combo of creamy sweet potatoes and black beans with a spicy homemade enchilada sauce, tortillas and cheese works so well. Gah! Just writing this makes me want to make the bake again this weekend.
And it’s pretty easy too. All the layers come together quickly and it bakes up in about 20 minutes. I’ve been making it over the weekend so that we can have it for dinner one night and eat the leftovers for weeknight meals over the next couple days.
The spiced-up enchilada sauce is made by quickly whirling together all the ingredients in a blender and this can be done while the black bean and sweet potato mixture is sautéing on the stove-top. Once both of these components are done, you simply layer everything in a casserole dish and bake.
Once cooked, the sweet potato enchilada bake is ready to be served with your favorite garnishes. We like loading ours down with cilantro, green onion, jalapeño, avocado and sour cream for the ultimate Mexican dinner.
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Layered with tortillas, sweet potatoes, black beans, cheese and a homemade enchilada sauce. Vegetarian, gluten-free and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Enchilada Sauce
- 28 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Enchilada Bake
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil or coconut oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small bite-size chunks
- 2-3 Tablespoons finely chopped jalapeño
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- toppings: chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, sour cream, avocado
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Make sauce by combining all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add jalapeño, sweet potatoes and salt. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. The cook time will vary based on how big your sweet potato chunks are. Just be sure they are fully cooked and tender. Add black beans and baby spinach. Toss to combine and remove from heat.
- Grab a 9X13 baking dish, lightly grease and start layering ingredients for the bake. Place four tortillas over the bottom of the dish, add 1/3 of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 of black bean and sweet potato mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Add 4 tortillas, 1/3 of sauce and 1/2 black bean and sweet potato mixture. Add 4 tortillas, 1/3 of the enchilada sauce and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake uncovered at 425° for about 20 minutes or until the top layer of cheese has melted and the bake is hot throughout.
- Serve with toppings of your choice — green onions, chopped cilantro, sour cream or Greek yogurt and avocado.
Notes
- This bake is a tad on the spicy side, if you don’t like spicy food you’ll want to cut back on the jalapeño and cayenne pepper.
- To make this a freezer meal I recommend prepping the bake (following the recipe through step 4), then covering tightly with wrap or foil. Freeze until ready to serve (up to three months). On the day you want to serve the bake, take it out of the freezer, allow to thaw then bake according to step 5.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 394
- Sugar: 8g
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 64g
- Fiber: 13g
- Protein: 15g
Keywords: enchilada bake, sweet potato enchilada bake, healthy enchilada bake
Want more healthy Mexican recipes? Try these: Turkey Taco Salad Bowl, Southwestern Quinoa Salad, Mexicali Stuffed Sweet Potato, Southwest Sweet Potato Black Bean Dip.
Yum! This is genius, it’s like a mexican lasagna version 🙂
Exactly!! It’s so tasty.
This looks great and so simple! I love making recipes like this to reheat for lunches all week.
Can’t wait to try this! It looks so amazing.
Thank you, Sam. I hope you get a chance to try the recipe soon. 🙂
I’ve read through the directions a few times and I only see you adding 1/3 the sauce, two times. Where is the remaining 1/3? My guess is you put it on top of the last layer of tortillas before the cheese? I am going to make this today – it looks delicious!
Hi Jillian. Yes! You are exactly right. Thank you for catching that. I’ll update the post. And enjoy the bake.
I just have to buy corn tortillas, sweet potatoes, & jalapenos, & we’d be set to make this! I’ll plan to soon!
this looks delicious, can’t wait to try it!
Brittany–black beans and sweet potato are MAGIC in my book. Love this!
I have a question for you and was wondering if I could email you? Thank you
Sure. This page has all my contact info: http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/contact/
Do you peel the sweet potatoes?
Thanks. I look forward to making this tomorrow!
Good question! It’s totally up to you. I’ve done it both ways, but I think I prefer having them peeled.
Mmmm! I love sweet potatoes! This is perfect for meatless Mondays….or any day for that matter!
For sure!! Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wine Wednesday. This bake works for all the days. 🙂
perfect for meatless monday.
my daughter loves black beans. I bet she will love this!
★★★★★
Thank you Nicole. If your daughter likes black beans she will really enjoy this bake. The sweet potato and black bean combo is delish!
Just made this recipe tonight and loved it. I only had flour tortillas on hand, but had everything otherwise to whip this up. So I guess my version wasn’t gluten free. Still delish. And I did the opposite from what Brittany does – made this during the week, and looking forward to leftovers on the weekend. I’m thinking that a Saturday morning huevos rancheros-type brunch would be amazing, with a couple of runny eggs on top. YUM!!
★★★★★
Hi Carla. I’m so glad that the recipe turned out with the flour tortillas! And I totally agree about using the leftovers for a huevos rancheros brunch dish… that sounds AMAZING!!
This sounds so awesome! When in doubt, put an egg on it. ????
Agreed!! I hope you’re eating the leftovers for breakfast right now! 🙂
We didn’t this morning because we’re having some for lunch tomorrow, but then this weekend it’s on our brunch menu! =D
★★★★★
We’re making this tonight and cannot wait!
Can I freeze this amazing looking recipe? Want one for now, one for later.
I think it would great as a freezer meal, but I haven’t tried it yet. I’d probably cook it, let cool, freeze it and then reheat it in the oven.
My boyfriend and I loved this recipe and I am planning on making it again for a big family gathering- how long do you think I can make it in advance? Many thanks for a great blog!
So glad you liked it, Tara. I would recommend prepping it no more than 1-2 days in advance. And then put it in the fridge (covered) until you’re ready to cook it. You could also fully prep and cook it ahead of time (1-2 days), store it in the fridge and then just pop it back in the oven to warm it up before serving. Let me know how it goes!
Awesome-thanks for the advice Brittany!
I am so looking forward to making this tomorrow! Do you think it would be ok if I substituted kale for the baby spinach?
Totally! You’ll have to come back and let me know how it turns out for you.
I’ve made this recipe several times now, using both kale and spinach, and both are delicious! Using kale adds a slightly heartier texture to the filling, but that’s about it. Love this recipe and will be making again for dinner tonight!
★★★★★
Ahh!! This makes me so happy, Justine. Thanks for coming back to let me know. 🙂
I can’t say enough about this casserole. Super easy to put together and has nothing but great flavor. Great weeknight meal for leftovers for the following day lunch/dinner. I give this recipe an A+
I’m from Australia and trying to figure this out.. is it 115 oz can of black beans or a 15 oz can?
So sorry for the confusion. It’s a 15 oz can.
Really good and simple. I’ve made this with enchilada sauce out of a can to save a little time and effort – just as good. I also made it recently with diced butternut squash instead of sweet potato because I had some that needed to be used. Equally delicious. I usually leave out the jalepeno for my spicy sensitive kiddo but can include a can of mild green chilies instead.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I scoured the internet trying to find a healthier, vegetarian version of enchilada casserole and was so happy to have stumbled across your site. I added aome leftover roasted corn and used canned enchilada sauce for convenience, and it came out delicious. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Hi Brittany! I’m late to the party on this recipe, but I came here after seeing that you made it for Lex from Restoring Radiance! I’m wondering, what steps did you take to do this as a “make ahead/bake later” meal? Did you bake it and just have her bake it to heat it? Thanks!