I need to make enchiladas more often because they sure are delicious.
Making enchiladas is kind of a task because it usually requires a lot of ingredients, steps and time. I won’t lie, that is the case with these enchiladas, but it’s SO worth the effort.
If you see feta cheese in the photos or recipe and think “in a Mexican dish?” then you’re not alone. My husband and I thought the same, but I’m telling you, try it. It adds a touch of tang and if you think about it, is actually pretty similar to some Mexican cheeses like queso fresco.
These are the best vegetarian enchiladas I’ve ever made. When you’re missing the meat flavor you need to make sure you’ve got flavor coming from somewhere else. As I suspected, my husband did say that these would be better with meat. Maybe yes, maybe no. I definitely would make this again with meat, just for variety’s sake. However, I love them just they way they are, and probably would prefer them without meat. In defense of my husband wishing there was meat in them, he did happily plow through almost all of the leftovers from this dish in short order.
Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas Recipe
(About 5 servings)
Ingredients for the Filling:
- 1 and 1/4 pounds of sweet potatoes (equivalent to about 2 small/medium size)
- 1 can black beans (15.5 ounce), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (equivalent to 4 ounces)
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (equivalent to 2 ounces)
- 2 cans diced green chiles (4 ounces each)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Ingredients for the Rest of the Enchiladas:
- 2 cups salsa verde (equivalent to 16 ounces)
- 10 corn tortillas
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (equivalent to 4 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and set it aside.
- Wash the sweet potatoes, slice them in half lengthwise, and place them cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. (Note, lightly cover the cut side with oil so that it doesn’t stick to the tin foil.)
- Bake them for 30 to 35 minutes or until they are tender when you poke them with a fork.
- While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, prepare the rest of the filling. In a large bowl, add the black beans, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, crumbled feta cheese, minced green chiles, minced jalapeno, minced garlic, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper, and gently mix everything together.
- Once the sweet potatoes are done, remove them from the oven, and let them cool. (Note, you can keep the oven on at the 400 degrees F because you’re going to eventually cook the enchiladas. To save power you can shut it off and preheat it again later.)
- Once the sweet potatoes are cooled, scoop out the insides into a small bowl and mash them up. (Discard the potato skins.)
- Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the bowl of filling and gently mix everything together again. Place the bowl of filling aside.
- In a 9×13 baking dish, pour 1/2 cup of the salsa verde to lightly cover the bottom of the dish.
- In a skillet, on low heat, warm up 1 tortilla for a few seconds on each side, just warm enough so that they don’t tear when you roll them up with the filling.
- Place the warmed tortilla on your work surface and spread about 1/2 cup of the filling down the center of the tortilla. Wrap both sides over the filling and place it into the baking dish with the seam facing down.
- Follow steps 9 and 10 for all 10 tortillas (or as many as you can cram into the pan).
- Pour the remaining salsa verde on top of the enchiladas, making sure that all of them are coated to avoid burnt edges.
- Sprinkle the shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top.
- Bake them in the preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes. (Mine took 25 minutes.)
- Let the enchiladas sit for about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and water together and then drizzle/blop it over top the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle the chopped red onion and fresh cilantro on top.
Source: Cookie + Kate
