This small batch vegetarian enchilada recipe with black beans and sweet potato makes for the perfect dinner for two (or one plus leftovers)!
Generally, I’m all about volume when it comes to food. As a lover of leftovers, I like making a big batch of something or other and eating on it for days. But sometimes, it’s just so satisfying to whip up a meal, eat it dead, and leave the refrigerator leftover-less, without a trace that the meal ever happened. No.evidence.
It dawned on me while developing this Vegetarian Enchilada Recipe for eHow.com that some folks may shy away from making enchiladas because most recipes make so dang many. If you live in a teeny tiny household (party of one right here), you may not love the idea of baking an entire 13” x 9” casserole dish of enchos for just yourself, or even yourself plus one other person. This recipe is the perfect size for feeding two people without leftovers, and/or is awesome for make-ahead work lunches.
Preparing these vegetarian enchiladas is a real cinch. Simply sauté the onion, sweet potato, bell pepper, spinach, and black beans in a skillet. To cut corners, you can use store bought enchilada sauce, or if you really want to win at life, you can make your own homemade sauce.
When it comes time to prepare enchiladas, I’m all about the tortilla pre-soak. All it takes is a quick bath in enchilada sauce to make the tortillas super tender, flavorful, and melt-in-your-mouth-esque. If you’re all about the enchilada goo, be sure you don’t skip this step!
Substitutions? You can play around with your vegetable combo…consider using mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, kidney beans, etc. You can also add chopped chicken, ground turkey, or shrimp for some animal protein. As always, you have options, my friends.
Small Batch Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces
- 1/2 medium yellow onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 large red bell pepper cored and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2.5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 4 large gluten-free flour tortillas
- 1 10- ounce can red enchilada sauce
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese grated
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, chopped sweet potato and onion to a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes
- Add the bell pepper, ground cumin, chili powder, and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally until vegetables have softened, about 10 to 12 minutes. Note: if vegetables begin drying out or sticking to the skillet at any point, reduce the heat to medium and add a few tablespoons of water to help steam and cook the vegetables.
- Add the spinach and black beans to the skillet. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour about ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 8” x 8” square casserole dish and spread evenly to coat the bottom.
- Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in a large-mouth bowl. Dip both sides of each tortilla in the sauce, ensuring the whole tortilla is coated.
- Add the vegetable filling to the center of each tortilla and roll them up. Place enchiladas in the casserole dish, snuggling them close together. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the cheese on top.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20 minutes until cheese has melted. Allow enchiladas to cool 15 minutes before serving with beans and rice.
Nutrition
More delicious enchilada recipes:
Chili Verde Chicken Enchiladas
Oh man, these look so good to me right now! I’ve bee craving sweet potatoes!
These enchiladas look divine! Enchiladas are my fave Mexican food 🙂 pinning!!!
Enchiladas yesss! I remember making them growing up and it always seemed like they made SO many. Now, since there are just 2 of us, I have to admit…I haven’t made them in forever. Psh, well guess what I’m making for dinner now?!
this looks stunning. and i love you even more for substitutions. You are so giving. <3
I think doing s small batch version of enchiladas is a brilliant idea! And I love all of the fillings too. Sweet potatoes, black beans and spinach are a match made in heaven.
Oh, and I’ve never tried pre soaking the tortillas which is apparently why my enchiladas aren’t very gooey when I make them. Mind.blown.
Love love love enchiladas!! Mexican comfort at it’s best!
Oh my gosh, this dish is totally screaming my name! I’ve never actually cooked enchiladas before, and I really don’t know why. Thank you for the dinner inspiration for this week!
What a beautiful creation, Julia, love these!
May I ask what brand of gluten free wraps you used?
I use Rudi’s and Udi’s Gluten-Free tortillas, both of which I get from Whole Foods 😀
What kind of GF tortillas did you use? They look awesome! I would love to find out what kind so I can buy them and then make this!!
Hi Olivia, I use either Rudi’s or Udi’s tortillas. I get mine at Whole Foods, but most natural food stores will carry them 🙂
Love these! Putting these down on the menu for my next single-lady dinner night — I CAN’T WAIT.
Love the idea of a small batch meal! I love leftovers–I do–but a lot of times I prefer meals for 2 people because I run out of room in my refrigerator. …..not exactly the worst problem to have, but it’s true! Also I should probably hop on the enchilada train um….yesterday.
I am definitely a lover of leftovers and having lots of food … but sometimes my husband travels a ton for work and then I wind up with a ridiculous amount of food! Love the idea of small batch enchiladas!!
These look amazing!! I can’t wait to add them to my menu this week! Enchiladas are my favorite Mexican dish.
It’s like you knew exactly what I was craving this week…cheesy Mexican food!!
All the yeses! This party of one certainly likes leftovers. But sometimes, too much is just too much. These scaled down enchos are perfect! Yeah!
We’re a party of two over here, so this dish is perfect! I’ll take all the enchiladas, please.
I love this Julia! No dinner for two in my family but doesn’t mean I can’t double the recipe! Sweet potatoes are a great idea! What brand gluten free tortillas do you use?
I love that you made this a small batch recipe. There are so many enchilada recipes out there that are for large groups of people, and sometimes, you just need something for two! I’ve never tried the presoak, so I will be doing that the next time I make them!
i always prepare my meals in small batches bc they are just for me and my sis! this is a perfect meatless dinner for us to have 🙂
Wow friend, I gotta say that enchilada looks so flavourful than any other one I saw in years!!! I am impressed! I also love that you made this a small batch recipe because this is a perfect size por only me and my husband 😉
Holy moly…the tortilla pre-soak…next level genius. Is it weird that I make a pan fit for a family of 6 and eat it in three days? Normal.
I’m okay with enchiladas for DAYS but I can totally see why some people would not want 6,000 servings of them in the fridge. Since it’s just me and the hubby at home, I know this will come in big time handy.
How many servings does this make?
Hi Jaclyn – It serves 2 to 3 (depending on how hungry you are). If you need to serve more people, you can double or triple the recipe. xo
I just made these and it turned out delicious! I made them vegan and added 2 crushed garlic cloves to the filling. I also made the sauce from an Oh She Glows recipe and topped these with cilantro and avocado. We both really enjoyed this dish, and it fit in our microwave onion! Woot!
That sounds absolutely amazing, Nicole! Thanks so much for letting me know!! xo