These Black Bean Enchiladas are loaded with protein, fiber, and fresh flavors! This is the easiest enchilada recipe you’ll find on the internet. Combine the filling ingredients, roll enchiladas, and bake! Your family won't even miss the meat, I promise.
You Will Love These
- These bean and cheese enchiladas are super easy to throw together. No fancy kitchen gadgets or cooking skills required! Dinner doesn't have to be difficult and these enchiladas are easy peasy!
- They're loaded with healthy protein and fiber from all the beans and veggies. There is PLENTY of cheesy deliciousness in these bean enchiladas, but there are also TONS of veggies so they're going to fill you up and keep you energized!
- It's a meal that your family will eat and they likely won't ask where the meat is! This easy weeknight meal is so loaded with beans, corn, and cheese that no one is going to be asking where the ground beef or chicken is. This is a vegetarian dish that even the meat-eater in your life is going to love!
- If you loved this enchilada recipe, be sure to check out my easy enchilada casserole, veggie stuffed poblano peppers, and walking taco casserole.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Black Beans - If you don't have black beans on hand, you can use any can of beans in their place.
- Frozen Corn - You could also use canned corn if you prefer.
- Cumin - I love the delicious earthy flavor that cumin adds to these enchiladas. You can omit if you don't have it on hand.
- Chili Powder - The addition of chili powder is going to add a kick of spice and tons of flavor.
- Green Onion - You could replace the green onion with fresh cilantro if you'd like. The freshness really adds dimension to the enchilada filling.
- Pepper Jack Cheese - This will add a bit of a kick to the enchiladas so feel free to substitute with Monterey Jack or even mozzarella if you prefer.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese - I like the added flavor that the sharp cheddar brings, but you could use more pepper jack or another shredded cheese in it's place.
- Flour or Corn Tortillas - I prefer to use flour tortillas for this enchilada recipe but corn tortillas will work as well - just make sure you heat the corn tortillas before rolling so that they don't break.
- Enchilada Sauce - You can use your favorite store-bought brand for this recipe.
Instructions
Add beans, corn, cumin, chili powder, most of the sliced green onion (reserve a small handful for garnish), shredded cheese, ½ a cup of enchilada sauce, and salt and pepper to a large bowl.
Stir until well combined.
Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Fill tortilla with about ⅓ cup filling mixture, roll up enchiladas, and place seam sides down in the baking dish.
Continue with the remaining tortillas until they are filled. Pour remaining 1.5 cups of sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.
Garnish with green onion, cilantro, queso fresco, and serve with sour cream and blender salsa.
Tips
- You can use flour or corn tortillas for these black bean enchiladas. I usually use whichever we have on hand, but the flavors are going to be very similar either way. Corn tortillas only come in one size but if I'm using flour tortillas I prefer to use street taco or fajita size.
- If you use flour tortillas, you can just roll the enchiladas without prepping the tortillas at all. If you choose to use corn tortillas, you will need to warm them up in the microwave, oven, or in a skillet so they are malleable and roll easily without breaking. This article talks about the specifics of each.
- Don’t overstuff the enchiladas. ⅓ a cup of filling is perfect so that there is enough in each enchilada but it’s not spilling out all over. This is especially important if you’re using corn tortillas as those tend to be more delicate and break easier. Flour tortillas have a little more give to them, but still taste best when they aren’t overstuffed.
- To make these into vegan enchiladas, you can use vegan cheese and then be sure that your enchilada sauce is vegan friendly as well. Feel free to switch up the veggies too if you'd like. We love these enchiladas with butternut squash, diced bell pepper, or green chiles as well.
FAQ
If you're using flour tortillas for this recipe, you won't have to worry about the tortillas falling apart. If you're using corn tortillas, you will run into issues if you do not heat the tortillas before rolling. Because of their texture, corn tortillas are prone to drying out and can easily fall apart. Giving the corn tortillas a quick saute in some oil is the way to make them pliable and easy to work with.
Yes! But it's a quick and easy process! Just heat vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat - add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Pan fry tortillas one at a time, for about 10 seconds on each side, then fill and roll the enchiladas. A quick sizzle in the skillet is going to boost the flavor of the corn tortillas and allow you to roll them without them breaking.
You can fill these enchiladas with whatever you'd like, just keep the ratios about the same and you'll end up with a delicious dinner! Feel free to add ground beef or shredded chicken to this dish if your family would prefer it. However, the flavors of this dish are amazing as is, so I'd urge you to give it a try and add a meatless meal to your family's dinner routine.
Make-Ahead Instructions
These enchiladas freeze like a dream so they're a perfect make-ahead meal!
- This recipe makes one 9x13 pan of about 14-18 enchiladas so I like to divide the recipe up into two pans.
- I bake one of them for dinner and then freeze the other for a busy weeknight when I don't have time to make dinner.
- Make sure you wrap the pan in foil or saran wrap so it doesn't get freezer burned.
- Enchiladas will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking Frozen Enchiladas
These black bean enchiladas can go right from the freezer to your oven when you're ready to bake them!
- Cover pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until enchiladas are heated through.
- You'll know the enchiladas are done when the cheese on top is melted and the enchilada sauce is bubbling
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Recipe
The Very Best Vegetarian Enchiladas
These veggie enchiladas are loaded with protein, fiber and fresh flavors! Your family won't even miss the meat, I promise.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 14-18 enchiladas 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop/Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican/American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (12 oz.) bag frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 3 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese
- 4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 14-18 small flour tortillas, or corn tortillas
- 3 cups of your favorite enchilada sauce
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Garnish:
- fresh chopped cilantro
- crumbled queso fresco
- sour cream
- sliced jalapeno
- Easy Blender Salsa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine beans, corn, cumin, chili powder, most of the sliced green onion (reserve a small handful for garnish), pepper jack cheese, ½ a cup of enchilada sauce, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.
- Fill tortilla with about ⅓ a cup filling, roll up enchiladas, and place them seam-side down in the baking dish.
- Continue with the remaining tortillas until they are filled.
- Pour remaining 1.5 cups of sauce over enchiladas and top with cheddar cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.
- Garnish with green onion, cilantro, queso fresco, and serve with sour cream and blender salsa.
Equipment
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Notes
You can use flour or corn tortillas for these black bean enchiladas. I usually use whichever we have on hand, but the flavors are going to be very similar either way.
If you use flour tortillas, you can just roll the enchiladas without prepping the tortillas at all. If you choose to use corn tortillas, you will need to fry them in just a bit of vegetable oil before rolling the enchiladas up.
Don’t overstuff the enchiladas. ⅓ a cup of filling is perfect so that there is enough in each enchilada but it’s not spilling out all over. This is especially important if you’re using corn tortillas as those tend to be more delicate and break easier. Flour tortillas have a little more give to them, but still taste best when they aren’t overstuffed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 205
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 821.9 mg
- Fat: 4.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 9.6 g
- Cholesterol: 17.3 mg
Keywords: vegetarian enchiladas, bean enchiladas, black bean and cheese enchiladas
This post was originally published in December of 2017. It was updated in January 2021 to include process shots, detailed instructions, and tips for making the best veggie enchiladas every single time!
Karen
Help! Mine are currently in the oven so I don't know what they're going to taste like! What a mess though. I wish you had been specific about the tortilla size and baking dish size. I used taco tortillas and a 9x13 dish. I used 1/3 cup filling. I had so many (18) that I made a double row. What did I do wrong????
Kylie
Hi Karen! You can really use any size tortillas and baking dish for this recipe which is why it's written this way. I recommend using 14-18 small flour tortillas or corn tortillas in the recipe card, so if you ended up with 18 enchiladas then you followed the recipe exactly and it yielded the expected result! You did nothing wrong - in fact, it sounds like you did everything just right. I typically divide the recipe between 2 smaller baking dishes because we have a small family so I can freeze one pan for later. I mention this in great detail in the body of the post. Hope you enjoyed the enchiladas 🙂
Trent P
This was so good! I normally would follow a recipe to the letter, but my wife can't eat corn so I subbed a cup of sauteed onions and bell pepper instead. The enchilada sauce was wonderful. Thanks for posting this.
★★★★★
Kylie
Perfect substitution! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe - thanks for leaving a review!
Dee
I just made these and they’re pretty good! I added plenty of bell peppers, onions, and some green chiles. Also, I didn’t have corn so I used canned hominy and that was a good choice.
Thanks for such an easy and nice recipe.
★★★★
Ivy M Hurley
These were very good with a heat that sneaks up on you. I made the enchilada sauce as well and will definitely make that again. It did seem to need about 3 tbsp. of broth to thin it out. The flavor was terrific. I used smoked paprika. Next time, I might do half ancho chili powder and half chipotle chili powder. Half the recipe makes between 9 and 10 enchiladas, and I wound up having to cram them into a dish that was made for maybe 8 enchiladas. Next time I'll use a slightly larger dish. The dish took nearly 40 minutes at 400 degrees. It was terrific, and I'll definitely be making it again. Thanks for this -- didn't miss the meat at all!
★★★★
Christina
Hello! I have a baby coming any day now and plan to make these this weekend. To clarify freezing directions, I will assesmble it but NOT bake it at all before freezing? Then when I am ready to eat it, that's the 1st time I cook it all?
Thanks!
Kylie
Great question, Christina! Yes - you assemble before baking. Then freeze and then when you're ready to eat - now time to bake! Can't wait to hear what you think!
Cindy Cirolla
This was delicious. My only comment on a possible change to the directions is that mine took a good 45 minutes to cook and still could have used a tiny bit longer in the middle. I used a 9 x 13 pan and filled each tortilla with 1/3 cup of filling. Was I supposed to heat the frozen corn before making the filling? Thanks for this recipe, I'll definitely make it again!
★★★★
Angela
Is soft taco flour tortillas small enough for this recipe.
Kylie
I think those would work just fine, Angela! You may just have to adjust the filling amount based on the size of the tortilla. Great question!
Carrie
I made this the other night for dinner. It was so easy and quick to make. My family loved it! We like things on the spicy side, so I added diced jalapeno, fire-roasted tomatoes, and added adobo paste to my enchilada sauce. We topped with homemade pico de gallo and salsa! I will definitely be making these again!!
★★★★★
Linda
Better to use corn tortillas. Flour ones are to mushy. The filly was pretty good. Easy to make.
★★★★
Manny
the recipe says: 4-Fill tortilla with about ⅓ a cup filling, roll up enchiladas, and place them seam side up in the baking dish. seam side up, but the picture shows no seams on top...I put them seam side down and they worked great...outstanding recipe... thank you for sharing..
Manny
★★★★★
Kylie
You are right - I just updated the recipe to say seam side DOWN. Thanks for pointing that out!! I recently updated the recipe and that detail escaped me 🙂 So glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Manny. Thanks for leaving a review!
Katy
I made this for my family of 5 last night! It was delicious! It did take me about 45 minutes to make, but I am kinda slow in the kitchen. 🙂 I did not include a poblano pepper and used about a tsp of the adobo to minimize the spiciness. Thanks for the recipe, I will make this again! (Ps...I didn't know, but I drained the black beans and the corn and it turned out great.)
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Katy. Great substitutions - and I udpated the recipe card to include draining the canned veggies/beans (thanks again for pointing that out!). Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Toni
So easy and delicious! My new go to Thursday night dinner since most things are pantry or freezer.
★★★★★
Sierra
Simple and tasty recipe:). Still had a bit of filling left over. Hi from Canada 🙂
★★★★★
Katy
Hi! Do I need to drain the corn and the black beans? Thanks!
Kylie Lato
Yes! My apologies - I've just updated the recipe card. Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention!!
Renee
best enchiladas recipe if have ever made. Better than any meat version I have eaten. I couldn't find green chilies in adobo. so I used a can of green chilies and added 1 chipotle in adobo. Also used 2 poblano peppers. My family and guests raved about dinner.
★★★★★
renee
I would used more sauce next time. the dish seemed a bit dry.
Kylie Lato
I’m all about the sauce too! The water content will vary a bit between enchilada brands but feel free too add more sauce as necessary!! Thanks for the feedback Renee - glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Kylie Lato
Thanks so much - I’m so glad you and your guests enjoyed them Renee!! Chipotles in adobo are the same as chiles in adobo so that’s perfect but diced green chili peppers work great too!
Di Lemberger
Thanks for sharing! Love these making 2 pans for SuperBowl Sunday, 1 with meat 1 without. They're so easy and delicious!
★★★★★
Kylie
Great idea!! I'm so glad you're enjoying this recipe. Thanks for leaving a review!
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes
Mm, yummy! I will be giving these a try next week - love a good enchilada!!
Midwest Foodie
Me too! I love them so much I'm making a black bean and salsa verde version this weekend!
Midwest Foodie
The perfect make ahead meal for next week's meal prep! Your family is going to love this meatless meal!
★★★★★
Luke
Excellent!!
★★★★★
Midwest Foodie
Agreed 🙂
HowlinBooks
They look amazing!! Good luck with your 2018 goals.
Midwest Foodie
Thank you! So far things are going great, but not perfect 🙂 Good things there's still quite a bit of the year left!