Sweet Potatoes are one of my all-time favorite foods. I love seeing how I can add them to various recipes to amp up the nutritional value, boost texture, and add a hint of sweetness. Enter sweet potato enchiladas. Because who doesn’t love enchiladas? Combining sweet potatoes with black beans and kale offers a meal that is hearty, satisfying, and protein packed with enough spice to keep me coming back for more.

The filling can be made ahead of time, so it frees you up from spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Plus, this recipe always makes more than enough for leftovers, and it saves very well, so I don’t have to think about cooking dinner for a few nights.

I’ll save you the lengthy pre-recipe dissertation here. Suffice it to say that this dish checks many boxes and will satisfy even the pickiest eaters.

NOTE: The version I feature in this recipe is vegetarian; feel free to make appropriate swaps to suit a dairy-free, vegan, or carnivore-friendly palate.

Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Yield: 12 Enchiladas

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, cut into small cubes (you can also use Japanese sweet potato)

• 1 TBS organic extra virgin olive oil

• 1 TSP cumin

• 1 TSP smoked Spanish paprika

• 5oz baby kale, stems cut off (usually sold in a clamshell-type box)

• 15oz can black beans

• 1/4 cup enchilada sauce (I prefer hot, red sauce; feel free to select the spice level and chili type that you enjoy)

• ancient fine sea salt and pepper to taste

Enchilada Ingredients:

• 1, 12 tortilla packet of sprouted corn tortillas (I love the Food for Life brand)

• 3.75 cups enchilada sauce

• Goat cheese, for garnish (optional)

• Cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)

• Fresh or pickled jalapeño slices, for garnish (optional)

• Limes, for garnish (optional)

• Lemon herb tahini dressing, for garnish (optional)

Kitchen Equipment:

• Stainless steel baking sheet

• Parchment paper

• 9x13 ceramic baking dish (I use this set all the time)

• 3 Qt sauce pan with lid

• Large stainless steel mixing bowl

• Chef’s knife and cutting board

• Wooden spoon and Stainless steel spatula

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450; toss sweet potato cubes in olive oil and spread in thin layer on parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, cumin, and paprika. Bake for 20+ minutes until fork-tender and slightly browned (watch so they don’t burn!)

2. In the meantime, prepare beans + kale mixture:

   • Empty the can of black beans into sauce pot (no need to drain); heat on medium-high constantly stirring with wooden spoon until beans are bubbly

   • Add baby kale, one handful at a time, to the beans and stir often. Cook until the kale is wilted and the mixture is thickened (will continue to thicken when it’s removed from heat)

   • Empty bean+kale mixture into a large mixing bowl

3. Once sweet potatoes have finished, add to the mixing bowl with beans and kale; add 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce and mix well; reduce oven temp to 400

4. Now it’s time to prepare the enchiladas! I don’t use a microwave, so I like to slightly steam each tortilla in my stainless-steel steamer for 15-30 seconds to make them more pliable before rolling. You can also wrap the bundle of tortillas in a slightly damp cloth and microwave for 30-60 seconds.

5. Pour about a cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and spread to coat.

6. Lay one tortilla down in the saucy pan and coat both sides with the enchilada sauce. Fill the tortilla with approximately 2 heaping table spoons of filling (less is usually better here and will keep the tortillas from splitting).

7. Roll the tortilla and lay seam-side down in the dish. Repeat this process until you have rolled all 12 tortillas in the pack. As you go along, just add more enchilada sauce as needed to coat the tortillas prior to rolling. Once you run out of room in the pan, continue the coat/fill/roll process on a small plate, then transfer the rolled tortilla to the baking dish alongside the other enchiladas.

8. Once all the tortillas are filled, rolled, and placed alongside each other in the dish, cover the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce (i.e. use up all the sauce you have left to cover the top of the enchiladas). Put the pan in the oven (uncovered) and bake for 20-25 mins until the sides are bubbly and the enchiladas are warmed through.

9. Remove pan from oven and wait at least 5 mins before serving to allow the enchiladas time to cool slightly and absorb the sauce. After this time, use the metal spatula to move enchiladas to serving plates. Top with shredded goat cheese, pickled or fresh jalapeños, cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and lemon herb tahini dressing as desired. Serve with a side of my crunchy rice, and you’ll have a slam dunk amazing dinner.

10. Got leftover Enchiladas? Great! Leftover enchiladas store covered in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen for 1 month. Reheat thoroughly before serving. Got leftover enchilada filling that didn’t make it into the enchilada pan? Lucky you! This filling makes the PERFECT breakfast burrito filling alongside an egg, some shredded goat cheese and hot sauce rolled into a flour tortilla. Told you I love this dinner longtime.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and enjoy your sweet potato enchiladas even more! Please feel free to ask any questions, and spread the love by sharing or pinning this post.

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