These Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas are the perfect easy weeknight meal! Loaded with caramelized veggies, hearty black beans and smothered in the best homemade enchilada sauce and cheese! Yes please!
It’s no secret that here on Our Balanced Bowl, I love Mexican food. There’s never not a time in my life that I’m not in the mood for tacos, burrito bowls, chips and salsa or hello: enchiladas! Specifically, these Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas!
In January, Ben and I decided to do a bit of a cut back on a few things in our diet and begin to incorporate other things -for example, we aren’t eating as much chicken but we are eating a lot more, you guessed it, BEANS!
Why beans, specifically black beans are so good For you:
Beans are an amazing source of nutrition!
Black beans not only contain an awesome amount of fiber (hello, gut health), but they also are a great source of protein and contain tons of vitamins like folate and magnesium! Plus they taste great.
Black beans are the base of these enchiladas, hence the recipe name, however, they are a few more ingredients that make this dish extra special!
First off, in addition to the black beans, I added tons of veggies! Inside the enchiladas you will find spicy red onion and green bell pepper, sautéed to perfection to keep them perfectly caramelized yet still retain a bite to them.
I topped the pan of enchiladas with even more fresh vegetables like jalapeno, avocado and green onions!
The delicious soft flour tortillas are smothered with a smoky, smooth homemade enchilada sauce! It’s a little spicy, flavorful, and guarantees you won’t buy store-bought after you try it!
Oh, and of course there is cheese. On top of the enchiladas AND inside.
Actually, for the enchilada filling, I decided to mix all of the filling ingredients in one big bowl aside from layering them inside the tortilla. I personally feel like it kind of makes each individual ingredient uneven – so by mixing them all together, you get a little bit of everything and the cheese gets extra melty and delicious!
So….now that I’ve given you the low-down, let’s get started on how to make these!
Ingredients You Need:
- black beans
- red onion
- green bell pepper
- chicken stock
- oil
- flour
- spices (like cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt pepper)
- tortillas (I recommend medium flour tortillas!)
- mexican blend cheese (monterey jack, pepper jack or cheddar jack!)
- garnishes like avocado, cotija cheese, lime etc.
How to make Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas:
Begin by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Now, if you are in a rush/don’t have time to make the homemade enchilada sauce because it’s a weeknight and you’re exhausted and just wanna watch Netflix – skip this step! Just buy the store-bought!
BUT if you want to have a flavor explosion of goodness and try the best homemade enchilada sauce ever…let’s proceed!
In a sauce pan, heat it on medium and add 3 tbsp of olive oil to it. Let it heat up and then add in 2-3 tbsp of all purpose flour. Mix with a whisk to combine and let it cook for 1 minute or so. Then, add in the spices! Spices like chili powder, cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper!)
Whisk those straight into the flour/oil mixture and then begin to slowly add in the veggie broth 1 cup at a time (you will need about 2 cups worth). Whisk as you add it in, and it will begin to thicken as you whisk/let it cook for about 5 minutes or so.
Once done, taste it! If it needs more salt, pepper, spice, heat etc., now is the time to add it in!
You can pour this straight into a heat safe jar (like a mason jar) and set it aside. It should look something like this:
Next, begin making the veggies for the inside of the filling!
Thinly slice long slices of both the green bell pepper and red onion. To a skillet, add a dash of olive oil and let it heat on medium heat. Once the skillet is warmed up, add the veggies directly in and stir them around. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and let these cook for about 5-6 minutes. 
Remove veggies from the heat once they are done. I added mine directly to a glass bowl along with about 1 and ½ cups of black beans and 1 cup of cheese. Mix this all together. Taste and adjust seasoning if you want.
If you want this a little bit spicier, you could add in some cayenne – for more flavor, add in more of those delicious spices you put in the enchilada sauce. The world is your oyster!
Grease a large 9×13 pan. Begin filling the tortillas! Add a decent amount inside the tortilla, make sure it’s snug, secure and flip it to where the seam is pinched on the bottom of it. Like this:
Continue to do this until your enchiladas are filled! I used medium size flour tortillas so this made about 6 large enchiladas. Depending on what tortillas you use, you might be able to yield more (or even less!)
Once the tortillas are filled and all in the pan, cover with the enchilada sauce and then sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top of that.
Slide in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese in melty and bubbly!
Garnish with avocado, jalapeno, sour cream…whatever your favorite topping is! Eat up!
I hope you guys truly enjoyed this recipe! Cheers to eating more beans in 2020!
Did you like this recipe? Here are a few others you also might like:
Fajita Veggie Enchiladas with Avocado Crema
Ground Chicken Tacos with Chipotle Crema
Roasted Garlic Green Goddess Garlic Tacos
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas
These Cheesy Black Bean Enchiladas are the perfect easy weeknight meal! Loaded with caramelized veggies, hearty black beans and smothered in the best homemade enchilada sauce and cheese! Yes please!
Ingredients
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups veggie broth (can use chicken also)
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- salt and pepper to taste
Enchiladas
- 6 medium soft flour tortillas
- 2 green bell peppers, sliced thinly
- 1 large red onion, sliced thinly
- 2 cups black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2.5 cups shredded cheese (monterey jack or cheddar jack is delicious here!)
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes (optional)
- cotija cheese
- avocado or guacamole
- diced jalapeno
- lime
Instructions
Enchilada Sauce
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In a small sauce pan, heat it on medium and add 3 tbsp of olive oil to it. Let it heat up and then add in 2-3 tbsp of all purpose flour. Mix with a whisk to combine and let it cook for 1 minute or so. Then, add in the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, oregano and cayenne. Whisk together.
-
Begin slowly adding in the veggie broth 1 cup at a time. Whisk as you add it in, and it will begin to thicken as you whisk/let it cook for about 5 minutes or so. Once thickened, taste and season with salt and pepper. Yields: 10-12 oz of sauce.
Enchiladas
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
-
Thinly slice long slices of both the green bell peppers and red onion. To a skillet, add a dash of olive oil and let it heat on medium heat. Once the skillet is warmed up, add the veggies directly in and stir them around. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and let these cook for about 5-6 minutes or until softened.
-
Remove veggies from the heat once they are done. I added mine directly to a glass bowl along with about 2 cups of black beans and 1 cup of cheese. Mix this all together. Taste and adjust seasoning if you want. If you want this a little bit spicier, you could add in some cayenne.
-
Begin filling the tortillas! Add a decent amount inside the tortilla, make sure it’s snug, secure and flip it to where the seam is pinched on the bottom of it.
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Continue to do this until your enchiladas are filled! I used medium size flour tortillas so this made about 6 large enchiladas. Depending on what tortillas you use, you might be able to yield more.
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Once the tortillas are filled and all in the pan, cover with the enchilada sauce and then sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top of that.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes or until melted and bubbly. While baking, dice up your garnishes. When done, garnish with jalepeno, lime, cotija cheese or sour cream! Enjoy!
We love love love black beans in our home and definitely love enchiladas so these would go over so well, Haylie! Love everything about ’em…perfect for a weeknight supper or to enjoy on Friday night with some vino or a beer 🙂 And you can’t go wrong with a cheesy top!
Absolutely!! Can’t go wrong with tons of cheese! Xo
These look so delicious and hearty Haylie! I need to make a batch of that enchilada sauce. I actually have all the ingredients to make it and I know my husband would love it!
I love the homemade sauce, Leanne! So smoky and delicious! 🙂