This vegan enchilada casserole is made with black beans, sweet potato, and spinach. It's absolutely out-of-this-world delicious! It's healthy comfort food at its best.
You may also like our jackfruit birria.
This casserole is oil-free, soy-free, low-fat, and a meal prep favorite.
This recipe is a take on the sweet potato and black bean enchiladas recipe in the Oh She Glows cookbook by Angela Liddon. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook library.
Ingredients for This Plant-Based Enchilada Casserole
- Red enchilada sauce
- Black beans
- Corn tortillas
- Sweet potato
- Spinach
- Onion
- Bell pepper
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Black pepper
How to Prepare
If you don't have the red enchilada sauce on hand, start with that. It takes about 10 minutes to whip up. The instructions for making this delicious healthy comfort food meal are broken down between beans, sweet potatoes, enchilada mixture, assembly, and baking. It might seem a little complicated at first, but after you do it once or twice, you may not even need to refer back to this recipe when you make it again.
Beans
This recipe uses one 15-ounce can of no salt added (or low sodium) black beans. If you decide to make your own from dried black beans, start with that. You'll need 1 ½ cups of cooked black beans for this recipe. Check out this article on how to cook dried beans using the Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop methods.
If using canned black beans, drain and rinse and then set aside.
Sweet potatoes
Prepare the sweet potatoes by peeling and dicing them into bite-size pieces (about ½-inch thick). Place the sweet potatoes into a medium pot with about 3 to 4 cups of water. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and drain diced sweet potato and set aside. You don't want the sweet potato to get mushy. They should be tender but still firm.
Enchilada mixture
Preheat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and dry sauté for 4 minutes or until the onions start to brown.
Add red bell pepper, garlic, and spices, and give it a good stir to incorporate. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add cooked black beans, sweet potatoes, and about ¼ cup of red enchilada sauce. Carefully stir to incorporate.
To finish off the mixture for this casserole, add the fresh spinach. Put the lid on the sauté pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to let the spinach wilt. Remove the lid and turn off the heat. Stir, so the spinach is combined with the rest of the enchilada casserole mixture. Set the pan aside.
Assemble and bake
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
Stack and slice the corn tortillas into four or six sections.
Prepare the casserole dish for assembly. An 8x8-, 9x9-, or 10.5x7.5-inch casserole dish works well. Pour a few tablespoons of the red enchilada sauce into the bottom of the dish and swirl around, so it coats the entire bottom. Add a layer of the corn tortillas directly onto the sauce at the bottom. Then spoon on a layer of the enchilada mixture. Add another layer of corn tortillas and pour a few more tablespoons of red enchilada sauce on top. Spoon more mixture and repeat until you've used up the rest of the corn tortillas and enchilada mixture. Finally, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the entire casserole.
Cover the casserole dish with foil, put it in the oven, and bake at 350 F (180 C) for 15 to 17 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for another 5 minutes to get that deep rich color on top.
Remove from the oven and enjoy with fresh chopped cilantro, lime juice, and any optional toppings.
Leftovers for this casserole keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This recipe is also great for meal prep. Portion out the casserole put it into airtight containers, and freeze for up to 4 months. Reheat from frozen in the microwave (at reduced power) or oven (at 325 F (160 C) for 15 to 20 minutes) for a convenient, healthy, and delicious weeknight meal.
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Step-by-step instructions
Optional toppings for this vegan enchilada casserole
- Sliced avocado or guacamole
- Diced red onion
- Cashew cream sauce (contains nuts)
- Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- Diced jalapeno with seeds for heat!
Other healthy comfort food recipes
Check out these comfort food favorites. They're all made with whole plant foods, oil-free and delicious!
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Spaghetti with "Magic" Meatballs
- Veggie Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta (Vegan)
We hope you love this vegan enchilada casserole recipe as much as we do. Please rate and leave a comment below. Be sure to share a picture on Instagram and tag us @danielsplaterecipes so we can see your creation!
Vegan Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups of chopped sweet potato
- 1-15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- 8 corn tortillas quartered
For serving
- 1 lime
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
Optional toppings
- slice avocado or guacamole
- diced red onion
- cashew cream sauce
- pepitas pumpkin seeds
- diced jalapeno with seeds for heat!
Instructions
- If you don't have the red enchilada sauce on hand, start with that. It takes about 10 minutes to whip up. The instructions for making this delicious healthy comfort food meal are broken down between beans, sweet potatoes, enchilada mixture, assembly, and baking. It might seem a little complicated at first, but after you do it once or twice, you may not even need to refer back to this recipe when you make it again.
Beans
- This recipe uses one 15-ounce can of no salt added (or low sodium) black beans. If you decide to make your own from dried black beans, start with that. You'll need 1 ½ cups of cooked black beans for this recipe. Check out this article on how to cook dried beans using the Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop methods.
- If using canned black beans, drain and rinse and then set aside.
Sweet potatoes
- Prepare the sweet potatoes by peeling and dicing them into bite-size pieces (about ½-inch thick).
- Place the sweet potatoes into a medium pot with about 3 to 4 cups of water. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove and drain diced sweet potato and set aside. You don't want the sweet potato to get mushy. They should be tender but still firm.
Enchilada mixture
- Preheat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and dry saute for 4 minutes or until the onions start to brown.
- Add red bell pepper, garlic, and spices, and give it a good stir to incorporate. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add cooked black beans, sweet potatoes, and about ¼ cup of red enchilada sauce. Carefully stir to incorporate.
- To finish off the mixture for this casserole, add the fresh spinach. Put the lid on the saute pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to let the spinach wilt. Remove the lid and turn off the heat. Stir, so the spinach is combined with the rest of the enchilada casserole mixture. Set the pan aside.
Assemble and bake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
- Stack and slice the corn tortillas into four or six sections.
- Prepare the casserole dish for assembly. An 8x8-, 9x9-, or 10.5x7.5-inch casserole dish works well. Pour a few tablespoons of the red enchilada sauce into the bottom of the dish and swirl around, so it coats the entire bottom.
- Add a layer of the corn tortillas directly onto the sauce at the bottom. Then spoon on a layer of the enchilada mixture.
- Add another layer of corn tortillas and pour a few more tablespoons of red enchilada sauce on top.
- Spoon more mixture and repeat until you've used up the rest of the corn tortillas and enchilada mixture.
- Finally, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the entire casserole.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil, put it into the preheated oven, and bake at 350 F (180 C) for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for another 5 minutes to get that deep rich color on top.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy with fresh chopped cilantro, lime juice, and any optional toppings.
Notes
- Equipment: Casserole dish (8x8, 9x9, or 7.5x10.5-inch)
- Be careful not to overcook the sweet potato on the stovetop. They should be firm, not mushy.
- Leftovers for this casserole keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This recipe is also great for meal prep. Portion out the casserole, put it into airtight containers, and freeze for up to 4 months. Reheat from frozen in the microwave (at reduced power) or oven (at 325°F (160°C) for 15 to 20 minutes) for a convenient, healthy, and delicious weeknight meal.
Nutrition
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Mindy
This was absolutely amazing!! Busy mom means casseroles win and this one is amazing!!
Gigi & Sersie
Yay! We're so glad you like this, Mindy. It's one of our favs too.
Marie
I totally enjoyed cooking this casserole, for me it was quick and very easy fitting nicely in my 8x8 casserole dish. So tasty especially with the addition of red onions and avocado. When I make this again I may add a little corn and have cilantro on hand.
Gigi & Sersie
Thanks, Marie. Great suggestion about the corn. That would be a great addition.