These corn and black bean enchiladas are covered in the most delicious homemade chipotle enchilada sauce and lots of cheese before being baked until bubbly! They make for a great, flavorful prep-ahead vegetarian dish to serve to company!
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Substitutions
- The corn and black beans can be swapped with shredded chicken, if you'd like. If you make this modification, I recommend tossing the shredded chicken in a tablespoon or two of the enchilada sauce to add extra flavor.
- I use chicken broth in this enchilada sauce because I find it more flavorful than vegetable broth. If you prefer this recipe to be fully vegetarian, you can substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Tips for the homemade enchiladas sauce
- For a quick weeknight meal, you can swap in store-bought enchilada sauce!
- This does make a ton of sauce (3.5 cups). If you are cutting the recipe in half, I recommend still making all the sauce and then freezing half-- it is just so delicious!
- This sauce has a medium spice level. If you'd like to make it less spicy, you can use less of the adobo sauce. You can also serve these enchiladas with sour cream to help cool down any spiciness.
- To make the sauce, I roast the onions and garlic in the oven. I have tried making this sauce with raw garlic and onion or garlic and onion powder and it does not add nearly the same complexity to the sauce.
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Prep ahead tips
Enchiladas are one of my favorite meals to serve when entertaining guests or for a quick weeknight meal. They can be made in advance and then popped in the oven when you are ready for dinner.
- You can prep these black bean enchiladas up to 24 hours in advance and wait to bake them until you are ready to enjoy. Cover the baking dish well with foil and store in the refrigerator.
- To reheat leftovers, place them in a microwave-safe dish and cover them loosely with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30-second increments until warmed all the way through. Alternatively, reheat in an oven-safe dish in a 350-degree oven covered with foil until warmed through.
Serving suggestions
To make this a full meal, I love serving this with Mexican rice, refried beans, and blackberry basil margaritas. For an appetizer don't forget the guacamole with pomegranate, homemade roasted tomato salsa, and chips.
For a non-vegetarian enchilada recipe, be sure to check out my Ground Chicken Enchiladas!
If you make these black bean enchiladas, I'd love to know what you think in the comments below! Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Black Bean Enchiladas
Easy black bean, cheese, and corn enchiladas with homemade chipotle enchilada sauce. Perfect make-ahead vegetarian meal.
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Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
- ½ medium yellow onion peeled and halved
- 4 garlic cloves smashed
- ½ teaspoon avocado oil or other mild oil
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 3.5 oz canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce use less sauce to reduce spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- ⅓ cup avocado oil or other mild oil
- 5 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas
- 2 cups frozen corn thawed
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 20 medium corn tortillas
- 16 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese or jack cheese for less spice
- 1 tablespoon chopped chilantro for garnish, optional
- sour cream for serving, optional
Instructions
Chipotle enchilada sauce
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange onion and smashed garlic on a sheet pan. Toss with ½ teaspoon oil. Bake for 10 minutes then turn the broiler on high. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until onions just begin to get black on the edges.
- Add onion and garlic to a blender along with tomato paste, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, ground cumin, cocoa powder, and chicken broth. Blend until smooth, about 10 seconds. (caution: heat expands in a blender, be sure to release air while blending)
- Heat ⅓ cup of oil in a large pan on medium high heat. Slowly add one tablespoon at a time of flour and whisk until there a no lumps, creating a roux. Slowly add the blended mixture to the pan and whisk until fully incorporated. Take off heat.
Black bean and corn enchiladas
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (if not already preheated from earlier).
- Spread ½ cup of enchilada sauce along the bottom of two 9x13 baking dishes.
- Heat a medium pan on medium high heat. One at a time, add a tortilla and heat until maleable. Add a spoonful of each type of cheese, black beans, and corn. Roll the tortilla and place in the pan with the seam facing down. Repeat for all tortillas.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of the rolled up tortillas. Sprinkle each baking dish with 1 cup of cheddar and ½ cup of pepper jack cheese.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. At the end you can broil for a minute or two to make the cheese crispier, if you would like. Serve immediately with a garnish of cilantro and a side of sour cream (optional).
Notes
- You can make these enchiladas up to a day in advance. If doing so, save the last step until you are ready to enjoy. These may take a little longer to cook if you pop them in the oven straight from the fridge.
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Tried this recipe?Please consider leaving a review! It means the world to me!
Crystal dieffenwierth says
Wonderful ! Easy and delicious! Don’t even miss the meat !
Caitlin Charlton says
I'm so thrilled to hear that, Crystal! Thank you so much!