Black Bean Fajita Enchiladas

These easy black bean fajita enchiladas are made with a simple pantry staple enchilada sauce and lots of veggies. It all comes together for a delicious vegetarian dinner.

When I first started making homemade enchiladas I would use store bought enchilada sauce. There were a couple things I didn’t love about using the cans. Things like the price, the processed ingredients, and simply the need to have one on hand if I ever wanted to make enchiladas.

I did some research on how to make enchilada sauce at home and found that although there were some complex recipes, most were made from just a few simple pantry staple ingredients. I discovered that by mixing together tomato sauce and seasonings with a little water or broth I could make an enchilada sauce that was super simple but also plenty delicious.

What to Put in Vegetarian Enchiladas

Most enchiladas you would order at a restaurant have one main ingredient used to stuff the tortillas and that is meat. The most obvious plant based high protein substitute for meat in a vegetarian enchilada is beans, but both my gut and my taste buds prefer there to be more than beans inside my enchiladas so I like to use a few well paired vegetables.

The 3 vegetables I add are onions, peppers, and zucchini or yellow squash. Onions and peppers are an obvious pair to go with Mexican inspired foods, but you might be wondering where I got the idea to add squash to my enchiladas.

I began adding them to my fajitas a few years ago when I discovered the historical origin of zucchini. I always had assumed they had come from Europe maybe because I used to always pair summer squashed with pasta dishes, but the origin of zucchini is actually central and south America. Learning this made me want to try adding them to my Hispanic inspired dishes, and I discovered they pair very well.

Ingredients for Black Bean Fajita Enchiladas

For the enchiladas:

• 2 bell peppers
• 1 onion
• 2 zucchini or yellow squash
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 15-oz. cans beans
• 10 tortillas
• 1-2 cups shredded cheese of your choice (optional)

For the sauce:

• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup broth or water
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

How to Make Black Bean Fajita Enchiladas

Begin by chopping the vegetables into spears.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the vegetables to the pan with seasonings and cook, stirring frequently until they become soft.

While the vegetables cook, mix all the ingredients for the enchilada sauce into a small sauce pan over medium heat and whisk together.

Bring to a boil then take off the heat.

Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, drain and rinse the black beans and add them to the filling. Once the beans are heated through you are ready to assemble the enchiladas.

Add 1/3 of the enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

Make the enchiladas one at a time by placing a tortilla in the dish, adding a scoop of filling, then rolling up the tortilla.

Repeat until all the tortillas are filled. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchilada then spread the sauce with a spatula to make sure they are completely covered.

If desired, top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350° F for 20 minutes or until cheese begins to bubble.

serve your black bean fajita enchiladas topped with avocado, sour cream, or your favorite taco toppings.

Black Bean Fajita Enchiladas

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 10 enchiladas

Ingredients

  

for enchiladas

• 2 bell peppers
• 1 onion
• 2 zucchini or yellow squash
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 15-oz. cans black beans
• 10 tortillas
• 1-2 cups shredded cheese optional

for sauce

• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup broth or water
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

 

• Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the vegetables to the pan with seasonings and cook, stirring frequently until they become soft.
• While the vegetables cook, mix all the ingredients for the enchilada sauce into a small sauce pan over medium heat and whisk together.
• Bring to a boil then take off the heat.
• Once the vegetables are cooked to your liking, drain and rinse the black beans and add them to the filling. Once the beans are heated through you are ready to assemble the enchiladas.
• Add 1/3 of the enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
• Make the enchiladas one at a time by placing a tortilla in the dish, adding a scoop of filling, then rolling up the tortilla.
• Repeat until all the tortillas are filled. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchilada then spread the sauce with a spatula to make sure they are completely covered.
• If desired, top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350° F for 20 minutes or until cheese begins to bubble.
• serve your black bean fajita enchiladas topped with avocado, sour cream, or your favorite taco toppings.

Keyword black bean, enchilada, fajita, vegetarian