Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake
This enchilada bake is a hearty gluten-free + vegetarian dinner. It is tortilla-free, packed with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, brown rice and enchilada sauce, topped with melty cheese and served with some avocado. Can be partially or entirely made ahead and reheats well. Weeknight comfort food at its best!
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
- 1 9x7 baking pan
Ingredients
Enchilada Bake
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into bite-size to 1 inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil, divided
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup already prepared salsa
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno, de-seeded and finely chopped
- ½ - 1 cup red enchilada sauce (already prepared or see recipe below) to taste
- 1 cup shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, cheddar or dairy-free of choice) more or less to taste
Toppings
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- fresh cilantro
Red Enchilada Sauce (recipe adapted from Cookie and Kate) (makes one cup, doubles well if you want to have extra in your refrigerator for another meal)
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- large pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup gluten-free vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Enchilada Bake
- Roast sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cut sweet potatoes on baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. cumin, chili powder and salt. Place sweet potatoes in a single layer and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tender and edges getting crispy. Set aside. Can be made and stored in the refrigerator a day or two ahead.
- Make Rice & Beans mixture: while the sweet potatoes roast, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add jalapeño and saute 1-2 minutes. Add cooked rice, black beans and salsa. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for about 7-10 minutes until well heated. (NOTE: Depending on how thick or thin the salsa is, feel free to add a bit more salsa while stirring and heating the mixture). Remove from heat and set aside. Can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator 1 -2 days.
- Assemble: Lightly oil a 9x7 baking dish. Spoon enchilada sauce on the bottom of baking dish so that it is evenly covered. Top with Rice & Beans mix. Add roasted sweet potatoes and stir to combine with rice and beans. Top with more enchilada sauce. Top with a shredded cheese.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. If you want a golden top, raise oven temperature to 425 degrees F for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Top with avocado slices and cilantro and enjoy!
Enchilada Sauce
- Measure the flour and spices into a small bowl and place your tomato paste near the stove.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil until shimmering (it should be warm enough that the spices sizzle on contact). Pour in the flour and spice mixture. While stirring constantly with a whisk, cook until fragrant and slightly deepened in color, about 1 minute.
- Whisk the tomato paste into the mixture, then slowly pour in the broth while whisking constantly to remove any lumps.
- Lower heat to a simmer, whisking often, for about five minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit and a spoon encounters some resistance as you stir it. (The sauce will further thicken as it cools)
- Remove from heat, then whisk in the vinegar and season to taste with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Can be made a few days ahead, stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container and heated up stove top as it will thicken as it cools.
Notes
Make ahead:
You can partially or entirely make this meal ahead of serving.
Partial make-ahead options:
The roasted sweet potatoes, rice and beans mixture and enchilada sauce can all be made 1-2 days ahead and assembled in the baking pan prior to baking. If you choose this option, bake covered for 15-20 minutes to warm before topping with cheese and continue to bake another 15 minutes to melt the cheese.
Entirely make ahead:
You can assemble the entire enchilada bake minus the cheese and bake when ready.
Or you can make the entire casserole including baking it with the cheese, then just head up in the oven or microwave when ready to serve.
Again, if baking after refrigerating, extend baking time to 30 minutes and cover with foil for at least half that time.
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Can this casserole be frozen?
Great question! I have never frozen it but I freeze everything, so I think it would freeze well for a few months. Let me know if you try it.
We made it last night without the 🌶️ for the kiddos and we all loved it. Next time I will cut my sweet potato in bigger chunks to give it more texture. Otherwise, delicious!
So happy you love it! And yes, sweet potato size can definitely be adjusted to taste! Thank you!
My husband and I loved this dish! We cut out the onions since I’m allergic, and added more jalapeños. Definitely extra good with the avocado on top. We will definitely make this again!
So happy you love it! Thank you!