Savory vegan Black Bean & Quinoa Enchiladas with avocado all smothered in a homemade Mexican-inspired stovetop enchilada sauce!
These satisfying, nutrient-packed enchiladas are adapted from our all-time favorite Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas. I wanted to find an alternative option for vegan cheese shreds (even though those work great too!) So of course, creamy avocado came to mind.
Then I also added quinoa for an extra protein & nutrient boost. And of course not wanting to miss out on a little cheesy flavor… I sprinkle some nutritional yeast on top before serving.
The sauce ingredients look fairly long, but half are simply spices you can change to your own liking. (Try ground chipotle for a smoky kick!) It's an easy, delicious sauce you'll want to eat with a spoon… I may or may not speak from experience.
Black Bean Avocado Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white quinoa (uncooked)
- 2 medium avocados
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 1 1/2 cups corn
- 4-5 green onions (sliced)
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 8 large tortillas (or about 10-12 corn tortillas)
- Nutritional yeast for sprinkling
- Optional: lightly sautéed spinach
For the enchilada sauce:
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I use gluten-free)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
- Salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and cook quinoa according to package directions, using 1 cup water (or veggie broth).
- Meanwhile, make the enchilada sauce: in a small bowl, add flour and spices. In a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil. Once warm, add tomato paste and flour/spices. Cook 1 minute, whisking. Whisk in broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, dice the avocado, and slice green onions.
- In a large bowl, add black beans (rinsed and drained), corn (thawed if frozen), green onions, cumin, and lightly sauteed spinach if using. Add cooked quinoa, and stir. Add avocado and lightly toss to combine.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a lightly sprayed 9×13 baking dish, pour a small amount of sauce to coat the bottom.
- Evenly distribute the black bean/quinoa mixture to the center of each tortilla, roll up, and place seam side down in the dish. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
- Bake about 25 minutes.
- Optional: garnish with cilantro, green onions, or sprinkle nutritional yeast before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Enjoying these black bean avocado enchiladas? Also feel free to check out:
Come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and then share a photo if you make or adapt this recipe! (Also please leave a review & star rating below if you give it a try. Your feedback is greatly appreciated - thank you!)
Stephanie Farmer
Sooo...ooo good - love these! I've been removing the avocados from the filling and making guacamole with them to put on top instead. Thanks for a new favorite recipe!!
Kaitlin McGinn
Hi Stephanie!! YAY, so glad you're enjoying these! And I love that you're just using the avocado for guac on top - smart! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such sweet feedback 🙂 Wishing you a most beautiful week! -Kaitlin
Anzette
First time trying enchiladas and it was delicious! Thanks Kaitlin
Kaitlin McGinn
YAY! So great to hear your first enchilada experience was a success! Thanks for the sweet feedback - have a lovely week!
Tiff & Eli
This a new favorite dinner, THANK YOU!!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Awesome! Thanks!
Andrea Winstanley
Made this tonight. Easy to prepare and cook. Was absolutely delicious. My kids loved it too.Will definitely make again.Looking forward to trying out more recipes
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear, Andrea! Thank you for giving them a try and sharing!
Unknown
Love these enchiladas!! This time I had some leftover Mexican bean and rice soup that i needed to use up that had developed a thicker consistency overnight. No corn but still added the avocado and used this same sauce! We loved them! Thank you for this beauty!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That sounds great!
Terri S
I made these tonight! I'm not vegan but both my daughters are, so I am experimenting with vegan recipes so I can teach them. These were delicious! I will definitely make these again! The only change I made was to omit corn, I just don't like it/can't digest it. I added sauteed spinach. My first experience with quinoa too! Love this recipe!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Terri! Great to hear from you! Love that you're cooking vegan meals for your daughters, what a sweet mom! Happy you enjoyed these and that your first quinoa experience was a success 🙂 Thanks so much for coming back to let me know! Hope you all have a beautiful weekend!!
Danielle Crouch
I just made these enchiladas and they are fantastic! They are definitely going on my list of recipes to make again 🙂
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear, Danielle! 🙂
HayGar
Love love love them! We are not quite at the complete "vegan" stage. Just getting my husband to try these was a feat in and of itself. So I did add about 2 tablespoons of cheese. Once he tried them he loved them. He exact words were "these are awesome. I could drink that sauce". I have a book of Pinterest recipes that I print out. That way when I don't know what to make we can go back through and see what we've had and liked. It has already been added. I always have everything for this on hand.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That's so great! Thanks for sharing!
Jackie Wilkes
Does the avocado go IN the enchiladas or only on top? Thanks for sharinf this recipe! Excited to try it tonight!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Jackie! We put the avocado in the enchiladas 🙂 (And often more on top for serving after they bake!) Hope you enjoy!
Lorry Robles
Hi, I'm trying to go vegan for 30 days to see if I feel better. These recipes sound great. What is the nutritional yeast? Is it a seasoning or flakes? What brand do you use?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Lorry! Fun to hear that! Nutritional yeast has some great health benefits, and the taste is a bit cheesy/nutty. (It's often used as a vegan replacement for cheese.) I buy either Bragg or Bob's Red Mill flakes. They're available at my local grocery store now, so you may be able to find it at yours too! Otherwise you can buy online. Have fun experimenting with some new vegan recipes! Hope you start to feel better 🙂
Marianne
Made these for dinner tonight. Absolutely amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Wonderful, thank you for sharing!
Michael
I just made these for my family. They were incredible. We were both shocked at how good they were. Truly excellent recipe! Thank you sooo much.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear!
Shawna
Huzz and I both thought the quinoa bean mixture would be a delicious salad with some tomatoes, sweet onions and salt and pepper. Thanks for the recipe!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Absolutely! Great thoughts!
Meagan
Do you know how well these freeze?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Meagan! I haven't tried freezing these, but I bet they'd do okay! I'd recommend freezing them before baking, and also freeze the enchilada sauce in a separate container. Would love to hear if you give it a go! 🙂
Unknown
Is the cumin in this recipe cumin seeds or cumin powder?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! Yes it's ground cumin powder 🙂
FreshLavenderDesigns
This sauce is seriously gourmet, super flavorful...just AMAZING!!!!! Impressive. 🙂
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for your kind feedback! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Shery
ThesE were so good! It's tough filling up a vegan athletic man but this got a rave review from both of us.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear!
Alex Lynn
Thanks for the recipe. Lot's of colour; so healthy and looks delicious!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you! Hope you enjoy!
Jen
I posted pics of mine on Instagram, but I had to pop back over here and thank you for this recipe. These were absolutely amazing and I want to put that sauce on EVERYTHING!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Always love your Instagram photos - thanks so much for sharing Jen!
Anonymous
looks delicious!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you!
lisa
These were really good! This made a lot more than 8 enchiladas for me! (but I'm ok with that!)
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Lisa! That's great - thanks for the feedback! I use large burrito-sized tortillas so my enchiladas are usually pretty big. It definitely yields more if you use smaller or corn tortillas however!
Crystal Flynn
How many servings does this yield?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hey Crystal! It makes 8 enchiladas. So if you have sides to go along with it, one enchilada would be enough for everyone (serving 8). But if I'm really hungry, I can sometimes eat 1 1/2 to 2! So feel free to adjust based on sides and hunger level 😉
Stephanie DuCharme
I can't wait to try these! I already love the Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas which are a staple in my house!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Molly
These were a hit at my house. Thank you for this great recipe!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Stacey Parker
Two Thumbs up from DH!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That's great! Thanks for the feedback!
LittleMonsterx14
Mmm these look so wonderful, and vegan too! love it!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you!