An easy vegan Black Bean Enchiladas recipe with creamy avocado, sweet corn, and quinoa. Topped with a delicious Mexican-inspired enchilada sauce. So flavorful, satisfying, and filled with plant-based protein and fiber!
These satisfying, nutrient-packed enchiladas are adapted from our all-time favorite Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas.
Quinoa and black beans combine for a hearty filling packed with fiber and protein.
Then it is tossed with sweet corn, avocado, fresh cilantro, and green onions.
They are easy to make, and the result is both nourishing and delicious!
Ingredients for Avocado Enchiladas
For the enchilada filling you will need:
- White quinoa: Quinoa is a good source of protein, fiber, and other nutrients. It's also a complete protein which means it contains all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is often classified as a grain, but technically it is a seed, making it gluten-free. There are a couple different varieties, but I like using white quinoa in this recipe.
- Avocado: You will need about two medium or large avocados for this recipe.
- Black beans: Or you could also substitute pinto beans.
- Sweet corn: Either cooked fresh, frozen corn, fire-roasted, or canned.
- Green onion (scallion)
- Fresh cilantro
- Ground cumin: Or use other spices or seasonings to taste. Garlic powder, dried oregano, or smoked paprika would be tasty as well.
- Fresh baby spinach: This is optional, but I like to include it for extra nutrients.
- Large flour tortillas: I try to find whole grain tortillas when possible. Use gluten-free if desired, or substitute corn tortillas for a gluten-free option.
I also include the recipe for our homemade enchilada sauce below. But feel free to use your own favorite store-bought sauce, salsa verde, or blender sauce.
Customizing
Make it spicy: Add cayenne pepper, chipotle in adobo sauce, jalapeno, or medium diced green chiles. Or simply top with hot sauce to taste.
Make it "meaty": Include your favorite vegan ground beef crumbles if desired. Cook these separately according to package instructions. Then stir the cooked crumbles into the avocado filling mixture.
Make it cheesy: Add vegan cheese shreds to the filling, or on top of the enchiladas during the last 10 minutes of bake time. Dairy-free mozzarella, cheddar, or a Mexican-style blend work great. Nutritional yeast can provide some cheesy flavor as well.
Gluten-free: To make these gluten-free, simply use corn tortillas or other gluten-free tortillas. Or you can assemble these as stacked/layered enchiladas in your baking dish with corn tortillas.
Serving
Garnish: Top your enchiladas with fresh cilantro, avocado, guacamole, sliced green onions, vegan sour cream, fresh lime juice, or sprinkle with nutritional yeast before serving.
Rice pairing: These are great served with Cilantro Lime Brown Rice on the side!
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan enchilada recipes or Mexican-inspired recipes.
Black Bean Avocado Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white quinoa (uncooked)
- 2 large avocados
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (I use frozen or canned)
- 4-5 green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh 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. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
- Salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and cook quinoa according to package directions.*
- 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.
- 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 sautéed spinach if using. Add cooked quinoa and stir. Add avocado and lightly toss to combine.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a 9×13-inch baking dish, pour a small amount of sauce to coat the bottom.
- Evenly distribute the black bean/quinoa mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll up, and place seam side down in the dish. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. Garnish with more fresh cilantro, green onions, or sprinkle with nutritional yeast before serving if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
If you are enjoying this vegan black bean avocado enchiladas recipe, also feel free to check out:
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Stephanie Farmer
So 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! So glad you're enjoying these. And I love that you're just using the avocado for guacamole on top - smart! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your kind feedback.
Anzette
First time trying enchiladas and it was delicious! Thanks Kaitlin.
Kaitlin McGinn
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!
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 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!
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
Husband 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!
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!
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!
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
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!
Molly
These were a hit at my house. Thank you for this great recipe!
Stacey Parker
Two Thumbs up from DH!