Our favorite enchiladas! Vegan Black Bean Enchiladas are filled with spinach and sweet corn, and then topped with most amazing homemade enchilada sauce. Plus they are quick and easy to prepare.
These Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas are a satisfying dinner and simple to prepare.
We also find they are great for entertaining because they are enjoyed by guests and company as well.
Before this recipe, it never occurred to me to make my own Mexican-inspired Enchilada Sauce.
But I am so glad I did because it is pretty simple and can be easily customized to your own taste by adding your favorite seasonings.
Ingredients for Spinach Enchiladas
For the enchilada filling, you will need:
- Black beans
- Sweet corn: Either frozen, cooked fresh, canned, or fire-roasted.
- Fresh baby spinach
- Green onions (scallions)
- Fresh cilantro
- Ground cumin
- Vegan cheese shreds: Or substitute nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor.
- Large flour tortillas: Or corn tortillas for a gluten-free tortilla.
Ingredients for Enchilada Sauce
For the homemade enchilada sauce, you will need:
- Tomato paste
- Olive oil
- All-purpose flour: I use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour.
- Ground cumin
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Chili powder
- Vegetable broth
How to Prepare
These enchiladas are easy to prepare. Simply whisk together the enchilada sauce and simmer on the stovetop.
Then prepare the black bean mixture and place it down the center of each tortilla, and roll them up.
Place seam side down in a baking dish (or casserole dish). Pour enchilada sauce over the top, then bake in the oven.
Customizing
Cheese: There is a lot of vegan cheese available now, but our current favorites are Miyoko's and Follow Your Heart. For this recipe, I enjoy Miyoko's mozzarella and also Follow Your Heart's fiesta blend (which is cheddar and pepper jack).
Make it spicy: Stir in jalapeno or medium diced green chiles to your spinach mixture. Or simply top with hot sauce before serving.
Serving
Toppings: Garnish your plate with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, vegan sour cream, or a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
We also enjoy pairing this meal with Cilantro Lime Rice on the side.
For more inspiration, browse all vegan Mexican-inspired recipes or black bean recipes.
Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the enchilada sauce:
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I use GF all-purpose)
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- Salt/pepper to taste
For the enchiladas:
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (I use canned or frozen & thawed)
- 6 oz. fresh baby spinach
- 6 green onions (thinly sliced)
- 1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 cup vegan cheese shreds (or nutritional yeast to taste)
- 8 large flour tortillas (or GF tortillas or corn tortillas)
Instructions
MAKE THE SAUCE:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil. When hot, carefully add tomato paste, flour, 2 tsp. cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute, whisking.
- Slowly whisk in broth, and bring to a light boil. Then reduce to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste and set aside.
MAKE THE ENCHILADAS:
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a pan over medium heat, sauté the spinach for 1-2 minutes until lightly wilted. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine black beans (rinsed and drained), 3/4 cup vegan cheese (more/less as desired), wilted spinach, corn, green onions, cilantro, and 2 tsp. cumin.
- In a 9×13 inch baking dish (lightly sprayed if desired) pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
- Generously fill tortillas with mixture, roll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
- Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top if desired.
- Bake for about 20 minutes. Garnish with additional cilantro and/or green onions before serving if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
If you are enjoying these vegan black bean spinach enchiladas, also check out:
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Samantha Polayes
We have been making this for the past five years, probably 3x per year, and every single time they have turned out fantastic and a crowd favorite. Sometimes we add the rice to the bean mixture and sometimes we had rice and squash to the bean mixture. This recipe is a real winner and SO versatile.
Thank you so much for bringing warmth and great food to my family!
Kaitlin
That's so great to hear you and your family have been enjoying these, Samantha! Love that you put your own spin on them too. Rice and squash sound fantastic. Thanks so much for your kind and helpful comment! Take care, Kaitlin
Michele
Yum yum YUM! I followed the recipe exactly except used corn tortillas that I fried lightly before assembling. My husband was raving about these! Absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Kaitlin
Awesome to hear you and your husband enjoyed these, Michele! Corn tortillas sound fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing!
Brandi
my favorite vegetarian recipe I've had the past years.
I always come back to it. thank you! love love love it.
Kaitlin
So great to hear you continue to enjoy it, Brandi! Thanks for sharing.
Margaret
Delicious! Will make this again!
Kaitlin
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed, Margaret!
Misty
Made these for dinner and my husband and I loved them! We will definitely be making these often.
Kaitlin
So great to hear you both enjoyed, Misty! Thank you for your feedback!
Jenny
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Made this for my family tonight for the first time and everyone loved it. Quick and straightforward. Certain I’ll make it again.
Kaitlin
Great to hear!
Mary Edmonds
We eat beans and rice once a week with lots of cilantro, sour cream, guacamole and salsa as topping. Enchiladas make the rounds every now and then and I made this today. Love the additional spinach--threw in garlic too. I just wanted to add that I stopped rolling my enchiladas long ago and now stack 3 layers of corn tortillas with filling in between topped with cheddar jalapeno jack cheese--just like a lasagna. This filling was great!
Kaitlin
Love that you went with the layered approach - great call!
Miriam
I have been making your recipe for years! I gave it to my mother and made a PDF copy for myself just in case you ever decide to take it off the internet. I LOVE this recipe. It is a staple in our household. They are fantastic and healthy. And I never deviate from the directions—there’s no need!
Kaitlin
Wonderful to hear, Miriam! And I love that you shared it with your mother as well!
Frederick Kenyon
I made them with the white flour and it was amazing. I might experiment in the future. Thank you for your response!
Kaitlin McGinn
That is fantastic, I appreciate your follow-up! You've inspired me to experiment with other flours as well. Thank you for your kind review!
Heather
The most delicious enchiladas I have ever had! My whole family loves this recipe.
Kaitlin
Awesome to hear, Heather! Glad you're all enjoying. Thanks for the kind feedback!
Frederick Kenyon
Do I have to use white flour or can I use oat or almond? I try to stay away from white flour. I'm making this right now. Thank you.
Kaitlin McGinn
Hi Frederick! I haven't tried this with any other flour besides all-purpose. (I use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose which is made with garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, whole grain white sorghum flour, fava bean flour, etc.) Perhaps oat flour would be a suitable replacement, however you may have to use a little bit more to achieve the desired thickening. Would love to hear if you gave it a go.
Melissa
These were delicious! Thanks for making such tasty, quick, and easy to follow meals, Kaitlin! I usually get overwhelmed cooking, but your recipes have been so enjoyable to cook and eat.
Kaitlin McGinn
So great to hear, Melissa!
Pam
So delicious! Added two diced jalapeño peppers to add a kick, used corn tortillas to keep it gluten free and sweet corn that we had frozen this summer. Served with a side of Mexican rice. Will make again for sure!
Rachael
Hi! Trying to do some meatless Monday’s with my family and made this tonight. I loved it. I got a lot of sideye from my 2 boys and their dad but everyone ate it and no one died from lack of chicken, so we are definitely putting it in the rota!!
Kaitlin McGinn
Haha that's awesome! Thanks so much for giving them a try and sharing your kind feedback!
Kate Bierle
This has been in our regular rotation since I discovered it four years ago. Tonight I altered it for the first time to use zucchini instead of spinach (my garden has overproduces zucchini this year). Shredded a couple cups of zucchini - didn't cook it just added to the filling. And I think I prefer it this way! So tasty and filling.
Kaitlin McGinn
Great call with the zucchini! Thanks for sharing!
Aimee
I have made this recipe 3 times in the last month and have shared it with several non-whole food plant based eaters and everyone loves them. They are delicious and I love the texture the corn gives to the meal.'
I followed the instructions one of the users above gave about freezing the enchiladas and the sauce so I could take them to the beach with me and it worked like a dream. Thanks!
Kaitlin McGinn
That's so awesome, Aimee. Enchiladas at the beach - I like your style!
Shanda
These are fantastic!! A few weeks ago we decided to go vegan, to help my husband with his diabetes, this was one of the first meals I made, am making them again tonight. I have to say my husband is a huge dairy and cheese person but these won him over. I'm wondering what brand of "cheese" you used to get it to melt like it looks in the pictures? Thank you for sharing!!!
Kaitlin McGinn
Hi Shanda! That's awesome you guys went vegan! I hear you, cheese can be a tough thing to break away from. Unfortunately I can't recall which brand I used in these pictures. Daiya melts pretty well, but taste-wise, we currently love "Follow Your Heart" and "Miyoko's" the best. (However I keep seeing more & more new brands hitting the shelves which is pretty exciting!) Wishing you both all the very best on your new plant-based journey! Sending love, Kaitlin
Lucy
I just made these for the 100th time, no lie. I have never posted a comment online but today felt the need. As I made them, from memory, it was such a great familiar feeling. During these times of uncertainty it was awesome. Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that this post from 8 years ago still lives on and is cherished. Thank you, Lucy
Kaitlin McGinn
Your comment warmed my heart - thanks so much for coming back to let me know. I'm honored to hear you've been enjoying these so much. Sending love your way!
Marsha
OMG that sauce is pure awesomeness! Lucky for me this recipe popped up as a recommendation while searching for your teriyaki baked tofu recipe, which is equally as awesome. Decided to change up the dinner plans since I had everything in hand. One very happy family tonight! Looking forward to discovering more treasures on your site.
Ana
Delicious recipe that came together quickly. Thanks for the recipe!
Cindy Belyeu
Kaitlin, I made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely delicious! No one missed meat at all! Thanks for sharing!
Deb
I made this for dinner this evening. My husband loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Sport1girl
My world is rocked! Absolutely delish and the enchilada sauce is amazing. Inexpensive, quick as good as my favorite Mexican restaurant. I added half a fresh jalapeno and some mushrooms. Thank you so much.
Mary Flick
Made this great recipe earlier this week, and my husband is already requesting we make it again. "The best ever" to quote him. Thank you.
brandi
It's about time I extend my thanks! I've been making these amazing enchiladas for about a year now. They're in my regular cycle. Everyone LOVES them! So, thank you! Very much... these are amazing!
Sarah Harper-tarantolo
I LOVE these enchilladas! That is a lot coming from me, because I love Mexican food, but I've always avoided enchilladas because they always wind up swimming in sauce with a dull filling. Enter this recipe, and I am an enchillada believer (my husbad, enchillada lover, thanks you)!
Skye Travis
Kaitlin, I'm Beverly's neighbor and she had us over on Halloween and served this. It was SO delicious! I asked for the recipe and she gave me your blog address. I love what I'm seeing here! Thank you for investing so much of your time to share these wonderful recipes. This one will be made often in my house and I look forward to trying more.
Kaitlin McGinn
That's so fun to hear - glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for your sweet comments about the blog. Hope you and your family love any other recipes you try!
Catherine Salisbury
Hi there. I've been using your enchilada recipe for over a year now and they always get rave reviews! I'm the only vegetarian in my office but the entire staff loves these. My boss even grants me leave so that I can make these at home and bring them in for lunch! I'm planning on making them this week for a surprise office birthday party and was wondering if anyone has tried heating these in a crock pot instead of the oven? Normally I would just make them from home and bring them in to the office but I won't have that option this week. Any suggestions are much appreciated, thanks!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That's awesome! I love your thought of using a slow cooker. My best guess would be to layer them, with plenty of enchilada sauce in between so they don't stick together (you'll probably have 2 or 3 layers depending on the size of your slow cooker). Then cook on low for 3-ish hours? The only issue I can think of is they may get a little soggy in the slow cooker, so you could also try a stacked/layered enchilada casserole using corn tortillas instead. Would love to hear if you try it out and how it goes! Thanks so much for your sweet message. Have a great party!
Catherine Salisbury
I'm happy to say that these worked perfectly in the crock pot and the office staff was happy to be guinea pigs for my experiment. I lined my crock pot with foil first, then added a thin layer of the sauce. I had a total of four layers so I only used 5 of my tortillas. My layers went tortilla, mixture, sauce, ending with a tortilla on top. I did not sauté my spinach first and was a little worried about the moisture they would release while cooking but, it still turned out just fine. The only thing I would have changed would be lining the crock pot with the foil. In the future I will just rub some olive oil on the bottom of the crock pot to prevent sticking; my bottom tortilla was stuck to the foil. Thank you so much for such a terrific recipe and the great advice on cooking them in the crock pot!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So fun to hear the crock pot worked. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know. I love that you tested this out!
Janet
SO GOOD!!! Just made it for dinner. I dislike cilantro, so I substituted Italian parsley. Can't wait to serve this to my (grown) kids! Thanks a lot!
Anonymous
These are the best enchiladas out there. My hubby can't stop asking when we will have them again! I serve with a little sour cream and sometimes instead of the sauce in the recipe I use green Herdez brand sauce in the glass jar.
Jennifer H
This was the first recipe I tried from your site. We really enjoyed it! It was even better for lunch the next day. A definite keeper in our house. Even the carnivores in the family enjoyed them. We're split here - 2 vegetarians, 3 carnivores. It's nice to find something we all enjoy. Thanks!
Jo Cory
This is my husband's favorite dinner! He is always asking me to make this. Do easy and delicious. I make a few small changes I add more chili powder and a fresh green chili. I also skip the cheese and make guacamole to top it with. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe.
Blair
This is the first vegetarian meal that my husband loves! We make it all the time and I'm cooking it tonight for a group of 10 girls! Thanks for sharing!
Amanda
I've made these more times than I can count and they're AMAZING! My boyfriend absolutely loves them and requests them almost weekly. Sometimes he even asks for a bowl of just the enchilada sauce when I'm working on them to eat before dinner because it's so good! Thanks a bunch for such an easy and delicious recipe.
Robyn Sirmans
So I had this recipe pinned for nearly a YEAR! I was going through my board over the weekend and after reading the reviews I decided to give it a try. I've gotta be honest, I was not expecting to LOVE these as I do! I'm my father's child and a "meal ain't a meal without some meat in it!" But these enchiladas blew me away! They are SOOO yummy! I'm a single gal so I halved the recipe but I'm wishing I made more to freeze for later. Thanks so much! These enchiladas ROCK! I'll pin my picture with your link later tonight.
One4theBookz
This recipe is nothing short of amazing! Followed it to the T and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous
I'm making these for the second time tonight. They are absolutely amazing! I've sent the link to this page to almost everyone I know! Thanks!
Sarah McKnight
I've made these twice in two weeks, the second time at my husband's request. I'm never satisfied with canned enchilada sauce (I started making black bean and spinach enchiladas with a sweet potato or pumpkin sauce just to avoid the enchilada sauce), so I was immediately drawn to this homemade sauce, which is SO easy to make and so yummy! I ended up making way too much of the sauce tonight, so I'll have some in the freezer!
I did make a few changes: corn tortillas, steamed frozen bagged spinach, diced white onion in the filling, and nixed the cilantro (it tastes/smells like soap to me), and extra chili powder....which considering how bad I am about changing recipes is almost nothing!
Anyway, thanks for such a great, easy recipe. I love them, my husband loves them, and our 14 month old ate like 3 of them!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Your recipe changes sound great! Thanks for sharing!
Courtney
Made these tonight using homemade whole wheat tortillas. Loved this recipe and so did the family. I added some sliced mushrooms when I sautéed the spinach. Super good!!
Katie Huss
We made this tonight and give it two big thumbs up! Unfortunately our baking tray only accommodated 7 enchiladas, so we had some filling left over. If anyone else has this issue, we discovered that the filling made a great makeshift salsa for tortilla chips!
Anonymous
Fantastic recipe, so glad I found it! Forgot to sauté the spinach, but it still cooked up nice and tender almost as if I had anyway. Was out of chili powder, and added a few dashes of Tabasco and sriracha sauces. Just right and yummy.
Mama Amerson
These were amazing! Three bites in, my totally meat eating husband, was asking me to make them again! One week later and here we go again! Thank you!
kclawrence
These enchiladas are so great! I didn't have corn so I used some sautéed zucchini. Amazing! Thanks!
Anonymous
I made these tonight for dinner, they were delicious! I used half kale and half spinach and they turned out really well.
Anonymous
I made these last night for company and they are soo good! I doubled the amount of chili powder for the sauce and everyone LOVED it!
Joanna
I made these tonight, they were delicious, and my husband says he going to bug me to make them every week! My 2 year old gobbled some up too! This recipe is enough to make two dinners for us which is an added bonus! Thanks!
Anonymous
These are fantastic! My 2.5 year old who won't touch green vegetables right now devours them and doesn't even notice that there is a bunch of spinach in it. The sauce is also divine. I will never buy packet sauce mixes again.
Anonymous
I just made this tonight, it was delicious! I will definitely be making this again. My kids age 4 and 6 also enjoyed it (and they normally turn their nose up to anything green). Thanks for the recipe!
Ange Culler
Since I have zero skill at making enchiladas and lack the inclination to spend the necessary time to perfect the art, I made this as a lasagna type casserole, layering sauce, tortillas, and filling. It turned out fantastic and was a huge hit both at home and when I took the leftovers to work.
Anonymous
These were amazing enchiladas!! The only thing that I would change is how the sauce is made. Instead of adding the veggie broth to the flour/tomato paste mixture (which made my sauce super chunky because the tomato paste and flour didn't have enough liquid to mix well together), I would add the flour/tomato paste to the veggie broth, allowing them to mix more smoothly. Otherwise, everything else was wonderful. Thanks for the recipe!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you for sharing! Great tip!
Anonymous
These are AMAZING! I've recently gone vegetarian and I didn't miss the meat at all! Thank so much! These will become a staple I'm sure!
Sarah
Hi Kaitlin! I've got a can of black beans, corn tortillas, tomato paste, cumin, and the right amount of fresh spinach left in the fridge/pantry before my next grocery shop - so it's FINALLY time to try your awesome "viral" recipe! I'm so proud every time I see it circulating around Pinterest - so many of my friends have pinned it through other sources...amazing! Congrats on your success! LOVE you!
Jess
These enchiladas are absolutely delicious! I have made them twice and followed the freezer tips for the extras. They turned out great! Definitely a keeper!
Natalie
These are literally my FAVORITE meal to cook & eat right now. So delicious! I would recommend these to anyone. Making them again tonight for my mom and sisters. Thanks so much for sharing.
Eliza Wuestner
Thanks for posting this recipe, my family absolutely loved it and so did I! I'm sure it will be a regular meal at our place. Keep up the wonderful cooking and inspiring recipes!
Cat @ No Wooden Spoons
I don't often comment on recipes I find on pinterest, but since this is our new family favorite I wanted to say how much we love it! I follow the recipe exactly and it always comes out perfect! I'm excited to make this for our next house guests! Such an awesome dish!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hello, Cat! I feel honored you came back and left a comment. Thank you!
Rebecca Fontes
I made these tonight. The only thing I changed was that instead of rolling the filling up in the tortillas I just coated them in sauce and layered everything like a casserole. In any case, they were AMAZING! Now that I've found this blog my transition to going vegetarian shouldn't be so difficult! Thanks a million!
Greg Keener
Just wanted to add my voice to the praise--amazing, amazing dish. Next time I might add a little heat to the sauce, but other than that it was perfect. Thanks for posting it!
Violet
Everyone in my family loved these! The only change I made was to use frozen spinach (thawed, of course) because I forgot to buy fresh spinach on my way home from work. The recipe was SO easy and the kids all asked if we could have them again soon. Thank you!
Kara
These look and sound amazing - I am definitely making them this weekend! Have you ever made these as a freezer meal? If so, how much longer would you bake after freezing?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great thought! I haven't tried these as a freezer meal, but I bet they would hold up pretty well! They'd probably require an extra 20 minutes or so of baking from the freezer? Let me know if you ever test it out, and I'll be sure to update if I ever do.
Kara
Hi - I have since made these twice, and discovered they do work great as a freezer meal. I made the enchiladas as you outlined above, stopping before adding the sauce and cheese to the top. I froze the enchiladas and the sauce separately. Thawed the sauce in the fridge overnight, then when I was ready to bake, I heated the sauce slowly in a saucepan - whisking helped keep it smooth. Then poured the sauce over the frozen enchiladas, added some cheese, and baked @ 400, covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes. They turned out just like the fresh versions! Since I make freezer meals to give as gifts at Christmas, I'm excited to add this one to the mix. Thanks for the recipe! It's one of my favorites.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
This is amazing. Thanks so much for testing it out and coming back to share with us all. I'm going to update the recipe with your freezing instructions so others can benefit from it as well. Thank you! And what a great idea giving freezer meals at Christmas. Happy holidays!