I’ve been eating these Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas for lunch all week and the fact that I only have one serving left almost makes me want to cry… I might have to make a second batch pronto. Yes, they’re that good.
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It’s All About the Enchilada Sauce
What makes these enchiladas so amazing? Not only are they filled with super fresh flavors, but they’re smothered in a homemade enchilada sauce. Now, if you’ve made my homemade enchilada sauce before you know that it takes less than ten minutes to make and is 100x better than the canned stuff.
Well, this time I went one step further and added a little cocoa powder to the enchilada sauce. OMG. You won’t believe how rich and amazing the cocoa makes the sauce! It doesn’t taste like chocolate, just extra rich and good. It’s the same amazing chili/chocolate combo that works magic in the Aztec Cocoa. SO. GOOD.
The Simple Filling
Black beans give these enchiladas filling power and avocado offers that creaminess that you’d usually get from cheese. If you’re vegan, just make sure your tortillas don’t contain lard (some do, some don’t). Or, try making your own!
Should I Use Corn or Flour Tortillas for Enchiladas?
Enchiladas are supposed to be wrapped in corn tortillas, not flour flour tortillas, but I’m all about doing what makes you happy. Use whichever type of tortilla you like. But whatever type you use, consider giving them a quick toast in a hot skillet before wrapping your enchilada filling. It will give your enchiladas some extra toasty flavor!
Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas
Servings 5 two per servingIngredients
ENCHILADA SAUCE
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil* ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder** ($0.60)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 3 oz. tomato paste (1/2 of a 6oz can) ($0.23)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.03)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
ENCHILADAS
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.59)
- 1 avocado ($1.50)
- 1 tomato ($0.86)
- 2 green onions ($0.13)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.33)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro ($0.13)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 10 8-inch tortillas*** ($2.49)
Instructions
- First prepare the enchilada sauce. In a medium sauce pot combine the cooking oil, flour, and chili powder. Heat the mixture over a medium flame until it begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the bubbling paste for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the water while whisking. Add the tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cocoa powder, and salt. Whisk until smooth and continue to heat over a medium flame. Let the sauce come up to a gentle simmer, at which point the sauce will thicken. Once thickened, turn off the heat and set the sauce aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Drain and rinse the can of beans, then add them to a large bowl. Cube the avocado, dice the tomato, slice the green onion, and pull a handful of cilantro leaves from their stems. Add them all to the bowl, along with the frozen corn kernels. Stir everything together. Season with a little salt and garlic powder.
- Coat a casserole dish with non-stick spray. Fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup of filling and roll tightly. Place the filled tortillas in the casserole dish, seam side down. Once all of the filled enchiladas are in the dish, pour the enchilada sauce over top.
- Bake the enchiladas in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until they’re heated through and the sauce is bubbly along the edges. Top with any remaining cilantro and enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Black Bean Enchiladas – Step By Step Photos
Start with the amazing sauce, so that it will be ready to go on the enchiladas later. Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil, 2 Tbsp flour, and 2 Tbsp chili powder to a medium sauce pot. Turn the heat on to medium and begin to whisk them together.
The mixture will begin to bubble. Keep whisking and cooking, after it begins bubbling, for 1-2 minutes. This toasts the flour and chili powder for maximum flavor.
Next, carefully add 2 cups of water, then 3 oz. tomato paste, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tsp cocoa powder. Whisk it all in until smooth, and continue to cook over medium heat until it comes up to a gentle simmer. When it starts simmering it will begin to thicken up. Once it’s thickened, just turn off the heat and set it aside until you’re ready to use it.
Begin preheating the oven to 350ºF. Drain and rinse one 15oz. can black beans, then add them to a bowl. Dice one avocado and one small tomato, slice two green onions, and add them all to the bowl. Pull a handful of cilantro leaves from the stems and add it to the bowl, along with 1 cup frozen corn kernels. Stir everything together and then season with about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder.
Next, add a little of the filling to each tortilla and then roll it up tight. I used 8-inch flour tortillas and made 10 enchiladas, each with about 1/3 cup filling.
Roll the enchiladas tightly and then arrange them in your dish. Oh, and coat the dish with non-stick spray if you want the enchiladas to come out in one piece.
Then pour that amazing sauce over top! Bake the enchiladas in a preheated 350ºF oven for 25-30 minutes, or until they’re heated through and the sauce is bubbling along the sides.
It’s sad because the pictures don’t do these Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas justice. They’re SO GOOD. I wish you could see the carnival of flavors that are going on inside…
I promise they’ll “disappear” quickly. ;)
Unfortunately I found the enchilada sauce to be way too hot for my liking, so I couldn’t eat it after the first bite. I was a fool and didn’t taste-test the sauce beforehand. Maybe less chilli sauce or cayenne next time? I’m not sure. But I bet it would’ve been delicious otherwise!
Hey Beth! Can I make the enchilada sauce a day ahead of time? I love this recipe and want to make it at the cabin, but don’t want to cart all the ingredients. Thanks!
Yes, you can!
Thanks!
Delicious! Do you have any recommendations for how to freeze this?
I actually haven’t tried freezing this one, unfortunately. My only concern would be the fresh vegetables in the filling that might get a little watery.
Thanks for getting back to me. I experimented and made them last night. I mixed all ingredients except oil and flour in a sauce pan until hot, then added cornstarch until desired consistency. They tasted amazing!!! My husband says he wants to can the sauce so it’s always on hand. Thanks for a great recipe!
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing the outcome! Hopefully it will help someone else who has the same question. :)
Thanks Trish, I followed your lead and used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and no oil. Perfect enchilada sauce, finally! My boyfriend must watch his sodium and I have tried many recipes that did not work, but this one did, so thank you also Beth. So easy too!
Hoping to make this soon. We are vegan and oil free. Any ideas on what to use instead of oil in the sauce? Would vegetable stock work? Or maybe it could just be omitted? Thanks for any advice, it looks amazing!
The oil plays a really important part in the roux that thickens the sauce, so unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to recommend an alternative without doing some testing.
This recipe heading says it all; it’s all about the sauce. So rich & delicious I hope to never buy it from a can again. Recipe was super easy to follow & delicious. I used the carb balance tortillas. Great recipe, will definitely do again.
I didn’t know quite what to expect with this since I have never made enchilada sauce myself, and though I have had savory sauces with cocoa, I was very curious how it would change it. What I can say is that I never need to buy enchilada sauce again. I accidentally doubled the cayenne but it was really good anyway, I enjoyed the heat it brought. The filling was very refreshing compared to my extra spicy sauce and it paired well. I’m actually thinking of making these again this week and I’m not even done eating them yet. May as well use the rest of the tomato paste, right?
I made the enchiladas today and they’re absolutely amazing. I can’t eat cilantra(thanks to genetics it tastes like soap) so I sprinkled a little queso blaco on them to garnish.
Is it possible to freeze these?
I’ve been meaning to leave this review. Why are you so magical when it comes to recipes? This is amazing and the instructions and pics are perfect! We make this every Monday for our ” Meatless Monday” attempt. Thank you!
Thank you, Crystal! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. ☺️
Hi, what size pan do you recommend for this? i use a 9×13 pan but my enchiladas are sticking out of my dish and the sauce pours out.
I believe we also used a 9×13 dish, but ours might be a bit deeper. You could use a 10×15 instead if you have one, or fill up your 9×13 dish and bake the extra in another, smaller dish. If they all fit in the dish but spill over just slightly, you could line a cookie sheet with foil and put it on the rack under the casserole dish to catch the drippings so they don’t scorch on the bottom of the oven. ~ Marion
I loved that I could make these with minimal purchased ingredients. We are at the beach property doing work and trying to save money, and didn’t want to buy a ton of stuff that required a single teaspoon while the rest went in the garbage after we leave in 3 days. Thank you for this.
In the end, I felt like the enchilada sauce overpowered the lovely filling. I think I would like to play with the recipe to somehow change that. Anticipating this, I added more avocado to the top of the dish after I pulled it out of the oven, and then some sour cream when I served it, which successfully toned it down, but it wasn’t quite enough. It was altogether tasty, but I really yearned for that black bean, tomato, avocado filling to fill my palate and it didn’t happen.
I’m going to try this one again. I’m not sure what I’ll do, though. It needs to be sauce-y and I don’t want to fatten it up with cheese…
Thanks for a great recipe with lots of leftovers we can pop in the freezer for our return!!!
Absolutely fantastic recipe. The enchilada sauce is 100x better than canned.
Easy, delicious and affordable which is everything I love about this site.
Thank you again for an amazing recipe!
Even my kids like this meal. I love that I can get them to eat veggies when I prepare this for dinner. I have used various different types of enchilada sauce paired with the filling from this recipe and it always tastes great. Thanks!
Made this recipe for the first time last night and it was delicious! I used fresh corn tortillas and they wouldn’t roll properly so I just made enchilada pie with tortillas on the bottom and the top. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough sauce, but there was plenty. Thank you for the delicious recipe. It was also very easy.
Delicious! Since I can’t eat avocado I followed the idea of an earlier reviewer to use butternut squash instead– worked great– pretty and yummy, too. Thanks for another “keeper” recipe!
This recipe is a big hit in my household for Meatless Monday! The sauce is amazing. Sometimes I dice up some poblano for the filling also. A helpful hit to anyone having issues with the tortillas falling apart: microwave them for about 30 seconds and they’ll hold together better.