I know it’s still only February, but I am SO ready for Cinco de Mayo. So, in the spirit of yummy margaritas and Mexican food, I whipped up these incredible Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas. The spicy chorizo is the perfect contrast to the creamy and slightly sweet tasting sweet potatoes. Poblano peppers add just a bit more heat and a bit of freshness to bring it all together. They’re so simple, yet oh-so good!
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What Kind of Enchilada Sauce Should I Use?
I used my own homemade Easy Red Enchilada Sauce for these enchiladas because it’s super fast to make, tastes 100x better than the canned stuff, and costs less. If you’ve never made my enchilada sauce before, you’ve got to try it. I promise you’ll never go back to the can.
What Kind of Tortillas Should I Use?
Corn tortillas are best for enchiladas, and don’t forget to toast them first! Toasting the tortillas, either over an open flame or in a dry skillet, gives the tortillas a wonderfully toasty corn flavor. That being said, I ended up using flour tortillas for these. Don’t judge! Sometimes you’ve got to use what’s on hand and using flour tortillas are better than not making enchiladas at all. ;) Flour tortillas don’t get as much benefit from toasting as corn tortillas do, so you can skip that step when using flour tortillas.
Can You Freeze Enchiladas?
Yes! This makes a great make-ahead meal. After baking, divide the enchiladas into single serving containers. Chill the enchiladas in the refrigerator first, then transfer them to the freezer the next day. They’ll be good in the freezer for about three months and can be reheated quickly in the microwave.
Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Servings 8 enchiladasIngredients
- 1 lb. sweet potato ($1.17)
- 1 poblano pepper ($0.75)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.08)
- 3 links 3/4 lb. chorizo ($3.00)
- 8 7-inch tortillas ($1.26)
- 1 batch homemade enchilada sauce* ($0.80)
- 1.5 cups shredded cheese ($1.50)
- 3-4 green onions, sliced ($0.21)
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potato and cut it into small cubes (about 1/4-inch). Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and also dice into 1/4-inch pieces. Mince the garlic.
- In a large skillet, sauté the sweet potato, poblano, and garlic in vegetable oil over medium heat until they begin to soften (about 5-7 minutes). Squeeze the chorizo out of it’s casing into the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat, breaking up the chorizo into pieces as you stir, until the chorizo is cooked through (5-7 minutes more).
- Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the chorizo sweet potato filling into each tortilla, then roll into a cigar shape. Place the filled and rolled tortillas in the baking dish, seam side down. They should fill the dish and fit tightly against each other to prevent unrolling.
- Pour the enchilada sauce over the the rolled tortillas and top with shredded cheese. Bake in the oven until the edges begin to bubble (about 20-25 minutes). Top with sliced green onions after baking. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!You might also like our Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers!
How to Make Sweet Potato Enchiladas – Step By Step Photos
Start with a medium sized sweet potato (about 1 lb.) and one poblano pepper. Peel and dice the sweet potato into 1/4-inch cubes. Cut the stem off the pepper, slice lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Dice the pepper into pieces similar in size to the sweet potato. Mince a couple of cloves of garlic (not pictured).
Add the diced sweet potato, poblano, and minced garlic to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp vegetable oil. Sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften (5-7 minutes).
You’ll notice that the sweet potato cubes begin to look slightly translucent as they soften.
This is the chorizo I used. You’ll need Mexican chorizo, which is a fresh sausage, as opposed to Spanish chorizo, which is a cured sausage (and hard). I only used 3 of the 5 links here because I wanted an even mix of meat and veggies. The other two were frozen for later use.
Squeeze the chorizo out of its casing into the skillet. Break the sausage up with your spatula as it cooks. Sauté the chorizo until it is fully browned (5-7 minutes). Chorizo can be kind of oily so if you’re concerned about the fat, cook the chorizo in a separate skillet and then drain off the fat before adding it to the sweet potato mix.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the chorizo sweet potato filling into each 7-inch tortilla (I used flour, but you can use corn if you prefer). Roll the tortillas into a cigar shape.
Place all of the filled and rolled enchiladas in a baking dish, seam side down (coat the dish with non-stick spray for easy clean up). Make sure they’re packed in closely so that they don’t unroll.
Pour red enchilada sauce over top of the filled enchiladas. I used my homemade Easy Red Enchilada Sauce, although I only added about 3/4 of the batch. You can use a 15oz. can of store bought sauce, if needed.
Sprinkle 1.5 cups shredded cheese over the enchiladas and place them in a preheated 375ºF oven. Bake until the sauce begins to bubble around the edges (about 20-25 minutes).
And then when it comes out it will be all ooey, gooey and delicious! Top the Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiladas with 3-4 sliced green onions, then ENJOY!
YUM.
I made these and they went over quite well with the dinner crowd. For a vegetarian version, I substituted 12 oz. Trader Joe’s soyrizo (recently reformulated and very crumbly but tasty enough, I suppose) and some whole grain tortillas I like. This made enough for 9 tortillas with half a cup of the filling in each, which fit in a 9 x 11 pan with space for one more burrito.
Warning! Though poblanos aren’t hot, apparently at least some part of them still has enough capsaicin to make your fingers burn for hours. Take my word for it.
This recipe intrigued me, I’ve made a lot of enchiladas in my time, but never any with sweet potato. I grew up making enchiladas in my mothers kitchen, typically chicken and cheese with the green style sauce, so I thought I’d give these a go. The flavor was interesting, it definitely needed more chili powder as it wasn’t quite spicy enough for my taste, but the balance of sweet and spicy was really nice. The only part where the recipe broke down for me was the texture. The flour tortillas with sauce just are far too soggy for my taste. I ended up redoing this using the traditional corn tortillas which I quick fried in the pan (2 seconds in really hot oil), dipped in the enchilada sauce and then stuffed and rolled. I followed the remainder of your process, topping with the leftover sauce and baking in the oven. My husband and I both found them very enjoyable.
Hi Beth! I first made this recipe in 2012, and I have made it many times since as my fiance always requests it. I live in Australia so have had to make some adaptations. I have never seen chili powder, enchilada sauce or poblano peppers, so I use a very reduced amount of chilli powder to make your enchilada sauce and I sub green capsicum for the pepper. The first time I made it it was soooo spicy as I didn’t know there was a difference between chili powder and chilli powder lol. Anyway each time I’ve made it it’s been better and better! Thanks for this awesome recipe
These are crazy good! My daughter and I ate them every meal until they were gone. She’s already requested it be put on the menu again! So, so good!!!
You’re site is THE. BEST. There isn’t a recipe that I’ve tried that hasn’t been awesome. That being said, I’m sure this will be great too, but my corn tortillas broke and wouldn’t stay rolled (I think they were too small, but they were all I could find) so I torn them, put half on the bottom of the pan, then the filling, then another layer of tortillas, and the topping. I made your enchilada sauce, and used TJ’s soyrizo (we”ll have to wait and see if my meat-loving husband is any the wiser ;) ) I will come back to give feedback after dinner…they’re in the oven now!!
Way to be innovative, there! That’s what cooking is all about :) I always have problems with corn tortillas, too. If you microwave them for a few seconds with a damp paper towel, that can help make them a bit more pliable, but sometimes they still crack.
made these last night (feliz cinco de mayo!) and they were DELISH. and so so so so soooo easy!!
It’s such a testament to your recipes that you’re still getting comments years later! Add mine to the mix: they were amazing! I was surprised by the lack of beans, and then surprised that I didn’t miss them. SO good.
I made these last night for the first time, using corn tortillas and your home made sauce. It was excellent! I liked the filling so much I could see just eating it by itself. Also, I browned the chorizo first, then took it out of the pan, but used the left over fat to saute the veggies, rather than add more veg oil. It worked great, and made me feel a bit better health wise.
Tried this tonight and it got two thumbs up from the family. Even from my husband who is often suspicious of my culinary experimentation.
And with regard to freezing (something I plan on trying very soon), I would advise making up the enchiladas putting them in a pan, leave OFF the sauce and cheese and freeze the, that way. Then when you thaw, you add the sauce and cheese and throw in the oven. Doing it that way kind of keeps the “just thawed” taste away.
Wow another amazing looking recipe! I love mexican food but we always just stick to chicken with everything so it can get a bit boring.
Oh and pouring away the oil from the Chorizo?! Blasphemy!!! :)
These are terrific! I had never had Chorizo before, and I can’t wait to use the extra to try another recipe. My veggies took quite a bit longer to soften. The sweet potatoes were still very raw after 10 minutes, that part of the process took more like 20 minutes. And the assembly was kind of a hassle. Next time, I’m going to just layer the tortillas and fillings like a mexican lasagna!
Hi. I bought so the ingredients for this, but could not for the life of me find Mexican chorizo. I went to a few grocery stores and even called a couple of butchers. I bought Portuguese style chorizo and plan on trying it. Do you think it will be okay?
Oh, and just bought your cookbook! Can’t wait to get it in the mail!
Hmm, I’ve never had/seen Portuguese style chorizo. Is it a soft, raw type sausage or a cured sausage like salami? If it’s the raw type, it will work just fine. :)
For anyone wanting a veggie version of this dish…I’ve made it twice, once as written and then again without the chorizo (because I realized I am NOT a chorizo person!!).
When I did it without the chorizo I just added an extra sweet potato, a handful of black beans and some taco seasoning. Everyone loved the chorizo version (except me!), but they all said that the vegetarian version was even better.
I made these tonight, and paired them with a mexican rice that I make. I loved them! Hubby was on the fence about the sweet potato….Curious to see what my culinary son says about them when he gets home.
And my son didn’t like them either =( Well, let me rephrase that…they didn’t like the sweet potato. So, I am going to make them again with regular potato and maybe a little less pepper to offset for the lack of sweet? *sigh* they can be so difficult!
If i use beef instead of chorizo, will 1 lb make too much meat?? Thanks!
It will just make more filling. But, be aware, chorizo has a lot of spices and seasonings that give this dish a lot of flavor. Plain ground beef definitely won’t taste the same.
oh, i know, i was planning to season the ground beef with chorizo spice mix! thanks so much!