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!
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
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.
Wow these are so good! My sweet potato ended up pretty undercooked (my fault) and we still couldn’t stop eating it. I used soyrizo, and also the Mole inspired sauce from this site. I highly recommend both of those decisions. Just make sure your sweet potatoes are soft.
Some of the best enchiladas I’ve ever had. Very easy to prepare. I added some sour cream on the side. Can’t wait to have them tomorrow as leftovers.
I made these last night. Husband loved them! I did use canned enchilada sauce as I was in a bit of a hurry. Delicious!
Hi Beth! I originally found this recipe in your cookbook. I just wanted to say, thank you SO much for this recipe! I used spicy chorizo, but other than that, I followed everything in your recipe to a T. My family has a tradition of making “enchiladas” and this recipe is a keeper for me, as someone in the newer generation. I was so happy to see that this is on the website as well. Thank you for such a great recipe!!
Do you think this recipe would be good in a creamy way by adding a package of cream cheese to the chorizo/potato/pepper mix? Or would they fall apart more?
I don’t think it would make them fall apart. I would probably use only about half a package of cream cheese, though (4oz.).
Hey just a suggestion but in the ingredients you list ‘sweet potatoes’, but it appears that in the steps of the recipe you are in fact using a yam! Common misconception, but it may be worth editing the ingredient list so it reflects the correct procedure. Thanks for the delicious recipe otherwise!
No, they’re orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. :) https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/whats-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams-article https://www.bonappetit.com/story/difference-between-sweet-potato-and-yam
Would this work layered like lasagna? Using the tortillas, that is…
Probably :)
The first time I made it, I couldn’t roll the tortillas very well so it ended up that way!
This recipe is a winner! Incredible depth of flavor and easy to prepare. Will definitely be adding this recipe to our rotation of regular dinners!
I love your recipes! Making this next week! I wish the nutritional info was listed with each meal.
I’m sorry, I don’t have a reliable source for the nutritional information.
Would it make sense to use ground chorizo instead of removing the casings?
Love this site, it’s quickly become my first and only stop for weekly recipes!
Yep, if you can get it just ground and not in the casings, go ahead and use that. :) For some reason I can only ever find it in casings. :P
Oh my! I have to try this. Thank you.
Any suggestions for making the dish vegetarian but keeping the same great flavor chorizo lends the dish??
I would try searching for a recipe for Mexican chorizo to check out what spices go into chorizo, then use those spices in the enchiladas. :) You may also want to add a bit more fat, something like coconut oil, to keep the richness of the dish.
I just use a seitan chorizo! I get this one at Whole Foods, but there are probably others: http://www.uptonsnaturals.com/products/chorizo-seitan.
Trader Joes’s Soy Chorizo is so good you could probably trick an omnivore!
Still one of my favorite go-to recipes to have leftovers for work! I’ve been using your recipe for years and have shared it with friends. Thank you!
Just made this recipe for the third time and decided it was time to rate it. This dish is soooo simple and delicious, I keep on coming back to it when I’m stumped on what to make for dinner. Picky boyfriend loves it too — we use slightly less cheese, but follow everything else to the letter and it. is. wonderful.
Tips for reheating from frozen?
I just pop them in the microwave until heated through. :)