Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas

Say hello to my new favorite meal: 

Sweet roasted butternut squash and red onions get tucked inside corn tortillas with smoky black beans, then smothered in homemade enchilada sauce and sprinkled with cheddar cheese. The enchiladas are then baked to crispy, golden, bubbly perfection and topped with slices of avocado and a handful of cilantro.

If you know someone who boldly proclaims they could never, ever, in a million years stop eating meat, I highly recommend showing up at their doorstep with a pan of these enchiladas. I also highly recommend showing up at my doorstep with a pan of these enchiladas because I love them so very much. 

Thanks in advance for cooking all my recipes and then feeding them to me. 

I’m not here to convince anyone to become a vegetarian; unless prompted, I rarely ever bring up the fact that I don’t eat meat. What I am trying to do is get you excited about cooking and eating food that is just as healthy as it is satisfying. I’m also not-so-secretly trying to get you to go outside and hike more often. Seriously, I love hiking. I also really love enchiladas, which brings me to this recipe. 

Have you made enchiladas before? Please say you have. These babies are like Mexican lasagna rolls full of sugar and spice and everything nice (but, mostly just full of beans and butternut). I used to buy enchilada sauce in a jar at the store until one day I turned around the jar and read the ingredients and thought:

1. Holy mother of burritos, is this even real food in here?  

2. I can definitely make this myself.

3. I need to make some enchiladas, ASAP.

And so, a sauce was born. Onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and paprika get sauteed until fragrant and simmered with fire roasted tomatoes and broth until thick, then pureed until silky. The sauce is like the lifeforce of an enchilada: you need to go heavy on it, and make sure its bold and flavorful. Without the sauce, you essentially just have crusty, dry, baked burritos. Ain’t nobody got time for that. 

I also highly recommend pairing these with a side salad and a margarita. What? Don’t look at me that way: Thursdays in January need all the help they can get.  

I hope you’ll give these simple, hearty enchiladas a try. They’re perfectly saucy, cheesy, and comforting, yet packed with good-for-you ingredients!  You can even make a double batch and freeze a pan for busy nights ahead. 

When you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I love to see what you create! 

Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas

Chelsea Colbath

Enchiladas are one of those dishes that ends up being greater than the sum of it's parts. Roasted butternut squash, black beans, and cheese get rolled up inside tortillas, smothered in a smoky homemade enchilada sauce, and baked until golden and bubbly. Double this recipe if you're feeding a crowd!

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Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 small butternut squash
• 1/2 a small red onion
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
• 1 15- ounce can black beans
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons enchilada sauce
• 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 8 small corn or flour tortillas I used a corn-wheat blend
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar or other favorite cheese of choice
• 1 1/2 cups homemade enchilada sauce*
• cilantro avocado, and lime, for topping (optional)

Instructions

 

• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• 2. Peel and dice the butternut squash and onion. Add them to the sheet pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Leave oven on.
• 3. While the butternut squash roasts, make enchilada sauce (recipe in previous post).
• 4. Drain the can of black beans and dump them into a small bowl. Add cumin, chili, garlic powder, salt, cilantro, and 2 T enchilada sauce, and stir to combine. As you stir, slightly mash the beans to help them stick together better.
• 5. Assemble the enchiladas: spread about 3/4 cup of enchilada sauce onto the bottom of a large baking dish. Onto each tortilla, place two tablespoons of beans, a spoonful of roasted butternut and onion, and a pinch of shredded cheese. Roll, and place into the dish. Repeat until all 8 tortillas are filled, rolled, and in the pan. Top with remaining sauce and cheese, and bake for 20 minutes.
• 6. Remove enchiladas from the oven and top with sliced avocado, cilantro, lime juice, and a pinch of salt, if desired. Eat immediately.

Notes

*Sauce recipe is linked in the above blog post. Alternately, you can use your favorite store-bought sauce in a pinch.

The messier, the better.