Enfrijoladas are similar to enchiladas made with corn tortillas and dipped in a creamy black bean sauce. They're savory, filling, and incredibly delicious! It will become your new favorite Mexican dish!
If you've never heard of enfrijoladas don't worry. I had no idea what they were until we were contemplating moving to Mexico. In the US, most Mexican restaurants I've found lean more towards TexMex than actual Mexican cuisine so I had never heard of enfrijoladas until we visited Mexico.
What are enfrijoladas?
They are similar to enchiladas and are made by smothering corn tortillas in a creamy black bean sauce. Traditionally they are garnished with Mexican queso fresco. They originated in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
Being vegan, I first tried them at Vegan Planet in Cancun, Mexico. I don't think stuffing them with potatoes is traditional, normally I believe it's cheese or meat, but that is how they served it at Vegan Planet and I thought it was delicious! So I used potatoes as well because who doesn't love potatoes? It makes this dish extra filling and satiating.
They also topped it with a creamy sauce, avocado, and onion which pulled the whole dish together. I did my best to recreate a similar sauce using garlic and hemp seeds.
My recipe is my no-means authentic but it is a delicious vegan take on enfrijoladas and a recipe that I enjoy making often.
Ingredients Needed
This recipe requires only basic ingredients that you most likely already have on hand.
Here's what you'll need:
- Russet potatoes
- yellow onion
- white corn tortillas (these are my recommendations for the best vegan tortillas)
- avocados
- black beans with the liquid from the cans
- hemp seeds
- lemon juice
- unsweetened non-dairy milk
- garlic cloves
- cumin
- salt
- black pepper
- chili powder optional
- cilantro to garnish
How to make vegan enfrijoladas
There's four stages to making your vegan enfrijoladas, but don't worry, they're quite easy.
Start with making the potato stuffing
Place the potatoes in a large sauce pan. Fill up the pan with water enough to cover the potatoes. Bring water to a boil, cover, and turn down heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.
While the potatoes simmer, in a medium skillet add the onion and a little bit of water to keep it from sticking. Sauté on medium heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Set aside.
Once the potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain until ⅓ cup of the boiled water remains. Mash the potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. Add in half the onions and mix well. Save the other half for topping.
Make the Black Bean sauce
Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a high-speed blender, including the liquid from the cans of black beans. Blend well until you reach a consistency like thick soup. Add water or vegetable broth if needed to reach the right consistency. If you would like, add in chili powder for more spice and blend.
Pour the sauce into a pan on medium heat until heated through (about 5 minutes).
Make the Garlic Sauce
Blend all ingredients for the garlic sauce on high for 1-2 minutes or until mixture is very smooth. Add water as needed to thin it to a dressing consistency.
Assemble
Warm the tortillas in the microwave or oven. Dip them in the sauce, then add the potato mixture to the inside and fold the tortilla in half. Top with more bean sauce, garlic sauce, avocado slices, and garnish with cilantro.
You could also roll them up like enchiladas or fold them in quarters which is more traditional to how they are prepared in Oaxaca. I just like the easy fold-in-half method which is how they were served at Vegan Planet. Feel free to get fancy with it!
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📖 Recipe
Black Bean Enfrijoladas
Ingredients
- 2 Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 12 white corn tortillas
- 2 avocados, sliced
- cilantro, to garnish
For the Black Bean Sauce:
- 2 15-oz cans black beans, no salt added
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder, optional
For the Garlic Sauce:
- ½ cup hemp seeds
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
For the potato stuffing:
- Place the potatoes in a large sauce pan. Fill up the pan with water enough to cover the potatoes. Bring water to a boil, cover, and turn down heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.2 Russet potatoes
- While the potatoes simmer, in a medium skillet add the onion and a little bit of water to keep it from sticking. Sauté on medium heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Set aside.1 small yellow onion
- Once the potatoes are done, remove from heat and drain until ⅓ cup of the boiled water remains. Mash the potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. Add in half the onions and mix well. Save the other half for topping.
For the Black Bean sauce:
- Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a high-speed blender. Blend well. The consistency should be like thick soup. Add water or vegetable broth if needed to reach the right consistency. If you would like, add in chili powder for more spice and blend.2 15-oz cans black beans, 4 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- Pour the sauce into a pan on medium heat until heated through (about 5 minutes).
For the Garlic Sauce:
- In a high speed blender or food processor, blend all ingredients on high for 1-2 minutes or until mixture is very smooth. Add water as needed to thin it to a dressing consistency.½ cup hemp seeds, ½ lemon, 1 clove garlic, 3 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
To assemble:
- Warm the tortillas in the microwave or oven. Dip them in the black bean sauce, then add the potato mixture to the inside and fold the tortilla in half. Top with more bean sauce, garlic sauce, avocado slices, the rest of the onions and garnish with cilantro.12 white corn tortillas, 2 avocados, cilantro
Nutrition Per Serving
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Alocasia
This recipe sounds amazing. I can't wait to try it. Question....which sauce am I dipping the tortilla into?
Rachel
You'll dip the tortilla into the black bean sauce. Just added the note to the recipe card to clarify. Hope you enjoy it!!
Krissy
What can you use instead of hemp seeds?
Rachel
You can use sunflower seeds or raw cashews instead.