Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas

I realize this sounds a little funky….but I promise, it works! I’ve never been an enchilada person, but for some reason in the past few months, I’ve grown to love them. I’ve made them a couple times and ordered them at restaurants, I guess I’ve discovered enchiladas a little late in life? I made this recipe last week after my 18 mile run but I was too lazy, aka sore, to take pictures. I wish I had because they were really good! So, I decided to make them again last night and this time, document them.

I wasn’t sure how these would taste because of the pumpkin. It sounds weird, mostly because I’m not sure pumpkin is ever really incorporated in mexican food? But the pumpkin flavor is definitely subtle. In fact, you might not even notice it if you didn’t know it was in there. I think it adds a good thickness to the filling and the sauce. Since these are vegetarian, it’s missing the chunkiness the meat usually provides. So, I think the pumpkin adds some good texture as well as flavor.

Here are the ingredients I used:

Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas

Inspired by a recipe found on Peanut Butter Fingers.

• 1 can pumpkin-about 2 and 1/2 cups
• 1 can black beans
• 3/4 yellow onion, chopped
• Large bunch of cilantro, chopped. I love cilantro so I use a lot, but you can use as much as you’d like.
• 1 tbsp cumin-original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tbsp of cumin. I’m not in love with cumin, I find it a little overpowering sometimes so I used less.
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 5 small wheat tortillas

First, I chopped up the onion and cooked it until it was translucent. The original recipe calls for a couple garlic cloves too but we didn’t have any (the horror!).

Once the onions were cooked, I added the enchilada sauce, pumpkin, cilantro, cumin, and chili powder.

Once it was all mixed together, I spread a thin layer of the mix on a 9X9 pan. Next, I added the black beans to the rest of the enchilada mix in the pan and let it cook for a couple minutes. Then it was time to fill the tortillas!

I filled the tortillas then placed them folded edges faced down in the baking pan.

I poured the remaining enchilada mix on top of the tortillas, then covered them with cheese!

I baked the enchilada goodness at 400 degrees for about ten minutes.

Mmmm I love that melted cheese! You could serve this up with some greek yogurt and avocados. I actually just had it as is, mostly because I was too hungry to make anything else!

I really like this recipe. It’s super easy, quick, and delicious! The last time I made it I made half vegetarian and half with shredded chicken. Either way, it’s delicious! So, it’s a pretty versatile recipe- you could keep it vegetarian, add meat, or even make it vegan. It’s a good one! Definitely a keeper!