Enchilada Beans and Potatoes! Perfect for meal prep, versatile for leftovers, and easy to make, this healthy dish is sure to please!
Bursting with flavor, this Enchilada Beans and Potatoes dish is a comforting meal that is both hearty and wholesome. Think smoky, enchilada-style flavors mingling with creamy pinto beans and perfectly tender potatoes, all brought together with a kiss of spice. A final sprinkle of crumbled corn tortilla adds a delightful flavor, making this dish a nourishing crowd-pleaser that tastes like Sunday supper on a busy weeknight.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We devoured this dish and couldn’t stop raving about it—the flavors hit every note from savory to subtly spicy, with the pinto beans soaking up every bit of enchilada goodness.
If you’re searching for a family-friendly dinner that feels special yet easy, you’ve found it—give this a try and taste how the corn tortilla crunch, the creamy bean potato base, and the bold enchilada seasoning come together in perfect harmony.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Enchilada Beans and Potatoes dish is both hearty and delicious. Savory enchilada flavors blend perfectly with pinto beans and tender potatoes making for a perfectly healthy dish with a touch of corn tortilla goodness.
- Broth: The broth is full of enchilada notes but is not overpowering. The spiciness mellows in the fridge much like chili does. The broth thickens toward the end of the cooking time and will further thicken as it sits for 10 minutes.
- Spices: You can easily ramp up the spices if you wish to suit your own personal preferences.
- Cube/Dice the Potatoes: We used a small dice, slightly larger than ¼-inch. This makes for the perfect bite as well as ensures the potatoes are tender.
- Amount of Diced/Cubed Potatoes: We used 3 cups of small diced (peeled) potatoes. The amount was approximately 4 to 5 medium-to-large-sized potatoes.
- Potatoes: We used all-purpose potatoes. Feel free to use your favorite type potatoes that you would typically use in a soup or stew that can hold its shape.
- Cooking Potatoes in a Stew/Soup: The key to cooking potatoes in a soup or stew is using a very low-percolating boil and not a full rolling boil. Using a full-rolling boil will cause the potatoes to disintegrate. Make sure the potatoes are fully submerged in the broth to ensure even tenderness. Make sure the potatoes are perfectly tender before adding the crushed tortilla chips.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the tomato-based enchilada sauce) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. The baking soda also speeds up the cooking of the potatoes.
- Almond Butter: The almond butter is used to lightly balance the flavors by adding a little fat to the dish. You can leave it out if you wish, but you may need to add other ingredients to compensate.
- Crushed Tortillas in the Dish: The crushed tortillas are optional, but we strongly recommend adding them as they really complete the dish showcasing that yummy enchilada flavor. You can substitute with a teaspoon or two of cornmeal (or masa harina), if you wish. If unsure, leave them out of the dish and then simply top individual dishes with crushed tortilla chips.
- Pinto Beans: Feel free to substitute the pinto beans with black beans or kidney beans.
- Enchilada Sauce: We used our Enchilada Sauce. Feel free to use your favorite enchilada sauce recipe or store-bought enchilada sauce. If purchasing from the store, be sure to select a mild enchilada sauce.
- Diced Green Chiles: Be sure to select mild green chiles and not hot green chiles.
- Regular Chili Powder: Feel free to use your favorite chili powder, just be sure to select a mild one and not one that has a lot of heat to it.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This dish freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Almond Butter: We used Artisana Organics Raw Vegan Almond Butter. Feel free to use your favorite raw almond butter in this recipe. Read the label, make sure the only ingredient is raw almonds. Do not use a salted or sweetened almond butter.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet
If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Enchilada Beans and Potatoes
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 45 Minutes
- Total Time: 65 Minutes
- Yield: 6.5 Cups 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Bursting with flavor, this Enchilada Beans and Potatoes dish is a comforting meal that is both hearty and wholesome.
Ingredients
Skillet Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 medium red bell pepper, small dice
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup [ or 1 – 10 oz. can ] mild enchilada sauce *
- 1 – [ 4 oz. can ] mild diced green chiles, undrained *
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 3 cups diced potatoes, peeled, 1/4-inch cube *
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon regular chili powder (+/-) *
- ½ teaspoon cumin (+/-) *
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Other Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon almond butter *
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 2 – [ 15.25 oz. cans ] pinto beans, drained and rinsed *
- 2 Tablespoons crushed tortilla chips (optional) *
Optional Toppings:
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- Peel and cube the potatoes, place in a bowl of cold water, set aside. When ready to use in Step 5, drain well and discard the water.
- Please all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the diced onions and red bell peppers, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes to soften, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
- Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
- Next add all the remaining Skillet Ingredients (except the baking soda and cubed potatoes) and the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well. Increase the heat, bring the mixture to a boil, add the baking soda, stir well, then immediately lower to a low-percolating bowl; then add the cubed potatoes and beans, stir well, and simmer with a low-percolating boil over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, then add the almond butter, stir well to dissolve almond butter. Add the lime juice. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are perfectly tender, stirring occasionally to avoid the beans and potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the crushed tortillas, stir well to incorporate, then simmer for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the stove and allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
- Serve topped with freshly chopped cilantro and/or with crushed tortilla chips or with a simple salad.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 5 (makes 6 ½ cups)
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