Crockpot Black Bean Enchiladas
Friday Night Eats!
Just because it’s a Friday night doesn’t mean you HAVE to go out to eat, right? While it’s nice to go out for a date night or to check out a new or favorite restaurant, I don’t always love how much I overeat when I go out. I still really wanted something tasty for dinner but didn’t want to feel overly guilty about it. This vegetarian, slow cooker Black Bean Enchiladas recipe jumped out at me and decided to make this “cheat meal” at home. Mexican food is my Achilles heel so I really couldn’t pass this one up!
Even though I’m trying to eat better overall, I still want to enjoy my favorites.
I try to find healthier versions or ways I can make healthy substitutions in my favorite meals at home. I’m calling it a “cheat” because the recipe layers the healthy black bean filling (that you see in this picture) with tortillas, cheese, and salsa in the crockpot. I mean, you can’t have enchiladas without the good stuff, right?
While I used only half the amount of cheese it called for, I’m rereading the recipe now and realized I made this more of a cheat than I needed to! The recipe calls for 1 small bag of round tortillas. Somehow my brain processed that as 1 small bag of round tortilla chips.
Placing all the tiny round chips in layers in the crockpot and I remember thinking, “I’m surprised they classified this meal as ‘healthy’”. Haha! Yes, NOW regular corn tortillas make so much more sense!
So if you want more of a cheat meal, tortilla chips will work just fine, though it was probably a little messier than the original recipe, because theirs LOOKED like enchiladas instead of an undistinguished mess on the plate, like mine. Live and learn and enjoy Mexican food!
By the way, if you’re looking for a good seasoning to use for this recipe, check out this homemade Enchilada Seasoning Mix I used!
Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 14.5 oz. cans black beans (reduced sodium), rinsed and drained
- 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 oz. can green chilies
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Southwest/Mexican/Fajita seasoning blend (whatever you have)
- pepper (to taste)
- 1 bag small round corn tortillas
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 3 cups reduced fat Mexican shredded cheese
- non-stick spray
- Optional Toppings: Greek yogurt, salsa, cilantro
Instructions
Instructions
Sauté the pepper and onion in the olive oil in the non-stick skillet until they are slightly tender. Sprinkle with half the salt and seasoning blend.
Add the drained beans, tomatoes and green chilies. Let simmer for 10 minutes on low-medium heat. Add the rest of the salt and seasoning blend to your personal taste preference.
Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray.
Start your enchilada stack with a layer of corn tortillas. Shape them to fit the bottom of your slow cooker.
Add 1/3 of the black bean mixture to the top of the tortillas.
Layer 1/4 of the cheese on top of that.
Add 2 more layers so you have a total of 3.
Finish off the stack with a layer of tortillas, the salsa and the last of the cheese.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
Recipe Notes
If you don’t like spicy food, use mild salsa and you can leave out the green chilis.
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