Get your taste buds pumping with these smoky and spicy black bean and kale enchiladas with ranchero sauce, topped with a spicy gooey cheese!
black bean and kale enchiladas with ranchero sauce

This is basically an encore.

Because whoever thought Cinco de Mayo only lasting one day (and being allowed to fall on a MONDAY no less) was a good idea  was obviously the same person who thought that ice cream should have calories.

Wrong on so many levels.

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So I’m just going to call this Fiesta de Mayo (because that is so what it is) and we’ll just keep this party started.

Dealio?

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Parties and kale aren’t often found in the same sentence, unless you’re partying at my place!

Where kale is the life of the party.

Tossed with black beans and cheese, rolled up in soft corn tortillas and then smothered in a spicy sauce, it helps to ground these enchiladas while simultaneously keeping things racy and unexpected.

It’s just so crazy, but also so right.

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Black Bean and Kale Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce
 
Black bean and kale enchiladas are topped with a mix of three fun cheeses along with a smoky, spicy ranchero sauce.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
  • 2 cups water, plus more for steaming the kale
  • ½ lb kale
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 2 cups cooked black beans
  • 2 cups pepperjack cheese, grated
  • 16 (6-inch) tortillas
  • 6 tbsp Greek yogurt
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400F.
  2. Combine the chiles and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat, simmering for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Set aside.
  3. Add ½ cup water to a large saucepan. Add the kale to the pan, along with a pinch of salt, cooking over medium heat until wilted. Drain and set aside.
  4. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and saute for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the garlic and salt. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Add the broth, oregano, tomato paste, and cumin. Cook for 8 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
  5. Pour the onion mixture into a food processor or blender. Add the chiles, reserved cooking liquid, lime juice, and cayenne pepper. Process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper.
  6. In a large bowl, combine the beans, kale, and 1 cup of cheese.
  7. Spread ½ cup sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Working in batches, warm the tortillas according to the package directions so that they stay warm and pliable while you're working with them. If they get too cool, they will crack when you fold them. I usually work with 2-3 at a time.
  8. Spoon 3 tbsp filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam side-down in the prepared dish. Repeat until all tortillas are used up. If you have any remaining filling, toss it on top of and around the tortillas in the pan. Pour the remaining sauce over the filled tortillas. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with Greek yogurt.
Notes
Adapted from Cooking Light
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 3 enchiladas

Fore more enchilada inspiration, check out these:

Artichoke Enchiladas

Green Goddess Enchiladas

Sweet Potato Enchiladas from Damn Delicious

Black Bean Enchiladas with Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Cream from Oh My Veggies!

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas from Gimme Some Oven

Roasted Corn and Ricotta Enchiladas with Chipotle-Tomato Sauce from Naturally Ella

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56 Responses to Black Bean and Kale Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce

  1. Oh my gawsh, yum. This is the kind of dish that puts cravings to rest. Plus, I love enchiladas for breakfast…and it’s 7:17 am…

  2. I’m drooling over this dish! I love Mexican food and can’t wait for cinco de mayo so I can eat all the Mexican food I want at the celebrations.

  3. Deena kakaya says:

    Mmm, smokey, lightly bitter and oof that chees! Lovely x

  4. Jenna says:

    Oh my. My mouth just watered at 7:47am. Oh dear. Need to make these stat. Going on the menu plan this two week time period! Thanks! (Pinned.)

  5. Totally not an encore in my book! TOTALLY necessary. Food like this is the best.

  6. Yes, please! I love making enchiladas and am always looking for new ingredient ideas. Love this black bean and kale combo! 🙂

  7. Ooo kale is such a great idea for an enchilada filling! These look amazing!

  8. Lori says:

    I completely agree. All the cravings that resulted from browsing food photos on that day are going to last me well into June. These look so great!

  9. sallybr says:

    That is so cool! Last week I made a similar dish with kale and a WHITE bean puree… turned out delicious, although I had to grill a piece of meat to make the husband really happy. Meat as a side dish, kind of..

    I love the ranchero sauce, your recipe is definitely a lot more interesting than the one I made… pinning right now

  10. Leah Davis says:

    Can Cinco de Mayo last all summer?? These look delicious! 🙂

  11. I’m such a sucker for your Mexican-inspired vegetarian recipes! Keep ’em coming!

  12. I have been craving enchiladas for a while and these sound awesome. Love the kale stuffed in there!

  13. cheri says:

    What a great combination of flavors, love these enchiladas, great way to get more greens into a meal.

  14. wait, parties and kale don’t always go together? News to me! I had a party last friday and you better bet I hid veggies in everything I served (including alcohol.)

  15. This is the healthiest and best enchilada recipe!

  16. Lisa says:

    Oh dear. May I come over for dinner? I’ll bring chocolate cake for dessert. Delicious.

  17. Now you got me craving enchiladas! YUMMMMM! Great vegetarian meal!

  18. P says:

    It’s one of those rare occassions when I happen to have the two main ingredients needed for a recipe at the same time at my house…kale and corn tortillas! NEED to make this 😛

  19. Yay for Montho de Mayo! Glad we were on the same wavelength here. Fiesta for life!

  20. Ariel says:

    YUM!!! I think I am going to add some cubed butternut squash to them! Or Quinoa!!!

  21. debbie says:

    Love this recipe! Black beans and kale are two of my favorites. Just pinned this…..

  22. You can post Mexican food every single day and you won’t get any complaints from me. Gimme!

  23. Traci says:

    Haha, kale is always found at my parties, too. My friends actually request my kale salad when they come over for celebrations! And these enchiladas look great. I’ve had enchiladas on my mind lately, for some reason.

  24. Eileen says:

    You know I will take a good enchilada any day of the week! No official event required. Black beans and greens–yes please. 🙂

  25. Abby says:

    Perfect way to sneak in some extra cheese, I mean veggies. Love it!!

  26. I can practically taste these beauties – look at all that cheeeeeeese! Yum!

  27. I completely agree with you, I like to celebrate Cinco De Mayo all year round! Thankfully I live in Southern Arizona where that idea accepted 🙂 These enchiladas look amazing!! Kale will definitely be on my list next time I’m craving enchiladas!

  28. Enchiladas are soooo versatile. Its been fun as I have been bouncing around food blogs the last couple of months, how creatively they have been treated. We get in an enchilada rut. This looks like a winning treatment to me. Photos are very enticing.

  29. Mmm. I think the party is rocking (and the kale most of all)!

  30. Hooray for Fiesta de Mayo! Love it! I get overly excited about kale recipes – I can’t get enough of the stuff. These look so amazing!

  31. Johanna GGG says:

    these look delicious – I would be happy to celebrate cinco de mayo all year round if it meant eating this sort of food

    have been studying the recipe as would love to make it – did you use corn tortillas or wheat tortillas?

  32. Yum, I love the black beans in your enchiladas.

  33. Sues says:

    I want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo everyday… Especially if these are involved 🙂

  34. In Canada, no one even acknowledges cinco de mayo. I guess I need to make my own celebration. This looks so good!

  35. Love the healthy spin to the enchiladas.

  36. These look and sound amazingly tasty, Joanne. Now that you’ve reminded me that you’re a vegetarian (now, that’s actually a compliment. Obviously your recipes are so tasty-sounding that I didn’t even realise the meat was missing 😉 ), I’m spotting what you add to make things so delicious. Love the sound of the tomato-cumin-lime combo and of course cheese and Greek yoghurt make pretty much everything tastier!

  37. Hotly Spiced says:

    This looks so yummy, Joanne, really delicious. I love the combination of flavours and this looks like very comforting fare xx

  38. Shannon says:

    next time you’re having a party, i’m in 🙂

  39. grace says:

    i know you can put just about anything in enchiladas, but these selections are particularly awesome. i like the color contrast and also anything involving black beans. 🙂

  40. That ranchero sauce looks so delicious, I need to try these enchiladas asap 😀
    YUM!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  41. Another great dish Joanne! I love finding new ways to use kale. This one looks like a winner.
    Have a great weekend!

  42. julie says:

    This looks so wonderful! I am always looking for yummy and healthy at the same time! Thanks for the idea:).

  43. Lynna says:

    I gotta go to your parties then!! Love that you used kale, since I`ve never seen that before!

  44. Reeni says:

    I haven’t eaten Mexican food in a record week and these are in my face reminding me! I wouldn’t even notice how healthy they are because they look so insanely good.

  45. Elizabeth says:

    I really should NOT come in here before breakfast. Especially on a holiday Monday when we don’t have any kale in the house. These enchiladas look fabulous, Joanne! Did you use corn or wheat tortillas? (I guess it probably doesn’t really matter – either would probably work)

  46. Ahh I still have those artichoke enchiladas of yours saved to make and now I have to make these too!

  47. Kate says:

    I’m happy with Mexican all year long!

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  51. SoCalMom72 says:

    Delicious. Absolutely amazing and after putting up a fuss, my 6 and 2 year old are an entire enchilada and loved it. This will be a regular in our house.

  52. Peggi says:

    Sounds yummy…great after overindulged holidays

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