Cold winter nights call for big enchiladas! This Spicy Pepper Jack and Refried Bean Enchilada Recipe is warm, cheesy, and spicy, stuffed with creamy refried beans, sweet corn and pepper jack cheese all in a spicy homemade chipotle enchilada sauce.
Is there anything more crave-worthy than sinking your fork into saucy enchiladas to reveal a melty cheese and creamy bean filling? Add to that the smells of smoky chipotle, cumin, garlic, and fresh cilantro. Holy flavor bomb. I just love Mexican recipes.
These cheesy bean enchiladas are a riff off of the easy vegetarian enchiladas in my book, Plant Powered Mexican. This time I added an extra protein and flavor boost with refried beans and sweet corn to up the veggies ever so slightly. They are an easy dinner and the best way I know to serve a hungry crowd. Everyone loves Mexican food, right?
I used my favorite homemade red enchilada sauce which is so good and crazy easy to make. There’s no chili powder, no tomato paste, you don’t even have to cook it! You just combine everything in the blender and blend. If you have a favorite enchilada sauce and would prefer to use that instead, that’s cool too.
As for the beans I prefer to use canned refried beans because they are much thicker than homemade and don’t ooze out of the enchiladas. If you want to use homemade refried beans, just make sure they are cooked down and thick or even whole cooked beans, those would work too. My frijoles borrachos would be yummy.
These are awesome cheese enchiladas but if you are looking for vegan enchiladas try my spicy vegan enchilada recipe or my black bean enchiladas in pipián rojo. By the way, have you ever made entomatadas?
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Refried Bean Enchilada Recipe
- Flavor: These enchiladas combine the savory flavors of corn, cheese, and beans, with a spicy kick from the chipotle enchilada sauce. If you are nervous about the spiciness you can either use less chipotle in the enchilada sauce or sub part or all of the pepper jack cheese for either cheddar or queso Oaxaca.
- Texture: These are ooey-gooey Tex-Mex style enchiladas rather than crispy-edged lighter Mexican enchiladas. Mexican enchiladas start with lightly fried tortillas before being dipped in sauce like my creamy chicken enchiladas with jamaica mole, so the texture is more chewy. These are saucy and tender.
- Ease: Enchiladas can seem time consuming and intimidating, but this recipe only has 5 ingredients (not including garnishes) and cuts down on the steps like frying the tortillas and dipping them in sauce for an overall easier recipe. Check the step-by-step photos below for help.
- Time: Making enchiladas from scratch is going to take a bit of time but these are much quicker than your typical recipe. Ready in a little over an hour.
Ingredients
- Enchilada sauce. Make my homemade enchilada sauce or sub your own enchilada sauce.
- Corn tortillas. I don’t recommend using flour tortillas. They fall apart and get mushy. Bonus points for using homemade corn tortillas.
- Refried beans. I used refried pinto beans but you could use black beans if you’d prefer.
- Pepper jack cheese. Or a mixture of pepper jack and cheddar.
- Frozen sweet corn. No need to thaw first.
- Garnishes: like thinly sliced onion (or green onions), sour cream, avocado, thinly sliced jalapeno (or other green chiles), thinly sliced lettuce, salsa, or cilantro. Choose a couple or use them all.
How To Make This Recipe (Step-by-Step Instructions)
step one
Prep for baking. Heat oven to 375°F and spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
step two
Warm the tortillas. Heat a comal or large skillet over medium-high heat and warm the tortillas until they are soft and flexible but not toasted. Keep warm in a clean kitchen towel or in a tortilla warmer.
step three
Fill the enchiladas. Spread 2 tablespoons of refried beans over the center of the tortilla. Add 2 tablespoons of cheese and 1 tablespoon of corn. Roll up, enclosing the bean mixture, and place seam-side down in the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
step four
Bake. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and golden around the edges, about 30 minutes.
step five
Serve. Let sit about 10 minutes. Sprinkle your favorite garnishes over the top of the enchiladas and serve. As for the garnishes, I listed a bunch above but some other options could be sliced black olives, a squeeze of lime juice, or pico de gallo.
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Top 5 Most Popular Enchilada Recipes
- Enchiladas Verdes with Chicken
- Vegetarian Enchiladas with Mushrooms
- Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
- Chipotle Ground Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole
- Fall Harvest Enchiladas with Chipotle Cream Sauce
Take Your Enchiladas To the Next Level
Make these easy refried bean enchiladas and let me know what you think! When you do please let me know by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating)! Also, make sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too.
Pepper Jack and Refried Bean Enchilada Recipe
Cold winter nights call for big enchiladas! This Spicy Pepper Jack and Refried Bean Enchilada Recipe is warm, cheesy, and spicy, stuffed with creamy refried beans, sweet corn and pepper jack cheese all in a spicy homemade chipotle enchilada sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of my Super Easy Enchilada Sauce Recipe or 3 cups store-bought enchilada sauce
- 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 (16-ounce can) refried beans
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
For Garnish (optional)
- Mexican crema or sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- Ripe avocado, pitted and sliced
- Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- Thinly sliced white or red onions
- Crumbled Cotija cheese
- Lime wedges
- Thinly sliced jalapeños or serrano chiles
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F. Spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
- Heat a comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat for at least 3 minutes, or until hot but not smoking. Warm the tortillas on the comal until soft and pliable but not toasted. Keep warm by wrapping them in a clean kitchen towel or tortillas warmer.
- Spread 2 tablespoons of the beans on a tortilla then add 2 tablespoons of the cheese and 1 tablespoon of the corn. Roll to close and lay it in the prepared baking dish seam-side down so they stay closed. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Cover the enchiladas with the sauce, then top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, and browned in spots, about 30- 35 minutes. If you'd like a little more browning, stick under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
- While the enchiladas are baking, prepare any garnishes you'd like to add.
- Let enchiladas rest for 10 minutes then top with desired garnishes and serve.
Notes
- Enchilada Sauce: Use store-bought if you'd like. You'll need 3 cups of sauce.
- Cheese: Substitute other cheeses like queso Oaxaca, cheddar, Monterey jack, colby jack, or a combination of those.
- Pre-shredded cheese: Avoid pre-shredded cheese if you can. It is coated in cellulose which gives it a funky texture and makes it dryer.
- Make-ahead/ storage and freezeing: The sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance. The enchiladas are best eaten right away. You can freeze them but the tortillas will get mushy. Any leftovers can be kept in a airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheated in the microwave or covered in a 350°F oven until warm.
- Spiciness: Most of the spiciness in these enchiladas comes from the sauce and the cheese. You can lower the amount of chipotles in the sauce and use a different cheese or swap some of the pepper jack for another cheese to control the heat.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 698Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 2598mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 11gSugar: 24gProtein: 37g
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