A one pot vegetable pasta recipe with all the spices and flavors you love. This Enchilada Pasta with black beans is a weeknight favorite. Choose your favorite pasta shape, grab a jar of enchilada sauce, and get to work!
I'm not entirely sure if it's the Texan or Southern Californian in me, but my pantry is never without a jar of enchilada sauce. I have my favorite brand (the yellow can, if you know you know), but I can even be swayed by the Trader Joe's brand of sauce.
If enchilada sauce is new to you, I'm sure you know what it tastes like if you have had enchiladas with red sauce on top. If not, run over to my lentil enchiladas recipe, make that, and fall I love with the sauce. Enchilada sauce is a gravy-like sauce with smoky spices, like cumin, dried chile powders (usually ancho and papilla (non-spicy) chiles, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. It's also time to mention that 'chili' is a dish, like my chili cornbread casserole, while 'chile' is a type of pepper.
The Ingredients
- Bell Pepper. Two bell peppers of your choice (or a mix of color), finely diced.
- Onion. We just need ½ cup of thinly sliced onion. Slice it in half-moon shapes by slicing the onion in half from root to tip, and then laying it flat on the cutting board.
- Chili Powder. Chili powder is a mix of spices that often contains dried chile powders, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Use your favorite brand, but know that a Texas brand (like Gebhardt) is my favorite.
- Cumin. One and a half teaspoons of ground cumin, not cumin seeds.
- Smoked Paprika. One and a half teaspoons of smoked paprika. I recommend smoked over plain paprika, because it has the smoky flavor.
- Black Beans. One 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained.
- Enchilada Sauce. One 10-ounce can or jar of your favorite red enchilada sauce. You can technically use green enchilada sauce, if you prefer. If you like my vegetarian enchiladas with tomatillos, you would like green enchilada sauce!
- Corn. One cup of corn kernels; you can use canned, frozen (no need to defrost), or cut fresh off the cob.
- Vegetable Stock. Two cups of vegetable stock or vegetable broth will be the cooking liquid for this pasta, since it all cooks in one pot at the same time.
- Diced Green Chiles. One tiny 4-ounce can of fire-roasted diced green chiles. You can use hot or mild, your choice.
- Pasta. Half a pound (8 ounces) or your favorite small pasta shape.
- For serving: fresh chopped cilantro and lime juice. The lime juice makes the flavors pop and reduce the need for additional salt in this recipe. The cilantro is optional if you like it.
How to Make Enchilada Pasta
You need a large stockpot for this recipe, not a saucepan or skillet. The pot does not need to have a lid. Heat the oil in the bottom of a 10-inch deep soup pot over medium-high heat.
To the stock pot, add the sliced peppers and onions. Saute for about 5 minutes, until starting to soften. Then, add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt, and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until very fragrant. Stir often.
Next, stir in all the drained black beans, the enchilada sauce, corn, salt, vegetable stock, green chiles, and pasta. Bring this mixture to a boil and cover. Stir every 1-2 minutes until the pasta is soft, about 6-7 minutes on a hard boil. Stirring often prevents the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan, since this is the not the usual method for cooking pasta.
Remove from heat, stir in the juice of 1 lime, and serve with cilantro.
Absolutely not! If you want to swap in 1 cup of shredded chicken for the black beans, go ahead. You can also add the chicken along with the black beans, but be sure to add a splash more of broth so there is enough liquid to cook the pasta.
In my opinion (as an expert enchilada eater who grew up in Texas), the best canned enchilada sauce is in the yellow can. It's affectionally called 'the duck brand,' because it is named El Pato, which is duck in Spanish. There is a duck on the front of the can, so you can't miss it. This is probably a regional product, though I have been able to find it in Southern California lately.
The recipe as-written is vegan! The lime juice takes place of the cheese in many pasta recipes. You can add grated cheese on top, if you like, but it will become vegetarian, no longer vegan.
Enchilada Pasta
Vegetarian enchilada pasta made with black beans, enchilada sauce, and plenty of veggies. This one pot meal is such an easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- ½ cup sliced onion
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 10-ounce can of red enchilada sauce
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 4-ounce can of diced green chiles
- 8 ounces small pasta
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- You need a large stockpot for this recipe, not a saucepan or skillet. It doesn't need to have a lid. Heat the oil in the bottom of a 10-inch deep soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the sliced peppers and onions. Saute for about 5 minutes, until starting to soften.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt, and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until very fragrant. Stir often.
- Stir in all the drained black beans, the enchilada sauce, corn, salt, vegetable stock, green chiles, and pasta. Bring this mixture to a boil and cover. Stir every 1-2 minutes until the pasta is soft, about 6-7 minutes on a hard boil. Stir often to prevent the pasta from sticking.
- Remove from heat, stir in the juice of 1 lime, and serve with cilantro, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 253Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1009mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 10gSugar: 8gProtein: 12g
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