Black Bean Plantain Enchilada Bake

This recipe is lovely and so worth the time and effort! We make it with your enchilada sauce, and it turns out wonderfully each time! Thank you so much!

This was such a tasty recipe. The cashew queso was soooo good. I can eat it by itself with a spoon. Very comforting meal and it was our first time cooking plantains!

This is one of my favorite recipes from Minimalist Baker! I typically used sweet potato instead of plantains and it turns out amazing!

I LOVE, LOVE LOVE this dish. My boyfriend loves it. It keeps well so we get all the yummy leftovers.

Came out great! I wish my plantains were more ripe, and I had to replace black beans with cannellini beans because my pantry betrayed me, but other than that I really enjoyed it and I’d definitely make again!

These were AMAZING! It was first time cooking with plantains, they are delicious. I used store bought Siete enchilada sauce. And followed the recipe exactly. The next time I make these I will definitely slice the plantains thinner as well as save a third of the queso to put on after it’s baked, it seems much more flavorful fresh as opposed to baked.

Best dairy free queso I’ve had so far. Wow really good. I dont really like your ricotta (tastes too almondy-weird to me) so I’m still looking for other cheeses. I cant have dairy and this is truly an amazing substitute thank you so much.

Delicious meal! I love all your meals, but this one is my absolute favorite!

This is the most unique, amazing, INSANELY delicious, and creative dish I’ve made from your blog yet !!!! I have now made it over ten times, and have blown every single person who I have served this to, out of the water!!! Unreal!!!
It is definitely very time consuming and always turns out to be a lot more labour intensive than I remember; however, there is a reason I go back to it again and again.
Vegans and non vegans find this dish out of this world !!!

These are literally the best enchiladas on earth. I am in love with them. Everyone needs to make these! The cashew queso is soooo good! Thank you for all of your recipes – they are getting me through this quarantine with a smile on my face. :)

Loved this! I did a couple changes: I used a smaller square baking dish and thought it worked well for the amount of plantains/beans. I did not put nutritional yeast in the queso and still thought it was delicious! And I used store bought enchilada sauce. So good, especially with the jalapeño/cilantro and some guacamole on the side :)

This was AMAZING! One of the best dishes I’ve ever made (so good that 3 of us ate 6 servings worth). Thanks for another awesome recipe!

This recipe was amazing! I used less ripe plantains just because I like them crispier and more savory, also the texture held up very well to the saucy additions. I did find, however, that more beans would have been nice and actually more plantains. The 9×13 dish just seemed too big. So next time I’ll either add more or just use a smaller dish. But seriously, this was soooo good! Thanks for another great recipe!

Very, very flavorful but too spicy!

The recipe didn’t say exactly 1/2 of what for the chipotle chili in adobo sauce. So I used 1/2 of a 7 ounce can, 3.5 ounces.

Next time, I’ll be sure to use a lesser amount of chipotle chili in adobo sauce.

I did top the enchilada bake with fresh guacamole and fresh cilantro, so that cooled down my mouth.

This was so freaking delicious!! Please make this. I love plantains, and the combo of these individually-wonderful ingredients is heavenly. It’s not the fastest process, but the steps are very simple and it felt mindful and fun to make, and the same to eat. That queso is amazing- I added a lot of Adobe sauce peppers to mine. Definitely pile on the cilantro and jalapeños when serving to add freshness and create beautiful plant-based harmony. Thank you!

Made this exactly But used a different recipe for the enchilada sauce. I was really worried about the plantains being mushy but was surprised how similar the texture was to a tortilla. I am vegetarian but do eat cheese and found this to be just perfectly satisfying with the cashew cheese. I added a little Harissa paste like your other quest recipe calls for. Everyone I made this for (including meat eaters) were pleasantly surprised and raved about it. I had two helpings last night and two helpings for lunch today. ? definitely will be making this again and again. It did take longer than expected though but worth it.

I am so glad to have found your website! This is again an amazing recipe that I now make every two weeks or so. I absolutely love the plantains and the cashew cheese in this dish.

This has come to be my staple dinner recipe and I make it nearly once a week! Once you make it so many times, you get the hang of it, and it comes together super quickly. I do suggest taking her advice and using super ripe plantains as they will be much more tender and pleasant. I’ve used less ripe ones before and it made the entire bake a bit dry. Also, the cashew cheese sauce is delectable and so simply. I’ve never used the chipotle chili and it’s turned out amazing each time. Highly recommend.

Oh this was soooooo yummy. I made a cheese sauce with the cashews but I ran short so I made some cheese sauce out of feta and Mexican blend cheese also. I added corn to it also. Definitely use more plantains…at least 6. It was really really good, spicy and sweet, I’m impressed.

Oh this was soooooo yummy. I made a cheese sauce with real cheese, I like my cheese. I added corn to it also. It was really really good, spicy and sweet, I’m impressed.

SO GOOD! We literally went to the store to get more ingredients as soon as we finished our leftovers!

A follow up to my comments/review – instead of the enchilada sauce referenced in the recipe I used a simple recipe for a basic 10 Minute Enchilada Sauce that worked fine for me.

This is one of my favorites – there’s an underlying sweetness from the roasted plantains that is perfectly offset by the heat and savory flavors. The spreadable cheese is out of this world- although I added more nutritional yeast (at least 3T extra), more cumin and more chipotle in adobo. I also pretty much eliminated the salt.

Leftovers: I double-wrap them in individual servings and freeze. Easy last minute dinners!

This was a little labor intensive with making the red pepper purée (used a food network recipe) and cashew sauce. But sooo worth it! I halved the recipe and made it in a loaf pan. I could have used 1 more plantain (used 2). Made it the day before and baked it the next day. Even the carnivore liked it! Thanks for all your great vegetarian/vegan recipes!!!!

So I made the beans in a saucepan after sautéing 1/2 yellow onion, 1 chopped carrot, and 3 garlic cloves. I stirred in 1/2 chipotle and some southwestern taco seasoning, then mashed 1/2 the mixture and mixed altogether (I love this consistency for beans). I also found it difficult to make long slices of the plantains given their awkward shape, so cut them in half first. I did use canned red enchilada sauce as a timesaver.

This was AMAZING!!! Made it for Valentine’s Day dinner last night, and I am still in disbelief of how BEAUTIFUL it looked and how INCREDIBLE it tasted !!! You are a true genius!!! I do have one major complaint though… how on Earth is this 12 servings ?! We ate all but one slice, and finished that slice this morning…! Thank you SO much. I am such a fan !

So I made this dish last night with high hopes and the only thing I was not pleased with was the cashew cheese sauce. I watched the video that comes with this recipe at least 10 times trying to figure out how you made nut butter in a food processor while I was kicking my Vitamix into overdrive and not getting the same results!!

I believe if I had soaked the cashews prior to blending, it would have been a much creamer, but still firm sauce. Instead, it was crumbly and took me a full 20 minutes just to get it look similar to yours. Besides that, I added some corn and guac to the dish with some brown rice and the side and it wasn’t bad.

This was AMAZING. Although I think depending on the size of the plantains, you might need more than 4. I could’ve used 1 or 2 more, as they didn’t all yield the same size slices. Regardless, this was really delicious. I thought I’d had every variation of a plantain possible (being Hispanic and all) but this was really unique.

Eek, I can’t believe I had never cooked with plantains before! Full disclosure, I didn’t think they were cooking correctly at the beginning (it’s because I sliced them too thin and they were kinda burning) so I chickened out a little and did half the bake with corn tortillas and half with the plantains. I just tried it and OMG, amazing, and the side with the plantains so much better! They’re like thick, delicious, corn tortillas, except made by Mother Earth! I only used a tiny bit of oil in my Misto but next time I will try it oil free. Newly vegan husband gave it two thumbs up as well.

This was amazing! Made it the other night and it was easy and so yummy! I cut the recipe in half for just my husband and I and I still had leftovers for me for lunch the next day. Will make again ? Thabk you!

I made this last night, and instead of a pretty, perfect looking casserole, mine looked like a pile of slop. But looks can be deceiving because it was pretty darn tasty I’ve never cooked with plantains before, but they pair perfectly with everything else in this dish.

I think my real problem was just that 4 plantains was not enough to properly fill up 3 layers of plantains in a 9×13 pan. If I make this again I’ll grab ~6+ plantains to do the trick.

I made this last week. I’ve never cooked with plantains before but the sweetness really balanced out all the flavor from the enchilada sauce (used the homemade) and the queso. Tastes amazing with some margaritas ;)

I wasn’t sure about this recipe going in, but absolutely enjoyed it. The flavors of everything were perfect, and I didn’t adjust a thing. Although, I did choose to omit the optional small chipotle chili in adobo sauce when making the cheese sauce. I’d recommend getting an extra plantain just in case. Using a 9×13 glass pan, and cutting each into 5+ slices, I wasn’t able to make a complete 3rd layer. I also ended up using more sauce (I made Minimalist Baker’s Easy Red Enchilada Sauce) than the recipe called for.

Absolutely delicious! Thank you.

This was incredibly yummy and such a crowd pleaser. I’m so happy there are leftovers! :)

This is a delicious, filling and starchy dish. I used canned black beans and El Pato sauce to save time. I added some roasted bell pepper and cauliflower.

Tasted great! Excited about the queso because it’s really versatile. I cheated and used Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce. Topped with avocado, red onion and cilantro. Thought about cubing the plantains next time to make it dip-ish. You could serve it on top of tortilla chips for a yummy version of nachos.

One of my favorite meals EVER! Thanks!

I made this last night and WOW! This dish is phenomenal. The flavor is complex and a combination of lots of tastes that I really like–sweet, smokey, and spicy. That would be enough for me, but it’s also beautiful, filling, and healthy all at the same time. (I served it with the Mexican Quinoa Salad Cups, and it made an outstanding dinner.). Today, I’m having some for lunch, and thinking “I cannot believe this came out of my kitchen!”

(I’ve been cooking based on online recipes for many years, but I’ve never left a comment before. On this one, though, I couldn’t help myself. Thank you for such a fantastic recipe! :) )

Long time reader, first time commenter. I just made this and it is Soooo good! I can’t believe how good the cashew cheese is. The flavors are so great together. I will say that I wish I had doctored my black beans a bit more. Also, I don’t know if it was the heat settings or the way I sliced the plantains, but they were a blackened instead of Brown. I also need to get the proportions right. I adjusted it for four servings and I didn’t have enough layers. Despite all that, it still turned out delicious.

This recipe was a hit with everyone I shared it with! When I make it again I will soak both the dried peppers for the enchilada sauce and the cashews for the cheeze filling. The peppers never did get soft and the cashews were too thick. I also had a problem finding decent sized plantains here in western Colorado. It was still super delicious!! I’ll make it again except I’ll supplement the plantains with sweet potato. I’d never made enchilada sauce before and I’m hooked! Thanks for your wonderful emails and recipes.

I just made this for dinner tonight and it was so so delicious! All 3 of my kids loved it, we halved the recipe for the five of us as I wasn’t sure how the kids would like the plantains (they haven’t been fans in the past) but now I wish I would have made the full portion! Great recipe, we’ll definitely make it again!

I had so much fun making this. It was a hit. The plantains werent fully ripe but still were so delicious when roasted. I used canned enchilada sauce to save on time prepping. The cashew cheese sauce was amazing!! My husband and I love this dish and it’s bookmarked for my go-to recipes. Thank you for the recipe!

These are delicious!
There are just a few changes I made, based on a flavor I don’t like (chipotle) and what I had on hand.
Only 3 of the four plantains I bought for this got ripe, and I couldn’t wait any longer for that fourth one! I purchased frozen mini plantains from Trader Joe’s to make up for it, but they weren’t qite as ripe. Still good though. Next time I make this, I will either be patient and use 5 plantains, or use a smaller pan than what I did today since I only got two layers. Anyway…I used Tapatio in the cashew queso, and will use more next time for extra spice, and also a little more water so it isn’t so thick and sticky, and will blend in my Vitamix instead of the food processor. The flavor was great though, and I would love to use it as a dip. I made my own enchilada sauce with canned organic chopped tomatoes and paste, plus seasonings, and it was great but also needs more spice.
It baked up really well and I thoroughly enjoyed it, topped with cilantro. Would be extra yummy with some avo slices or guac, or the cultured cashew sour cream.

This was SO good! It might be one of my all time favorite recipes! The only thing that didn’t work for me was a 9×13 pan. There was no way I could have filled that. I used an 8×8 and it worked perfectly. I added a quarter of a chipotle pepper and my son (7) complained that it was too spicy but my husband and I didn’t find it too spicy at all. Topped with green onions, cilantro and avocado. Will definitely be making again soon!

I made this recipe exactly as directed, and it turned out absolutely delicious! The queso was very addictive! Next time, I’d add two more plantains to fill in the space a bit more.

This was great! I loved learning how to adapt the Parmesan to a sauce. So good! I baked the plantain for just under 30 minutes and it was too long, they were too tough. Definitely will watch them as they’re baking next time. I would add more enchilada veggies next time because I don’t think it’d hurt and would add some different flavors. I used the meal as a dip with fries because the store only had half the amount of plantains the recipe called for and it turned out very saucy. Such a comfort food dish with fries!!

Yum!!! We just tried this tonight and loved it! I made exactly as written and topped with chopped white onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
We’re meat/dairy eaters, but didn’t miss it in this dish. Thanks, so fun and delicious!

I made this and it was fantastic. I will also use the cheese sauce and enchilada sauce recipes for other dishes. The plantains I used weren’t ripe enough though and some came out a bit too crunchy. So I would follow the advice on using ripe plantains. I will definitely make this again.

There is no liquid to add to the black beans? I got it going but not sure it will “bubble”, as you wrote, without liquid.
But I am hoping for the best as these are a lot of my favorite ingredients: needed a way to use plantains again.
thanks
s

I absolutely love this recipe! I’d never cooked with plantains before — and discovered that slicing them before peeling made it so much easier to get thin slices. The cheese sauce was amazing…and I woke up the next morning and had it for breakfast!!

This was delicious and fun to make. Next time I will try your recipe for enchilada sauce and I will use a slightly smaller pan, or a few more plantains. I had a lot of dead space around the edges. It was even more flavorful the next day. Thank you!

I feel so sure of this recipe, I am taking my first try to a vegan potluck.

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I have to say, the cashew “queso” was amazing! I didn’t add a pepper to the queso, but just a little adobo from the chipotle can and that was enough to give it a smoky flavor and remain mild enough for my 5-year old to eat. I felt like there was something missing from the enchilada sauce, and after the fact, I realized there was – the tomato paste! I completely forgot to add it. It was good as it was, but that would definitely have pushed it over the edge into greatness. I decided to add fresh corn off the cob when I layered the black beans. I didn’t cook it, just sprinkled some on with the beans. I liked the addition. What a fantastic way to use plantains – this was the first time I had ever cooked with them. This recipe was worth the effort – thanks again!

Eating the leftovers right now! Delicious as always!

Hi Dana! I just made this tonight and had a few friends over and it was an absolute HIT. It came out perfectly. I honestly would be helpless in the kitchen sometimes without your help. Thank you for all your incredibly delicious and easy recipes. -Alex

Wow! We made this for our evening meal today and it was really, really good.

Kids and adults enjoyed it. I served it with grilled corn tortillas and some at it with those and others at it as-is.
We used cilantro, onions and guac as toppings.

I did add 2 peppers to the queso, but we like things spicy.

Yum! We are adding this to regular routine.

Thank you!

This is an awesome recipe. My wife, however, is sensitive to tomato based products, so I substituted a hatch green chile enchilada sauce. Needless to say, the results were still fantastic. And the plantains were firm and chewy, making them a perfect replacement for tortillas.

I just took mine out if the oven…DELICIOUS! While it doesn’t look as pretty as yours (I let that pipe dream go before I began?) and I doctored the beans up a bit (minced garlic, onions, peppers and shredded carrots), I love every bit of this! I also love that it was inexpensive to make. The most expensive ingredient was the enchilada sauce at about $2.50. All the other ingredients are pretty much staples in my house.

Thank you Dana for this flavorful dish!

I just made this and it is delicious!! I used canned beans and canned enchilada sauce which made it so easy! This is definitely a new favorite for me.

“One of the best things to ever come out of my kitchen..” not certain about THAT comment..you have SO MANY amazing creations! Good, but my sauce/final project didn’t turn out quite like your pictures. Ant hoo..very tasty! Thank you for your lessons and inspiration!