Sweetcorn and Butter Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Tomato Sauce

The Enchiladas That Refuse to Behave (and Taste Better for It)

I have never once made these enchiladas neatly. Not once. The tortillas rip, the sauce bubbles over, and I almost always burn my tongue because I can’t wait for them to cool. Impatient me strikes again. And yet, every time, I love them more! These charred sweetcorn & butter bean enchiladas are ultimate weeknight comfort disguised as a fiesta, messy, smoky, cheesy, and completely impossible to eat politely.

Smoky Sauce, Messy Edges, Small Victories

The bit I can never resist is the filling, sweetcorn that’s been charred until it almost pops, beans that add bite, and paprika and cumin giving everything that warm hum. And then there’s the chipotle tomato sauce, sharp, smoky, slightly sweet, the kind that thickens in the pan while you’re distracted wiping sauce splatters off your top.

Every batch is different. Sometimes the tortillas collapse, sometimes I forget the coriander until the plates are already on the table. But that bubbling, bronze-topped dish pulled out of the oven always smells like a small victory.

Shopping & Ingredient Notes

Here’s the thing about the sweetcorn: fresh cobs give you that smoky pop, but tinned corn will happily stand in, just get it good and charred in a hot dry pan.

Butter beans are the only beans that belong here. Trust me, I’ve tried others, they sulk and don’t hold as good a texture.

Chipotle paste is my go-to. Chipotles in adobo have a swagger, but that little supermarket jar of paste works on a weeknight when you don’t want to create something from scratch.

The Cheese? Cheddar for flavour, mozzarella for stretch. Or both if you’re feeling suitably greedy!

The Cooking Process

Corn first. Get it so hot it starts to blacken, and yes, you’ll wonder if you’ve pushed it too far. You haven’t. Toss it with peppers, onions, beans, and spices until the kitchen smells like something bigger than the sum of its parts.

The sauce is where I lose control. Garlic hits oil, then tomatoes, chipotle, sugar, it simmers, it spits, I taste, I stir, I taste again. By the time I’m ready to pour it over, I’ve eaten a third of it straight from the pan.

Rolling tortillas is always chaos. I overfill them, beans tumble out, sauce drips onto the counter. But once they’re lined up in the dish, covered in more sauce and buried in cheese, all sins are forgiven. Fifteen minutes later they emerge bubbling and bronzed, and suddenly I look like someone who had a plan all along.

These sweetcorn & butter bean enchiladas aren’t about neatness. They’re about messy plates, smoky sauce, and the kind of dinner that makes you lean back in your chair, grinning at the chaos.

If this is your kind of comfort food, have a look at my Harissa Lamb Meatballs Flatbreads for another unruly favourite. And if you’d rather watch the recipes unfold in real time, you’ll find me on TikTok channel where I show you how I cook them! I’d love to see you there!