Homemade Cheese Enchiladas

This Tex-Mex inspired Cheese Enchilada Recipe is absolutely the BEST! Enchiladas are easier than you think – corn tortillas filled with cheese in the most delicious homemade red enchilada sauce. Plus, it’s ready in about 30 minutes, making it a perfect recipe for any weeknight dinner or special occasion!

Tex-Mex is one of my favorite cuisines, which makes sense as I’m a tenth-generation Texas. But finding out I was allergic to the pesticides used on conventional corn meant that I had to give it up almost 2 decades ago!

So now, we make our own Tex-Mex at home with organic corn products, and honestly, it’s as good as anything I’ve ever had in even the best restaurants!

Homemade Cheese Enchiladas

We’ve been making homemade cheese enchiladas for a while around here, and there are a few things that you can do to make them just as good as those you get at your favorite restaurant.

1. Coat the Tortillas – Instead of just filling the tortillas with cheese and topping them with sauce, coat the entire tortilla in sauce before adding the cheese and rolling them up. This allows the sauce to really soak into the tortilla just like it does when you order them at a restaurant.
2. Don’t Overstuff – Instead of adding as much filling as you would for a burrito, keep the filling on the light side. Each tortilla should only have about 2-4 tablespoons of filling before being rolled up.
3. Add Sides – At a restaurant they don’t bring you 3 cheese enchiladas with nothing else! We like to serve these enchiladas with a side of refried beans and Mexican rice!

Ingredients

With just a few simple ingredients, you can have a restaurant-style dinner in about 30 minutes!

• Corn Tortillas – A 6-8″ corn tortilla is best here, you are making small enchiladas, not burritos, so you don’t need to have large ones. We like to make our own homemade corn tortillas, but store-bought works just as well! You’ll need 12 tortillas for this recipe.
• Red Enchilada Sauce – There are many wonderful enchilada sauces available to purchase, but making your own homemade enchilada sauce is very simple! Use what you have, you’ll need one batch of homemade or 2 (15oz) cans of store-bought sauce.
• Cheese – We like to use raw cheddar due to our dairy restrictions. However, you can use a Mexican cheese blend, Monterey Jack, cheddar, or a blend of them all! You’ll need about 8-10oz of shredded cheese.

Instructions

1. Prepare – Preheat your oven to 350°F and pour the enchilada sauce into a bowl large enough for a whole tortilla to fit into it. If using homemade sauce that has been chilled, heat the sauce up a bit before dipping the tortillas, as the sauce is likely to have thickened in the fridge.
2. Coat – Take each tortilla and place it fully into the sauce. Flip it over and lift, allowing any excess sauce to drip off before moving it into the prepared baking dish.
3. Stuff – Place about 2-4 tablespoons of cheese along the center line of the tortilla and roll tightly. Push the stuffed tortilla to one side of the baking dish (lengthwise) and repeat until all tortillas are stuffed and placed.
4. Cover – Pour any remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas. Finally, cover with all remaining cheese (add more here if you’d like) and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
5. Serve – Enjoy these cheese enchiladas right away, or portion and freeze them for enjoyment later on. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Common Questions

Can you make these in advance?

Yes! You can make them up to a week in advance and just keep them in the fridge ready to bake. Then just pop it in the oven at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

How do I freeze these cheese enchiladas?

Simple! Use a freezer-safe dish to make your enchiladas and freeze them before baking. Remove from the freezer and thaw overnight, then bake as normal. Or, you can put them right into the oven from the freezer. If you do the latter, cover the dish for 20 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the internal temperature is at least 145°F.

More Epic Dinner Ideas to Try

• Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets
• Easy Baked Potato Soup
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Tacos

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