18 Enchilada Recipes To Spice Up Your Week
When you're craving a dish that's savory, saucy, and can feed a crowd, enchiladas can always do the trick. The best part is that they're super customizable. Fill them with chicken, pork, or beef, or opt for vegetarian options like beans, mushrooms, or even jackfruit. Want to infuse the dish with as much flavor as possible? Choose from red or green sauce to match those flavors to your fillings, and layer it with cheese or leave it dairy-free. And if you're willing to experiment with different ingredients and methods, you'll see just how many ways you can make this beloved Mexican dish.
But don't worry — you don't have to dream up these flavor combinations all on your own. We've collected some of our best enchilada recipes to give you all the inspiration you need for your next enchilada night. Whether you're cooking for a crowd or just treating yourself to a special solo dinner, these delicious enchilada recipes will have you covered every time.
Loaded Beef Enchilada
Looking for a hearty, beefy recipe that'll feed your family when they're at their hungriest? Look no further than this loaded beef enchilada recipe. It's packed with protein, thanks to that beef plus a ton of cheese. Technically, this recipe calls for a can of store-bought enchilada sauce, but if you're feeling ambitious, you can always make your own from scratch. We love that this recipe takes just about 30 minutes to throw together — perfect for an easy weeknight meal that tastes more time-intensive than it really is.
Recipe: Loaded Beef Enchilada
15-Minute One-Pot Stovetop Enchiladas
Sometimes, the process of getting all of your enchilada elements in order, filling and rolling the enchiladas, and baking it all in the oven just seems like too much work. We've all been there before, which is why it's always nice to see a recipe for a simpler, easier version of the dish you love without all the fuss. That's just what you'll get with this recipe. Just take all of your favorite enchilada ingredients, combine them in a pan, and you'll have a bowl full of goodness in no time.
Cheesy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
If you love light, fresh flavors that pack a punch, then green enchilada sauce might be one of your faves. Luckily, it plays a huge role in this recipe for chicken enchiladas. But you're not only getting deliciousness from the sauce alone — by layering on a ton of cheese, you're making these enchiladas taste downright decadent. You'll learn how to make your own green sauce with tomatillos, poblano peppers, and jalapeno peppers, which you can use in a variety of other applications as well.
Beef and Refried Bean Enchiladas
Sometimes, you need to eat a dish that's going to be ultra filling to help you feel your best. Combining beef and beans in a dish will ensure that you have a hearty meal. With these enchiladas, you'll get all the nutrition and flavor benefits from both ingredients, creating a satisfying dish that everyone around the table will love. Because you're using canned refried beans for this recipe, you'll find that it comes together really quickly. Expect to be in the kitchen for less than 25 minutes.
Recipe: Beef and Refried Bean Enchiladas
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Brothy, hearty, and comforting, this chicken enchilada soup is perfect on cold days when you're craving a dish that feels like a warm hug. Corn, pinto beans, and black beans form the backbone of the recipe along with chicken, which ensures a nutritious meal that will leave you feeling your best. And because this recipe comes together in a slow cooker, it takes very little prep work at all, making it ideal for particularly busy days.
Seafood Enchiladas Divorciadas
Chicken and beef enchiladas are always delicious, but when you're looking for something lighter, try these seafood enchiladas. They employ both red and green sauce, so you get a really nice combo of flavors that keeps things interesting all the way through to the very last bite. This recipe specifically calls for shrimp, but you can also use other types of seafood if you want a little more flavor and textural variety in your dinner.
Recipe: Seafood Enchiladas Divorciadas
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
It's always fun to take ingredient combos you already love and put them into a whole new format. This chicken enchilada casserole does just that. Just like more standard chicken enchiladas, the recipe calls for chicken, beans, tortillas, and enchilada sauce. But instead of rolling the enchiladas, you'll simply layer all those ingredients together to create a casserole. It's arguably a bit easier than classic enchiladas, making this recipe a great choice when you're trying to get dinner in the oven quickly.
Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Easy Chicken Enchilada
Making enchiladas doesn't always have to be a big, complicated production. Sometimes, enchiladas can come together quite easily. With these chicken enchiladas, you'll simply cook all the filling ingredients together in a pan, place them inside a tortilla, roll it up, and layer all of your enchiladas with red sauce and cheese. Add some cilantro on top for a fresh, green topping, and serve it all with sour cream if you're craving even more creaminess.
Recipe: Easy Chicken Enchilada
Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Enchiladas
Who says that you have to include meat in your enchiladas? Certainly not us! If you're looking for a meat-free version of the dish, add some roasted vegetables and black beans to your enchilada fillings. The black beans are hearty and filling, while the roasted vegetables add complex flavors and textures that take everything to the next level. The best part? You can use just about any vegetables you have on hand, which makes this an excellent fridge cleanout meal.
Enchilada Casserole
We have another enchilada casserole for you, but this one features beef instead of chicken for a slightly different flavor profile. By creating layers of that beefy enchilada filling with corn tortillas and soaking it all in sauce, you'll create a texturally interesting dish that's packed with flavor. And even though it looks like a pretty impressive dish, it's actually deceptively simple, calling for fewer than 10 ingredients, spices included. Serve it with some chopped herbs on top to give it a boost of freshness.
Recipe: Enchilada Casserole
Pork Enchiladas Rojas
There are a lot of beef and chicken recipes on this list, but pork can also make an excellent enchilada filling. In fact, since pork tends toward the fattier and saltier end of the spectrum, it can make for an especially delicious dish. The guajillo and ancho chiles are an important part of this recipe, as they create the bold, smoky, and spicy flavor profile that the whole dish rests on. We like loading up these enchiladas with toppings, including lime, avocado, sour cream, and cilantro.
Recipe: Pork Enchiladas Rojas
Creamy Green Chile Enchiladas
Green chilies are responsible for the flavor in this incredible enchilada recipe. Instead of using canned enchilada sauce, you'll make your own green sauce from scratch. But the creaminess in this recipe isn't coming from the sauce. Instead, you'll get that texture from the addition of lots of shredded cheese. After assembling your enchiladas, layer them with that uber-flavorful sauce, sprinkle on the cheese, and bake it all in the oven until the cheese is bubbling just slightly.
Recipe: Creamy Green Chile Enchiladas
Vegetarian Jackfruit Enchiladas
Whether you make meat a part of your diet or not, all of us can benefit from turning to a vegetarian recipe from time to time. And if you want to experiment with a whole new enchilada filling, why not try making these jackfruit enchiladas? Jackfruit is, in fact, a fruit, but when the unripe version is cooked with savory spices, it takes on a meat-like flavor and texture that makes it an excellent meal replacement in all kinds of dishes, including in enchiladas. If you can't find fresh jackfruit, canned will do the trick as well.
Recipe: Vegetarian Jackfruit Enchiladas
Hearty Mushroom Enchiladas
Another meat-free enchilada recipe that we love makes mushrooms the star of the show. And no, don't assume that these are your boring, basic, sauteed mushrooms that don't add much to a dish in terms of flavor. By cooking your mushrooms with peppers, onions, black beans, and chopped tomatoes, along with a slew of spices, you'll ensure that this dish will be more flavorful than a lot of your favorite meat-heavy dishes. Don't forget to top your enchiladas with sour cream and cilantro.
Recipe: Hearty Mushroom Enchiladas
One-Pan Quinoa Enchilada Skillet
Quinoa may not be the first ingredient you think of when you're planning to make enchiladas, but it creates a nice base for this enchilada skillet recipe. Corn, beans, tomatoes, and various other vegetables come together with quinoa to make a meal that just feels healthy and nourishing, and including a can of enchilada sauce in the mix ensures that you're getting that enchilada flavor you love. This dish can really benefit from a lot of flavorful toppings, so make sure you load them on.
Recipe: One-Pan Quinoa Enchilada Skillet
Easy Black Bean Enchiladas
Black beans are one of our all-time favorite protein sources, and they really shine in this vegetarian enchilada recipe. The filling is absolutely packed with veggies, making this a meal that will help you feel your best without forcing you to sacrifice flavor. And since it only takes five minutes to prep and 25 minutes to cook, you can make dinner in a flash. Canned beans make this recipe super simple, but feel free to cook dried black beans from scratch if you want more control over the flavor of the finished dish.
Recipe: Easy Black Bean Enchiladas
Turkey Enchilada Skillet
Enchiladas can seem like a lot of work sometimes, especially when you're just trying to make a quick and easy dinner. Luckily, this enchilada skillet recipe packs all of those enchilada flavors you love into a format that's a lot easier to whip up on busy nights. It calls for turkey, which is great if you're looking for a lighter protein source, but you can also use ground chicken or beef if you want to switch up your flavor profile a bit. Remember to add plenty of black beans to bulk up the dish.
Recipe: Turkey Enchilada Skillet
Easy Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Sure, you can use ground beef for your beef enchiladas if you really want to keep things quick and easy. But we think shredded beef is even better when you're looking for a more interesting texture. Does it take some extra work? Sure. But it's worth it when you're craving restaurant-quality beef enchiladas at home, and shredding the beef isn't too difficult. And since the beef cooks in a slow cooker, you can set it and forget it until you're ready to assemble the dish and pop it into the oven.
Recipe: Easy Shredded Beef Enchiladas
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