Cheese Enchiladas  Recipe (2024)

My mom is from Juarez and I have a regional suggestion from watching her make enchiladas, one of the few foods she cooked (my dad, a Hippy Okie from Frederick OK did most of the cooking in the house!) She dipped the corn tortillas in warm oil to keep them from cracking, gave a little shake to drip the excess oil, then immediately dipped them into the sauce before stacking on a plate to await the filling. TY for your story! I'm a Queer Mexican-American and reading your experience deeply moved me.

One can avoid the oil dipping by placing a pair of tortillas flat in a microwave oven, covering them with a damp paper towel, and heating them on high for 30 seconds (adjust the time depending on the power of your microwave oven). They'll come out steamy, hot and pliable.

Do you think this would turn out OK with a vegetarian broth? Your story deeply moved me, too, and made me hungry. Thank you. And congratulations!

Traditionally, corn tortillas are slipped through hot oil or lard (but definitely not fried), then through a chili-based sauce before they are typically (but not necessarily) filled with other ingredients and baked. You can use cheddar cheese if you insist, although it's hard to find in Mexico; you can use Velveeta if you must; in California, "Monterrey Jack" is common, often with raw onions and chopped olives.For enchiladas suizas, use tomatillo sauce and top with crema mexicana.

As many here have commented, enchiladas are passed through hot oil before rolling and saucing. The oil softens them so they dont crack, but more inmportantly it seals them so that the liquid in the sauce doesnt turn them to mush. It is a calorific but necessary step for traditional enchiladas.

As a native San Antonian, I implore you: do not make enchiladas with flour tortillas.

I make enchiladas with veggie Better than Bouillon and it's fantastic.,

I've always cooked enchiladas at 350 for 30 minutes (until bubbly) and endured slightly soggy (though tasty) enchiladas. I recently learned a different way of cooking them that has been game changing. 500 for ten minutes. Voila - cheese is melted, sauce is hot and slightly roasted, no soggy tortillas.

Simple New Mexico solution: do stacked instead of rolled enchiladas. You can have an egg on the top.

I found Carol’s comment to be quite harsh, but I am thankful that it led me to read Bryan’s article. My take is that there is no consensus on enchiladas within Mexico (excepting perhaps the formula Bryan provided). I also took from his article that he was providing a Tex-Mex recipe, which is a style unique unto itself. And what I grew up eating. Thank you Bryan. Also, the book Bryan quoted from (Tacopedia) is a must read.

Carlito, my mom is Mexican American and I’ve been making enchiladas with her since I was 10. You can use any broth you’d like. I also have made with vegan cheese for my daughter’s friend and came out beautifully.

My daughter-in-law from Huetamo, Mx taught me the secret is in the toppings! Dice onions, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, cilantro. Sprinkle with lime juice. She would pull boiled chicken breasts into strands @2-3 inches long to wrap in the enchiladas; so much better than chunks. Cook enchiladas as above, cooking with sauce of choice, creama (sour cream thinned with milk) and a Mexican cheese.Serve the enchiladas, then smother them with toppings on the plate.

There are easier and harder, or at least messier, ways. Most tortillas recommend microwaving to soften. The traditional method is to dip in the sauce and then in hot oil: caramba! Make sure that you cover all exposed parts of the tortillas or it will become a tortilla chip. And.,.,,there are some awfully good bottled red chile sauces, at least here in santa fe, where the cheese of choice is cheddar.

One of my favorite NYT cooking articles I've read, thank you for your words and this recipe! Now I think enchiladas will be the perfect celebratory last meal before my son is born

Avoiding mess more than fat (though doubtless better with the fat), I toast my tortillas over the open flame of my gas stove, with a stack of 3 burner grates to hold it a bit up so the heat is more spread out. I get a little toasting, which tastes good, while at the same time making them pliable enough for rolling. My notes on the system:1 Tortilla on burner2 Fill/roll/place previous tortilla3 Flip burner tortilla4 Measure next tortilla's fillings5 Tortilla to small plate (and back to 1)

Use Ancho spice and better than bouillon (beef) for the sauce. Add shrimp and these are the best.

Turned out great. I had to take out the chilli due to my kids but everyone loved it.

Stir fry one white onion and two cans of mild chilies (whole chilies then chop up)- stir fry in butter. Use two bags wild caught shrimp (gulf , 21-30 count)

1. Stir fry , in butter, one white onion with two cans like green chilies (whole chilies then chop up)2. In butter, sauté two bags of wild caught gulf shrimp, 21-30 count 3. Devine shrimp and chop into bit size pieces (about 5 shrimp per enchilada)4. Roll each enchilada with shrimp, onion/Chilli and cheese then top with sauce

Reduce chili by 1/2 tablespoons Microwave tortilla to soften Bake 500 for 10 minutes

Sauce is better starting with sautéed onions and then adding cilantro

I could not get the sauce to thicken with vegetable broth. What did I do wrong?

Seriously. I’ve been making enchiladas since the 90’s but never had a real recipe. These are so exactly what enchiladasI used half tomato strained juice and beef broth, and an extra cup of liquid (same ratio) to make sure there was plenty of sauce. Honestly, I have tried frying, warming in microwave, etc. this works. I used a damp towel and after heating stacked and kept covered the tortillas. My tortillas were a little dried out, so I sprinkled water on the pan before tossing the tortillas on.

Made this vegetarian by using vegetable stock for the sauce. I also sautéed onions and rolled them into the enchiladas with the cheese. They were delicious!

As others have mentioned, dipping the tortillas in hot oil, and then in the sauce is the way to do it. Too many restaurants neglect the "dip-in-sauce" part to save time and money, and the enchiladas come out dry and stodgy. The best cheese enchiladas in Houston were at the old Cyclone Anaya's, when Cyclone was alive, and a close second was Spanish Village. Chile con carne on top, with chopped onion. The best in the universe, though, were at the Palace Cafe in Falfurrias. All three gone now.

Be sure to use ground dried chiles - ancho, passilla, guajillo, New Mexico - or try them all, see which you prefer. Commercial "chile powder" is to Mexico what curry powder is to South Asia.

Transported right back to my great-grandmother’s Chicago kitchen. An unpretentious Tex-Mex recipe that she made with Gebhardt’s Chili Quick powder. I admit to searching ebay Gebhardt’s powder for years after it was discontinued. Thank you for this recipe! I feel like you’ve excavated a family heirloom. Can’t wait to make it for my kids.I prepared according to the recipe- just like my great-grandma’s instructions. After baking, I topped with diced avocado, onion, cilantro, and romaine.

Is it possible to omit beef both and use better than bouillon for it. I am surprised there is no tomato sauce ir paste. Any suggestions appreciated

I've been making these since learning the technique from my mother back in the 1970's. I've tried it many different ways since and have come to understand why she fried the corn tortillas lightly before assembling. They will disintegrate when baked if you don't. You'll end up with some crispy bits on the top of a mass of mixed stuffing, gravy, and masa. Dipping in oil might help but doesn't give the safe toasty flavor.Also use ground chilis and MEXICAN oregano, not chili powder.

Garnish with cilantro not parsley.