Restaurant-Style Red Cheese Enchiladas are an old family favorite recipe that is simply the best!! They are cheesy, saucy, and so yummy.
These are the BEST red cheese enchiladas. Serve them with Pinto Beans, Spanish Rice, or maybe even some Beef Empanadas to make an entire tasty meal that is sure to be a family fav!!
Red Enchiladas
My mom is full Mexican and has spoiled us with her delicious Mexican food my entire life. 🙂 I know I’ve posted a few of our favorite family Mexican dishes on here before, but one I have yet to share with you is our Red Cheese Enchiladas.
This is a recipe my mom has had for years (my great-grandma Bean Burro used it!) and it’s the one we use whenever we have Cheese Enchiladas. Trust me, the homemade enchilada sauce in this recipe is a MUST.
We’ve tried canned red enchilada sauces and they don’t even compare. They aren’t authentic and don’t have the delicious flavor you can find in restaurant-style cheese enchiladas. And don’t be scared – this enchilada sauce recipe is simple and can be made ahead of time! We also use it in our famous Beef Empanadas recipe.
These are my favorite!! I actually love all sorts of enchiladas but this sauce just brings back so many memories of eating them as a child. My great-grandma Bean Burro (that’s what we called her but her last name was really Gutierrez) made them and my mom learned from her and my grandma Luna. 😉
How to Make Cheese Enchiladas
Making your own red sauce may seem difficult, but we promise it’s not. It doesn’t take long either. The only thing that may need changing is the amount of chili powder you use, so test that out and see what you like best.
*Tip*: we are huge fans of Gebhardt Chili Powder and only use that when making our red sauce. 😉
SAUCE. To make these enchiladas, you have to begin with the red sauce (be sure to check out our red enchilada sauce recipe for more tips and tricks). This is made by adding oil to pot and heating on Medium heat. Pour in flour and create a roux by whisking together for 1-2 minutes.
Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oregano and mix until clumpy. Pour in chicken broth, whisking the entire time and until there are no more clumps. Heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
Once the sauce is done you are ready to start making the enchiladas. NOTE: Our favorite kind of tortillas to use are the Kroger yellow corn tortillas – they work like a charm.
DIP, FILL + ROLL. Get your pan close to your sauce, along with a bowl of cheese, and your tortillas. Dip each tortilla into the sauce until soft and put into greased dish. Add ¼ cup cheese and roll up and push to the end of the pan.
BAKE. Continue doing this with your tortillas until your pan is full. From there you will pour the excess sauce over your tortillas. Sprinkle the top with more cheese, then bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Storing + Serving info
I like to make them in the morning or even the day before if things are crazy. I will typically make the enchiladas and stop before adding shredded cheese on top. I store in the fridge by covering tightly and when ready to bake, I top with cheese and bake. I may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.
We FREEZE enchiladas all the time. We often double the batch and will place the second batch in a freezer safe pan and then cover with foil tightly and place in a freezer bag. This can keep for up to 2 months. Just take out to thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
What to serve with cheese enchiladas:
For more enchilada recipes, check out:
- Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Beef Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Cheese Enchilada Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp Gebhardt Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Corn Tortillas
- Mexican Blend Cheese
Instructions
- Add oil to pot and heat on Medium. Pour in flour and whisk together and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and oregano and mix until clumpy. Pour in chicken broth, whisking the entire time and until there are no more clumps. Heat for 15 minutes or until thickened.
- After you have made your sauce, you will want to dip your corn tortillas in the sauce until they are soft and immediately put it into a greased 11x7 pan.
- From there you will add cheese (I use the Mexican Blended Cheese), roll it up and push it to the end of the pan.
- Continue doing this with your tortillas until your pan is full. From there you will pour the excess sauce over your tortillas. Sprinkle the top with more cheese. (You can also prepare this in advance and refrigerate until ready to cook).
- Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
5/5 what I was hoping to find- grew up in a community 80% Hispanic and can confirm this tastes authentic to what I grew up with
I did a mix of queso blanco and Monterey Jack for the filling
I feel like the ingredients are wrong. Did you mean 4 cups of chicken broth? 2 cups makes it way too thick
Excellent red enchilada sauce so easy third time making it .
Terrible, made this…it was terrible.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the recipe. Thanks for the feedback and giving it a try.
I agree. Terrible.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try.
Wow how incredibly rude of you to say “terrible”. I’d you didn’t care for it just say that. It’s not hard to say I didn’t care for this specific sauce etc. but “terrible” sheesh!
Oh my goodness, these enchiladas are the absolute best!! I made them with your Spanish rice and am so so soo delighted with how everything turned out! I will be bringing these little gems to a Super Bowl party next weekend. Thanks for the fabulous recipes! 🤩
Easy and they taste just like cheese enchiladas in a restaurant. I will definitely make these again. Followed the recipe exactly.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Our annual March Madness party has a Tex-Mex theme this year as the Final Four is in Houston. This recipe (along with your chicken enchiladas) is exactly what I was looking for.
I love this cheese enchilada recipe and make it fairly often. I always double the sauce, which after you taste it, will NEVER buy a can or jar of it again. I use a larger pan, and just increase the number of enchiladas. I am a mole junky, so along with sour cream, have that as a side.
I usually don’t step outside my comfort zone but did when I saw this recipe for enchiladas. I usually tend to go with well known providers but this recipe drew my attention. I’ve never made enchilada sauce as I usually buy premade. This sauce was unbelievable!! It went so well with the enchiladas. My guest said dinner was exceptional and the best they ever had…and this was from foodies!! This will definitely be my go to recipe and have no fear making these again and again.I doubled the recipe too so people could have leftovers but there were no leftovers…everyone had seconds!
Oh that makes me so happy to hear!! I’m glad that you enjoyed the enchiladas. Way to go outside of your comfort zone too! 😉
Truly fantastic!
My husband can be picky and he had seconds and declared it his favorite dish of all time. The recipe is flexible too although it didn’t really need any modifications. I’m definitely trying more recipes from this website 🙂
Yay! I’m so glad that the enchiladas were a hit! Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe!!!! It tastes just like my mom’s used to. When I’m looking for a recipe to make and it says “Lil Luna” I immediately get it! Your recipes have never failed me, I have so many!! Thank you so much for sharing, certainly makes my baking and cooking so much more fun!!
Awe, thank you so much!! That makes my day!
Due to availability of the chilli powder I had to opt for a different kind and the dish came out yummy as ever. Well worth it.
Being from TX, this is my kind of recipe. It was loved by everyone. Will make it again!
Wow made these for tonight’s Sunday family dinner along with 2 dozen of your green chili chicken enchiladas and all but maybe 1 serving of the chicken ones were devoured! Big family, thank you so much for sharing your expertise. This is a keeper.
I’ve been using this recipe for a few years and it is my #1 go to for cheese enchiladas.
Thanks for sharing.
Is there a gluten free exchange for the flour by using cornstarch? If so, how much cornstarch in place of flour?