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These Red Cheese Enchiladas are an old family favorite recipe that is authentic and simply delicious!! They are cheesy, saucy, and loved by all.
The Best Cheese Enchiladas
We’ve made cheese enchiladas for decades, and they are INCREDIBLE!!
With our Hispanic heritage we have been surrounded by amazing cooks our whole lives. This recipe was first handed down from our great-grandma Bean Burro down to my grandma, then to my mom and now to us.
Minor tweaks have been made over the years, but we are confident they are even better than the restaurants and are perfect served with Pinto Beans, Spanish Rice, or maybe even some Beef Empanadas.
Why we love them:
- Simple. Even making a homemade enchilada sauce, this recipe comes together quick and is no-fail!
- Delicious. The flavors and spices and cheese make these enchiladas to die-for and perfect for any Mexican meal.
- Perfect for parties. Whether it’s for Christmas or fiesta, these enchiladas (along with our Chicken Enchiladas) are the star on the menu.
Ingredients
- vegetable oil
- all-purpose flour
- Gebhardt Chili Powder – our favorite chili powder (but any brand works)
- garlic powder
- oregano
- salt
- cumin
- chicken broth
- Corn Tortillas
- Mexican Blend Cheese – “Mexican blend cheese”, is what is typically used in restaurant enchiladas. It is a blend of cheeses usually consisting of Monterrey Jack, Cheddar or Colby Jack, and cheeses that melt easily such as asadero and oaxaca (also known as quesadilla cheese).
How to Make Cheese Enchiladas
- BEGIN SAUCE. To make these enchiladas, you have to begin with the enchilada sauce. This is made by adding oil to the pot and heating on Medium heat. Pour in flour and create a roux by whisking together for 1-2 minutes.
- SPICES. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oregano and mix until clumpy.
- BROTH. 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.
- ASSEMBLE. Get your pan close to your sauce, along with a bowl of shredded cheese, and your tortillas. Dip each tortilla into the sauce until soft and put into the greased dish.
- FILL + ROLL. Add 1/4 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 (uncovered) at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
PRO TIP: Easy Rolling
Our favorite way to make sure tortillas roll up easily is by wrapping the corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwaving for about 30 seconds. You can also flash fry them in oil for a few seconds on each side before dipping them in the sauce. Either method makes for easy rolling.
Cheese Enchiladas
Restaurant-Style Red Cheese Enchiladas are an old family favorite recipe that is simply the best!! They are cheesy, saucy, and so yummy.
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
- 1/2 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 11×7 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.
Video
Notes
MAKE AHEAD OF TIME. These can made ahead of time, covered and refrigerated for 24 hours in advance.
STORE in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
FREEZE by making a disposable tray, covering tightly with foil and placing in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 64kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Fat: 4g, Sodium: 480mg, Potassium: 62mg, Vitamin C: 5.4mg, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
What are the best toppings for cheese enchiladas?
- Fresh vegetables: sliced avocado, sliced black olives, diced tomatoes, diced green onions, diced jalapeno peppers
- Salsas: Pico de Gallo, Homemade Salsa, Guacamole, Avocado Cream Sauce
- Dairy and cheese: sour cream, cotija cheese, queso fresco
Can I add meat to these enchiladas?
- Yes, any kind of meat you like! We’ve added rotisserie chicken, Shredded Chicken, Pork Barbacoa, and even shredded beef (our Beef Enchiladas are basically this recipe with the addition of beef).
Can cheese enchiladas be made ahead of time?
- These can made ahead of time, covered and refrigerated for 24 hours in advance.
How to store cheese enchiladas?
- STORE in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- FREEZE by making a disposable tray, covering tightly with foil and placing in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
I like the simplicity of this recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
Hope you enjoy the enchiladas!
WOW – made this tonite – it turned out so good! Tasted better than I get at our local restaurant.
Awe, that makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad it tasted like restaurant quality. I love it! 🙂
Kristyn I made the enchiladas with you sauce last month and they were perfect! Today I made them again and the corn tortillas broke apart when I rolled them. I used the same technique. Any recommendations you can give me will be appreciated!
I have found that it depends on the type of corn tortillas you use. I like to use the Kroger brand because they don’t break apart so easily. Although I have found that the white corn tortillas of the Kroger brand tend to break apart more easily than the Kroger yellow corn tortillas. I wish I could say that all corn tortillas are the same but in my experience I have found that the quality varies greatly. The best thing I would suggest would be to try out different brands of corn tortillas to see which ones hold up the best. I wish I had an easier solution for you! Hope this helps!
I use different tortillas and found that you need to heat them up (either pan or microwave) before dipping them. Be cautioned that this means they are already soft so you just need a very quick dip into the sauce BUT they won’t fall apart when you roll them.
This is by far my favorite enchilada recipe, my family loved it, too!! Using Gebhardt chili powder makes it 💯. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I agree Gebhardt is the best!
Ok this was the most frustrating recipe. First of all, no matter what I did I could not get the lumps out of the sauce. Second, while barely dipping to coat the tortillas, they fell apart all over the pan. Gonna have to make some modifications to this to convince me to make it again.
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Trudi,
When I made these for last week’s Super Bowl party, I had the same problem with the corn tortillas. As soon as I dipped them in the warm tortillas sauce, they fell apart. Thank goodness I had some flour tortillas on hand so I used them.
Great recipe in its simplicity. Given we live overseas, we always have New Mexico red chili powder in the pantry since it is difficult to find in Italy. The red sauce is just spicy enough to not offend anyone. We improved the recipe by adding a few chopped onions in the enchiladas and removing the foil during the final minutes of the baking to brown a bit.
Sounds tasty! Thanks for sharing what you do.
How many tortillas do you use and how much Mexican cheese? They feed 6 people, so is that 2 enchiladas per person? Thanks!
About! I honestly just eyeball the amount of cheese and I use however many tortillas it takes to fill my pan. There is usually always enough for each serving to include 2 enchiladas, sometimes more if I make them small.
What Mexican cheese ? What substitute would you recommend
They have Mexican Cheese blends at most local grocery stores. You could also use Monterrey Jack cheese, cheddar or Colby Jack or a combination of them.
Great enchilada sauce! Easy and makes great cheese enchiladas
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed the sauce!
These are sooo good. Only sub made was using better than boullion no chicken base with water (instead of chicken broth) to make them vegetarian. They are now a favorite at our house and super easy to make!
Oh I’m so glad that you enjoyed the enchiladas!! Thanks for sharing!