An easy enchilada sauce that is ready for your favorite enchilada recipes. Like these street style enchiladas that are a variation to a traditional rolled plate of enchiladas. Often sold in puestos from street vendors in the mercados or road stands in various parts of Mexico. The stand out flavors come from the flavorful enchilada sauces which are typical prepared using dried chile peppers. I found myself with only a few dried peppers, so decided to make good use of the spices in my pantry. For this version in today’s blog post, I gathered my best spices out of the cupboard and prepared a Tex Mex version of enchilada sauce. I often explain to friends that my family’s version of enchiladas was all about the garnishes. Garnished with fresh ingredients, such as crisp lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and just a sprinkle of crumbled queso fresco or cotija. At the end of the blog post you will find a recipe for Enchilada Casserole. Great for a big crowd or large family. If you would like a more authentic recipe for enchilada sauce, go to the end of the blog post. #thewholeenchilada #foodiforlife
Whether you enjoy your enchiladas folded over, rolls or layered in a casserole, this easy Tex Mex-style enchilada sauce comes together quickly for any night of the week! The enchiladas below are filled with beef picadillo and black beans.
Easy Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chile ancho powder dark, mild
- 2 tablespoons red chile powder bright red, mild, Gebhardt brand
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano crushed
- 1/2 tablespoon dry onion flakes optional
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth In a pinch I will use chicken soup base to make a broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes to taste optional
You will also need
- 12 corn tortillas
- grapeseed or olive oil
- 3 cups cooked finely shredded chicken, beef or pork
- Lettuce or cabbage finely shredded
- Tomato slices thin sliced onion, radishes
- 1 avocado sliced
- Queso fresco or cotija crumbled
- Mexican crema
- Salsa or hot sauce of your choice
- Cilantro chopped
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Directions
- In a large skillet, heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Add in all of the remaining ingredients for the sauce in the order listed, making sure you whisk now and then. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and taste for salt. Cook at a simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until it thickens. Turn to low heat.
- Transfer the shredded meat to a medium pan and mix in 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, just enought to moisten the meat. Cover and keep warm on low.
- In a separate skillet, preheat 1/4 cup of oil to medium heat for a few minutes. One at a time, dip a corn tortilla into the enchilada sauce, then fry it in the oil for 30 seconds per side. Transfer to baking pan, fill with a couple tablespoons of meat and fold over like a taco. Continue dipping and cooking tortillas until all done. Serve right away or keep warm in a low temperature oven. Ladle any extra sauce over enchiladas right before serving. Garnish with your favorite toppings listed. Yields 4 servings.
Notes
The enchiladas pictured are the same ones from above with picadillo and black beans.
The Street-Style Enchiladas pictured above are filled with crumbled queso fresco, sauteed zucchini, bell peppers, onion and serrano. often times, this style of enchilada is folded like a taco instead of rolled. Topped with lettuce, onion, sliced chiles, cotija, sour cream, radishes and avocado.
The enchiladas above are the same, minus all the cheese and sour cream, lol! My husband’s plate. I will take his portion of cheese anyday! And below, one side with no cheese again, lol!
A silky and easy enchilada sauce using spices in your pantry.
Enchilada Casserole for a Crowd
When cooking for a large family gathering, I like to prepare a big pan of layered enchiladas.
Layered Enchilada Casserole. Click link to see Mom’s Picadillo(Beef) Recipe!
https://pinaenlacocina.com/moms-picadillo-con-papaground-beef-in-fresh-tomato-sauce-with-potatoes/
Layered Enchilada Casserole
You will need
A double batch of Easy Enchilada Sauce, see recipe above
4 cups cooked and seasoned ground beef(Picadillo)
2 cup diced, fried potatoes
3 to 4 cups shredded jack, colby jack or chihuahua cheese
18 corn tortillas
Smoked Paprika and Mexican Oregano
Sour Cream, garnish
In a deep dish lasagna pan, cover the bottom with enchilada sauce. Layer 6 corn tortillas to cover the bottom. Add 1/3 of beef and 1/3 of potatoes. Cover with sauce and 1 cup of cheese over top. Repeat 2 more layers, ending with sauce and cheese on top. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and crushed mexican oregano. Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 40 minutes. Under the broiler the last few minutes to brown the cheese. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Yields up to 10 servings.
What size corn tortillas do you use? I plan to make my own. Thanks!
Use a standard size 5-6 inch corn tortilla
Also any tips on how to keep corn tortillas from breaking when rolled for enchiladas and taquitos? I’m a newbie to Mexican cooking :-).
I like to brush my tortillas with oil and cook them for about 35 to 40 seconds per side on a hot griddle pan. Then I stack them in between foil paper to let them steam a little before filling and rolling them. It is traditional to fry them lightly to soften them, but I find that brushing them with oil works just as well.
Made this tonight for supper. It was delicious! We like lots of spice so we added crushed red pepper and a jalapeño (pureed it with a little sauce, then added it back to the rest of the batch). Thanks for a simple and inexpensive recipe!
Oh, that’s so awesome to hear! I really love this recipe for a quick enchilada dinner night. Thank you so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it.
This is such an inspiring Latin site! Thanks for your efforts…..I’ll surely try these wonderful dishes! Thanks so much!
Thank you Susan!