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Serve me a plate of Enchiladas Rojas, or Red Enchiladas, and I’m one happy gal!
This is how my mom, my grandma, and everyone I know in my family makes them.
Fried corn tortillas, then dipped in a tasty and rich chile sauce, stuffed with cheese…. Mmm! Deliciousness in every bite!
More Recipes You’ll Love:
Chicken Mole Enchiladas
Enchiladas Suizas
Enchiladas Dulces
Entomatadas
Ingredients
Making enchilada sauce from scratch is easier than you think!
Above are the ingredients you need to make this recipe.
Missing ingredient: WATER! You’ll need water to rehydrate the chiles and to blend the chile.
How to Rehydrate Dried Chiles
- Cut off the stem.
- Cut lengthwise.
- Remove seeds and veins.
- Repeat with all the chiles.
- Place in a stockpot.
From here, cover with water. Bring to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat, but leave the chiles covered for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, the chiles will be pliable.
If they are not, leave them in the hot water for another 5 minutes. Sometimes older chiles take longer to rehydrate.
How to Make The Sauce
- Add all the rehydrated chiles and sauce ingredients into a blender.
- Add water and blend until smooth.
Look for a thick, red sauce. Some people will use chicken bouillon instead of salt, or chicken broth instead of water. Either of these substitutions will help enhance the flavor of the sauce.
Pro Tip
Make this sauce ahead of time. It lasts in the fridge for up to 7 days and up to 6 months in the freezer.
For a runnier sauce: Add a splash of water or ¼ cup tomato sauce until you reach the desired consistency.
- Heat oil in a stock pot.
- Place the strainer over the stock pot.
- Strain the sauce.
Using a cooking spoon, push the sauce into the pot. Discard any bits that remain in the strainer.
Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
- Fry the tortillas. 1-2 minutes on each side.
- Place on paper towels to drain any excess oil.
Cover with aluminum foil so they can stay warm.
Stiff tortillas do not fold easily. If they get cold, put them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
FYI: Authentic enchiladas are made with corn tortillas not flour tortillas.
- Dip the fried tortilla into the sauce.
- Place on a plate.
The oil from the frying helps the sauce stick to the tortilla.
Even if the tortillas are cold, as long as the sauce is hot, the enchiladas will be warm.
Should enchiladas be crispy?
Enchiladas made with flour tortillas are soggy. With corn tortillas, though, frying the tortillas will make them crispier. Once they are smothered in the sauce, they will lose some of the texture. The frying is not to make them crispy. It’s for them to pick up oil which will help the sauce stay on the tortilla.
- Add the cheese to the center of the tortilla.
- You can also add chicken and diced onion.
There’s no way around it. Making enchiladas is messy.
Great Idea!
Have one plate that is just for assembling, and a second plate for serving. That way it won’t look so messy.
- Fold the tortilla in on one side.
- Fold the other side of the tortilla in.
- Repeat until done.
How to Keep Them Warm
- Cover them with aluminum foil while assembling.
- Or, place them on a sheet pan. Put in the oven 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately.
How Long Do They Last?
In the fridge, Enchiladas Rojas last up to 5 days. In the freezer, they last up to 5 months in an airtight container.
What to serve with it?
Refried Beans
Mexican Rice
Pickled Jalapenos
Ensalada de Nopales
Every tortilla dreams of being Enchiladas Rojas. Simply delicious and simply irresistible.
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Enchiladas Rojas
Ingredients
- 10 dried guajillo chiles stems removed and deveined
- 4 chile de arbol stems removed and deveined
- 1/2 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/8 tspn cumin
- 2 tspns salt (or chicken bouillon)
- 6 cup water (divided)
- 1.25 cup olive oil (divided)
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 10-ounce Queso Fresco crumbled
Instructions
- Remove all the stems, seeds, and veins from the dried chiles.
- Add the dried chiles to a stock pot and cover them with 4 cups water.
- Bring to a boil.
- Cover with a lid and turn off heat.
- Let sit in the hot water for 5-7 minutes, or until fully pliable
- Discard the water.
- Add the rehydrated chiles, onion, garlic, cumin, and salt to a blender.
- Add the remaining 2 cups water to the blender.
- Blender until smooth.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a stock pot.
- Place strainer over the pot.
- Strain the sauce into the pot. Stirring occasionally.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- In a large skillet, heat the remaining oil.
- Fry the tortillas. 1-2 minutes on each side.
- Place tortillas on a paper towel.
- Drain any excess oil.
- Dip the tortilla into the red chile sauce.
- Place the tortilla on a plate.
- Stuff with 1 tablespoon queso fresco.
- Fold one side of the tortilla over.
- Fold the other side of the tortilla in, creating the shape of a flute.
- Set aside.
- Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Repeat until there are no more tortillas.
- Sprinkle with more queso fresco, diced onion, avocado, and crema mexicana.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cover them with aluminum foil while assembling.
- Or, place them on a sheet pan. Put in the oven 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Yum! I love enchiladas and you have some great tips that helped me while making these.
I’m glad you find these tips useful. Hope you try this recipe!
These enchiladas rojas were delicious!
So glad you liked them!
Those fried red enchiladas look so appetising! Love Mexican recipes!
I do too! Lol. If you can’t tell.
You’re killing me Maggie! I absolutely love enchiladas and your Rojas style looks ah-mazing!!
You’d love these enchiladas. They are super tasty!
This was delicious! Had it for dinner last night and my family enjoyed it so much. Thanks!
Glad you liked it! Great for family dinners.
I’m loving this recipe! YUM!
Glad you like it. It’s yummy!
I was looking for an authentic enchilada recipe. Great recipe! Thanks!
So glad you liked it. I think you”ll love it!
We love enchiladas. This is a fresh new way to make them. I’m putting these on the rotation this week…they look amazing. Can’t wait.
Great. It’s a really yummy dish, hope you try it
Can you use the water at all from then pot you boiled the chilies in???
You can. Yes, I know it’s traditional, but I don’t. Dried chiles are dusty and can be a great place for bugs to hide. That’s why I always use fresh water.
Was looking for an authentic enchilada recipe and I’m excited to try this one. This recipe looks delicious and easy! Question… Can this recipe be made ahead of time, refrigerated, then cooked the following day??
I would recommend making everything ahead of time. Then, assemble the day of. That way, the tortillas don’t get too soggy.
These were delicious! Hubs loved them!
I only have one question… is there a way to make these LESS spicy? I liked the flavor/spice, but my ulcer doesn’t have the same view. 🥴
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!
I’m going to try the verde ones next!
Add 1-2 tomatoes. That will bring down the spice.