Enchiladas Rojas is one of my all-time favorite Mexican comfort foods! It is a standard dish in Mexican cuisine. Just. So. Good! 🇲🇽
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Serve me a plate of these Red Enchiladas, and I’m one happy gal!
Fried corn tortillas dipped in a tasty and rich chile sauce, and then stuffed with cheese… Deliciousness in every bite!
This enchilada recipe is how my mom, my grandma, and everyone I know in my family makes them.
And, if you happen not to be a fan of this type of enchilada, you should give Enchiladas Verdes a try.
Table of Contents
🥘 Ingredients
- dried guajillo chiles
- chile de arbol
- onion
- garlic cloves
- whole cumin (or ground)
- salt (or chicken bouillon)
- water
- olive oil
- corn tortillas
- Queso Fresco crumbled
- Mexican oregano (optional)
- Optional toppings: chopped cilantro, sliced onions, diced tomatoes, sour cream, avocado
Missing ingredient: water! You’ll need water to rehydrate the chiles and to blend the chile.
Making authentic enchilada sauce from scratch is easier than you think!
Above are the main ingredients you need to make this recipe. Due to regional differences, some people use ancho chiles or tomatoes, but not in our family’s recipe.
🌶️ Rehydrating Dried Chiles:
- Cut off the stem and cut lengthwise.
- Remove seeds and veins.
- Repeat with all the chiles.
- Place in a stockpot.
From here, cover it with water. Bring to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat, but leave the chiles covered for 5 minutes in the warm water.
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.
Making the Sauce
- Add all the rehydrated chiles and sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor.
- Add water and blend until smooth.
Look for a thick, red enchilada sauce. Some people will use chicken bouillon instead of salt, or chicken broth instead of water. Either of these substitutions will help enhance the depth of flavor.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- For a runnier sauce: Add ¼ cup water or ¼ cup of tomato sauce until you reach the desired consistency.
- For a thicker sauce, use 1 tablespoon tomato paste + a splash of water.
- Make the red chili sauce ahead of time. It lasts in the fridge for up to 7 days and up to 6 months in the freezer.
- This enchiladas rojas recipe can also be a great way to use leftover meat, like shredded chicken breasts or ground beef.
- Heat oil in a stock pot.
- Place the strainer over the stock pot.
- Using a cooking spoon, push the sauce into the pot. Discard any bits that remain in the strainer.
- Bring the red chile sauce to a simmer for 5 minutes.
Assembling Enchiladas
- Fry the tortillas. 1-2 minutes on each side on medium heat.
- Drain on a paper towel to remove the 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.
- Dip the fried tortilla into the homemade enchilada sauce.
- Place the rolled enchiladas 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.
- Add the cheese to the center of the tortilla.
- You can also add shredded chicken and diced onion.
Fyi: Authentic enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, not flour tortillas.
More Enchilada Recipes
- Fold the tortilla in on one side.
- Fold the other side of the tortilla in.
- Repeat with the rest of the tortillas until done.
There’s no way around it. Making enchiladas is messy. Unless..
Less Messy Assembling
How I’ve shown you above is the traditional way. However, my favorite (less messy) way to assemble is:
- Roll up the enchiladas with the filling.
- Place them snug in a baking dish.
- Then pour the sauce over the enchiladas.
- Cover with foil and keep them in a warm oven until ready to serve. Top with your favorite toppings and serve!
- Note: This will also keep them warm longer.
🙋🏻♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Enchiladas Rojas are made of fried tortillas dipped in a savory chile sauce and stuffed with queso or cooked meat. Typically topped with cheese and onion.
Enchiladas Rojas can trace their roots back to ancient Mexico, where the Aztecs used to roll tortillas around small fish and smother them in chili sauce. This dish has since evolved into a versatile recipe that can be customized with various fillings and sauces. The rich red sauce we know and love today is made from a blend of dried red chilies, tomatoes (used in some variations), garlic, and spices – a true celebration of Mexico’s vibrant culinary heritage!
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.
In Mexico, red enchiladas are called “Enchiladas Rojas.” The word rojo (or roja) meaning “red” to describe the chile sauce.
🫙 Storing Instructions
In the fridge, Enchiladas Rojas last up to 4-5 days. In the freezer, they last up to 5 months in an airtight container.
🍽️ Serve With
Enchiladas Rojas are delicious and simply irresistible. Every tortilla dreams of becoming this authentic recipe. Top with sour cream, queso fresco (or Cotija Cheese), diced white onions, and cilantro, to make your tastebuds sing!
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Enchiladas Rojas
Ingredients
- 10 dried guajillo chiles stems removed and deveined
- 4 chile de arbol stems removed and deveined
- ½ onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ⅛ 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.
Thank you for this recipe I made it for my family and they LOVED them.
I love these types of comments. Glad you liked them!
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.
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.
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.
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
I was looking for an authentic enchilada recipe. Great recipe! Thanks!
So glad you liked it. I think you”ll love it!
I’m loving this recipe! YUM!
Glad you like it. It’s yummy!
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.
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!
Those fried red enchiladas look so appetising! Love Mexican recipes!
I do too! Lol. If you can’t tell.
These enchiladas rojas were delicious!
So glad you liked them!
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!