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My mom used to make us Entomatadas de Queso at least once a week.
We were not big meat eaters growing up, but we were and are HUGE cheese lovers. This was one of our favorite dishes.
Such a super easy recipe and very adaptable.
Change it up with a different filling as in Chicken Entomatadas to make it your own.
Table of Contents
How to Make It
- Add fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and jalapeno to a pot.
- Cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.
It starts with a homemade tomato sauce (salsa de tomate). To make the sauce spicier, add more jalapeño peppers or use more serrano peppers.
What I’m about to say is widely unpopular in the Mexican culture, but … Yes, you can use a spicy store-bought salsa.
Just be sure NOT to buy chunky salsa. Or, blend the chunky salsa to make it smooth.
- Place the tomatoes, jalapeno, and other sauce ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
The Name Game:
Some people will call these “tomatadas” for short. If you see “Tomatadas” on a menu, know that it’s the same thing as “ENtomatadas.”
These are also referred to as “Tomato Enchiladas.”
What is the difference between entomatadas and enchiladas?
Entomatadas are a type of enchiladas where corn tortillas are fried and drenched in a tomato sauce.
- Fry each corn tortilla lightly on medium heat in large frying pan.
- About 1 minute on each side.
You are not going to need a lot of vegetable oil either. Mega frying is not happening here.
Do NOT use flour tortillas. When flour tortillas are dipped in the tomato sauce, they will become floppy.
Whereas fried corn tortillas will keep their texture.
- Place the fried corn tortilla on paper towels to drain any excess oil.
- Continue frying the rest of the tortillas.
To determine which are the best oils for frying it really depends on what you are frying.
For the most part, I prefer to use vegetable oil because it’s neutral in taste and is great for frying.
- Using your tongs, carefully dip the fried corn tortilla into the tomato mixture.
You will need to work QUICKLY. So, have everything ready for assembling. Call the family to dinner. It will be served soon.
Other Filling Options:
- Shredded Chicken
- Shredded Beef
- Cooked diced potatoes
- Cooked carrots and peas
- frijoles de la olla
- Cooked spinach
- Calabacitas a la Mexicana
- Lay the tortilla in a casserole dish or serving plate and add the filling.
- Fold the other side in. Repeat with each tortilla until done.
- Cover with foil paper to keep them warm.
In the picture above, you see queso fresco.
Types of Cheeses to Use:
- Queso Fresco (traditional)
- Queso Panela
- Requesón (or a cheese similar to Ricotta)
- Cotija cheese (For topping only. This crumbled cheese is very salty)
- Añejo (For topping only. This cheese is also very salty)
- Queso Oaxaca and Queso Monterey will not have enough time to melt and not ideal for stuffing.
Serve immediately, or they will get COLD. Be sure to cover with foil paper and place them in a warm oven until your family is sitting at the table. Or…
Pro Tip:
If you’re not serving right away…
- Fold and stuff the tortillas. Place them in a casserole dish and place them in a warm oven.
- Warm up the tomato sauce when ready to serve.
- Then pour the sauce over the stuffed tortillas and serve immediately.
What To Serve It With
To serve your Cheese Entomatadas, top with more queso fresco, white onion, mexican crema, and chopped cilantro. Add more sauce to the plate and serve immediately. You can also add thin slices of red onion.
An incredibly DELICIOUS dish you’re sure to enjoy!
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Entomatadas
Ingredients
- 4 Roma tomatoes
- 1 jalapeno
- ¼ onion
- 1 clove garlic
- Water enough to cover everything
- 1 tspn Salt
- 1 cup oil
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 10-ounce package Queso Fresco
Instructions
- In a stock pot, add tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and water.
- (Add enough water to cover everything).
- Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn heat off.
- Carefully discard the hot water.
- Add everything to a blender and salt.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour salsa into a deep plate.
- Heat oil in a large pan.
- Fry each tortilla individually for 1 minute on each side.
- Place on a paper towel to drain any excess fat.
- Dip the fried tortilla in the salsa.
- Lay the tortilla on the serving plate and fill with cheese.
- Fold the other side in.
- Repeat with each tortilla until done.
- Top with lettuce, tomato, etc.
- Serve immediately.
I never have had Entomadas but you do not have to sell me on a great Mexican meal. I will try and make these soon for my whole family.
Hope you do! You and your family will love this recipe
Easy and tastes so good!!!
Simple is sometimes better!
So delicious!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed this.
This was so delicious! My husband and I had entomatadas in a restaurant that closed down and we’ve been pining for them ever since! We added some chorizo and a poached egg on top. Thank you!! We will make this again and again.
Sounds so good! Glad you liked it!
Easy and delicious!! I made these yesterday and we loved them!! The salsa we amazing!! Thanks for the recipe!
Right? So easy and delicious
Delicious!! We all loved them and they even brought back memories for my mother of when she was little. Thanks for the recipe.
Glad you liked it! This recipe is so easy and delicious.
This was soo easy to make and the salsa is delicious! I recommend making it we use it to dip chips and pour over eggs as well and it’s my new favorite salsa.
That makes me so happy to hear! Glad you liked it.
Very good recipe. I learned to make my entomatadas at age 16 in Caborca Sonora. My Godmother showed me how. They were compelety different,,She made the tomato sauce like you the tortiallas like your added cheese and strips of fresh green chili, rolled and placed in pan. She then put lots of sauce over them, evaporated milk on them and lots of cheese. She baked them and they were delicious. All the Library staff wanted me to make them always. Thank you for your easy recipe.
What sweet memories!
Easy dinner to make and delicious served with rice and beans
Right? So easy and delicious
I absolutely loved this and my picky son did too, luckily my daughter will eat almost anything and she’s smaller than all of us. I’m half Mexican and my boyfriend he’s full but neither of us had ever heard of these. I thought what a simple yummy sounding meal and it was. I wasn’t sure how to eat them so I assembled and ate them like a taco (plus easier for my kids). With a little further research I guess they’re like enchiladas but tomato based. We all enjoyed them as messy tacos haha so I think that’s just how we’ll do them. Do you know what part of Mexico this is from or where it originated? We live in California but I never seen them on a menu anywhere here. They’re really good and I like being able to play with it a little bit but it’s so simple and the simplicity is what makes it so good! Thank you.
Definitely a keeper I enjoyed it and will be making it again.
Definitely a keeper. Thank you will be making this again.
What a great, simple recipe! I’ve made this a few times and my family loves it! We have a vegetarian in the family and this makes it super easy to accomplish her and us meat eaters too! Thank you for sharing!
Right! That’s exactly why I love making entomatadas. Everyone is happy!
This was our comfort food when we were growing up. My mom made them with homemade flour tortillas instead of corn and filled them with potato & cheese. OMG! They were even better the next day!! I’ve never made them with corn tortillas or chicken but this recipe sounds really delicious. I’m going to try it. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
If you’ve never had Entomatadas, I encourage you to try them. You’ll love them.
I grew up eating this recipe. My mom made the best. My children love entomatadas with chicken too. Thanks for sharing this recipe, because I always thought growing up, that my mom made this recipe up. No of my friends heard of Entomatadas.
Love Queso Fresco and this sounds perfect with the cheese inside and on top. Your Entomatadas look incredible. Definitely adding this to my menu.
Oh wow this sounds so good!!! I’m all for meatless recipes like this! Perfect to customize if you want to add chicken or meat!
This Mexican recipe looks outstanding, I love Mexican cuisine and would love to try this sometime.
Oh my this sounds delicious! I’m not a big meat eater either but definitely a lover of cheese 🙂
Oh my gosh! I never heart of this dish before, but these entomatadas look simply divine! I love Mexican food ♥