Enchiladas Rojas

Enchiladas are a fantastic way to use up leftovers. And tortillas stuffed with meat, beans, veggies and cheese, then smothered in sauce and baked in the oven, are the ultimate comfort food. Our recipe for enchiladas rojas, aka enchiladas in a vibrant red chile-spiked sauce, may look long, but the techniques are simple. Once you learn how to make enchiladas rojas and get in the enchilada-making groove, you may never reach for jarred enchilada sauce again—my advice is to double this red enchiladas recipe for extra leftovers.

Most people are familiar with several types of enchiladas: enchiladas rojas, verdes and suizas. The rojas sauce is made with tomato and various chiles, including dried guajillo, which gives it a deep red color. Enchiladas verdes, or green enchiladas, use fresh green chiles and tomatillos. Enchiladas suizas are like enchiladas verdes but with cream added to the sauce. These Mexican dishes make excellent weeknight meals and are easy to freeze for extra dinners down the road.

Enchiladas Rojas Ingredients

• Onion: Onion helps build the backbone of most sauces. White or yellow onion will do the trick. If using onion as a garnish, choose red.
• Canola oil: Canola is a neutral cooking oil that won’t impart flavor to the sauce.
• Flour: A small amount of all-purpose flour helps thicken the sauce and prevent the dish from getting too juicy.
• Spices: To season the enchilada sauce, use chili powder, salt, cumin and garlic powder. You could always use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder, if desired.
• Rubbed sage: Rubbed sage is a light, fluffy version of dried sage. Sage powder is finer and extra potent, so use less if that’s what you have.
• Canned tomato products: You’ll use canned stewed tomatoes, including the liquid, in the chicken filling and canned tomato sauce in the topping. Use whatever brand you love the most.
• Shredded chicken: Although the recipe calls for store-bought rotisserie chicken, you can make Mexican enchiladas rojas from leftover roasted chicken or chicken breasts.
• Guajillo chiles: These dried peppers have a medium spice level and a fruity and slightly smoky flavor. They’re integral to some traditional mole sauces and perfect for chili recipes, soups and stews.
• Butter: You can use unsalted or salted butter. If you use the latter, you may want to adjust the salt in the recipe.
• Garlic: Minced garlic adds aromatic flavor and kick to the sauce. You can also use pressed garlic or grate the cloves on a microplane.
• Jalapeno pepper: To avoid jalapeno hands, wear gloves or wash your hands carefully before touching your face or eyes. Most of the capsaicin, aka the spicy stuff, is in the seeds and the soft white pith.
• Chicken broth: I’m a homemade chicken broth fanatic, and it is my go-to for this red enchiladas recipe. You can also use one of the best chicken broth brands for great flavor.
• Flour tortillas: This version of enchiladas uses 6-inch flour tortillas, but corn tortillas are more traditional, so use ’em if you’ve got ’em.
• Colby-Monterey Jack cheese: Any mellow, melty cheese in the Monterey Jack or cheddar family would work beautifully sprinkled over this dish. Colby-Jack is fun because of its marbled orange-and-cream color scheme.
• Garnishes: Some popular garnishes include chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro, jalapeno slices, red onion and avocado cubes. Sour cream would be nice too.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the chicken

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large skillet, cook the onion in oil over medium heat until tender, four to five minutes. Stir in the flour, chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder and rubbed sage.

Add the stewed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add the chicken and stir until coated.

Step 2: Rehydrate the chiles

Pour boiling water over the dried chiles to cover, and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain and lightly chop the chiles.

Step 3: Make the sauce

In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, for one minute or until tender. Whisk in the flour until just blended, then gradually whisk in the broth. Add the rehydrated chiles. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened, about two minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and seasonings.

Puree the sauce using an immersion blender.

Editor’s Tip: If you don’t have an immersion blender, an essential kitchen tool in my book, you can use any high-powered blender or even a food processor to blend the sauce.

Step 4: Construct the enchiladas

Pour 1-1/2 cups sauce into an ungreased 13×9-inch baking dish. Place about 1/4 cup chicken mixture off-center on each tortilla, and top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cheese. Roll up and place the tortillas in the sauce, seam side down.

Top with the remaining sauce.

Step 5: Bake the enchiladas

Bake, covered, until heated through, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and continue baking, uncovered, until the cheese melts, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Serve with toppings as desired.

Enchiladas Rojas Variations

• Make it verde: Make a green enchilada sauce with tomatillos, chiles and limes instead of the red sauce. To make enchiladas suizas, add Mexican crema, sour cream or Greek yogurt to the sauce.
• Create a veggie version: Make enchiladas with canned or homemade black beans, cantina pinto beans or home-style refried beans. You could skip the legumes and fill the tortillas with your favorite vegetables, such as zucchini, bell peppers, wilted greens, sauteed garlic mushrooms or jackfruit. The “meaty” textured plant food would make a great filling.
• Use another meat: Enchiladas can be made with turkey, pork, ground or shredded beef, or Mexican-style chorizo sausage.

How to Store Enchiladas Rojas

Leftover Mexican enchiladas rojas should be tightly sealed and stored in the fridge. Store the red enchiladas in the dish in which you baked them or move them to an airtight container. Eat the enchiladas within four days, but know that the tortillas will continue to soften as they sit.

Can you freeze enchiladas rojas?

If you are freezing unbaked enchiladas rojas, it’s best to do so before adding the sauce. Pack your rolled enchiladas into a foil pan, wrap it thoroughly and pop it in the freezer. You can make the sauce at the same time and freeze it separately. Then, thaw both in the fridge overnight, combine and cook according to the recipe.

To freeze already-cooked enchiladas, cool them completely, wrap them tightly and store them for up to three months.

How should you reheat enchiladas rojas?

Cover the leftover red enchiladas with foil and bake them at 350° until heated through. Then, remove the foil and give them a few more minutes to crisp up.

Enchiladas Rojas Tips

Should you use corn or flour tortillas for red enchiladas?

This recipe calls for flour tortillas, but in Mexico, it’s traditional to use corn tortillas, which lend the dish additional flavor. Using flour tortillas is more associated with Tex-Mex or other American variations on the dish. If you use corn tortillas, try frying them lightly before rolling them with the filling.

What else can you serve with enchiladas rojas?

These enchiladas cover a meal’s protein and starch components, but a vegetable side dish or two would round things out. Consider dishes like fiesta coleslaw or honey-lime coleslaw, or some stir-fried zucchini. A pot of black beans and a side of guacamole and chips never hurts!