Rachel's Real Food Kitchen

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This homemade enchiladas recipe is a labor of love, but it is SO worth it! This was adapted from a cookbook recipe, and it’s become something of our own now. Here’s the recipe for homemade enchiladas:

Ingredients:

• 12 flour burrito shells

Filling:

• 1-1.5lbs ground meat (pork, beef, or sausage will work)
• 1-2 onions
• 1 TB salt
• 1/2-1 tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 1-2 cups sour cream
• 4-6 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
• Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Homemade Enchilada Sauce:

• 32oz crushed tomatoes
• ⅓ cup water
• 1-2 small green jalapenos (adapt according to your tastes)
• 2 TB chili powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
• 1-2 TB sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet peppers (green or colored)

Instructions:

This homemade enchiladas recipe begins by preparing burrito shells, if desired. (I make them from scratch, but it would be fine to use store-bought instead.)

Chop onions. Start meat browning with onions and salt.

While the meat cooks, chop jalapeno peppers into small pieces. (Use gloves!) In a saucepan, put jalepenos, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, and sugar together. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the spices become fragrant.

Add crushed tomatoes and water. (Watch for splattering.) Stir to deglaze pan. Transfer sauce into blender. Blend until pepper pieces have been chopped thoroughly. Transfer back into saucepan and heat through.

Drain the meat and onions mixture if desired.

Stir in white pepper, sour cream, cheese, and chopped sweet peppers. (Add chopped parsley here too if desired.)

Now here’s where the homemade enchiladas recipe gets a little tricky to explain on paper, but I think a few pictures will clear the confusion right up. 🙂 Let me know if something isn’t clear!

Transfer warm sauce into a flat dish. (I use a pie plate.)

Coat shells quickly on both sides with sauce.

Put filling in the middle and roll up shells. Line them up in an ungreased cake pan.

Once the pan is full, cover the homemade enchiladas with sauce.

Bake this homemade enchiladas recipe at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly. You can dry them out a bit, or leave them very runny. It’s completely up to you! I prefer them a bit drier, but others in my family prefer them very moist. Allow to cool slightly. Serve warm!

This makes approximately a 9×13 cake pan + 8” square cake pan. (This is only approximate. Please see note below.)

A Few Notes on My Homemade Enchiladas Recipe…

First, I’ve used jalapenos or dried guajillo peppers alike. Guajillo peppers are fairly mild, so I usually use several in a recipe like this (and I use the seeds too). I’ve also used dried anchos (black), but I didn’t really care for them here. They seemed a little too harsh for the homemade enchiladas recipe, and it was incredibly hot (without the good pepper flavor).

Second, the filling in this homemade enchiladas recipe is very customizable. I usually make these with just sour cream, no cheese, but I’ve included cheese here because it does help bind things together. If you omit cheese, use more sour cream. And you can always adjust the amounts of the ingredients too, depending on what you like.

Also, how much filling you use really depends on how full you like enchiladas, so you may end up with some extra filling when you’re done. Some of my family tries to eat a lower-carb diet, so I usually try to fill mine pretty full, so there are less carbs from the shells per serving. It also depends on the size of the shells you’re using. This is one of those recipes you just have to play by ear… 🙂

Enjoy this recipe? You might like the ideas here too.