My hubs loves enchiladas and so I make them sometimes for him. I have never been a huge fan of traditional enchiladas. I have tried several different traditional sauces and I just always feel like they are okay. There is nothing really wrong with them, but I feel like they just are not like WOW, that is so good.
I have tried traditional red sauces, traditional green sauces, spicy sauces. I have always just felt, ehh, about them.
Then I had an idea to stop being so traditional about them. I was like, why not make them more me. Make them more something I would really enjoy too. So, I thought about what flavors I really like together and how could I flip this dish on it’s head to make it more flavorful.
Tex Mex vs Traditional
I love traditional Mexican food. I also really love Tex Mex food. I was thinking about enchiladas and I was thinking how I could make them more Tex Mex to give them a flavor I would enjoy more. I saw a similar recipe to this one and thought hmmm… I may like it better with the flavors of chili versus the flavors of classic enchiladas.
That is how these chili cheese enchiladas were born. I basically made a thinner chili, so a chili sauce. Then I swapped out the corn tortillas for flour. I used cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses. Then I served them with homemade guacamole.
The result… an enchilada I can get on board with! These are flavorful and delicious. Also, btw… the hubs even enjoyed them more than the traditional ones too! Win, win!
Ingredients in this dish
Start with basically a sofrito. A sofrito is a combination of aromatics used in Spanish foods mainly. It is usually onions, garlic and peppers. This one is yellow onion, garlic and jalapeno pepper.
Then you add in tomato product. Tomato paste will help caramelize and add flavor to the bottom of the pan. It will also help thicken the sauce a little bit. You will also need crushed tomatoes to build your sauce.
Next, it is all about the spices. In this dish you will be using all of the classic spices that we use in chili. You will need chili powder, cumin, paprika, and I like to use Mexican oregano in here and in my chili.
Chef’s Tips
This is a dish that can be made ahead and can even benefit from that. The chili sauce can hold in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Chili is one of those things that gets better with time. The flavors meld together and get deeper, so don’t be afraid to make the sauce in advance.
The whole dish can be assembled up to the day before it is baked. You can also par bake it and freeze it for a quick and easy dinner during the week.
The biggest tip with this dish is not to cook the chili sauce for too long. You want the sauce to develop flavor, but you are not making full blown chili, so you do not want it to thicken as much. So, you will only cook this sauce for about an hour versus 3-4 hours like my chili recipe.
Chili cheese enchiladas
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes--I like to use no salt added so I can control the salt in my sauce
- 2 cups beef or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 pkg flour tortillas
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 8 oz Monterey jack cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add the olive oil to a medium saucepan. Once the oil is heated, add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Add a nice pinch of kosher salt and a few cracks of black pepper.
- Add the jalapeno and saute until the pepper is softened. Add in the tomato paste and let it cook for a few minutes. This will allow the acid flavor to cook out and also for some brown bits to form flavor on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and add another nice pitch of salt and cracks of pepper. This is building layers of flavor
- Add in the stock and add in the spices. Stir until everything is well combined. Let this sauce cook for at least an hour, no more than an hour and a half. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
- While the sauce cooks, heat the flour tortillas for about 30-45 seconds in the microwave to soften them and make them pliable to roll.
- Grate the cheese, I like to grate my own as the pre-grated doesn't melt as nicely. Mix the cheeses together and reserve about 1/4 cup for the top. Use the rest to roll up in the tortillas.
- To assemble, lay down a thin layer of the chili sauce, top with the rolled, cheese filled tortillas. Top with a generous amount of the chili sauce and the reserved shredded cheeses.
- Bake covered, (tip-cover with plastic and then foil and the foil won't stick to the cheese as it melts and it will help melt it evenly), for 30 minutes. Uncover it and bake it for another 15-20 minutes until it is golden brown and bubbly.
- Serve with freshly made guacamole and/or sour cream and fresh cilantro. ENJOY!
