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Our easy Cheese Enchiladas recipe transforms corn tortillas, red enchilada sauce, and cheese into the most delicious 30 minute meal the whole family will love!
I could live off Cheese Enchiladas.
Sometimes the simplest recipes hit all the right notes, and nothing beats classic cheese enchiladas smothered in a homemade red enchilada sauce. The ingredients are simple and it all comes quickly, with no thawing or chopping. You can make them next-level by using our homemade enchilada sauce, or store-bought is great too, for a really quick and easy dinner.
I'm a Mexican food aficionado and have so many favorite Mexican-inspired recipes, like Chile Verde, Tamales, Tacos Al Pastor, Chilaquiles, Elotes or Pozole Verde.
How to make Cheese Enchiladas:
Assemble: Heat a dry skillet then warm both sides of the tortilla in pan, until softened and pliable. Or, use my easy recipe to make your own corn tortillas. Pour ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ dish. Fill each tortilla with a handful of cheese then roll tightly, placing it in the pan with the seam side down. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top then sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese on top.
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and top with shredded cabbage, cotija cheese, chopped tomatoes, and a drizzle of sour cream. Enjoy with a side of refried beans, Mexican Rice, and Horchata.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: You can prep homemade cheese enchiladas several days in advance if you'd like. I recommend arranging the enchiladas in the baking dish then covering well, and storing the sauce in a separate airtight container. Then pour on the sauce and cheese when ready to bake. If you want to assemble it with the sauce, you can a few hours before baking.
To Freeze: Follow the recipe instructions through assembling, but don't bake it. Cover the pan with plastic wrap then tinfoil and keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. Let it thaw completely overnight in the refrigerator before uncovering and baking.
Recipe Variations:
- Bean and Cheese Enchiladas: Fill each tortilla with a scoop of homemade refried beans then sprinkle on the cheese and roll up.
- Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas: Fill each enchilada with cooked, shredded chicken and cheese, or check out my Loaded Chicken Enchiladas recipe.
- Cheese Enchiladas with Green Sauce: Use salsa verde or green enchilada sauce instead of the red.
Serve With:
- Authentic Mexican Rice
- Pico de Gallo
- Homemade Refried Beans
- Restaurant Style Salsa
- Horchata
- Tres Leches Cake
Cheese Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 12-14 white corn tortillas
- 5-6 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 20 ounces red enchilada sauce, , homemade recommended, or canned
- 1 cup cabbage, , thinly shredded
- 1 roma tomato, , diced
- 1/4 cup Cotija cheese, , crumbled, for topping (optional)
- sour cream, , for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Warm corn tortillas on a hot dry skillet for a few seconds on each side, until pliable. Remove to a plate as they're warm and cover with a kitchen towel.
- Assemble: Pour ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13'' pan. Fill each corn tortilla with a handful of cheese (reserving about ½ cup for sprinkling over the top, at the end). Roll tightly, and place seam side down in the pan. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Top with remaining ½ cup of cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and top with shredded cabbage, cotija cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream.
- Serve with a side of Refried Beans and Mexican Rice
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe August 2016. Updated September 2022 and December 2024.
Wow!! Wow!! WOW!!! Everything about this recipe: easy to out together, reminded me of my childhood and my mama’s home cooking!!! This is something she made frequently!!! So SO GOOD!!!
Can these be made the night ahead and cooked the next day. Also what size of tortillas do you use?
Yes, but I would store the enchilada sauce separately and only pour it over the enchiladas just before baking so that the tortillas don’t get soggy.
Corn tortillas don’t get soggy. If anything they will split. Must heat them up before rolling and keep them wet.
Made this (and your sauce) last weekend and am making it again! It’s delicious! I used homemade corn tortillas. This was better than many restaurants I’ve been to and I live in San Antonio, TX!
Hi!! I have used a few of your recipes before and just logged on to get the cheese enchilada one for tonite when I saw you said your hometown was Park City! Me too! We moved back to Austin when I was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, as my kids were in school here and elderly mom was as well….but have been healthy for 11 years so we talk daily about moving back to PC. We miss the mountains fiercely! Just wanted to thank you for you blog, recipes !!
Nan Sebastian (was Bixler) and was in real estate development for 5 subdivisions in PC
512.264.5336
Great sauce! I’m on a project on the Congo river (Africa) – tortillas are scarce here (as is cheddar). To make every square inch of tortilla count, and to share the wealth with the team, we make a layered enchilada casserole. To your awesome sauce, we add canned corn(drained), finely diced garlic and onions to the sauce. In a 9×13 casserole, we layer the sauce, tortillas (about 3 tortillas pieced together flat to cover the area), more sauce, cheddar; repeat twice more, ending with cheese on top. We’re not rolling the tortillas, so we don’t need to preheat or oil them. It takes only 9 tortillas to make a full 9×13 enchilada platter, so when someone arrives on site with 30 tortillas in their backpack, we can get 3 enchilada dinners out of it. “Muito obrigada” for the sauce recipe – we never have leftovers.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This enchilada sauce is the best! Definitely beats any store brand we have tried. We are from Texas and ground meat in the enchilada sauce is a huge thing here. Do you have any tips on how to best incorporate the meat into the sauce?
Yum! I would just brown the meat at the beginning, before making the rest of the sauce.
Funny thing, I’ve always made my enchiladas the same way, I just garnished them differently. I replicated my favorite cheese enchilada from the local restaurant where I grew up. It was easy and so tasty. I never actually thought about it being authentic at all! I’m glad you shared your recipe because now I can point to a website and show people that I actually was making them the correct way all along! Well done!
If you wanted to add chicken, how much would you add?
I’d say 1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 🙂
Looks really good. Never knew it was this easy. I will need to add chicken to this to really enjoy it. I don’t doubt the flavors are there but the carnivore in me will not be satisfied. LOL
Hi Lauren, was wondering if these enchiladas could be made ahead and frozen, and if so, before or after baking? Thanks! Excited to try these!
Lauren ?
Yes that would work. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Bake from frozen for about 1 hour, covered, at 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake an additional hour or so, until hot and bubbly.
Try la Margarita in Fountain Square. Best food. Especially the el toro with cheese