Enchiladas Rojas is one of those dishes that are cooked differently in every home. Each cook has his/her own recipe, so this is my own version based on my mom’s way of cooking them. In my hometown, it is common to have enchiladas for breakfast or brunch.
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT25M
Total time: PT35M
Rating
4.89 stars (137 reviews)
Keywords
chicken enchilada recipes, enchilada sauce recipe, Red Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
4 guajillo peppers (seeds removed.)
4 ancho peppers (seeds removed.)
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of shredded beef (pork or chicken (optional))
1 1/2 cup of fresh cheese crumble
1/2 cup of white onion finely chopped
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of pre-cooked diced potatoes and 2 cups of pre-cook diced carrots.
Finely shredded lettuce or cabbage and radishes
Categories
Antojitos
Main Course
Cuisine
Mexican
Steps
Let's start first with the enchilada sauce. Slightly roast the peppers in a hot griddle, pressing them flat with the help of a spatula. Make sure NOT to burn them. This step takes a few seconds on each side of the peppers.
Once roasted, place them in a saucepan with water and turn the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes or when they look soft.
Remove saucepan from stove and let them cool for another 10-15 minutes. The pepper skins should look soft.
After the resting period, drain the peppers and place in the blender along with the garlic cloves. Add 1/2 cup of clean water and blend until you have a smooth sauce. If necessary, strain the sauce into a large bowl using a fine strainer. Season with the oregano, salt, and pepper, and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, just to keep the red enchiladas warm while you finish assembling them. Add the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil little by little as needed. To much oil will get a soggy tortilla.
Dip the tortilla into the enchilada sauce to lightly coat each side.
Place it in the Frying Comal-pan or skillet and briefly fry a few seconds on both sides. Add more vegetable oil to the skillet as needed. Place fried tortillas in a dish while you make the rest of the tortillas to keep warm in the oven.
To assemble the red enchiladas, first, place the filling in the center of the tortilla and fold it. Sometimes I place a meat filling into the center of the tortilla and then roll it, like in the pictures above.
Sprinkle the enchiladas with the cheese and onion. Add the garnish of your choice and enjoy!
If you decide to add the potatoes and carrots as a garnish: Peel potatoes and carrots, cut into cubes and boil until almost tender but still firm. Then drain and cool.
Use the same frying pan where you fried the red enchiladas to lightly fry the potatoes, adding a little more oil. The potatoes and carrots will be coated with some of the sauce sticking to the frying pan. Season with salt and garnish with cheese.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 2 Enchiladas
Calories: 399 kcal
Carbohydrates: 43 g
Protein: 11 g
Fat: 22 g
Saturated Fat: 14 g
Cholesterol: 21 mg
Sodium: 276 mg
Sugar: 12 g
Reviews
Michelle Martinez on 2025-09-12 (5 stars): Hi Mely! #1 fan here ! 😁
I have a big question and I was really hoping you could help me out.
So I’m gonna be serving your excellent enchiladas Rojas and I’m making it to feed 80 people do you have any tips or advice and also how I should prepare the measurements? Thanks in advance! Much love!
Tracy Whipple on 2025-06-28 (5 stars): THANK YOU! MUCHAS GRACIAS! This is the legit technique for preparing enchiladas (and yeah, this is coming from a gringa 😁) but you HAVE to dip, then fry. Anything else is cutting corners. I will say that I do like to do a quick hot-oven blast before topping with the cool, fresh ingredients just to make the edges a little crisp & the queso a little melty but one must, MUST dip, then fry. My friend Sandra from Guanajuato showed me the way many years ago. The best!
Lynn on 2024-12-06 (5 stars): My husband and I cook a lot of Mexican dishes. I made your Enchiladas Rojas recipe tonight and we found a winner. It is so different than the way we make enchiladas but so very tasty and we will make them again. My sauce was darker than yours and I'm guessing that the peppers which I have had for quite a while were the culprit. It was still absolutely delicious. Can't wait to try other authentic Mexican recipes soon. Thank you.
Stephanie Gonzalez on 2024-08-06 (5 stars): In one of the pics there is what looks like beef skirt and jalapenos. I couldn’t find the recipe, is that one posted?