This Enchiladas Rojas recipe is going to knock your socks off! A handful of ingredients makes an incredible Red Enchilada sauce full of Mexican flavor that infuses everything you put it on. The smell when this is cooking is amazing!
🗒️ In This Post
Best Rojas Enchiladas
Hey friends! If you’re like me, one of my favorite things to eat are enchiladas.
Any kind will do. Like these entomatadas which are very similar to enchiladas (but it’s tomato based) or Enmoladas (mole sauce base). If you haven’t had those, I suggest you check them out!
This recipe come together fast with just a few key steps. You’ll start by making a rich, flavorful sauce by blending dried guajillo or ancho chiles with garlic, onion, and spices, then simmering it until smooth. Warm corn tortillas are quickly dipped in the sauce, lightly fried to lock in flavor, and then filled with shredded chicken, cheese, or left plain for a simple but bold taste.
Once plated, they get another layer of sauce, a sprinkle of crumbled cheese, sliced onions for a bit of crunch, and a drizzle of Mexican crema. Serve them hot and fresh for the best taste—every bite is packed with authentic flavor.
🩷 xoxo, Ana
Ingredients
There are many versions of enchilada recipes on the web but the key to making really good ones, is to make an authentic enchilada red sauce. The traditional version is made with chiles secos (dried chiles) instead of using chili powder.
Ingredients for the Enchiladas
- Enchilada Sauce
- Corn tortillas
- Oil for frying the tortillas
- The filling -For enchiladas rojas de queso, use crumbled queso fresco or cotija.
- For beef enchiladas, use shredded beef (follow directions from my Carne Deshebrada post).
- For chicken enchiladas, use homemade shredded chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken.
- For a vegan version, fill with Frijoles Refritos or Calabacitas.
- Toppings: Shredded lettuce like romaine or iceberg, queso fresco, and radishes.
** Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
Make The Enchilada Sauce
- Remove all seeds and stem from the peppers then rinse under cold water to remove any dust.
2. In a medium pot, add the chiles, onions and garlic clove. Add enough water to cover the chiles.
3. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until very soft and pliable. Rest chiles in the water for another 10 to 15 minutes to cool off and finish hydrating the chiles .
4. Transfer chiles to a blender or food processor and add 2 cups broth. Puree for about 1 minute. Note: you can do this in two different batches if the blender isn’t big enough for all the ingredients at once.
5. Strain the pureed chiles to remove the remaining seeds and skins (tip: push the chile mix with a spoon to get the most out of them).
6. In a large saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the pureed chiles and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring often for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
Assemble the Enchiladas
While the enchilada sauce is simmering, start lightly frying the corn tortillas.
Add about ¼ cup of oil to a small or medium skillet. Heat on medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (but not smoky), add one tortilla at the time and cook each side for about 4 to 5 seconds or until tortilla is lightly fried.
Note: The tortillas should still be pliable for folding so make sure they’re not fried too long. Check out this video on how I fry the tortilla lightly.
As you fry each tortilla, drain any excess oil by tapping it into the pan then place on a plate with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining tortillas and add more oil if necessary.
To assemble the enchiladas, dip each tortilla into the warm sauce and place on the serving plates.
Fill with your favorite filling. In this case we’re using crumbled queso fresco but you can use shredded chicken, beef, beans or your favorite cooked vegetables.
- Either fold the tortilla like a taco or roll them as pictured below. I like to add a little more sauce on top for extra flavor. I can’t get enough of this enchilada sauce!
- Sprinkle with queso fresco and other toppings you choose. I like to squeeze some lime juice to balance all of the flavors but that’s up to you. Try it out!
Tips and Notes
- Make ahead: The best thing to make ahead is the sauce. Chill in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three to four days. To reheat, place in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
- Storing Leftovers or Meal Prep: Yes, you can meal prep enchiladas made with corn tortillas, but there are a few tricks to keep them from getting soggy. Here’s how:
- Lightly fry the tortillas – A quick fry in a little oil helps them stay firm and keeps them from absorbing too much sauce.
- Assemble but don’t add the sauce – Roll the enchiladas with your filling (chicken, beef, beans, etc.), but store the sauce separately. This way, they don’t get too soft before reheating.
- Use airtight containers – Store the enchiladas in one container and the sauce in another. If stacking, place parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking.
- Reheat properly – When ready to eat, pour the sauce over the enchiladas and warm them in the oven or microwave until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
Enchiladas are a dish that goes well with many things. You can serve them with Arroz Primavera or a side of Frijoles Charros. However, my perfect combination is the following:
- With a big bowl of Mexican Sopa.
- And if you didn’t use these as fillings, you can serve them with Frijoles refritos or Calabacitas as pictured below.
- Also with Champiñones (Mushrooms Mexican Style) or Espagueti Verde. Whatever you pick as a side dish, I’m sure you’ll love it!
More Mexican Recipes
Print Recipe:
Authentic Enchiladas Rojas
Ingredients
Ingredients for Enchilada Sauce
- 8 guajillo or new mexico peppers
- 1 ancho chile
- ¼ of a large yellow or red onion
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups stock (vegetable, beef, or chicken). Or use water plus 1 bullion cube (vegetable, beef or chicken).
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
Ingredients for the Enchiladas Rojas
- 3 cups enchilada sauce
- 14 corn tortillas
- oil for frying the tortillas
Option for fillings
- 2 to 3 cups queso fresco, or shredded beef or chicken
Toppings
- 2 cups Shredded lettuce (romaine or iceberg)
- 1 cup queso fresco
- sliced radishes
Instructions
Make The Enchilada Sauce
- Remove all seeds and stem from the peppers then rinse under cold water to remove any dust.
- In a medium pot, add the chiles, onions and garlic clove. Add enough water to cover the chiles.
- Cover and cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until very soft and pliable. Rest chiles in the water for another 10 to 15 minutes to cool off and finish hydrating the chiles.
- Transfer chiles to a blender or food processor and add 2 cups broth. Puree for about 1 minute. Note: you can do this in two different batches if the blender isn't big enough for all the ingredients at once.
- Strain the pureed chiles to remove the remaining seeds and skins (tip: push the chile mix with a spoon to get the most out of them).
- In a large saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the pureed chiles and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring often for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
Make The Enchiladas Rojas
- Add about ¼ cup of oil to a small or medium skillet. Heat on medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (but not smoky), add one tortilla at the time and cook each side for about 4 to 5 seconds or until tortilla is lightly fried (See notes section)
- As you fry each tortilla, drain any excess oil by tapping it into the pan then place on a plate with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining tortillas and add more oil if necessary.
- To assemble the enchiladas rojas, dip each tortilla into the warm sauce and place on the serving plates.
- Fill with your favorite filling. In this case we're using crumbled queso fresco but you can use shredded chicken, beef, beans or your favorite cooked vegetables.
- Either fold the tortilla like a taco or roll them as pictured below. I like to add a little more sauce on top for extra flavor.
- Sprinkle with queso fresco and other toppings you choose. I like to squeeze some lime juice to balance all of the flavors.
- Buen provecho!
Notes
- Frying the Tortilla:The tortillas should still be pliable for folding so make sure they’re not fried too long. Check out this video on how I fry the tortilla lightly.
- Make Ahead:The best thing to make ahead is the sauce. Chill in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat, place in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. The sauce can also be frozen in an airtight, freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
What is tomato sauce? Like canned tomatoes?
They come in small cans or carton boxes and are labeled as “tomato sauce”.
I’ve read the recipe many times where does the stock come in for the red chili sauce? There is no step for it.
In step 4! The 2 cups of “broth” mentioned I believe is stock. Stock/broth can be used interchangeably.
4.Transfer chiles to a blender or food processor and add 2 cups broth. Puree for about 1 minute. Note: you can do this in two different batches if the blender isn’t big enough for all the ingredients at once.
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! Thank you for sharing your recipe! I will NEVER use store-bought again!
I will never buy enchilada sauce again. This recipe turned out amazing!
Just made these Enchiladas Rojas—so rich and comforting! The red sauce is everything. 🌶️🫓❤️
Incredible salsa roja. These enchiladas are delightful. Making again this weekend!
So good! Eating again soon!
We loved these and are making again this week!!
Loved how quick it came together once the sauce was done—really satisfying.
Thank You …Truly Authentic .. We all Loved your recipe and the Aromas throughout our home ❣️🪇
Awe thank you so much Cynthia for taking the time to review the recipe! I’m so happy you liked it! xo, Ana
I did not see where you state when to add chicken broth in recipe for sauce I missed it.
Step 4 under the Sauce instructions, when you put it in the blender.
I’m wanting to make this for dinner but I don’t have ancho but I do have passilla, could I use 1 in place of ancho or just use all Guajillo? Ty
Hi Kelly! yes you can use pasilla instead of ancho. Just guajillo will be good too! But try it with pasilla first then if you want to switch it up next time you can omit it.
Let me know how it turns out! I have no doubt it’ll be delicious though. Bueno provecho!
I love your instructions for making the sauce. I used to make it very similarly with my mom. Have you ever tried lightly roasting the chile pods before boiling? We would use a low temp in the oven being careful not to burn. Filling with calabacitas! Brilliant!
This is exactly what I was craving…. A recipe with a sauce made from the chiles onward. So good. So authentic. I went multicultural and served them with a Salvadoran style curtido. (Kisses tips of fingers)
Do you bake these Enchilada Rojas to heat them through? If so, what temperature do you recommend and for how long?
Hi Kathryn,
These enchiladas are not baked. You keep everything warm and assemble right before eating. You could assemble them and keep them warm in the oven if you’re making a large batch. Or bake them if you prefer that! They may dry out a little bit so keep extra sauce warm on a pot for when they come out of the oven.
Let me know what you decide to do and how they turn out!
Hello Ana, I am planning on making the enchiladas from your recipe but using a red mole sauce package I purchased in Oaxaca. Did you buy some also and if so how was it? Do you think that will work? It was great meeting you and your husband in Oaxaca. Thanks, and Happy New Year, Barry Landry
Hi Barry! It was great chatting with you on email! Let’s stay in touch!
Wonderful recipe! I doubled the amount of sauce because I like to add some sauce into the chicken filling. My family also likes enchiladas very saucy! Doubling the recipe left enough to make some chilaquiles later on. 🙂
Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for the kind review! I’m thrilled that you liked the sauce so much! I always double it too for other uses as well. Have a fantastic week! xo Ana
I’m not modifying anything. it is perfect as is. but I don’t see it above, do you drain the chilis for the sauce before putting them in the blender with the broth or also use the water used to hydrate them?
Hi LM, I don’t drain them first but I do grab them with thongs to place them in the blender. This allow for some liquid to still be in the chiles. However, if you feel like they’re not blending well and too dry, you can add a little chile water until the blender starts running smoothly. After that, you can discard the water. Thanks for asking this question! Let me know how it turns out.
xoxo, Ana
If I could only vouch for ONE recipe I’ve ever made, THIS would be it. Wow so authentic, my sisters fiancé said it tasted better than enchiladas he’s had in Mexico. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
You have no idea how much I loved reading your message Vanessa! I’m so happy everyone loved this enchiladas recipe. Thanks for the rating too 🙂
xoxo, Ana
Delicious sauce. We used NM chiles and oaxaca and cheddar cheese. Rolled the enchiladas and put in a casserole dish, poured sauce on top with more cheese. Baked it for 15 minutes to melt the cheese. Was not tomato-ey at all. I did use a little less than the 8oz because I was also making rice and didn’t want to open a new can…but I don’t think it would have been too much with the full 8oz. Would definitely make again using this recipe
Hello, I made your recipe this evening. Everyone loved it 🙂 My sauce was not as thick as your and don’t know what I did wrong and my corn tortillas became mush :-/ what did I do wrong there?
Delicious. So much better flavor than the quick ones made with chili powder, which can be bitter. Next time I will reduce the sauce just a few more minutes but we loved it.
When blending the chilis, do you also add the onion/garlic to the blender or discard?
Hi George! yes you do add the onion and garlic. Enjoy!
Yesss this right here has the taste the color and it fit for 2 people.
This recipe looks great. I can’t wait to try it! Approx how many cups of enchilada sauce does this make? If I’d like to double or triple the enchiladas, should I increase the sauce ingredients accordingly or does 1x the called-for ingredients make significantly more sauce than is needed for 14 enchiladas? Thanks!
Hi Priscilla! Great question! It makes a little more than for 14 enchiladas. It makes about 3 cups of enchilada sauce. If you want to double it just do the 2x. Any leftovers can be frozen for later! That’s what I do to save time for the next round of enchiladas. Let me know how you like it!
My husband made this last night we did have to make some adjustments. The written directions don’t say to remove the chilies from the cooking water so my husband added it all. Then he read the part that said to add 2 cups of broth so he used Better than Bullion veggie paste to the liquid and that helped. The taste was off so he had to add cumin powder chili powder and salt and that helped a lot . Apparently he just told me he didn’t use a mesh stainer so that likely affected things as well. He said he would make it again the correct way.
Way to much tomato sauce not a Mexican Taste at all more like spaghetti sauce
Have you tried making it Kylee? the amount of tomato sauce balances very nicely! Spaghetti sauce is a combination of a large can of tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. These two are not even close!
Outstanding – thanks for all the effort putting these recipes together on your site.
No, that was too much tomate sauce.
Hi Josie, did you try the recipe? Thanks for the feedback
Thank you so much! I wanted to mix up Thanksgiving this year so I made these and they were delicious!!
I love that you made the enchilada sauce from scratch. I’ve yet to be impressed by canned premade sauces but this one was fantastic and brings such immense flavor to the dish!
I love the rich Mexican flavors in these enchiladas!
These look amazing, and super comforting. You can’t beat homemade enchilada sauce.
Such amazing flavours but most importantly so tasty! My whole family love this enchilada recipe.
What a great recipe! Your step by step instructions are ultra easy to follow and the flavors came out so good. Can’t wait to make it again!
Love all your recipes Ana. Good luck to you and your family in Portugal.
Thank you so much Sara! I look forward to testing and creating new recipes for all to enjoy! Stay safe! xo, Ana
I gave you five stars even though I haven’t made this yet because your recipes are always so clear and concise and foolproof! Plus I love your helpful tips and photos.
Wishing you and your family many blessings in this new chapter of your life. I’ll be looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Hi Rita! Your well wishes and comment mean so much! Thank you!!! I will definitely be keeping people updated on the new adventures. If you’re ever in Portugal, be sure to let me know!
XO, Ana
These enchiladas taste amazing! The red sauce has the real authentic Mexican flavor that my mom used to make. I made it with rotisserie chicken and can’t wait to make them again!
Thank you so much Monica! I’m so happy this recipe reminded you of your mom! It always warms my heart to hear this 🙂
Wish you all the best!
Ana