Make the best Entomatadas ever! These are a traditional and delicious Mexican dish made with lightly fried corn tortillas, filled with crumbled cheese or shredded chicken and covered in a homemade tomato sauce.
***This post was originally published on Dec 2015. It has been updated to be more helpful.
Entomatadas recipe
This classic Mexican dish is a variation of Enchiladas but instead of using a chile based sauce, it’s made with a tomato based sauce. Hence the name. It’s easier to make since the ingredients are available everywhere!
This is one of my favorite dishes in the whole wide world! Seriously I can eat about six of them and still have room for more! They’re definitely my weakness and I can’t turn them down.
My favorite way to eat them is with a big bowl of Sopa or Fideo Soup and Horchata on the side.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Want to hear something funny? When I ask Mr. Delish what he wants for dinner and he says “Hakuna Matatas” I know exactly what he means! I guess he has trouble saying “Entomatadas” hehe!
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- Tomatoes – I’m using roma tomatoes or but you can use your favorite ripe tomato.
- Jalapeño – you may skip it but it’s highly recommended you include it.
- Vegetable oil.
- To flavor the sauce: garlic cloves, onion, kosher salt & fresh pepper to taste.
For the Entomatadas
- 12 corn tortillas.
- Oil for frying the tortillas.
- Filling – 2 to 3 cups crumbled queso fresco, cotija cheese or shredded chicken
***Make sure to scroll all the way down to the recipe card to get the full ingredient list and written recipe.
Filling Variations
There are many filling options when it comes to this recipe!
- Use queso fresco
- shredded chicken or beef
- or refried beans for a delicious vegan/vegetarian variation.
How To Make Entomatadas
Start making the sauce
- Roast the tomatoes and jalapeño in a skillet or comal over medium high heat. Rotate to make sure all sides are roasted evenly.
- Heat two tablespoons of oil over medium to high heat in a separate medium to large pan. Saute the onion and garlic and until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
Pro Tip: When roasting the tomatoes, place aluminum foil in the skillet to prevent burn marks and for easier cleaning.
3. Blend everything – Once the tomatoes and onions have cooled off, add all the veggies to a blender along with 1/2 cup of water.
4. Puree until smooth. Note: Remove the tomato stems prior to blending. Keep skin on the tomatoes as it adds amazing flavor!
Lastly, pour the tomato mixture in the same pan you cooked the onions and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Assembling The Entomatadas
- Heat half the oil in a large skillet 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. The tortillas should still be pliable for folding so make sure they’re not fried for too long.
- 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.
Assemble
- To assemble the them, dip each tortilla into the warm tomato sauce and place them on the serving plates. Fill with your favorite filling and either fold the tortilla like a taco or roll them like an enchilada.
- Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with queso fresco and other toppings of your choice.
- Serve immediately as they are best when eaten warm and before the tortilla gets too soggy.
Make Ahead
In order to save time when cooking entomatadas, you can make the sauce up to two days ahead and store in the fridge. Prepping your fillings and garnishes can also be done ahead and reserve for when ready to cook.
Choose your Toppings
Garnish with your favorite toppings. Here are a few ideas:
- Crumbled queso fresco
- Mexican crema
- Sliced avocado
- Shredded lettuce
- Chopped white onion
- Cilantro
- Hot sauce and a squeeze of lime juice (this one is a must for me!)
What to serve with
Here are some of my recommendations for what to serve with entomatadas:
- Mexican sopa
- Refried beans
- Calabacitas
- Mexican rice (these are my FAVORITE and also add some beans inside the entomatadas)
FAQ
The process of making Entomatadas and Enchiladas is the same. However, the entomatada sauce is not spicy since it’s tomato based and does not contain chile. Enchilada sauces are chile based ony and spicy.
Yes you can! Just heat the tomato sauce in a saucepan and add spices to give more flavor. Simmering the tomato sauce for 5 to 8 minutes will remove any can flavor.
For this entomatada sauce I do not peel the tomatoes as they add extra texture and flavor to the sauce.
Other enchilada recipes you will love!
I hope you like this recipe! Share it, or leave a rating and comment below. For questions that need an answer right away, please contact me and I’ll get back to you asap. Gracias!!!! xx, Ana
Print Recipe:
Authentic Entomatadas
Ingredients
- 4 roma tomatoes
- ½ jalapeño
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ onion
- ½ cup water
- Kosher salt & fresh pepper to taste
- 12 corn tortillas
- ¼ cup avocado or vegetable oil
- 2 to 3 cups crumbled queso fresco or shredded chicken
- Queso fresco
- Shredded lettuce
- Mexican crema
- Avocado and/or radishes
Instructions
Make the tomato sauce:
- Roast the tomatoes and jalapeño in a skillet or comal over medium high heat. Turn all sides to make sure all sides are roasted evenly.
- In a separate medium to large pan, heat the oil on medium to high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Once the tomatoes and onions have cooled off, add the tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic & onion to a blender along with ½ cup water. Puree until smooth. Note: Remove the tomato stems prior to blending
- Pour the tomato sauce in the same pan you cooked the onions and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Make the entomatadas
- Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add one tortilla at the time and cook each side for about 5 seconds or until tortilla is lightly fried. The tortillas should still be pliable for folding so make sure they're not fried for too long (See video on blog post on how to do this quick frying)
- As you fry each tortilla, place on a plate with a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat with remaining tortillas and add more oil if necessary.
- To assemble the entomatadas, dip each tortilla into the warm tomato sauce and place them on the serving plates. Fill with some queso fresco or shredded chicken (or your favorite filling) and either fold the tortilla or roll them like an enchilada.
- Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle queso fresco and other toppings of your choice.
- Serve immediately as they are best when eaten warm before the tortilla gets too soggy.
Muy Delish Notes:
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Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
This sauce was very…clean? I tasted everything. It made the meat we had made pop. Now…I will say, that the second taco had some hot sauce and lime. I agree, this is the way to go! Next time. We make the horchata.
Once again I learned something new! I bet a lot of us “Americans” never heard of this. Nice alternative to the cheesy, greasy enchiladas most of us are used to.
I grew up eating Entomatadas, they are delicious! And so easy to prepare. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you Ilse! These are one of my favorite things to eat too!
This is such an interesting recipe. Sounds really delicious. I absolutely love spices and ingredients and the fact that is super easy to make. Perfect family dinner. Must give this a try.
Your family will love these Entomatadas Natalie! They are the best if I say so myself 🙂
I’m a huge fan of Mexican food and I’ve never even heard of entomadas before! You pictures look amazing and this recipe sounds life changing. Can’t wait to try! Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy you came across this Traditional Mexican dish! You must try them.
Need. Need. Neeeeeeeed these!!! Can’t wait to make this for my sister who loves entomatadas and says she hasn’t found a good recipe yet. She will be in heaven!
she’s going to LOVE these entomatadas!!! So glad you found them!
Mexican is definitely my favorite food so I cannot believe I’ve never heard of an entomatada. So excited to try these! Your photos are gorgeous. 😮
Thanks for the comment Michele! So happy to hear you found this recipe!
I love Mexican food! These look amazing! This is a perfect comfort food dinner. Thanks for the recipe!
Your step-by-step shots rock!!! And these entomatadas sound delish! Thanks so much for sharing :).
Thanks so much for the warm comment Daniela!
Son deliciosas!!!
Gracias por compartir!!
I love everything about this recipe! The corn tortillas, the filling, and the gorgeous tomato sauce! These would be a huge hit in our house!
Thank you Jenni! Entomatadas are very easy to make and delicious too!
That tomato sauce looks so good. Love Mexican food and this looks absolutely delicious
We looooove Mexican food and are always looking for ways to shake up our typical tacos and fajitas. These sound so good — and that blender sauce looks so easy! Can’t wait to give these a try.
Yay! I hope you enjoy these Mexican entomatadas!
Yummy! These Entomatads look so tastylicious. I’ve always love Entomatadas and I can’t wait to try your version of it.
Thank you Maggie! I love making Chicken Entomatadas. They’re actually quiet healthy. Enjoy!
Girl, this recipe looks amazing! I love that you used feta cheese! Perfect topping for any mexican dish in my opinion!
Thanks so much Leslie!
I have never heard of entomatadas, and am glad I found this recipe, they sound amazing! Thank you for sharing
If you like enchiladas you’ll like these ones even more! They salsa is a little easier to make too. Enjoy!
DELICIOSAS!!!!
Thank you Malena!!
These entomatadas are just like my mom used to make them! Cant wait to eat some this weekend. Yum!
Thanks so much Monica! Like I said, this is a personal favorite and hope you enjoy them!