This easy enchiladas recipe is always a hit! Featuring a flavorful homemade sauce and lots of melty cheese, it's simple, comforting, and delicious.
This enchiladas recipe is the kind of simple, comforting dish that we all need in our weeknight rotations. It’s easy, it’s flavorful, and it will win over the pickiest palates (our kiddo always asks for more!).
The filling is a combo of gooey cheese, black beans, and steamed spinach. I roll it up in corn tortillas, which I then smother with homemade enchilada sauce and more cheese. Finally, I bake the enchiladas until the cheese is melty and the edges of the tortillas are crisp. For such a simple recipe, the taste, texture, and overall deliciousness are out of this world! I think you’re going to love it.
Cheese Enchiladas Recipe Ingredients
Though enchiladas are now a fixture in American home kitchens and Tex Mex cuisine, they have their roots in Mexico. Styles of enchiladas vary greatly from region to region and from kitchen to kitchen, but generally, they consist of tortillas dipped in a sauce and then rolled around a filling. They are also sometimes left unfilled, folded over, and topped with meat, cheese, or vegetables. This cheese enchiladas recipe is a version of the enchiladas I grew up eating in the Midwest, and it’s similar to some Tex Mex enchiladas I’ve enjoyed at restaurants in Austin too. Here’s what’s in it:
- Corn tortillas – I love the rich corn flavor they add to this recipe, though you could sub flour tortillas if you prefer. Tortillas made with a corn/flour blend are also nice here, as they’re more pliable than regular corn tortillas, but they still have a nice corn flavor.
- Red enchilada sauce – My homemade version is so much better than the store-bought kind! It’s easy to make with tomato sauce, veggie broth, and spices.
- Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Oaxaca cheese – The cheddar adds great sharp flavor, and the Jack and Oaxaca cheeses melt beautifully. You’ll use the cheddar and Jack cheeses on top of the enchiladas and add all three cheeses to the filling.
- Black beans – They add creamy texture and earthy flavor to the enchilada filling.
- Spinach – Its silky texture is fantastic inside the enchiladas.
- And the toppings – Avocado, cilantro, and jalapeños offer the perfect fresh contrast to the cheesy filling.
Serve with a squeeze of lime!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Enchiladas
This cheese enchiladas recipe is so simple! Here’s how it goes:
First, prep the sauce and fillings. The sauce is quick and easy to make on the stove (we’re talking 15 minutes!). It also keeps well for up to 5 days in the fridge if you want to make it in advance. Once the sauce is set to go, you’ll need to steam and chop the spinach and grate the cheddar and Jack cheeses. Tear the Oaxaca cheese into strips.
Next, fill the enchiladas. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce at the bottom of a large baking dish. Place a little of each cheese and some of the black beans and spinach in a tortilla, and roll to seal. Place it, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat to assemble the remaining enchiladas.
Then, add more sauce and cheese. Pour the remaining sauce down the center of the enchiladas, leaving the edges of the tortillas bare so that they crisp up in the oven. Scatter the remaining cheddar and Jack cheeses in the center as well.
Finally, bake in a 350°F oven until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas are crisp.
Let the enchiladas cool slightly, then load them up with fresh cilantro, diced avocado, and sliced jalapeños, and dig in!
Oh, and if you want to get creative with your toppings, don’t hold back. Sliced radishes, diced white onion, shredded cabbage or lettuce, or a dollop of sour cream would be great here too.
Enchilada Recipe Tips
- Squeeze the water out of the spinach. Once you steam the spinach, place it in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and wring out any excess water. This quick steps prevents that water from seeping into the enchiladas and making them soggy.
- Tortillas cracking? Pop them in the microwave. In a traditional recipe, you’d lightly fry the tortillas in oil to make them pliable before assembling the enchiladas. To cut down on prep time, I skip this step when I make enchiladas at home. Instead, I wrap the tortillas in a damp kitchen towel and microwave them for about 10 seconds. They come out soft and flexible, easy to roll up without cracking.
- Leave the edges of the tortillas bare. That way, they’ll crisp up in the oven, offering a great crunchy contrast to the gooey enchilada middles.
- Make this recipe your own! Do you prefer plain cheese enchiladas? Omit the black beans and spinach from the recipe. Like a heartier veggie filling? Add roasted butternut squash or cauliflower and green onions. Though this enchiladas recipe is delicious as written, you can treat it like a blank canvas. Have fun making it your own!
More Favorite Weeknight Dinners
If you love this enchiladas recipe, try one of these easy weeknight dinners next:
- Mushroom Tacos
- Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
- Avocado Sweet Potato Tacos
- Black Bean Chili
- White Bean Soup with Green Chiles
- Stuffed Peppers
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Or any of these 60 Easy Dinner Ideas!
Cheese Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Enchilada Sauce
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1¼ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1¼ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 8 ounces Oaxaca cheese, torn
- 1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 5 ounces steamed and chopped spinach*
- 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ avocado, diced
- ½ lime, for squeezing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- If your tortillas are too stiff to roll without cracking, wrap them in a damp towel and warm them for a few seconds in the microwave.
- In a small bowl, mix together ¾ cup of the cheddar cheese and ¾ cup of the Jack cheese.
- Fill a tortilla with some of the cheese blend and some of the Oaxaca cheese, black beans, and spinach. Roll the tortilla closed and place it seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Pour the remaining 1 cup sauce on top of the enchiladas, leaving the edges of the tortillas bare, if desired. Top with the remaining ½ cup cheddar cheese and ½ cup Jack cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas are crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, then top with jalapeño slices, cilantro, avocado, and squeezes of lime and serve.
A very tasty recipe! So easy, even with some different filling. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you loved the enchiladas!
Jeanine= I love so many of your recipes, you’re my food guru, and this one also looks great. That’s maybe a lot of cheese for my wife and me. Can you recommend any good substitutes for half of it? Thanks, Collin
Hi Collin, you can replace or reduce the cheese filling in the middle and replace with more veggies – sauteed mushrooms, sauteed peppers, roasted sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or roasted cauliflower are some of our favorite options to add. They’re really a blank canvas, hope that helps!
Just curious if these freeze well? About to have a baby and hoping to stock our freezer with some enchiladas!
yep! and congratulations! Assemble and freeze them, then let them thaw overnight in the fridge before you bake. You might have to increase the total bake time.
Easy and delicious, and you can make the sauce during weekend meal prep. Made these on Tuesday and my only complaint is that my boyfriend ate 8 of the 10 in less than 24 hours!
No leftovers for me 🙁 Will have to make again!
Hi Ashley, haha that always happens when I make these for my bf too! So glad you both loved the recipe.
This recipe is fantastic!!! I have been trying to nail down an incredible enchilada recipe for over 3 years and this is finally it! It has everything you want in a great recipe – easy and delicious enchilada sauce, cheese in the filling, sauce and cheese on top, veggies galore. I made mine with more of a veggie filling – mushrooms, green peppers, onion, garlic with fajita seasonings plus the black beans and it came out perfect!!! Thank you L&L! 😁❤️
I’m so glad you loved it so much!
So delicious! I agree, it is worth it to make your own enchilada sauce- tastes so much better and was very easy to make. My husband also loved this recipe, and didn’t miss the meat at all:). Will definitely make again!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Look so delicious and beautiful .Thank for recipe. 🙂
Would this work if I made the enchiladas the day before and just popped them in the oven when I got home? Or would the tortillas get soggy?
Hi Linda, we haven’t tried this – I think they will be fine, but I also think the tortillas will be soggier than if assembled fresh. Maybe not enough to matter? I’d try to keep the edges of the tortillas exposed, as we have written, for a bit of crunch.
love these ingredients and easy prep, jalapeno peppers included, thank you!
Have you had better luck with certain brands of corn tortillas over others?
Hi Lindsay, I like the Mi Rancho brand, it’s more pliable than some of the others.
What is a sub for Oaxaca cheese?
Hi Jen, you can skip it or use more of the other cheeses, more beans, or more spinach.