The Greatest Enchilada Recipe Ever

January 20th is National Cheese Lover’s Day (although we seem to celebrate our love of cheese everyday, if I’m being totally honest). In honor of this special day, I am excited to share our favorite enchilada recipe, where you make everything from the meat to the sauce. If you’re looking for a great dinner option for the family, this is a must try!

Packed with slow cooker meat, tons of shredded cheese and topped with a homemade enchilada sauce and even more shredded cheese, you’ll fall in love instantly! The meat is made in the slow cooker, so you’ll need time for this recipe. It’s not the quickest recipe, but it definitely is one of the tastiest!

If you need a quicker option, you can purchase a rotisserie chicken at your local grocery store and shred it and use an already prepared enchilada sauce. Skipping the meat and sauce portion of the recipe, will make this a meal that’s ready in 30 minutes.

I love the versatility of this enchilada recipe. You can make them with chicken, beef or pork. The recipe is the same, as long as you use the same amount of meat. And it tastes just as good, no matter which meat you choose. You can also switch up the cheese, according to your preference.

I do recommend that you buy the block cheese and shred it by hand. If you have a food processor with the shred blade, that works best! It took us less than a minute to shred two blocks! For this recipe, I used Truly Grass Fed Aged Cheddar. It was SO good! Their butter is amazing too, by the way.

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5 from 7 votes

The Greatest Enchiladas Ever

These enchiladas are packed with meat and cheese and topped with a homemade enchilada sauce and more cheese.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Slow Cooker Meat Option

• 4 lbs beef, chicken or pork
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 7 oz can diced green chile peppers
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3/4 cup beef or chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp oregano
• 2 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Enchiladas

• 12 corn tortillas
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 cups cheddar cheese shredded
• sour cream
• cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Slow Cooker Meat

• Season meat with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a skillet on med-high heat and brown meat on all sides.
• Place the browned meat into a slow cooker and top with the remaining ingredients.
• Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours).
• Remove the meat and shred with two forks. Set aside.

Enchilada Sauce

• Heat oil in a small pan on med-high heat.
• Add flour and whisk continuously for one minute.
• Stir in all seasoning.
• Slowly add in the chicken stock and continue to whisk so there are no lumps.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Enchiladas

• Preheat the oven to 350°
• Place a thin layer of enchilada sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
• Corn tortillas tend to be hard to work with, so I recommend frying them just a bit in hot oil on each side for just a minute or so. You don't want them to burn.
• Place the tortilla on a plate and fill the center with some meat.
  
• Add some colby jack cheese on top of the meat and roll the enchilada up, placing them in the baking dish (on top of the sauce) with the opening down.
  
• Continue to roll all 12 enchiladas up and fill up the baking dish.
  
• Top the rolled enchiladas with enchilada sauce.
  
• Top with cheddar cheese and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
  
• Turn the oven to broil and broil for 4-5 minutes, until the cheese browns just a bit.
  
• Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with sour cream.

If you try this enchilada recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Don’t forget to check out all of our family friendly recipes!

XOXO