An Enchirito, what the heck is that? I’ll tell you what it is- it’s the best of both worlds, a little burrito – a little enchilada. It is kind of a copycat version of the Taco Bell smothered burrito.
This yummy dish was born out of my desire to have Mexican food, often, and my undying love of enchilada sauce!
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Have you ever made traditional enchiladas at home. The real way… frying each individual corn tortilla in oil and then dipping them in enchilada sauce. It is a huge mess, or at least it is in my kitchen, and super time consuming.
I knew there had to be a better way to get my enchilada fix without the hassle.
The Enchirito is not a fancy dish.. but, it’s delicious and so easy! In my recipe there’s no hassling with corn tortillas or homemade enchilada sauce. I think you’re gonna love it!
Variations on my Enchirito Recipe
The Enchirito is a super versatile recipe. Change it up to suit your family’s taste buds.
- You could trade the beef for shredded chicken or, my favorite, rotisserie chicken, or shredded pork.
- To make it vegetarian you could just roll the burrito with Mexican rice and refried beans .
- Black beans or refried black beans could be a great trade out too.
- The addition of black olives, avocado, sour cream, or guacamole would only make it better, in my opinion!
Making Enchiritos for Dinner
Most of the time this is an easy dinner on a busy night at my house. We will eat it with chips and my restaurant style salsa.
However, if we are having this on the weekend I will add a side of Mexican rice and maybe a fresh Mexican Slaw like this one from Foodie Crush.
Don’t forget the cocktails! This pairs perfectly with Grapefruit Margaritas, Cranberry Ginger Margaritas, or Rosemary Palomas.
How to Make the Enchirito Ahead
This is an easy dish to make ahead and store in the fridge for a busy night. Prepare the beef and bean filling. Fill and roll the burritos.
Place 5 oz of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Put the Enchiritos in the pan and cover with foil.
Do not top with the sauce and cheese until right before they are ready to go in the oven. You can save these in the fridge like this for a day or two.
I hope you try my Enchirito recipe in your kitchen!
Love, Susie
Enchirito
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small onion - chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves - minced
- 6-8 burrito sized flour tortillas
- 1 15 ounce can refried beans
- 2 10 ounce cans red enchilada sauce
- 4 green onions - sliced (about ¾ cup)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese - divided
- ¼ cup cilantro - chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350
- Saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the beef and garlic. Crumble the beef while cooking, until the beef is cooked thru.
- Drain the fat from the beef and onion mixture.
- Off the heat add 5 oz of enchilada sauce and 3 tablespoons of cilantro to the beef. Stir to combine. Set aside
- Warm the refried beans in the microwave for 1 minute to loosen them up.
- Place 5 oz of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
- Assemble the burritos, dividing the following fillings between 6-8 flour tortillas: all the refried beans, all the beef mixture, 1 cup cheese, all the green onions
- Fold the left and right ends of the burrito in, then take the side of the burrito closest to you and fold it over the filling. Continue rolling the tortilla until it completely encloses the filling. Place it seam side down in the 9×13 pan.
- Top the Enchiritos with the remaining enchilada sauce and the remaining cup of cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with extra green onions and cilantro.
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otrist
The reason it got 4 stars is that it needed seasoning. I added a tsp of cumin, tsp of chipolata, tsp of Mexican oregano. Did garnish with sliced black olives. Served with condiments of sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Husband enjoyed very much and I will make again and again. Also I used refried beans that had chilies.
Deb
I haven’t made this… I do NOT like flour tortillas. Somehow I will try to incorporate corn tortilla
sassystaeci
what lmao
Jude
Just layer the corn ones. Sometimes I use two as they seem to disintegrate good luck
Diane Mandeville
Can this be frozean and prepared later with extra sauce and cheese
Susie
I have not tried it frozen, but I think it would work just like frozen burritos or frozen enchiladas! Just cook them covered with foil at 350 for a little extra time.
Lisa
I’ve made this forever. It is simpler and quicker if you by the frozen burrito package. Let defrost. In foil pan pour in a can of chile beans or two, roll burritos in sauce, extra chile con carne beans on top, spread cheese, a sprinkle of garlic salt and put in over until cheese is melted. Let set 5 min. top with pico de gallo, sour cream and olives. Done! All cold ingredients in one pan until you put into oven. Great for pot lucks, wakes, quick meals!!
Catrena
Can you make this with green enchilada sauce?
Susie
Absolutely!
Jackie
I have then at Taco Bell, they put sliced black olives and sour cream when they serve them…they are soooo good.
Ash
Yes!! Can’t believe took off menu. BUT… Taco Casa has this and it’s big!!! So yummy
Pats
You CAN still ask for one when you are ordering at Taco Bell… They will make you one… speaking from experience.
Kellie
This is so good! Even my picky daughter ate it! I added olives as well…just because we love them! Will be making again for sure!
Kristy
I love enchiladas and burritos and thought this was delicious and easy to make. Next time I will add an extra can of sauce on top because my husband and I like more sauce. Also, I’m going to try with shredded chicken because my husband isn’t a ground beef fan like I am.
Susie
Thank you for commenting! If you like chicken instead of beef definitely check out my new recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Tacos!
Jo
I’m also an avid lover of enchilada sauce. When I realized how easy it was to make it was like game over.
Joan Rude
delicious! I will make these often
Sarah
I changed it up just a tad to make it more WW friendly. It was so good!!
Susie
Tell me how you adjusted it!!! I joined WW this month. I gained 25 lbs last year : ( doing damage control now!!
Emily Bruno
Enchirito!! Genius! This sounds like the perfect make-ahead meal!
John
I could eat this enchirito every single night!
Susie
Me too. I love Mexican food
Henry
The enchirito was invented by Taco Bell