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Food & Recipes

This ‘Lazy Enchiladas’ Recipe Requires Little To No Effort

This dish goes from oven to table in under 30 minutes.

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When you’re short on time, it may feel like your meal options are limited — but that certainly doesn’t mean they have to be bad. Having a well-stocked pantry is a lifesaver when it comes to crafting unique dinners on the fly. Usually, the Mexican classic dish known as enchiladas take a while to make from scratch. However, this “lazy enchiladas” recipe uses some ingredient shortcuts to help you prepare the dish much more quickly.

How To Make ‘Lazy Enchiladas’

Traditional enchilada recipes involve filling tortillas with a meat, cheese, or vegetable mixture; rolling the tortillas; smothering them in red or green sauce (often prepared from scratch); and baking the dish. Although these steps produce tasty results, they can be daunting when you’re in a hurry.

Thankfully, food blogger Salty Cocina (@saltycocina on TikTok) shows how you can save a couple of steps with her “lazy enchiladas” instructions. First, she uses frozen chicken and cheese taquitos because they’re already filled and rolled. Rather than making homemade enchilada sauce, she pours canned sauce over the taquitos before sprinkling with cheese. As the enchiladas are baking, she prepares toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro for serving. All in all, this recipe cooks in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box (approximately 12) frozen taquitos, any filling
  • 2 cups green or red enchilada sauce
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
  • Cooking spray
  • Toppings such as shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro
  • Refried beans and rice (optional for serving)

Directions:

  • Prep: 10 mins
  • Cook: 22 mins 
  • Total time: 32 mins
  • Yield: 3 to 4 servings
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Spray baking dish with cooking spray; place taquitos in single layer. Lightly coat taquitos with cooking spray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
  3. Remove from oven and pour enchilada sauce over taquitos. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.
  4. Serve with toppings, refried beans, and rice. Enjoy.

My Experience Making This Recipe

My enchiladas consisted of beef taquitos, green sauce, and the cheese blend. I also served them with sour cream, HERDEZ Chipotle Salsa Cremosa (Buy from Walmart, $2.73), and chopped cilantro. I’ll admit I was doubtful as to whether this recipe could come close to the authentic Mexican enchiladas I’m used to — but it was much better than I expected. The enchiladas were hearty thanks to the beef filling, the green sauce added a tangy flavor, and the salsa cremosa gave the dish a medium-spicy kick. A dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of cilantro rounded out the richness from the rest of the ingredients. I’m glad I came across this recipe — it’s the perfect way satisfy my enchilada cravings on busy nights.

My test of 'lazy enchiladas'
Alexandria Brooks

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