Fold Over Enchiladas could also be called lazy enchiladas.
I am going to start by saying these are not authentic enchiladas, but they are an easy and delicious dinner that uses ingredients you probably have on hand.
When I went gluten free back in 2009, there were not the options available that there are now. Gluten free tortillas were almost impossible to find, so the only option for me was corn tortillas.
I missed flour tortillas. I missed the taste of them, but I also missed how easy it was to make enchiladas and burritos with them. Flour tortillas just roll up better.
Corn tortillas were just not the same. Yes, they taste good, but they are much more challenging to work with and I often ended up with a big mess.
Because of this, I have found it easier to make enchilada pies by just layering the ingredients in a stack. My family however did not like enchilada pie as well as enchiladas. They wanted something that more resembled enchiladas.
Yes, I know you can fry the tortillas, that is the authentic way to make them, and they roll much better, but sometimes, you just need quick and easy. I don’t always have time to make real authentic enchiladas.
Instead of taking time to fry the tortillas and instead of creating a big mess by trying to roll corn tortillas without heating them, I discovered that I could just fold them over.
Yes, my way is the lazy way, but I just forget the rolling of the shells and fold them over in the pan.
Fold over enchiladas may not be authentic, but they are quick and easy to make.
It is much easier now to find gluten free tortillas, I can find several brands at the store and my local small town Wal-mart even carries them.
However, they are expensive. With grocery prices on the rise, I am finding myself grabbing corn tortillas more and more because they are the cheapest gluten free tortilla to buy.
You don’t have to be gluten free to enjoy the convenience of fold over enchiladas. If you want quick and easy enchiladas, give this method of making them a try.
How To Make Them
The exact recipe is below, but you really don’t need a recipe. This is more of a technique that will work with just about any enchilada filling.
You basically just place the filling on half of the corn tortilla shell, fold them in half, and place in the pan.
Spread with sauce and cheese.
Bake and enjoy.
Ingredients
For these enchiladas you need tortillas, I use corn, cheese, and enchilada sauce. Feel free to add meat, vegetables, or whatever else you like in your enchiladas.
- tortillas
- cheese
- enchilada sauce or homemade enchilada sauce
- cooked beef, chicken, or other filling of choice
Place the filling on half the shell, fold the shell over, and place in the pan.
See it is so much easier and prettier isn’t it?
This works perfectly with either my ground beef enchiladas, three cheese beef, chicken enchiladas, or beef and bean enchiladas.
Fold Over Enchiladas
Enchiladas made the easy way!
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded cheese
- 10 ounces enchilada sauce, use gluten free enchilada sauce for gluten free version.
- optional - 2 cups cooked ground beef ( or other cooked meat )
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x3 pan or similar sized casserole dish.
- Place a little cheese and cooked meat if using, on one half of each tortilla. Fold tortilla in half and place in pan.
- Spread remaining enchilia sauce over top. Sprinkle with more cheese if desired.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through.
Notes
You do not have to use this exact recipe. This is more of a technique than a recipe. It works with just about any enchilada filling.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 561Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 956mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 37g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Originally posted October 2010. Updated May 2022.
Sometimes my mom just makes them casserole style, laying the tortillas flat and topping them with filling and then another layer of tortillas on top.
I love this tip! I have never made enchiladas, partly because the idea of rolling so many tortillas always seemed like a lot of work. I love this idea to just fold them over like a taco!
I love this idea. I have been avoiding making enchilada’s because all the fat from frying the tortilla’s makes me feel sick. It is one of my husbands favorite meals though so I am just going to try this. With your enchilada sauce recipe, of course. 😉
MMMMMMM,…what a lovely & easy dinner to make & savour!!
Lovely food! MMMMMM,…!!!
that looks great! i tried to roll corn tortillas last week and utterly failed. i’ll give this a try.
My family nearly lives off white corn tortillas. Just toast them – not fry. Use a seasoned, but NOT greased, cast iron skillet/griddle and warm each side until golden brown (also do not use water as I have seen recommended). The process is actually quite quick and they then fold & roll so much easier as well have an enhanced flavor. In fact, for breakfast my daughter had a peanut butter & jelly tortilla and a cheese and sausage tortilla in her school lunch. Some brands are better than others – we prefer the thinner La Banderita from Ole Mexican Foods.
yum! my stomach growled as i looked at that photo. mmmmm…..
Dipping the tortillas in warm enchilada sauce helps make them more “pliable”.
I agree it does help some, but I have found that they still break more often than flour tortillas.
Corn tortilla are a pain. I’m glad you firgured out something so easy. This simplifies things too if the kids wanted to help make dinner.
Lynn,
This recipe sounds awesome! My family loves mexican food. However, my son is dairy, soy, egg and peanut free as well as being gluten free. Is there a dairy and soy free cheese that I could use?
We are not dairy free so I am not sure of a good dairy free cheese. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
This is great. I attempted my first batch a few weeks ago and tried heating my corn torillas in olive oil, recommended from another recipe I stumbled across, and my glass casserole dish blew up with all my goodies. I had already rolled several and had my assembly line set up. Glass got into everything. I’m glad to see that I don’t have to do the tortillas like that.
I hate the slim of flour tortillas, I use corn. I heat them in oil for 30 seconds.