Shrimp Enchiladas

Succulent shellfish and a rich, creamy sauce make my shrimp enchiladas recipe something special! These decadent, delicious enchiladas are quick and easy to put together so they work well for a weeknight dinner yet they’re special enough to serve to your fanciest company! The creamy, homemade, white sauce they swim in will truly knock your socks off!

Everyone loves enchiladas! These Tex-Mex staples do double duty as good old-fashioned comfort food. With an endless variety of enchilada sauce, is it any wonder there’s a perfect match to go with seafood? Enter my shrimp enchiladas! Perfectly cooked shrimp are nestled in a divinely creamy sauce, all of it loaded up in fluffy tortillas!

If you love enchiladas as much as my family does, try my truly amazing shredded beef enchiladas with their own homemade amazing beefy enchilada sauce, my cheesy chicken enchiladas, or my reader favorite, for over a decade, white chicken enchiladas. I know you’ll love them all!

Let’s make these! Olé!!!

What I Love About This Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe

• Sweet, tender shrimp
• Creamy sauce you’ll LOVE!
• Oven baked yum
• Family pleasing deliciousness

Shrimp Enchiladas Ingredients

Cream Sauce:

• Butter
• All-Purpose Flour
• Chicken Broth
• Sour Cream
• Ortega Chiles
•  Monterey Jack Cheese

Filling:

• Butter
• Onion 
• Jalapeño
• Garlic 
• Mushrooms
• Shrimp
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Fresh Cilantro

Assembly:

• Flour Tortillas
• Monterey Jack Cheese

Garnish:

• Fresh Cilantro

Can You Use Precooked Shrimp For This Recipe?

I use raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp. The recipe has been written for raw shrimp. If you switch the raw shrimp for precooked shrimp, it simply won’t be as tender and juicy!

Do You Cook Corn Tortillas For Enchiladas?

Because this recipe is made with flour tortillas, you don’t need to precook the tortillas on a grill, open glass flame, or in oil. When making enchiladas with corn tortillas you need to take this step. They aren’t pliable so you can’t roll them around the filling. Flour tortillas don’t have this issue. If you want to make this recipe with corn tortillas, follow these steps:

• Microwave: Wrap tortillas in a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place in the microwave for 100% power until warm and flexible, about 1 minute.
• Shallow Fry: In a small skillet, shallow fry each tortilla in corn oil or any other neutral-flavored oil for approximately 10 seconds on each side, until it starts to get crispy but is still pliable. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. This will also help the tortillas to not become soggy after they’re baked.

Tips

• Heat it up: If you want to turn these into spicy Shrimp Enchiladas, you can make Shrimp Enchiladas with jalapeño cream sauce. Just add a couple of chopped, fresh jalapeños to the sauce and/or use the “spicy” version of the canned chiles. You can also substitute pepper Jack for the Monterey Jack cheese.
  • Jalapeños: can vary quite a bit in their heat, by the way, so you may want to try a little nibble and adjust the amount based on just how much heat you can handle.
  • Chiles: I add chopped green chiles for color and a little heat, and I like to use the fire-roasted Ortega version. Feel free to substitute another brand, though, if you prefer. I do prefer to use green chiles to heat things up, though, because cayenne or chipotles can give the white, creamy sauce a pink hue.
• Mix it up: Don’t feel like shrimp is the only option here. You can do a seafood combo and make crab and shrimp enchiladas (adding a little jumbo lump crab to the shrimp filling) or scallop and shrimp enchiladas, substituting small bay-size scallops for some of the shrimp.
• Corn tortillas vs. flour tortillas: Authentic enchiladas are made from corn tortillas. Using flour tortillas as an alternative makes for a simpler recipe that doesn’t require softening the tortillas before stuffing, plus it creates a more neutral background flavor that doesn’t compete with the enchilada filling as corn tortillas can. (I also find that flour tortillas hold up a little better during the baking process which makes them ideal for any re-heatable leftovers!)
• Shrimp: Although most of us can find fresh or frozen shrimp in the market nowadays, they can also be a little pricey depending on what’s available.
  • The good thing is because we’ll be chopping these into smaller pieces, you have some flexibility to choose what might be freshest and on sale. I’d just avoid the little popcorn-sized shrimp because they tend to get lost in the enchiladas and have less flavor than the larger varieties.
  • It’s also generally better to buy shrimp with the shell on, then peel and devein them at home since the shell helps protect the texture of the shrimp when they’re frozen. Here are some tips for navigating all the head-on, flash-frozen, wild vs. farm-fresh options at your market.
• Sauce: The sauce I use in this dish is similar to shrimp enchiladas suizas or “Swiss” enchiladas, which get their name because of the copious amounts of dairy in the sauce. It’s also what makes these such a decadent treat.
  • We’ll start by making a basic roux of butter and flour and cook it just until the raw flour flavor is gone – 1-2 minutes, no need to darken it like we would for a brown gravy.
  • Next, we’ll add some broth and thicken the mixture to a gravy-like consistency. It needs to come to a boil. Stir constantly so it doesn’t burn. This takes a bit of time so be patient. If you skip this step your sauce will be soupy.
• Cheese: The real “creamy” quality of this sauce comes from sour cream, whisked in after the mixture has cooled a bit. The result is a rich cream sauce with a touch of tanginess that balances the sweetness of the shrimp.
  • We’ll also add some cheese to maximize the velvety feel of the sauce and make sure there are plenty of those enticing cheese strings stretching from the baking dish to your plate. Monterey jack works perfectly here, both for color and mildness of flavor, as well as its smooth melting consistency.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Definitely store any leftovers in the fridge! You don’t wanna mess around with seafood and room temp for too long, even when cooked. Your leftovers will store nicely in sealed containers for up to four days.
• Can You Freeze This? Unfortunately, no. There’s just way too much dairy in this shrimp enchiladas recipe for it to freeze properly — dairy does wonky things in the freezer, including separating, which means you’d end up with chunky, icky sauce.
• Make-Ahead Tips: The best way to make this meal ahead is to prep all your ingredients, roll up your enchiladas, and store the sauce separately, in your fridge for up to four days. When you’re ready to cook, pour the sauce on, and pop it in the oven as usual!

Serving Recommendations

The only way to eat this shrimp enchiladas recipe is with a full-on Mexican feast, of course! Pair your enchiladas with fluffy, flavorful Restaurant-style Mexican rice,  Charro Beans, Mexican corn salad, or Mexican Street Corn Casserole. They’re just BURSTING with sweet corn and creamy cheese!

Load up a bite with some shrimp, some rice, and some corn, and WOW is that paradise!

More Shrimp Recipes

• Amazing Shrimp Dip
• Shrimp Pasta Salad
• Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe
• Shrimp Orzo
• Curry Shrimp

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Shrimp Enchiladas

When velvety cheese sauce smothers fluffy tortillas wrapping moist, sweet shrimp-it can only mean one thing: Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas! A yummy seafood meal!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Servings: 4 People

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

Cream Sauce:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 (7-ounce) can diced Ortega chilis
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno finely chopped and seeded
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Assembly:

• 8 6-inch flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups Monterey jack cheese shredded

Garnish:

• fresh chopped cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (177°C). Spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Make the Sauce:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter (6 tablespoons). Whisk flour (6 tablespoons) and stir until the butter and flour are well combined. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute to remove the flour taste. 
• Remove the skillet from heat and whisk in broth (3 cups). Place back on heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil, has thickened and is bubbly. Cool sauce for 3-5 minutes. (Don't skip this step if the sauce is too hot and you add the sour cream it will curdle it). Add sour cream (1 1/2 cups), chilies (1 can), and 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese and stir until the sauce is smooth and the sour cream is completely dissolved. Set aside.

Make the Filling:

• In a large skillet, melt butter (2 tablespoons) over medium heat. Add chopped onion (1 cup), jalapeno (1), and garlic (4 cloves), and sauté until slightly softened about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms (8 ounces) and continue to saute until tender, 5-8 minutes. Add shrimp (1 pound) and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes or until pink just start to turn pink. Remove from heat and stir in salt (1 teaspoon), pepper (1/2 teaspoon), cumin (1 teaspoon), chili powder (1 teaspoon), and fresh cilantro (1/2 cup). Add one cup of prepared sauce and stir to combine.
  

Assembly:

• Lay tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture in the center, roll tightly and lay seam side down into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and shrimp mixture. Pour the cream sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle 1 1/2 cups cheese evenly over top. Place in preheated oven and bake, covered, until lightly golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the enchiladas sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• 
  Chicken Tortilla Casserole
• 
  Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
• 
  Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

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Notes

1. Heat it up: If you want to turn these into spicy Shrimp Enchiladas, you can make Shrimp Enchiladas with jalapeño cream sauce. Just add a couple of chopped, fresh jalapeños to the sauce and/or use the “spicy” version of the canned chiles. You can also substitute pepper Jack for the Monterey Jack cheese.
   • Jalapeños: can vary quite a bit in their heat, by the way, so you may want to try a little nibble and adjust the amount based on just how much heat you can handle.
   • Chiles: I add chopped green chiles for color and a little heat, and I like to use the fire-roasted Ortega version. Feel free to substitute another brand, though, if you prefer. I do prefer to use green chiles to heat things up, though, because cayenne or chipotles can give the white, creamy sauce a pink hue.
2. Mix it up: Don’t feel like shrimp is the only option here. You can do a seafood combo and make crab and shrimp enchiladas (adding a little jumbo lump crab to the shrimp filling) or scallop and shrimp enchiladas, substituting small bay-size scallops for some of the shrimp.
3. Corn tortillas vs. flour tortillas: Authentic enchiladas are made from corn tortillas. Using flour tortillas as an alternative makes for a simpler recipe that doesn’t require softening the tortillas before stuffing, plus it creates a more neutral background flavor that doesn’t compete with the enchilada filling as corn tortillas can. (I also find that flour tortillas hold up a little better during the baking process which makes them ideal for any re-heatable leftovers!)
4. Shrimp: Although most of us can find fresh or frozen shrimp in the market nowadays, they can also be a little pricey depending on what’s available.
   • The good thing is because we’ll be chopping these into smaller pieces, you have some flexibility to choose what might be freshest and on sale. I’d just avoid the little popcorn-sized shrimp because they tend to get lost in the enchiladas and have less flavor than the larger varieties.
   • It’s also generally better to buy shrimp with the shell on, then peel and devein them at home since the shell helps protect the texture of the shrimp when they’re frozen. Here are some tips for navigating all the head-on, flash-frozen, wild vs. farm-fresh options at your market.
5. Sauce: The sauce I use in this dish is similar to shrimp enchiladas suizas or “Swiss” enchiladas, which get their name because of the copious amounts of dairy in the sauce. It’s also what makes these such a decadent treat.
   • We’ll start by making a basic roux of butter and flour and cook it just until the raw flour flavor is gone – 1-2 minutes, no need to darken it like we would for a brown gravy.
   • Next, we’ll add some broth and thicken the mixture to a gravy-like consistency. It needs to come to a boil. Stir constantly so it doesn't burn. This takes a bit of time so be patient. If you skip this step your sauce will be soupy.
6. Cheese: The real “creamy” quality of this sauce comes from sour cream, whisked in after the mixture has cooled a bit. The result is a rich cream sauce with a touch of tanginess that balances the sweetness of the shrimp.
   • We’ll also add some cheese to maximize the velvety feel of the sauce and make sure there are plenty of those enticing cheese strings stretching from the baking dish to your plate. Monterey jack works perfectly here, both for color and mildness of flavor, as well as its smooth melting consistency.

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