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Overhead view of a casserole dish containing shrimp enchiladas topped with cilantro, slices of avocado, and sour cream.

Shrimp Enchiladas

Seasoned shrimp, sautéed veggies, and a creamy cheese sauce. This shrimp enchilada recipe's got it all!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield:8 enchiladas

Equipment

  • Oven
  • 9x13 baking dish
  • Cooking spray
  • stovetop
  • Large skillet
  • Large wooden spoon
  • medium saucepan
  • whisk
  • Cutting board

Ingredients

For the Enchilada Filling

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper red or green, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For the Cream Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • ½ cup full-fat sour cream
  • 1 4.5-ounce can diced green chilis drained
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

For the Enchiladas

  • 8 8-inch flour tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
  • fresh cilantro chopped, optional
  • avocado pit removed, peeled, sliced; optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Lightly grease baking dish and set aside.
  • Heat large skillet over medium heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil and swirl pan to coat bottom with oil. Heat oil over medium heat until oil is hot and shimmering.
  • Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to hot oil in skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender, approximately 5 minutes.
  • Once onion and bell pepper are tender, add chopped shrimp, paprika, chili powder, and salt to skillet. Stir to incorporate, then cook until shrimp is opaque and fully cooked-through, approximately 5 minutes. When shrimp is ready, remove skillet from heat and set aside.
    Overhead view of chopped shrimp in a large skillet with chopped onion and red bell pepper.
  • Heat medium saucepan over medium heat. When pan is warm, add butter and cook until butter is completely melted.
  • Once butter has melted, add all-purpose flour to saucepan. Whisk ingredients together vigorously for 1 minute or until mixture is lightly golden-brown.
    Overhead view of melted butter whisked with flour in a saucepan to create a roux.
  • Slowly pour chicken broth into flour-butter mixture. Whisk to combine, and continue whisking until mixture has thickened.
    Overhead view of roux and chicken broth in a medium saucepan on a neutral background.
  • When mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, add sour cream, green chilis, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Stir well to incorporate ingredients, and continue stirring until cheese has melted completely. When cheese has melted, remove saucepan from heat and set aside.
    Overhead view of an enchilada cream sauce with cheese, green chilis, sour cream, and chicken stock in a medium saucepan.
  • Lay flour tortillas out flat on cutting board. Portion approximately ¼ cup of shrimp filling onto each tortilla, then roll tortillas around filling to form enchiladas. Place rolled enchiladas seam-side down in greased baking dish. Repeat until all enchiladas have been formed and placed in baking dish.
    Overhead view of 7 rolled enchiladas in a white oval casserole dish on a neutral wooden background.
  • Pour cheese sauce evenly over tops of enchiladas to cover, then sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheese evenly over cheese sauce.
  • Place baking dish in oven and bake, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until enchiladas are golden brown and sauce is bubbly. Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Divide enchiladas onto serving plates, top with chopped cilantro and sliced avocado if desired, and serve warm.
    Overhead view of a fully baked shrimp enchilada topped with brown, melty shredded cheese and a creamy cheese sauce.

Notes

  • If you notice the cheese is browning too fast or beginning to get too dark, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil to distribute the heat more evenly.
  • Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free tortillas, gluten-free all-purpose flour, and make sure your chicken broth is gluten free. You'll also want to make sure your shredded cheese doesn't contain any sneaky glutens.
  • Make it Low(er) Carb: Use low-carb tortillas. Shred your own cheese from a block of fresh cheese to avoid the starches and fillers added to pre-packaged shredded cheese.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1enchilada | Calories: 389kcal | Protein: 24g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 919mg | Potassium: 289mg | Total Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Net Carbs: 28g | Vitamin A: 1021IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 362mg | Iron: 3mg
Recipe By:Sam Guarnieri