Tonight's Dinner: Enchiritos!

Cafe Society
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On this older thread about Taco Bell’s original menu, several of us who participated expressed wistful memories of the long-departed enchirito, especially back when it came with black olives.

Well, at some point last summer I saw a recipe for recreating the enchirito and saved the recipe to Desktop. Where of course it sat there for months and months. But hey it’s Cinco de Mayo and time to give it a whirl. (Recipe provided in first comment).

Browning ground beef and onions in the frying pan

After lifting the beef and onions mixture out of the tallow beef grease, enchilada sauce is added

the mixture is returned to the cleaned frying pan to let the tastes meld for a bit.

Then flour tortillas are laid out, the meat mixture is distributed, and then topped with Mexican cheese blend

then a dollop of sour cream

Then they each get rolled and placed in an oiled baking dish

The remaining enchilada sauce and cheese are distributed on top

While that’s cooking 20+ minutes in a 350° oven, I prepare black olives and green onions which will garnish the top

Checking to see if they’re melty enough…ooh that’s looking nice

Ready to serve!

Is the notification system down?
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Taco Bell Enchirito Recipe

Ingredients

  • • 1 lb (450g) ground beef

  • • 1/2 cup (85g) onion, chopped

  • • 1 cup (240ml) enchilada sauce

  • • 8 large flour tortillas

  • • 1 cup (120g) shredded cheese (cheddar or a Mexican blend)

  • • 1/4 cup (60ml) sour cream

  • • 1/2 cup (40g) green onions, sliced

  • • 1/2 cup (70g) black olives, sliced (optional)

  • • In a skillet, cook the ground beef and chopped onion over medium heat until the beef is browned and fully cooked.

  • • Drain any excess fat from the skillet.

  • •

  • • In a skillet, cook the ground beef and chopped onion over medium heat until the beef is browned and fully cooked.

  • • Drain any excess fat from the skillet.

2. Add Sauce

  • • Stir in half of the enchilada sauce into the beef mixture.
  • • Heat it through, allowing the flavors to meld.

3. Assemble the Tortillas

  • • Lay each flour tortilla flat on a clean surface.
  • • Spoon the beef mixture onto the center of each tortilla.
  • • Add a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream to each tortilla.
  • • Roll each tortilla tightly and place it seam-side down in a greased baking dish.

4. Top & Bake

  • • Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas in the baking dish.
  • • Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.

5. Bake

  • • Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
  • • Bake the dish for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and golden.

6. Garnish & Serve

  • • Remove from the oven and top with sliced green onions and black olives (optional).
  • • Serve warm and enjoy the nostalgic flavors of the classic Enchirito.
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Nice!

How were they?

We had wet burritos made almost exactly the same way.

(My daughter makes her own enchilada red sauce, tho’)

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We very much enjoyed them. Not the most fantastical Mexican food recipe ever or anything but the recipe gets additional points for not being particularly futzy. Good cozy yumminess.

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Personally I like foods that make sense. I’m not gonna jump thru 100 hoops to make something that may be panned by my own personal peanut gallery (grand kids).

I’m sorry, I’m a cheapskate, Taco Bell makes sense to me.

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But the whole point of the exercise was to recreate something Taco Bell no longer offers so TB is not an option.

I was fond of the enchirito but man do those look fancier.

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I saw that you used purple onions. Are those the preferred variety for this dish, or is it just what you had on hand?

Those sound yummy, and not hard to make.

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Thanks! I’m another who misses the Taco Bell Enchirito-- I missed the couple brief windows over the last 5 years or so when TB brought it back. I will definitely try making these at some point-- probably this weekend.

Were they reminiscent of the enchiritos you remember? I can still taste in my mind what they’re supposed to taste like. I think the enchilada sauce is the key. I’ve looked at different recipes for enchilada sauce online, and they’ve varied widely and not seemed exactly right. I’m thinking there’s some quality to that Old El Paso brand red enchilada sauce that might convey that ‘Taco Bell’ enchirito flavor.

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I can’t do sour cream. But aside from that they look super yummy!

I once saved a youtube video of someone making an at-home version of KFC potato wedges, and those looked awesome, too. I wonder if I still have it.

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Just what I had on hand, but all from the same large onion that happened to be nicely pungent and faintly sweet.

Yeah, it’s a long-established brand that kind of tastes like 1979 :slight_smile:

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I never had an enchirito from Taco Bell. That looks essentially like an enchilada using a flour tortilla instead of a corn one. Is that basically the idea?

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The enchirito is entirely a Taco Bell invention; from the name, it’s a hybrid / portmanteau of enchilada and burrito.

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I’ve started using red / purple onions almost exclusively (well, besides green onions, which I consider a different vegetable for different uses). They pack more vitamins and antioxidants than yellow or white onions. Also they seem (at least to me) to be slightly milder for use raw, while being perfectly fine for cooking / sauteeing. So a healthy and versatile onion.

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You need to make them in a disposable aluminum tray for true authenticity.

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They should have called it enchirrito then, with two “r”.
Interesting insight into Mexican cuisine through the filter of the USA. Two questions pop into my mind: Where are the fríjoles (beans)? And how do you eat those? With your hands? Or with a knife and fork?