Since moving to California over five years ago, my husband and I have become seriously obsessed with good, authentic Mexican food. With our young family and very rarely going on dates outside of the house, this most often means finding the best drive-through Mexican restaurants we can :) We are fans of the “Berto’s” chain Mexican restaurants here in California—the main one being Alberto’s but there are other very similar ones like Gualberto’s, Aliberto’s etc. they have almost identical menus and you know exactly how it will taste.

One meal that has become a quick favorite of my husband’s is the cheese enchiladas with rice and beans. It has actually become a comfort food for him, especially during 2020 with his high-stress job. Whenever we go through the drive-thru he will often get another order of cheese enchiladas with rice and beans to have on hand on a night when he really needs a pick me up. The great thing about cheese enchiladas is that red sauce just gets better and better with time. These are the best leftovers in the world!

I have always been quite intimidated for whatever reason to make my own enchiladas from scratch because I’ve been worried I would mess up the sauce. I don’t know what I was so scared of! It comes together really easy and beautifully and if you are just making cheese enchiladas with no meat, the whole meal comes together really quickly. 

I got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs LilLuna.com--Kristyn’s mom is from Mexico and is a wonderful cook. She describes this dish as “Restaurant-Style Red Cheese Enchiladas Recipe – An Old Family Favorite Recipe That Is Simply The Best. Corn Tortillas Filled With Cheese, Chile Puree, Salt & Garlic Pepper And Topped With More Cheese!”

You start this sauce by making a roux with flour and oil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then you add your seasonings and spices--Kristyn highly recommends using the Gebhardt chili powder. This mixture will be very clumpy and then you whisk in chicken broth until it is all smooth. Then it is ready to go! To make the rest of the enchiladas you take soft corn tortillas and dip them in the sauce to completely coat them, then fill them with cheese, roll them up and put them in a baking dish. Add the remaining sauce and top with more cheese and bake in the oven.

I made refried beans right in my Instant Pot and rice on the stove while the enchiladas were baking and we had such a wonderful meal with leftovers to boot. I highly recommend you try making these homemade cheesy red enchiladas at home. You will be amazed how you made a restaurant-worthy meal right at home with little effort.



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