These cheese enchiladas represent the essence of Tex-Mex cuisine with their mild, flavorful sauce and perfectly melted cheese. While not traditionally Mexican, they embody the comfort food spirit that defines Texas dining. The best part? This restaurant-quality dish comes together in just 35 minutes with simple ingredients you likely already have at home.
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Why This Recipe Works
The secret to authentic El Chico cheese enchiladas lies in two key elements: the homemade enchilada sauce and the use of American cheese from the deli counter. The simple roux-based sauce develops deep flavor from chili powder and paprika without hours of simmering, while American cheese melts perfectly for that authentic restaurant-quality texture. This winning combination creates enchiladas that are actually better than what you’d get dining out!
Ingredients
- White onions – Adds optional fresh crunch and flavor as a topping
- All-purpose flour – Creates the roux base that thickens the enchilada sauce
- Vegetable oil – Combines with flour to form the foundation of the sauce
- Salt – Enhances all the flavors in the dish
- Chili powder – Provides the distinctive Tex-Mex flavor and color
- Paprika – Adds depth and mild sweetness to the sauce
- Water – Thins the sauce to the perfect consistency
- Corn tortillas – Traditional base for authentic Tex-Mex enchiladas
- American cheese – Creates the perfectly melty, creamy filling
How to Make Enchilada Sauce
If you have never tried making enchilada sauce, you will find it to be super easy.
Enchilada sauce is made with vegetable oil, water, chili powder, and paprika. For a richer flavor, consider using chicken stock instead of water.
- In a medium-sized pot, combine vegetable oil and flour. Stir and cook for about 1 minute, or until it begins to become fragrant like pie crust.
- Add salt, chili powder, and paprika, and stir to combine.
- Add a cup of water. When the sauce becomes thick, add the next cup of water, and repeat with the remaining 2 cups of water, until the sauce is complete.
Cheese Enchilada Filling
The real secret to these enchiladas is using American cheese. Go to the deli and buy some American cheese in a large chunk and shred it yourself. It melts beautifully.
You could use another type of cheese, but choose one that melts nicely, such as a Colby or a Colby-Jack blend.
How to Make Cheese Enchiladas
- Heat corn tortillas in a skillet or microwave until they become pliable.
- Then roll them up with a good sprinkle of cheese.
- Place a bit of the enchilada sauce in the pan and add the filled tortillas.
- Top with additional sauce.
- Sprinkle with additional cheese and chopped white onion, if desired.
- Bake until bubbly.
In no time at all, you will have some delicious cheese enchiladas that everyone will love.
Some people like to top these homemade enchiladas with chopped onion, but this is entirely optional. I did not add the chopped onion in the video.
I personally love them with a fried egg on top. But I thought that might be bringing too much of the local flavor to you 😉.
Do you love enchiladas? Try these recipes!
- Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchiladas with Cream Cheese and Sour Cream
- Taco Bell Enchilada
- Chili’s Enchilada Soup
Favorite Mexican Recipes
- Carne Guisada with Potatoes
- Cheeseburger Quesadilla
- Chili Verde
- Chipotle Mexican Grill Carnitas
- Mexican Cornbread Recipe with Jiffy Mix
- Potato Taco
- Taco Bell Tacos
- Taco Sauce
Be sure to check out more of my easy Mexican recipes and the best restaurant copycat recipes here on CopyKat.com!
Classic El Chico Cheese Enchiladas with Homemade Tex-Mex Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus extra for heating tortillas in a skillet
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chili powder
- 1/2 cup paprika
- 1 quart water
- 12 corn tortillas
- 3/4 pound shredded American cheese
- 1/3 cup finely chopped white onions optional
Instructions
- Place the flour and vegetable oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Cook and stir until fragrant like pie crust, about 1 minute. Add the salt, chili powder, and paprika, and stir to incorporate. Add 1 cup of water and stir. When the sauce becomes thick, add the next cup of water. Repeat until the entire quart of water has been incorporated into the sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heat the corn tortillas in a small skillet with a little vegetable oil, or in the microwave, sprinkled with a little water and wrapped in a clean dish towel.
- Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons of cheese in the middle of each corn tortilla and roll them up. Line up the rolled tortillas in the baking dish with the “seams” facing down. Cover the tortillas with more sauce and top with any remaining cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped onion if desired.
Responding to leave a request for a recipe. I would love to have the recipe for T.G.I Fridays Tostada Nachos.
I learned to make enchiladas from a MX. She softened the tortillas in oil for a few seconds before making the enchiladas. I did that, along with blotting the oil afterwards, for many years. Now, I use a small amount of Kerrygold Unsalted Butter, instead of oil. It’s not authentic Tex-Mex, but it’s creamy, and delicious.
I grew up in Ft Worth Tx and had regular Sunday dinner at El Chicos. The Satlillo platter was my favorite. From there I moved to “San Antonio, Los Barrios and La Fogata were my favorite there, El Rancho was the place we took the kids. I then moved to Houston and loved Chuys. I NEVER had an enchilada made with flour tortillas. I now live in Florida where Tex-Mex is almost unheard of so I’m constantly searching for recipes to satisfy my craving for a spicy dinner. Was so thrilled to find the El Chico copy cat but really disappointed with the actual recipe.
I grew up on El Chico and El Felix and I never had these enchiladas with American Cheese – what made you change the recipe? It’s cheddar cheese inside, with a chili con carne sauce on top. This recipe is nothing like what they serve.
PS to the person in Florida looking for TexMex, we are in luck! Chuys has opened several locations in the Orlando/Kissimmee area, as well as one in North Tampa (Lutz/Wesley Chapel). Yay!!!
Mali’s, if you’re near Brandon, there’s a place there that’s pretty good too, called Tres Amigos.
Gotta get our Tex Mex fix, right?
do you ever add the chopped green chiles (canned) from the store. We are WAY north and have limited access to the ingredients for all the Tex Mex recipes. Thank you.
I think it would be tasty, but this isn’t something that folks do a lot, I don’t know why.
Can you use chicken broth instead of water? Does that make the sauce richer?
Yes, the chicken broth also gives more flavor. We add chicken and rice to ours also.
I make
Y enchilada sauce the way that I was taught in Juarez, Mexico. I use an entire bag of red chilies, cumin to taste, Mexican Oregano to taste, salt, pepper and water. I blend mine in the blender and then cook it for at least 15 minutes. This is a quicker version. If you don’t like recipes in a blog, don’t use it. Please appreciate the bloggers efforts.
I have their cookbook and this is their recipe for their enchilada sauce. Thanks for all the great recipes!
I grew up in Shreveport, La and ate at El Chico once a week for many years. I haven’t lived there for over 30 yrs now and miss eating there. My favorite was cheese enchiladas but I keep thinking the sauce had small chunks of meat in it like chili. Was that the old version of cheese enchiladas sauce? It was little thick too like chili.
All of our El Chico restaurants have closed in the Nashville area despite being having lots of business and always crowded. My favorite has always been the cheese and onion enchilada dinner. They serve a chili sauce, with meat and beans, poured over the enchiladas with shredded cheddar cheese also on top of them. I miss them and I almost hate them for closing our restaurants.
Stephanie, The one thing you should know about Tex-Mex is that the chile gravy is actually chili grave. Yes the red enchilada sauce ALWAYS contains ground beef, unless you are in Far West Texas, then that’s El Paso style Mexican.
Thank you for your insight.