Shrimp Enchiladas

These Shrimp Enchiladas are filled with tender, flavorful shrimp then topped with a delicious homemade creamy sauce. It’s the perfect quick, easy weeknight meal if you love shrimp and Tex-Mex!

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I’ve got the best shrimp recipe for you today! I’ve been making these shrimp enchiladas for a long time, and they might be one of my favorite enchilada recipes. I mean, I love all of my recipes equally, but this one is really special…this and my incredible shrimp tacos.

When I first made these for a friend several years ago, we LOVED them. Juicy seasoned shrimp wrapped up in tortillas and topped with a creamy sauce is a match made in heaven. You definitely need to add this to your dinner rotation!

I love this shrimp enchilada recipe because it’s easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for guests or special occasions! It’s a recipe I turn to again and again – I think you will, too, once you try it.

Not a seafood fan? Try out delicious and easy Beef Enchiladas recipe instead.

Why You’ll Love this Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe

• These enchiladas are loaded with Tex-Mex flavors! The most amazing flavors create a restaurant quality dish.
• The ingredient list might look long, but I promise it’s easy to make. You make the filling, roll it up in tortillas, make the sauce, and then bake everything until the enchiladas are bubbly hot.
• You only need 20 minutes of prep time to get this dish into the oven. Then let it bake to perfection until bubbly and delicious!

Ingredients for Shrimp Enchiladas

Shrimp Mixture

• Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter in the shrimp mixture.
• Diced bell peppers and onions – Make sure you finely dice the vegetables so that each bite of enchilada will have the flavor of bell pepper and onion.
• Minced garlic – Fresh minced garlic will add lovely flavor to these seafood enchiladas.
• Chopped peeled and deveined raw shrimp – Chop the shrimp into small pieces.
• Fresh cilantro – You will want to make sure that the cilantro is also chopped very finely.
• Chili powder and ground cumin – These two spices will add incredible flavor to the shrimp mixture that will fill the tortillas.
• Salt – Bring out the flavors of everything in the dish with a bit of salt.
• Flour or corn tortillas – It is completely personal preference on what type of tortillas you want to use!

Creamy Sauce

• Butter – Use butter and flour as the base of the creamy enchilada sauce.
• Flour – Flour will act as a thickener to make the perfect consistency of sauce.
• Chicken broth – Feel free to use beef broth or vegetable broth in place of chicken if you want.
• Sour cream – Add a tangy bite to this delicious sauce with some sour cream.
• Garlic powder – Season up the sauce with some garlic powder.
• Diced green chilies – Green chiles will add just a slight touch of heat to the sauce and plenty of incredible flavor.
• Salt and pepper – Bring out the flavors of everything included in the sauce with a little salt and pepper.
• Green enchilada sauce or salsa verde – This is my secret ingredient to making the cream sauce perfect. Mix in a bit of salsa verde! So tasty!
• Shredded Monterey Jack cheese – Top your easy shrimp enchiladas with shredded cheese for the best finishing touch.

How to Make Shrimp Enchiladas

It may look like there are quite a few steps to completing this recipe, but they’re all really simple. Just follow these instructions and you’ll have the best enchiladas in no time:

Make the Shrimp Filling

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the bell peppers and onions and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Toss the fresh minced garlic into the same pan and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Add the chopped shrimp and cook it with vegetables for two to three minutes. You don’t need to cook it all the way through because it will finish cooking in the oven once you assemble the enchiladas.

Take the pan off the heat and add the cilantro, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to coat the shrimp and vegetables and then set the skillet aside while you make the sauce.

Make the Cream Sauce

Once you’ve made the filling you can leave it aside while you make the sauce.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine it with the butter. Cook the mixture for one to two minutes.

Slowly add the chicken broth slowly, stirring continuously. Doing this slowly will prevent the sauce from being lumpy. Once you’ve added all of the broth, the sauce should be smooth.

Cook the sauce, constantly stirring, for about three to five minutes or until it’s thickened.

Once thickened, lower the heat and stir in the sour cream, garlic powder, chilies, and enchilada sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, if needed.

Assemble the Shrimp Enchiladas

Add one cup of the cream sauce to the shrimp mixture and stir to combine.

Place 1/3 of the filling on a tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam-side down in a prepared baking dish. Repeat this process with the rest of the filling and tortillas.

Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the shredded over the top of the sauce. Bake the enchiladas for 20 to 30 minutes at 350°F.

Once the enchiladas come out of the oven, garnish them with sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice!

Serve hot and dig in!

How to Store Leftover Enchiladas

Creamy shrimp enchiladas are best hot out of the oven, but leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for two days or so. Just wrap the baking dish tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or transfer leftovers to an airtight container.

The sauce will thicken up when it’s chilled and won’t be as creamy. When you reheat, it should thin out but there may not be as much sauce as fresh.

How to Reheat Leftover Shrimp Enchiladas

For best results, reheat leftovers in the oven. However, you can reheat enchiladas in the microwave they just likely will be a bit soggy.

What to Serve with Shrimp Enchiladas

Serve your favorite Mexican inspired side dishes like Spanish rice, refried beans, chips and guacamole or chips and salsa. Easy veggie sides like creamed corn and roasted vegetables would be tasty too.

Quick sides like air fryer sweet potato fries or oven roasted potatoes could be paired with these easy shrimp enchiladas too.

Oh, and don’t forget and a cold margarita is always good, too!

Can you use precooked shrimp for shrimp enchiladas?

I don’t recommend using precooked shrimp because they will end up overcooked and rubbery. You can usually buy raw shrimp that is already peeled and deveined at the seafood counter in the grocery store.

Do you need to cook tortillas for shrimp enchiladas?

I don’t precook the tortillas for this recipe, but warming them up before you fill them helps to keep them from tearing when you roll them with the filling.

More Yummy Enchilada Recipes

• Creamy Chicken Enchilada Recipe
• Chicken Ranch Enchiladas
• Beef and Potato Enchiladas Recipe
• Breakfast Enchiladas

Try it and love it? Rate it, please! Seriously, though, a five-star rating below will make my day!

If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy dish!!

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!

 

4.93 from 185 votes

Shrimp Enchiladas

Enchiladas that are filled with tender, flavorful shrimp then topped with a delicious homemade creamy sauce.

Prep:20 minutes mins

Cook:40 minutes mins

Total:1 hour hr

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4

servings

Ingredients

Shrimp mixture:

• ▢ 2-3 Tablespoon butter
• ▢ ½ cup red and green bell pepper finely chopped
• ▢ ½ cup onion finely diced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined, chopped into pieces
• ▢ ¼ cup cilantro chopped
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 8 flour or corn tortillas (9 inches)

Cream Sauce:

• ▢ 2 Tablespoon butter
• ▢ 2 Tablespoon flour
• ▢ 1 ½ cup chicken broth
• ▢ ¾ – 1 cup sour cream
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ cup diced canned chilies
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ ¼ cup green enchilada sauce or salsa Verde sauce
• ▢ 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
• ▢ garnish: sour cream, cilantro, jalapenos, and limes

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
• Shrimp mixture: Using a large skillet melt butter. Sauté the bell peppers and onions until lightly softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook additional 30 seconds.
• Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes, or until shrimp starts to turn pink. (You don’t want to overcook the shrimp. Remember it will cook more in the oven). Remove from heat and add in cilantro, salt, cumin and chili powder. Stir and set aside.
• Cream Sauce: In a large skillet melt butter over medium high heat. Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth (1/2 cup at a time). Continue to cook, stirring constantly, about 3-5 minutes until thickened.
• Lower heat, stir in the sour cream, garlic powder, chilies, and enchilada sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 cup of sauce to shrimp mixture, stir to combine.
• Assemble enchiladas: Add ⅓ cup shrimp mixture to a flour tortilla, roll tightly and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
• Pour the remaining sauce over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese over enchiladas.
• Bake 20 – 30 minutes in preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Serve immediately, garnish and enjoy!!

Tips

my shrimp enchiladas are best hot out of the oven, but leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for two days or so. Just wrap the baking dish tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or transfer leftovers to an airtight container.

The sauce will thicken up when it’s chilled and won’t be as creamy. When you reheat, it should thin out but there may not be as much sauce as fresh.

For best results, reheat leftovers in the oven. However, you can reheat enchiladas in the microwave they just likely will be a bit soggy.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 2, Calories: 585kcal (29%), Carbohydrates: 33g (11%), Protein: 41g (82%), Fat: 31g (48%), Saturated Fat: 18g (113%), Cholesterol: 366mg (122%), Sodium: 2126mg (92%), Potassium: 378mg (11%), Fiber: 5g (21%), Sugar: 3g (3%), Vitamin A: 1220IU (24%), Vitamin C: 30.5mg (37%), Calcium: 641mg (64%), Iron: 4.2mg (23%)

© Julie's Eats & Treats ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.