Shrimp Enchiladas
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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!
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.
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.
Helpful Tools
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.
This is the MOST delicious shrimp enchilada recipe. It turns out amazing every time. I have added things like sweet potatoes and pinto beans and a little more into the mix. It turns out a little heartier. The flavors are out of this world. Thank you Julie!!!
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.
Pro Tips for the Best Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe
- Make sure that the majority of the tortillas get covered in cream sauce so that they don’t dry out in the oven.
- If you want to make this a freezer meal, build the enchiladas and leave off the sauce. Then when you’re ready to bake, make fresh sauce to add to the enchiladas before popping into the oven.
- Add any of your favorite toppings to the finished enchiladas!
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!
Shrimp Enchiladas
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!!
Laura DeLange says
Absolutely delicious.
Look no further, this recipe is the your looking fir, didn’t change a thing, only that I’ll be making this again
Mike Nelson says
Absolutely amazing, made it for friends and they were blown away. Definitely one of our new favorites, will be on regular rotation
Courtney says
SO great to hear you and your friends loved it! Also love when you find a new favorite dish to add to the dinner rotations!
Keith Bergeron says
Sounds Great, Can’t wait to try!
Courtney says
Hope you loved them!
Becky says
Thank you for this delicious recipe. My husband and I both love Mexican food and you can’t top the taste of these enchiladas.
Courtney says
Awesome! Enchiladas are definitely a favorite! 😍 Thank you for rating this recipe and for commenting!
Kel says
Can you prep this in the morning and then throw it in the oven or would it turn soggy?
Courtney says
I wouldn’t think it would turn soggy but have not tried preparing that far beforehand! Let me know if you try it!
Sherri says
Very tasty. Put a jalapeno in with onions and bell pepper.Used 1 tablespoon of dried cilantro instead of fresh.
Leo says
Very good
Rhonda M says
This was soooo good! Instead of waiting until the end to put the cheese on top of the enchiladas, I incorporated it into the sauce. Soooo good!
David says
Delicious meal will make again. Been Craving Good Shrimp Enchiladas and most restaurants miss the creamy Cheesy sauce that this dish has.
Courtney says
That is great to hear! Thanks for trying and rating this recipe!
Christine says
This recipe was absolutely amazing, and so easy to make. I did use the liquid from the shrimp and 1 cup of chicken broth to make the sauce. Will definitely be making this again soon, so glad we have leftovers
Sandy J says
I am having some issues with the directions. “add the chicken slowly…” I thought this was shrimp. Is this the chicken broth? It is ok on the recipe, but the directions are not making sense. And on that it says to “add 1/3 of the filling onto a tortilla.” Does this just make 3 of the enchiladas?
Dakota says
Those are just typos, if you scroll down to the recipe it is correct and says “add the chicken broth slowly. And it also is corrects the typo of the missing “cup” when it states “1/3 cup of filling”
Susan Olsen says
Hello Julie,
Love your shrimp enchilada recipe!
My husband and I make green enchilada sauce with our garden tomitillos and freeze the sauce.
We’ve made your recipe three times and it is our go to for enchiladas. Your shrimp enchilada recipe could be the only
on a menu at ahad a restaurant and it will be the best dish!
Thank you for sharing online+
Char says
This was really good. I did substitute the salsa Verde for an avocado salsa that has a bit of a kick to it. This was a hit and has now been bookmarked
Courtney says
Wow, that sounds great. Thank you for sharing!
Aaron says
Everything in this recipe is amazing except for using chicken broth. Yes it taste all right. But if you just use that shrimp sauce that is left over from cooking your shrimp I mean that’s what I do there is a lot of sauce left over after cooking a shrimp in a pan it turns liquidy in there and all them juices are strictly amazing do not throw it away use every drop of it. and cook your shrimp with the shells on as it makes for a better Broth. And after they’re cooked the shells come right off. That makes an amazing sauce keep the chicken sauce out. You’ll have plenty of amazing shrimp stock. And add a seasoning when cooking your shrimp called tamarind. It is a soup mix. But it’s also used for cooking seafood. A little trick that I learned from my Asian stepfather. As they eat a lot of shrimp and seafood. It is strictly amazing. Where I live I have to buy that at the Asian store but most places you can get it at the regular store I’ve now personally just buy it off Amazon a lot cheaper you can buy a pound container for nine dollars which will last you for ever
Bob N. says
This looks great but I can’t take cilantro – tastes like soap to me. Is chopped parsley an acceptable substitute? I hope so; it would open up lots of Tex-Mex and S.E. Asian recipes for me.
Julie Evink says
That should be fine!