Seafood enchiladas
Shrimp and crab rolled in tortillas under a creamy green chile sauce and melted cheese, a restaurant favorite that’s easy to make ahead.
- 60 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $3.15 a serving
- 550 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 oz frozen raw shrimp, thawed, peeled and chopped
- 8 oz imitation crab, chopped
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 can diced green chiles, 4 oz
- 8 flour tortillas
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 550 calories, 30 g protein, 42 g carbs and 30 g fat, and costs about $3.15 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No flour tortillas? Whole wheat tortillas work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the butter in a large over medium heat and cook the onion for 4 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Food safety: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and opaque all the way through and curl into a loose C. A tight O means overcooked, not unsafe.
Spoon the shrimp and onion into a bowl, leaving the butter in the pan, and in the crab and 1 cup of the cheese.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
the flour into the butter in the pan and cook 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the broth and 2 minutes, until thick.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Take the pan off the heat and in the sour cream, green chiles, cumin and salt.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Off the heat, or the sour cream can split.½ cup of the sauce into the seafood filling and spread another ½ cup over the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Fill each tortilla with the seafood, roll it up and lay it seam side down in the dish.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the top, scatter the rest of the cheese and 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling and in spots.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min 30 sec
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Let them sit for 5 minutes, then scatter the cilantro over and serve.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: To make ahead, assemble, cover and chill for up to a day. Bake straight from the fridge for about 35 minutes.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
