Freezer Enchiladas

Storing and Planning Ahead

The frozen tray keeps for 3 months. Baked enchiladas keep for 3 days in the fridge.

Freezer Enchiladas: The Method

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1. Heat the oil and cook the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, flour, chilli powder and cumin and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and stock and simmer for 15 minutes until thick.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

2. Mix the chicken, beans, sweetcorn, half the cheddar and 6 tbsp of the sauce.

   Mark done

3. Warm the tortillas. Fill each with the mixture, roll up and lay seam side down in 2 foil trays on a layer of sauce. Pour over the rest of the sauce.

   Mark done

4. Wrap one tray in cling film and foil and freeze. For the other, scatter over the remaining cheddar and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 30 minutes.

   Mark done Start 30 min timer

5. To bake the frozen tray, cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes, then uncover, add cheese and bake for 15 minutes. Scatter with coriander.

   Mark done Start 60 min timer

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A Few Pointers

• Keep the filling fairly dry.
• Warm the tortillas before rolling.
• Add the final cheese just before baking.

Why the Method Is What It Is

The enchilada is one of the best dishes for freezing, because the tortillas and the sauce both survive the cold, and the whole dish reheats into a bubbling, cheesy tray. This recipe makes two trays of four, so one can go into the oven tonight and the other into the freezer for a night when there is nothing planned.

The filling is shredded cooked chicken, black beans, sweetcorn, red onion and a handful of cheese, bound with a spoonful of the sauce. Keep it fairly dry, because a loose, wet filling makes soggy enchiladas that tear when you roll them. Warm the tortillas for 20 seconds in the microwave so they are pliable. Cold tortillas crack.

Use a thick sauce and leave out the final cheese before freezing. A good enchilada sauce is made from tomato, chilli powder, cumin, garlic and a spoonful of flour, and should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Pour a layer in the tray, put the rolled tortillas in, cover with more sauce, but add the final layer of cheese just before baking so that it does not go rubbery in the freezer.

Wrap the foil tray tightly in cling film and a second layer of foil. To bake from frozen, remove the cling film, cover with foil and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 60 minutes, then uncover, add the cheese and bake for 15 more.

What to Put Next to It

Soured cream · Guacamole · Rice · Green salad

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Pan de Muerto, Cilantro Lime Rice.

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Freezer Enchiladas Nutrition

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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