Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas
These Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas are a delicious Mexican recipe filled with veggies and shrimp and covered with a rich, creamy sauce. Don’t like shrimp? Make this a Creamy Chicken Enchilada recipe and it will be just as good.
Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas
Today we’re making Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas for a date night in. When I think of a special date night, seafood is the way to go.
Seafood means “adults only” in my eyes. Can I tell you that I made four different versions of these enchiladas to come up with the perfect recipe? All in one week.
Then on our date night I ordered enchiladas just for research purposes. Needless to say, you can call me the expert on how to make creamy enchiladas. And ten pounds heavier.
Start by chopping up some onion, pepper, and garlic.
Oh yeah. I found out that shelling shrimp is my least favorite thing to do.
Sautee the veggies and add to the shrimp until they are just barely pink. We’ll be baking them more in the oven later. This mixture alone is the bomb.
Make your cheese sauce and add a little to the shrimp and the rest we’re going to smother the enchiladas with.
These are rich and decadent. Perfect for a date night!
OTHER SEAFOOD RECIPES:
- Shrimp Tostadas
- Shrimp Tacos With Avocado Salsa
- Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta
- Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
- Rosemary Ranch Salmon
Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas
These Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas are a delicious Mexican recipe filled with veggies and shrimp and covered with a rich, creamy sauce. Don't like shrimp? Make this a Creamy Chicken Enchilada recipe and it will be just as good.
Ingredients
- 8 6-inch flour tortillas
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced finely
- 1/2 cup white onion, diced finely
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
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For the Shrimp Mixture: In a large skillet melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. Sautee the red bell pepper and onion until slightly soft. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
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Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes or until pink just start to turn pink. Remember we are still baking this so we don't want the shrimp to be overcooked.
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Remove mixture from the heat and add the salt, chili powder, cilantro, and lime. Stir and set aside.
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For the Sauce: In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the flour and stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth and continue to cook over medium high heat stirring constantly. The mixture will start out thin and thicken up once it cooks.
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Once the mixture has thickened lower the heat and add the Monterey Jack cheese and stir until melted. You can remove mixture from the heat and stir in the green salsa and sour cream.
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Add 1 cup of the sauce to the reserved shrimp mixture and stir.
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Fill a tortilla with 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture, roll the tortilla tightly and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
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Pour the sauce over the tortillas and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
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Remove from the oven and let the enchiladas sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Source: The GIrl Who Ate Everything
This is one of my favorite recipes! I’ve made it with both shrimp and chicken and it’s fantastic. The only thing I do different is use less butter and flour and use fat free Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream. I also use low carb tortillas and fat free cheese. So good!
I followed this recipe to a T and these are to die for❤️
Absolutely delicious. I didn’t use the salsa verde but included spinach in the filling. The chilli gave it a lovely bite!
This recipe looks great & I will be making it for company. Any tips on making ahead?
I added spinach (OMGGGG so gooooddd). We also used Dark chili powder, mexican cheese blend, and a bit more of all of the flavors to compensate for the spinach. SO GOOD. I highly recommend going super hard on the lime and cilantro. It pairs impeccably with the shrimp 😍
It’s me again. I forgot an important add! I added about 1-2tbsp of pickled jalapeño juice to the sauce. 10/10 recommend that, if not more. (We had to keep it mild for our two toddlers! They can do spicy but not too much!)
I really cheated by using cream of chicken soup for the white sauce along with the sour cream, salsa, and cheese. I also use this in my chicken enchiladas. A big time saver!
This is easy and delicious. I buy small “salad shrimp “ at Costco and they are perfect for this.
I thought it was awesome and easy!! I held the bell peppers because my husband doesn’t like them! I usually do a cream cheese but I liked this recipe just as much!! Will be using again! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Has anyone tried using almond or coconut flour to make this low carb?
Kathleen, I’ve been thinking about making a low carb version of this. I’ll get on it!
This was so good! And pretty easy as well. A winner.
Thank you!
I have been looking for a recipe for this for years! This one is outstanding! I made is just like she says and ate every single drop! Make this! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!
Thank you!
These turned out well! Yet, 10 minute prep time must be for top chefs with teleportation capabilities. Squeezing a lime takes two minute. Cutting up three veggies (peppers, onion and garlic) are at least two minutes each. Spices, melting butter, measuring cheese, sour cream, and broth, along with other ingredients takes time. The 10 minute wait to set the meal is also not included. I may be a turtle in the kitchen, but this did not take 55 minutes. It was more than twice that. Anyway, the taste was almost worth the long effort.
Sorry it took so long. I guess everyone takes a different amount of time.
How would you do it with ground beef for time?
Hmm. I would do chicken over beef but I suppose you could still use it!
Delicious! Made with a few modifications based on what I had in my pantry. Added an extra 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp cumin. I used guacamole salsa instead of salsa verde because it’s what I had. Additionally subbed green pepper for red and parsley for cilantro. Results were still fabulous. This recipe is very versatile and is still great even if you have to make a few substitutions! Oh, I also swapped plain Greek yogurt for sour cream—pretty much make this sub in all recipes that call for sour cream. It’s how I rationalize eating three enchiladas is ok!!
Yum! I need to make these soon
Excellent. This was such a hit with my family. It’s definitely going to be a regular recipe in my monthly meal plan calendar. Thank you!
Awesome! So glad you liked it!
I doubled the sauce like some people suggested but I thought it was too much sauce. My sauce was thicker than I expected so I think I would use less sour cream. Flavor was good.
So good! I tweak them a little. My new favorite recipe! My family loves them!
So glad you enjoyed them!
What do you do different Wendy?
A restaurant we loved served these years ago but had what I believe was a poblano pepper in the shrimp mixture. Will have to try this recipe and add that. They were the most delicious enchiladas I have ever had.
Sounds like a great addition!
I think I am going to add a can of black beans to the mixture, I am making this tonight, so we will see. Sounds fantastic!
I just want you to know I made these last night (Ash Wednesday) for Family Dinner Night. My 3 children and there spouses, my 94 year old Aunt, my Nephew, and my 2 Grandchildren. The only things I did different was I left out fresh cilantro because my nephew and daughter in law do not care for it and I doubled the batch! These were amazing, they cleaned up everything. I had re fried beans and Mexican corn salad for sides. They all raved about and want me to put them on Family Dinner rotation and would like me to try them with chicken so thank you for a great recipe!!
Oh my gosh. Sounds amazing. And my maiden name is Larson. Maybe we are related?
I worked tor many years as headwait and guest service for Chi-Chi’s. The Cancun was one my favorite meals. Good heavens did this take me down memory lane! My husband and I enjoyed this meal thoroughly, thank you so much. I followed your recipe to a T.
Awesome to hear that. Thanks for commenting!
Coukd the shrimp enchilada recipe or assembled the day before cooking?
Yes, absolutely!
Can these be frozen before baking?
Sure! I haven’t tried it though
Why does the recipe say it takes 5 hours and 49 minutes to complete?
The recipe plugin had a bug. Sorry. It’s fixed now.
Do you think you could use chicken instead? If yes shredded or diced what would b better? I have made with shrimp and love it just thought chicken might be good also for something different
I think shredded chicken would be great!
Can these be frozen before baking
Yes of course!
We LOVE these! So good! I do 1-1/2 times the sauce. I add imitation crab and use 10 shells. Delicious!
Crab would be great!
Hi Wendy I see that you posted using imitation crab meat, and 10 shells. Im confused what did you mean by 10 shells? I would love to make this recipe. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your recipe Christy!