The Frozen Shortcut You Need For Effortless Enchiladas

Enchiladas don't require a complicated technique to whip up, but you do need a little patience. Between making the filling, assembling the enchiladas, and melting the cheese in the oven, it can take up to an hour to complete the whole dish. If it's a busy weeknight and you're just trying to get dinner on the table, however, you may not want to go through all the steps necessary to cook enchiladas from scratch. In that case, turn to frozen burritos.

Also called frozen burrito casserole or frozen burrito bake, making this dish means you can skip prepping a filling and rolling your tortillas. In fact, all you really need to do is line up your frozen burritos in a baking dish, top them with your enchilada sauce and cheese, and pop everything in the oven. Because your meal is starting out frozen, it'll need to bake for a little longer than regular enchiladas will — about half an hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This will leave your hands free to get anything else ready (or to just chill on the couch), and you'll end up with a hot, bubbly meal that tastes just like homemade enchiladas.

Part of the beauty of using frozen burritos is that you likely don't have to sacrifice the type of enchiladas you want to make. You can find flavors like chicken, chorizo, steak, bean and cheese, or veggie. In fact, if you want to switch it up, you can try this shortcut out with breakfast burritos that have eggs, sausage, bacon, rice, or hashbrowns, as they'll all be delicious when smothered with sauce and more cheese. You'll generally want about eight burritos to fill up an entire baking dish, but six will work, too.

Unlike some enchilada recipes, which say to coat your pan with sauce as the first step, you can just plop your frozen burritos straight into a clean dish. Once they're been arranged, pour 20 to 28 ounces of enchilada sauce over the top. You can either add the cheese at this point, or bake the whole thing for half an hour, sprinkle the cheese on, and let it melt in the oven for another five minutes. And once everything is done, top your dish with all your favorite additions, including salsa, guac, sliced jalapeños, diced tomatoes, and sour cream.