Update 12/10: After two plus years of this recipe residing on my blog, I can still say these enchiladas are one of my favorite meals. They definitely rank up there with special occasion dishes but are well worth the splurge on ingredients and time (I request them every year for my birthday dinner!). The creamy, cheesy sauce is seasoned perfectly with just the slightest kick of heat. Combined with the succulent, tender shrimp, these enchiladas are a knock out! I’ve streamlined the recipe just a bit from when it was originally posted to cut down on a few steps.
Shrimp Enchiladas
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
INGREDIENTS:
Cheese Sauce:
½ cup sweet red pepper, chopped
½ cup onion, minced
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
½ cup sour cream
Shrimp Mixture:
2 tablespoons butter
1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-size pieces
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
8 (9-inch) flour tortillas
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch dish and set aside.
Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute. Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.
In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute shrimp and 1/2 cup onion until shrimp are pink (don’t overcook or the shrimp will be tough). Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
Recipe Source: adapted from a recipe A. Marilyn sent me
{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
Maria – I’m glad you liked this – it is a bit unusual way to prepare enchiladas but we loved it, too. Thanks for letting me know!
Melanie-
Thank you for sharing this great recipe! I made it on Sunday ane it was wonderful. I’ve actaully added it to my blog!
Molly – I got your comment on the lemon blueberry muffins and I’m glad you liked these shrimp enchiladas, too!
AWESOME!! Absolutely LOVED them!! My 2nd recipe of yours I’ve made today!
Can you make this without shrimp? WIll it still taste as good?
I just made these last week and they were absolutely awesome. My kids don’t like shrimp so I added the cheese sauce to chicken, they were great!! I highly recommend these!!!Deb
Crazy good! I added rice to the filling, it made 7 enchiladas. Thank you for the recipe!
Melanie, Is your mom’s famous recipe on your blog too? I’d love to try that one too!
what do you do with the whipping cream? didn’t see that or flour mentioned. thanks
yum, this looks delicious! can you use frozen shrimp here? i have a bag in my freezer begging to be used in this recipe!
HOLY CRAP! I made these tonight and I thought I died and went to food heaven! These were DEE-LICIOUS!
Look at all that creamy, cheesy goodness! My those look good! Thanks for the recipe!
Danielle – thanks for checking in! I’m glad these worked out for you and that your boyfriend liked them. That is always a plus! I agree the monterey jack makes them very creamy. Thanks for commenting and letting me know you enjoyed them!
Oh my goodness those look great! I love enchiladas and shrimp, so I will be trying this recipe SOON!
Anonymous – I always use frozen shrimp and just defrost it before using!
These look great and my DH would love them!
OMG! Get out of my head! I have been looking for a shrimp enchilada recipe. I totally have to try this one since your honey/lime rec was so delish! Thanks!-Clara
I love enchiladas…but have never tried with Shrimp!! Oh my, these look FANTASTIC. SO glad I found you!! I am saving this recipe!
These look great!! I have to say that after i looked at your post–I was inspired to make shrimp quesidillas tonight for dinner! I didn’t have the time to make the enchiladas tonight–but I sure plan to! They look awesome!
Deb – I haven’t tried these enchiladas with chicken but I’m glad to know they turned out delicious that way! Thanks for letting me know!
I just made these tonight and they are FANTASTIC! Thank you for the recipe!
Anonymous – I have never made them with anything but shrimp but if you want to substitute, I would use chicken over beef. I’m sure you would still get great results. Let me know if you try it.
Anonymous – wonderful idea to add rice. I’m glad you liked this recipe!
I made these tonight and they were so good! If I had ever heard of Shrimp Enchiladas before, I know I wouldn’t have been interested. But because I know all your recipes are good, and if you rave about something then it will definitely be delicious, I decided this was worth making. And boy, it WAS! Jed and I really enjoyed these enchiladas tonight. Very different and fun. Thanks!
Hey Michelle – my mom’s recipe isn’t on the blog yet but I’ve been meaning to make it and post it since they are so good. Send me your email address and I’ll email you the recipe if you want it now: mykitchencafe {at} gmail {dot} com
I made these two nights ago. It was delicous! The only thing I changed the recipe was the wheat tortillas I used instead of white. Thank you for the recipe!
We just made this, and though I thought the filling was too runny when I put it into the tortillas, once it was cooked it was fine.Really REALLY yummy! This one will be added to our favorites list!
I’ve only tried making seafood enchiladas once, and it didn’t work out very well! I will have to try your recipe, because these sound delicious!!
I made these over the weekend & they were delicious! I am somewhat new to cooking & had never cooked shrimp before. I was nervous, but this recipe is a lot easier than I thought it would be. The monterey jack cheese melts nicely & is so creamy. My boyfriend absolutely loved them!
I made this tonight and they were incredible. I didn’t have red pepper so I substituted red onion and Jalepeno. I also used low-fat monterery jack cheese, pepper jack cheese and some cheddar. They were definitely spicey, but amazing. Thanks!
Brady and Allyssa – SO glad you liked the enchiladas! Thanks for commenting and letting me know you enjoyed them. I’ll have to try wheat tortillas next time, too – make it a little healthier!
Sarah – thanks for trying these and letting me know you liked them. They are one of my favorites!
Island School House – oh, I’m glad they turned out! When I got your first comment I was worried because you mentioned the filling was too runny but I’m glad it came together in the end. The filling is on the thin side, but you are right, it all bakes up just great. Thanks for letting me know you liked it!
Hi Lisa – the cream and flour are added in the second step, after the peppers and onions are sauted in the butter. Add the cream and flour with the salt and spices.
Morgan – your comment made me smile. Thanks for letting me know you liked the enchiladas!
OMG these were fantastic! Total food-gasm! Even my husband who doesn’t usually care for seafood or spice went back for seconds! Thank you so much for an awesome recipe…I’ve blogged about it and linked you so everyone can come by and see you…lots of pictures of the process. Thanks again, Melanie!
Gina, I’m always glad when someone likes these because I know it means I will REALLY like that person…same food taste makes for great friends. Thanks for letting me know!
Hi! Wondering if anyone has tried freezing these and if they hold up well for freezing…also, what about making them a day in advance..does that work? Thanks!
These are amazing. I saw this recipe a while ago but held off on making them since I’m really not a fan of seafood in Mexican food, but they really were delicious and not seafoody (?) tasting at all. My hubby loved them too, said they were the best enchiladas I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot of enchilada recipes. Yum, yum. Can’t wait to eat the left overs tonight.
Gina – that’s high praise from you husband! I definitely look forward to these leftovers when I make them, too. Thanks for letting me know they worked out well for you!
All I can say is…..wow! I made these last night for dinner, and they were a hit. My boyfriend and I LOVE seafood, so I had to try making these. We loved the flavor of these enchiladas! And the best part is since its just the two of us, we still have some leftover for tonight! Thanks for another good one, Mel.
Kimiko – leftovers are the best! I’m thrilled you liked this recipe so much.
These were delicious. I added bay scallops along with the shrimp and everyone loved it. Thanks for a great recipe.
I just made these last night and they were super yummy. They were a little more work to put together than other enchiladas I have made, but for a nicer version it was great. I also made them with some jalepeno cilantro tortillas and I think it added a nice extra spice and yumminess.
AJ – oooh, wow, the jalapeno cilantro tortillas sound amazing. I’m glad you liked this recipe – thanks for letting me know!
Debbbie – oh, bay scallops…how delicious to combine those with the shrimp. Thanks for checking in to let me know you liked this recipe!
Just made these tonight. SO SO YUMMY! absolutely perfect. my husband told me throw out my other enchilada recipes. he only wants these from now on! thanks!
Thanks, Heather! So glad you both loved these enchiladas!
i’ve been making these since i 1st discovered your blog in 2009. everyone LOVES them when i make them. you mentioned you stream-lined the recipe. what did you change from the original recipe? thanks again for sharing your amazing recipes.
Made these and everyone LOVED them – well a husband who will eat anything, a picky 6 year old and a 1 year old food shoveling machine. My 6 year old son didn’t realize there was even shrimp in there…….I knew if I told him, he would of said he didn’t like it. He ate an entire enchilada! Thank you so much for your awesome recipes!!
This meal was seriously AMAZING! !! MORONI said it was a perfect combo between Mexican and seafood! Loved it!!
Mel – I want to make these but was wondering if you mean a red bell pepper when you say sweet red pepper or is that something different? I’m making out my grocery list now.
Laura Gail – yes, use a red bell pepper!
Another great enchilada recipe of yours! DELICIOUS!!!! I’ve made 3 out of 3 recipes from your blog this week and just Love!
just found your blog via Pinterest, tried this today, they were Awesome!!! used corn and flour. will be trying out some more recipes this week!