Does anyone remember the Taco Bell Enchirito, a cross between and enchilada and a burrito. My brother and I were obsessed with them in the 70’s or maybe it was the early 80’s. They came in these oblong packages with three strategically placed black olives along the top, I can still taste them in all their “processed food” tasting glory.
Anyway, when I saw the name of this tacoritos dish, it instantly reminded me of the beloved enchirito, however, this is supposed to be a cross between the taco and the burrito….I think it’s more on the “enchy” side….but it’s very tasty and much more substantial than an enchilada or a taco.
You could cheat here and used canned enchilada sauce in a pinch but personally I am not the biggest fan of the canned stuff. Homemade sauce is the way to go, plus it’s so easy.
If you are feeling the Mexican food desire, this will satisfy it.
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth (I sifted it in to help avoid lumps); gradually add water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. (Thickening time will depend on the size of your pan. I used a 10″ saucepan and it took about 5-6 minutes. You are not waiting for a “thick sauce” just a “thicker sauce” than what you started with. The sauce also thickens more when it cools down.) Stir in chili powder and garlic salt. Bring to another boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in refried beans; heat through.
Spread 1/4 cup sauce in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spread 1 Tablespoon or more sauce over each tortilla; place 2/3 cup meat mixture down the center of each. Top each with a 1/4 cup cheese.
Roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in prepared dish. Pour remaining sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
To be more taco-ish, you could serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives and sour cream.
Look away or that melty, oozing cheese will suck you in!!
Tacoritos
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups water
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 lb. ground beef (I used chuck)
1 lb. bulk pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean regular)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 16 oz. can refried beans
8 flour tortillas (8 inch)
3 cups (12 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth (I sifted it in to help avoid lumps); gradually add water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. (Thickening time will depend on the size of your pan. I used a 10″ saucepan and it took about 5-6 minutes. You are not waiting for a “thick sauce” just a “thicker sauce” than what you started with. The sauce also thickens more when it cools down.) Stir in chili powder and garlic salt. Bring to another boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in refried beans; heat through.
Spread 1/4 cup sauce in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spread 1 Tablespoon or more sauce over each tortilla; place 2/3 cup meat mixture down the center of each. Top each with a 1/4 cup cheese. Roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in prepared dish. Pour remaining sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
pam says
This sounds fantastic! And yes, I remember Enchiritos. It was those artfully arranged black olives that got me every time.
Mom24 says
That looks delicious. Not trying to over-analyze, but what kind of chili powder? I have regular chili powder, mexican, ancho and chipotle. I was just wondering what you would recommend.
Thanks.
Jennifer says
Loved the Enchiritos! This recipe looks a lot like them.
Mental P Mama says
I want this for breakfast!
Donald says
some chips and guac and i’m in.
Lea Ann says
That metly oozing cheese sucked me in!
Flea says
This might have to be dinner tonight. For an even heartier meal, look for Bill Phillips’ mom’s enchiladas recipe. If I can dig it up I’ll send it to you. It’s probably similar. To die for!
Alicia says
These look amazing!! I usually try to stay away from Taco Bell, but these I HAVE to try!
HoneyB says
I have SO been thinking Mexican lately and this looks so good! Because there IS meat in it, Grumpy would probably eat it – but not until after I feed him food HE wants for a good week first. He is so selfish. he he.
Noble Pig says
I just used Gebhardt’s Chili Powder. The other chili powders give enchilada sauce that “bite” I don’t like.
Lena in VT says
Okay, I have been sucked in big time! Yum!
June says
Looks absolutely delicious and that from someone who’s kinda’ tired of the kitchen at the moment, but you’ve inspired me – again!
Tammy says
Oh yeah! I remember Taco Bell Enchirito… Loved them! Great recipe!
Barbie with a T says
Tantalizing beyond words! Who could refuse these scrumptuous looking little packages stuffed with all those good ingredients? That photo of the finished product captured the message perfectly. Dig In! I must try these. Thanks Cathy.
Mom24 says
Thanks. That’s what I was trying to avoid as well. I’ll have to look for that brand.
Danielle says
Ooh baby! These look delish! If there was one fast food I’d have a hard time resisting…it’s Taco Bell. No matter how bad for you it is, it just hits the spot! My family loves it too and these look great-definitely going to make these this weekend!
Tupper Cooks says
Perfect for Monday night- or Tuesday night, or Wednesday morning- I’m craving these big time!
Cathy at Wives with Knives says
I’m definitely in the mood for Mexican food and all its cheesy goodness.
Bob says
Oh man. I love that! I still have a bunch of frozen taco meat in the freezer…
FabFrugalFood says
Whoa. The funniest thing is I was JUST thinking of enchiritos yesterday, for literally the first time in at least a decade.
Now I’ll have to make this, maybe with ground turkey just to see how that goes . . .
Leslie says
I dont remember this version from Taco Bell. But i do remember the “Wet Burrito” from Taco Viva.
Memoria says
Goodness gracious!! You always have such good food porn on here! You and your family are so lucky haha.
dawn says
My husband would love this too with all that meat, great idea.
Kathy says
Cathy–I have to say the last five or six days of recipes are to die for. I need to take a few days off work and do nothing but cook!
BethieofVA says
Ahhhhh, I remember them well! YUM!!
Marjie says
That melting cheese really got me….
Pam says
I loved the cassita burritos from Taco Time – they are very similar to these. I am loving this recipe.
Blond Duck says
I cook Mexican two to three times a week. I’m all over this!
The Teacher Cooks says
Good Gracious alive!! I love Mexican food and I must make these soon. Do you heat your tortillas before filling? I have found that they will split when trying to fold them. Will be checking back. Thanks.
Samantha says
I want to start of in reply to this recipe, BTW looks amazing, and I CANNOT wait to try..
okay, now that that is out of the way…
I happed to be bored at work 2 weeks ago and stumbled upon..well a website called stumble upon, so I decided to give it a try considering my clerical job is more looking pretty than doing work. Well..your website was the first (and only to this day) webpage that it directed me to..what caught my eye immediately was your baked eggs in bread bowls..visuals really got me. 2 weeks later and 58 pages of blog read and all I can say is I’M INSPIRED!!!! I’m 20 years old (21 in 1 month) and have gone through 2 years of culinary training, and have a taste for good wines. I invision myself similar to you as I advance in my career, I’ve always dreamed of having my own vineyard and I would LOVE to be able to cook whatever/whenever I wanted. (Working in the car business doesn’t permit indepth meals except for weekends)..
Well I know I’m probably rambling, and not quite sure if this will even get read, but I want to let you know that you’re amazing! I don’t even have to know you to be able to tell that you’ve got a shining personality, and amazing family, and I’m sure it will carry through with your business endeavours, as well as life. I’m not one to sit down and read page after page of someone’s daily rants/evens, but your blog caught me on a line..now I’m hooked! Still rambling, sorry….just admiring:)
Liz C. says
I’m with you! I don’t like the canned sauce either & it’s really much easier to make than most people think. The canned stuff just has a weird bitterness to it.
And, I used to love, love the old Enchirito!!! Back then, it was about all I could afford but it filled me up.
Seriously, I can hardly wait to try this!
Karen Deborah says
Yummy. I cheat. i make enchilada sauce by mixing a can of cream of mushroom soup into the red enchilada sauce. i learned that trick working at a deli. Your little dinner made my mouth water as usual.
Lisa says
Yes, I have that Mexican Food desire. I was thinking it was taco night but this is a great idea too! I never made my own enchilada sauce before. Tempting!
grace says
i guess the enchirito was before my time, and what a tragedy–it sounds great! i wonder why they haven’t brought it back.
moving on…i must declare that final picture a magnificent work of art–bravo.
Flea says
We had this for dinner this evening and everyone loved it. Thank you! I think we’re all agreed, however, that next time I’ll slice olives for the top, over salsa and sour cream topping. Mmm!
Robin Sue says
Ha I love enchiritos and even though they are off the menu I still order them and they do make them for me!! I do have them put sour cream on them for me too. But they don’t do the olives on there anymore???
Beth says
Was so inspired by the pics, I went ahead and made it for dinner tonight. Sooo good! Pretty presentation, and so tasty I’m still stuffed 🙂
noble pig says
I didn’t warm them and they didn’t split, but you never know, it could easily happen.
noble pig says
Yay!
Noble Pig says
Awesome!
theUngourmet says
Oh my gosh, when you mentioned the perfectly placed olives I could totally picture it! I always ordered a burrito supreme back when they still had olives on them. Ah, the good old days!
I bet your version tastes much better though! 😀
Karen K says
Oh Noble Pig! I just found you last night and I feel myself growing fat as a… well, you know. Oink.
Mary says
What gorgeous photos. They would make anyone hungry. The recipe looks wonderful as well. Have a great day, Cathy.
KathyB. says
I and 2 of our granddaughters will be making this for dinner tonight, thanks!( my portion will be with-OUT re-fried beans)
KimberlyDi says
My first summer job was at Taco Bell and I used to make the Enchirito. That was back in 1984. I never ate one though.
lisaiscooking says
I have to try this sauce! I don’t think I’ve ever made my own enchilada sauce, but now I will.
Mrs. L says
Those enchiritos were the best. All saucy and such. I think my husband will love this recipe.
Lynn says
OMG!! The pictures look so yummy, I just had to make these for dinner. They were just as delicious as I thought they would be. The whole family loved them and I will be making them again. And who knew that making enchilada sauce would be so easy. No more canned for me!
Amanda says
This is really weird, we just had chicken enchiladas the other night. I make my own sauce too, way better than the can! 🙂 These look great!
Audrey at Barking Mad says
How on earth did I miss this post? And a few others? I must have been in a coma the past few days!
Looks like, between your last few blog posts, I have meals planned out for the next 4 days! *lol*
Jojo says
Haynes says
Gebhardts is good. If you want to get crazy with chili powder check out penderys.com
Haynes says
I might suggest the San Antonio red for this dish, it is mild flavored and bright red. and btw, what a great website noblepig.com. I just stumbled on it from nola.com/forums/recipes/ which is a recipe swap forum from New Orleans. I’ll be surfing noblepig for a few good super bowl ideas. Thanks.
Alanna says
We had this tonight for dinner- it was a hit!!! We are vegetarians, so I used veggie ground round and refried beans and it was still yummy! Thanks so much for this recipe- it is a keeper!
Jack says
Oh my. I’m so disappointed by most enchiladas but these takeoffs look very appealingly like what my mom made stuffed with meat, onion, cheese and a nice hefty slab of green pepper, not too spice but more sweet. All wrapped up and just drowned in sauce and more cheese and some sour cream and …
Rhonda says
Made this recipe, with a few adaptions of my own. Total thumbs up from the family. I looked the recipe up online and most are made with just beef. Wondering if one of your adaptions was to add the sausage. That filling is delicious! Thanks for posting the recipe! ~~Rhonda
LilSis says
Haha! That’s definitely a blast from the past for me. I’m not too proud to admit that my friends and I probably had Taco Bell Enchiritos for lunch at least three times a week during our high school years. (late 70’s)
I’ve never tried making anything similar at home but since you’ve shared this recipe, I’m going to have to make these! Thanks!
Emily K says
I just made these last night, and my friends and I loved them! So easy to make, plus they are filling and delicious. I can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thanks!
Dad Cooks Too says
Made this the night of the first day of my Wife’s new job. Instant Hero status! This one goes in the repertoire. Yum!
Jamie says
I made these this past weekend.They were Outstanding!
I ended up with extra meat/bean mix,so
Sunday I mixed in some egg and red bell pepper for some breakfast tacorito burrito’s.excellent!
Colleen says
This is STILL my go-to recipe. It’s what we’re having tonight, in fact. I’m so thankful that I can still find it on your site. Maybe I should write it down? Thanks again!
Nikki says
Can these be frozen? We love them, but it’s a lot of food for two!
Cathy says
Well, I don’t see why not. You could always try it. They might need a refresh of some extra sauce when you reheat them.
gloryj says
Enchiritos were the best of Taco Bell’s menu history. They offered them for a short period a while back, but alas, they forgot how to make them with the ooey gooey goodness they once had. I will definitely try these and if successful, my husband will forever be in your debt (and mine too! 🙂 !) Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Mary Witt says
Taco Bell still has them! Not on the menu but that’s all I get there.
Donna says
Didn’t realize they weren’t on the menu. I always order an enchirito and a beefy tostada at Taco Bell..
Ken B says
I no longer go to Taco Bell because I cannot get Enchiritos. I have to try this. Looks really good.
Cathy says
This will do the trick, but I do believe you can ask for a enchirito and they will make it. At least they used to.