Answers: Pancakes. Ironing boards. Books. Tables. My singing. Question: What are things that are flat?
You know what else is flat? Enchiladas. I know what you’re thinking. Dee Dee needs more coffee this morning. I mean, enchiladas are perfectly rolled up tortillas with good stuff inside, aren’t they? You’re mostly right. Well, I HAVE had enough coffee (although, “enough” is relative) and I’m here to enlighten you. Enchiladas can ALSO be flat–and darned tasty.
At a recent medical appointment, a clinician and I were talking about food (shocking, I know). He said that his grandfather used to make something called “flat enchiladas”. Being the inquisitive person I am, I asked him about it and he described them in a couple different ways, one of which was like a Mexican lasagna (for the other definitions of “flat enchiladas”, check out the claims of origin from Arizona and New Mexico). Seeing as I had many of the core ingredients in my refrigerator already, suddenly dinner was planned.
This dish, like so many similar Tex-Mex or Mexican recipes, has many varieties and is really about your own tastes and what you may have in your pantry. Never the same twice, and guessing about flavors each time, a great meal is always a certainty. I love dishes like that!
One of the great things about easy and family-friendly recipes like this one is that if you’re vegetarian, no problem–go meatless. If you have leftover chicken on hand (like I did), you’re golden. If you feel like whipping up something more fancy, like cabrito (which is goat, and very popular here in Texas), that would be delicious, too.
Variety of ingredients is the spice of life, as is this flat meal!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8 people | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 40 minutes |
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Because the ingredients are layered in between the tortillas, it's kind of like a Tex-Mex lasagna. And because of the ease of the ingredients, this is a great freezer-friendly recipe, too. Make a whole dish of it, freeze half, and have dinner ready to go on a busy night. Have a crowd to feed? No problem! This can be sized up or down easily and be just as satisfying. Don't you agree that flat is beautiful??
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- 1 12 oz. can low-sodium black beans, rinsed
- 1 12 oz. can Ro-Tel (see recipe notes re: Ro-Tel)
- 1 packet McCormick brand Enchilada sauce (you can also use canned, or homemade sauce)
- 20 flour tortillas (you can use corn tortillas, too)
- 4 cups shredded chicken (see recipe note for a great recipe)
- 1 10 oz. bag pre-washed spinach (see recipe notes re: spinach)
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 1 medium avocado, pitted and sliced
- 1 medium lime, cut into wedges
- 1 tbsp. cilantro, for topping
- 1/2 cup tomatillo ranch sauce (see recipe notes re: sauce recipe)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray oven safe casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Following instructions on enchilada sauce packet, make sauce in large skillet and keep warm over low heat.
- Using tongs, carefully dip each tortilla into enchilada sauce, allowing sauce to coat both sides liberally.
- Place tortillas in casserole dish, overlapping tortillas if necessary to cover the bottom of the dish.
- Spread shredded chicken over first layer of tortillas. Sprinkle 1/4 c. shredded cheese over chicken.
- Continue dipping tortillas into sauce and layering between ingredients.
- Saute spinach in large skillet until just wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Layer sauteed spinach onto next layer of tortillas.
- In the meantime, drain black beans & Ro-Tel; mix two ingredients together in medium bowl. Layer beans & Ro-Tel onto tortillas in casserole dish; top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
- After final layer of tortillas is placed in casserole dish, top with cheese and pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of the flat enchiladas.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until topping begins to bubble and top layer of tortillas begins to crisp up.
- Serve topped with avocados, cilantro, lime wedges, and tomatillo sauce (see recipe notes for information on that particular recipe).
1. Not familiar with Ro-Tel? Well, here's your chance. My husband introduced me to Ro-Tel years ago and I am now NEVER without a can (or two!) in my pantry. It's tomatoes and green chiles, and comes in different levels of spiciness. I'm a fan of the original, as it has just the right amount of "zip" for any dish.
2. For this particular dish, I used leftover shredded chicken from another tried-and-true recipe I found about 6 months ago. Served with the tomatillo ranch sauce, it's a hit no matter how I serve it. But the leftovers certainly perked up this recipe just perfectly. Don't have time to make this particular recipe? No problem! Any shredded chicken would work here.
3. The spinach I used in this recipe is the actual full-sized leaf spinach, not the baby spinach you get in a bagged salad. You can use that if you have it, but I find that for something like this, the heartier leaves of the full-sized spinach hold up better to roasting in a dish like this one. I'm also a fan of local greens (or local anything, for that matter) if I can find them, but if not, whatever you can find will work in a pinch.
4. Like I said above, any protein would work here. Ground beef, bbq'd pork, shredded brisket, ground turkey--play around with what you have and you'll have your family begging for a flat dinner more often!
I think we’ve always called them stacked enchiladas…but I can see why you’d call them flat. Hey, I don’t care what you call them – I just want to eat them. These sound fantastic!
i love that you put spinach in them! Looks awesome!
Oh my! I love Tex Mex and this recipe looks insanely good!
And you would be right. It WAS insanely good! :o)
Watching these enchiladas come together through your photos made my mouth water more and more until I just couldn’t take it! What a great recipe, looks so delicious!!
They really are so darned easy to make, and SO darned good, too!!