14 Enchilada Styles You Can Order For Your Next Meal

Enchiladas are a staple of Mexican cuisine, and you will find them on the menu at almost any Mexican restaurant. This classic dish consists of corn tortillas (though restaurants often use flour tortillas) that are rolled and filled with almost anything, from cheese and beans to shredded chicken or thick chunks of steak, then smothered in sauce and topped with cheese. The word "enchilada" comes from the Spanish word "enchilar," which essentially means "to spice with chilis," so enchilada sauce traditionally contains one or more types of chili peppers. 

Most recipes call for baking enchiladas in the oven, but some versions call for frying them on the stovetop. Unlike tacos or burritos, enchiladas are not a finger food. Home cooks often serve them like a casserole while restaurants tend to serve them two or three at a time, but either way, you should eat this cheesy, gooey dish with a with a fork. 

Enchiladas are easy to make at home, even for beginners. Tradition calls for prepping the enchilada sauce fresh, but you can easily use canned sauce for a quick version. After the sauce, all you need are tortillas, a filling like pre-cooked rotisserie chicken or canned beans, and shredded cheese. However, nothing is easier than ordering from a restaurant. Here are 14 enchiladas you can order for your next meal.

You will find ground beef enchiladas on the menu at just about any Mexican restaurant. Like chicken enchiladas, these are a good choice for diners who want to try Mexican food but are a little leery of new flavors. Ground beef enchiladas are usually made from flour tortillas stuffed with cooked ground beef and topped with red sauce and cheese. Some restaurants offer ground sirloin instead. You may also see enchiladas filled with flank steak or shredded brisket or chuck.

Red enchilada sauce is made from dried chili peppers that have been cooked in broth and pureed. Mexican chef often have their own recipe for red enchilada sauce, so expect the flavor and the spice level to vary from restaurant to restaurant. You can also try beef enchiladas smothered in molé sauce. The foundation of molé sauce is chocolate. Sounds weird, but it's actually delicious! Molé sauce uses unsweetened chocolate along with chili peppers, chicken stock, and spices to create a rich sauce that pairs well with beef or other enchilada toppings like chicken and pork. Some recipes use peanuts, so be sure to alert your server if you have any food allergies.

"Roja" is the Spanish word for "red," so "enchiladas rojas" simply means "red enchiladas." These enchiladas come slathered in red enchilada sauce that is made from a combination of several chili peppers. Many Mexican restaurants will make their red enchilada sauce from scratch, so expect some variation between establishments.

Dried peppers such as ancho, guajillo, pasilla, and arbol chili peppers serve as the foundation for salsa roja. Chefs take dried, whole peppers and then pan roast them alongside fresh garlic and onions. After roasting the peppers, chefs remove the seeds and membranes (the spiciest part of the peppers), soak them in boiled water or broth, and then puree into a smooth, red sauce. In other words, red enchilada sauce is basically a serving of pure vegetables.

Red sauce pairs well with any filling, so you can order red enchiladas stuffed with chicken, beef, pork, cheese, beans, or veggies. If you can't make up your mind, order a trio of three different fillings!

Mexico is a big country with a variety of local cuisines. As Americans, we often think of Mexican food as beans, rice, and beef tacos, but there's a lot more to Mexican cuisine than that. It seems like every region has its own version of enchiladas, and San Luis Potosi is no exception. Enchiladas potosinas hail from this state in north-central Mexico.

Enchiladas potosinas look a little bit different than traditional enchiladas, but they still taste great! While most enchiladas start with tortillas, enchiladas potosinas start with fresh masa harina, the corn flour used to make tortillas, and ancho peppers. When chefs make these enchiladas, they start by making fresh tortilla dough infused with ancho chilis, which gives the enchiladas a bright red-orange color. After kneading the tortilla dough, the chef fills it (usually with cheese) and then folds it in half and fries it. These fried enchiladas can be topped with a variety of sauces, more cheese, avocado, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and sour cream.

"Enchiladas norteñas" simply means "northern enchiladas." These enchiladas come from northern Mexico and have two key differences from classic enchiladas: They are served folded instead of rolled and with the sauce added before cooking, not after as a topping. When making enchiladas norteñas, the tortillas are dipped in red sauce before filling them, and they are typically filled with queso fresco or shredded chicken. They can also be prepared with tortillas infused with chili peppers for a similar flavor.

In northern Mexico, enchiladas are traditionally served with a side of fried potatoes and carrots. Most Mexican restaurants in America serve enchiladas with refried beans and rice on the side, but you can always ask for potatoes and carrots for a more authentic experience.

To round out your meal, ask your server if the restaurant offers horchata, a traditional Mexican drink made with rice, coconut milk, honey, cinnamon, cloves, and anise. This rich drink is sweet without being overly sweet and perfectly complements the heat of enchiladas.

Enchiladas de nata, otherwise known as cream enchiladas, come from the Gulf coast of Mexico and are popular in cities such as Tuxpan, Poza Rica, Xico, and Veracruz. Enchiladas de nata are topped with a cream sauce, hence the name. The most common filling for enchiladas de nata is shredded chicken, but you can also find them filled with shredded beef or pork. Some restaurants may offer vegetarian enchiladas de nata with options like refried beans, cheese, or even scrambled eggs. This dish doesn't really lend itself to vegan alternatives, so if you follow a vegan diet, stick with bean- or vegetable-filled red or green enchiladas.

The cream sauce for enchiladas de nata is not a white cream sauce but instead is a reddish-pink, a color that comes from diced tomatoes. The base of this cream sauce is a mixture of sautéed tomatoes, chili peppers (often guajillo or ancho chili peppers), and onions. Once sautéed, the veggies are soaked in boiling broth and then removed from the heat before adding cream. The result is a rich sauce that takes enchiladas to the next level.

If you are feeling regal, try ordering enchiladas regias, aka regal enchiladas. These enchiladas are fit for a king, so treat yourself! You deserve it.

Enchiladas regias are a type of enchilada roja. Some chefs take their roja sauce to the next level for these enchiladas by using ancho chiles, spices such as cinnamon, coriander, and nutmeg, as well as the liquid leftover from cooking pork. This liquid adds a lot of flavor but also means these enchiladas, even when filled with cheese, might not be suitable for vegetarians.

There are several varieties of enchiladas regias, maybe to suit the monarch's mood? You can find these enchiladas filled with panela cheese (a Mexican version of cottage cheese, per Cheese.com), chorizo, shredded pork, and machaca, a type of authentic Mexican shredded beef. Machaca is prepared by marinating beef brisket in a mixture of coffee, cider vinegar, lime juice, red wine, and tomato juice that has been seasoned with pasilla chili peppers, chili powder, cinnamon, garlic, and cocoa powder and then slow cooking the brisket to produce a soft, delectable, shredded beef that is perfect for enchiladas as well as tacos or burritos.

Now, purists might argue that chimichangas aren't really enchiladas, and they're not wrong. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't order them the next time you're out for Mexican food. This dish puts a twist on traditional Mexican cuisine, and the result is fantastic.

A chimichanga is basically a deep-fried burrito, but it is served like an enchilada and eaten with a fork and knife. Chimichangas tend to be smaller than burritos and consist of a flour tortilla that has been filled, rolled, deep-fried, and then smothered in toppings. Chimichangas are typically filled with meat, such as shredded chicken, pork, or beef, but if you are a vegetarian, ask the chef to fill yours with beans or cheese. Popular toppings include enchilada sauce, cheese, sour cream, chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, and jalapeños.

Since the chimichanga is not an authentic Mexican dish, it varies widely between restaurants based on the preferences and style of that restaurant's chef. It's hard to mess up the deep-fried goodness of a chimichanga, so go on and try one the next time you're out.