Prepare the sauce and filling before freezing the enchiladas. Place them in the refrigerator after wrapping them with plastic wrap. You’ll have a ready-to-eat lunch for the entire family because enchiladas may be stored for up to two months. They can also be prepared in advance and warmed up just before serving. They can also be eaten later after being microwaved again.
Can You Freeze Enchiladas?
Enchiladas can be frozen for up to three months. Before wrapping them in foil or clingfilm, you must let them cool. The enchiladas should be wrapped in an oven-safe dish if you’re freezing them before cooking so you can cook them straight from frozen.
How to Freeze Enchiladas?
A pan of baked enchiladas can be frozen before or after baking.
Instead of using baking pans, I like to freeze an entire pan of raw enchiladas in vacuum bags. Baking trays take up a lot of room in the freezer and are useless with frozen enchiladas inside.
Vacuum bags are not required, though. In the sections below, I’ve also provided instructions on how to freeze enchiladas in disposable pans.
1. Freezing Enchiladas that aren’t Cooked
I like to freeze enchiladas that are still raw. After the enchiladas are baked, the tortillas don’t get soggy, and the dish’s textures hold up better overall.
- Put parchment paper in your baking pan. To make eventual enchilada removal much simpler, be sure to run the parchment paper up the sides of the pan.
- As directed in the instructions, assemble the enchiladas in the prepared baking dish.
- Freeze until hard, then cover the pan with foil (this could take up to 3 hours). It’s known as flash freezing.
- When solid, use the parchment paper to pull the enchiladas from the pan.
- The frozen enchiladas should be transferred to a vacuum-seal bag, labeled, and frozen.
2. Cooked Enchiladas can be Frozen
Usually, I only freeze cooked enchiladas if there are surpluses after a family meal. Enchiladas that have already been cooked are safe to freeze, but when baked from frozen, the tortillas frequently get soggy or rubbery.
- Leave an overlap when lining a baking dish with parchment paper.
- According to the recipe, assemble and bake the enchiladas.
- Let the enchiladas completely cool, then wrap them in foil and freeze them until they are solid.
- When solid, use the parchment paper to pull the enchiladas from the pan.
- The frozen enchiladas should be transferred to a vacuum-seal bag, labeled, and frozen.
3. Individual Enchiladas can be Frozen
You must bake the individual enchiladas if you intend to freeze them. Theoretically, you could construct and freeze individual enchiladas before baking them, but I’m not aware of a good way to store them that wouldn’t cause the filling or sauce to leak.
- According to the recipe, assemble and bake the enchiladas.
- Slice the enchiladas into individual portions after allowing the pan to cool fully.
- Place every enchilada in a bag or container meant for freezing. I employ individual microwave- and freezer-safe glass containers.
- OR, place each slice into a freezer bag after first wrapping it in foil and then plastic wrap.
- labeling and freezing.
Tips for Freezing Enchiladas
Enchiladas have a propensity to sog when frozen and thawed since they are made wrapped in a tortilla.
When you defrost the enchiladas to eat them again, these problems and a few others can impair the flavor and/or texture of the food. Here are some pointers and techniques for making frozen and thawed enchiladas as tasty as possible:
- When wrapping your enchiladas in plastic wrap to freeze them, make sure to get rid of as much air as you can. This could result in frozen crystals, which would undoubtedly wreak havoc on the meal’s flavor and consistency.
- Try to drain the enchiladas of any extra liquid. By doing this, freezer burn and crystals will be less likely to form when the enchiladas are frozen. To avoid too much moisture when it is frozen, this may entail emptying the extra watery sauce from the container or even boiling the sauce down thicker during the cooking process.
- If you have any extra, consider topping the enchilada with fresh cheese before freezing it. In the oven, the cheese would have melted and possibly distributed unevenly. You can guarantee that the leftover enchilada will have that melted, gooey flavor when you reheat it from freezing by adding some extra fresh cheese.
- You should rapidly fry the tortillas before cooking or before putting them in a container to freeze them to prevent soggy enchiladas. The tortillas have a barrier when they are fried in a modest amount of heated oil, preventing them from absorbing too much sauce or liquid, which might cause them to break down and become soggy. The tortillas should be fried to prevent sogginess and to safeguard the enchilada’s filling.
- Even if it involves transferring some sauce to a different bowl before filling the enchiladas, make sufficient sauce to freeze separately from the enchiladas. When you reheat your enchiladas, have some of the leftover sauce available by freezing it in a separate freezer bag. This prevents you from filling the enchiladas with too much sauce before freezing them, which could make the tortilla mushy. Plus, it’s always better to have too much sauce than not enough!
- Enchiladas with sauce should also be frozen in plastic containers rather than aluminum wrap because the latter could cause the sauce to taste more metallic.
- Avoid storing your enchiladas in the freezer for an extended period. After a while, ice crystals will start to accumulate on the tortillas or in the sauce. While these will melt upon reheating, if left for a lengthy amount of time, they may completely ruin the texture of the dish.
Health Benefits of Enchiladas
- Enchiladas are a good source of 10 additional vitamins and minerals and a high source of 7 of those. (Good source: 10–19% of Daily Value (DV) and high source: 20% or higher of DV)
- One of the most nutrient-dense components of enchiladas is their calcium content, which provides 1/5 of your daily requirement. By extending, strengthening, and reducing age-related bone loss, calcium is known for its role in establishing and maintaining healthy bones. Additionally, calcium aids in the contraction of your body’s muscles, including the heartbeat! Calcium also helps with blood coagulation and neuron function at smaller levels.
- Enchiladas contain a significant quantity of manganese as well. Your body uses this mineral as part of enzymatic processes, bone development, and the production of energy from meals.
- Additionally, enchiladas contain a lot of copper. In addition to aiding in the production of hemoglobin, copper is a trace mineral that is a component of numerous bodily enzymes. Copper promotes connective tissue growth and aids in the production of energy in your body’s cells.
- Your body uses riboflavin to produce energy and convert amino acids into niacin. Niacin is crucial for reducing the buildup of plaque in the arteries and promoting effective insulin use in your body. This aids in blood sugar regulation.
Is Freezing Cooked Or Uncooked Enchiladas Better?
I like to bake my uncooked enchiladas right before serving after thawing them in the freezer. In contrast to freezing cooked enchiladas, which frequently result in soggy or rubbery tortillas, this keeps the enchiladas’ texture.
How to Thaw Frozen Enchilada?
- Enchiladas that are frozen can be baked right away without having to thaw them first.
- Enchiladas that are frozen and undercooked should be baked from frozen. This keeps the tortillas from getting soggy and preserves their texture.
- Enchiladas that have been cooked, though, can be baked from frozen or thawed. You have a choice!
- Frozen enchiladas should be left in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. After that, bake as directed.
- I do not advise microwave thawing of frozen enchiladas. This may result in the cheese and/or tortillas being rubbery or dry.
Advice: Transfer the frozen enchiladas to a baking dish before thawing them if they were vacuum-sealed in a bag. You’ll have a huge mess on your hands if you don’t transfer them to a baking dish as soon as they’re completely defrosted!
Thaw Enchiladas in Microwave
Enchiladas should be carefully wrapped in foil or plastic wrap before thawing them in the microwave. They can also be put inside a zip-top freezer bag. You should use a zip lock bag that is at least three months longer to adequately keep enchiladas. Enchiladas should be kept in the refrigerator for up to three months after being frozen. Enchiladas are simple to thaw in the microwave, and you may save time by preparing them ahead of time.
On a baking sheet, you can thaw frozen enchiladas if you don’t have a microwave. To keep the enchiladas from drying out while baking, wrap them with tin foil. Enchiladas can be reheated from the refrigerator or frozen, whichever method you prefer. First, let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, put them on a dish that can be used in an oven. Following that, put them in the prepared baking dish. Wrap them in aluminum foil tightly. 20 to 25 minutes of baking.
How to Cook Frozen Enchiladas?
If necessary, move your freezer enchiladas from the vacuum seal bag to a baking dish before baking them. You can bake the enchiladas as directed below once they are placed in a baking dish coated with parchment paper.
- If the enchiladas are frozen, bake them at 350°F for 30 minutes while covered with foil, then remove the foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
- If the enchiladas have frozen, bake them for an additional 5 to 10 minutes after 20 minutes of baking at 350°F with the lid off.
Can Frozen Enchiladas be Microwave?
Yes, however, I prefer not to because the tortillas and cheese frequently dry up or go rubbery.
On the other hand, if you want, you can microwave one to two enchiladas at once at full power for two to two and a half minutes.
Enchiladas from the freezer, whether thawed or still frozen, can be prepared in this manner more quickly, but the texture will alter.
How do You Reheat Frozen Enchiladas?
Fortunately, reheating premade enchiladas is just as simple as cooking them from scratch. Simply put them in the microwave or an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes.
It’s important to watch out lest you end up cooking them more thoroughly than you did the first time; instead, attempt to simply heat them so they don’t burn.
Reheat Enchiladas in Oven
Enchiladas from frozen can be heated up in an oven in less than 15 minutes. To prevent them from cracking, use a microwave-safe dish. To prevent them from burning, wrap the enchiladas in foil. On a baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking oil or sprayed with nonstick spray, arrange the enchiladas. For a few minutes, heat the baking sheet in the oven. The filling need to be cozy and tender.
Place the frozen enchiladas in an oven-safe dish to reheat. Containers made of plastic or metal work well. Aluminum foil or silicone should also work. Additionally, stay away from using ceramic or metal casserole plates because they cannot handle sudden temperature changes. Enchiladas can be kept in the freezer or refrigerator for up to three months after being reheated.
How Long does Cooked Enchiladas Last in the Fridge?
Enchiladas that have been cooked can keep for up to three days in the refrigerator. After this number of days, you can detect a little quantity of spoilage or a negative change in flavor. In general, you should try to consume any leftover enchiladas as soon as possible.
How do You Keep Enchiladas from Getting Soggy?
When enchiladas absorb enchilada sauce, they get mushy. You should immediately fry the tortillas in hot oil before stuffing them with the ingredients to avoid this from happening. This aids in limiting the amount of enchilada sauce absorption.
What can I Serve with Enchiladas?
Even though enchiladas are delicious on their own, they can be elevated when served with certain sides. The best enchilada sides are frequently already in the refrigerator.
With salsa, guacamole, and sour cream on the side, serves your enchiladas. The melted cheese and baked flavor of the enchiladas go extremely nicely with these fresh flavors. For an additional kick, jalapenos can be added to the dish.
Conclusion
Enchiladas can be frozen to extend the shelf life of a tasty and healthy meal, but improper freezing can result in several issues. Enchiladas should be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap before putting them in the freezer, whether they are cooked or uncooked, to prevent them from unraveling during the freezing process, which can occasionally cause meals to swell.
Enchiladas should be taken out of the freezer and eaten within three months of being put there to maintain the highest quality possible. If you wait too long, a freezer burn, which severely damages food, could occur.
