This 3-Ingredient Dinner Is My Weeknight Hero

I’ve never been happier to be influenced by the internet.

My daughter loves enchiladas so much that I could make them every single night. I've made her everything from classic red chile enchiladas to salsa verde chicken enchiladas and even stacked enchiladas. If it didn't take me 30 minutes just to dip and fill the tortillas, I could make them every night to delight my whole family.

So when I saw "lazy enchiladas" make the rounds on TikTok and Instagram again—they were quite popular in 2022 and 2023—my interest was piqued. Could a box of frozen taquitos, canned enchilada sauce, and cheese in a casserole dish really pass as enchiladas?

I was skeptical at first, but this simple casserole was a huge hit for my whole family! Just don’t call it enchiladas.

How To Make This Taquito Enchilada Casserole

There are several variations on this shortcut casserole—most notably from this woman who draws out taquitos as if the word has a “w” in it. You can even find a handful of published recipes with a quick online search. Some of these recipes include refried beans while others have canned black beans and corn, but in my opinion, you don’t need more than three ingredients.

Start with your favorite frozen taquitos—an 18-count box will feed four with some leftovers. I like the Delimex Beef & Cheese Taquitos with flour tortillas but any flavor and tortilla type works. You’ll also need a 10-ounce can of enchilada sauce (red or green, it's your choice) and two cups of shredded cheese. Monterey Jack is my favorite for this but a Mexican-style or cheddar cheese blend works well too.

Heat your oven to 400°F and coat a 9x13-inch dish with nonstick cooking spray or oil. Pour about a quarter of your enchilada sauce into the bottom of the dish and arrange the taquitos in a single layer on top of that. Pour on the remaining enchiladas sauce and give the pan a little shake to coat the taquitos. Next, sprinkle on your cheese.

Bake the casserole uncovered for 40 minutes or until the taquitos are cooked through, the casserole is bubbly, and the cheese is browned. Add your favorite enchilada toppings like sour cream, sliced avocado, or salsa, and serve.

Some Helpful Tips If You Try Taquitos Casserole 

After serving up this casserole several times and testing a few variations, I’ve learned a few things.

• Depending on the shape of your pan you may need to lay some of the taquitos horizontally across the length of the pan. I found this works better than trying to double stack them and it fills the pan more appealingly.

• Skip par-baking the taquitos without any sauce or cheese—this actually left me with more limp and soggy taquitos than any other variation.

• Don’t stress if every taquito isn’t completely covered with sauce or cheese. These exposed bits will get crispy in the oven, creating some welcome texture in the finished casserole.

• You can riff on this casserole endlessly. For example, try combining chicken taquitos and green chile enchilada sauce. Use pepper Jack instead of Monterey Jack cheese. Add your favorite pickled jalapeños to the dish or line the bottom of the dish with beans and more cheese to make it even more filling.

However you approach this quick weeknight dish, rest assured that your whole family will love it while leaving room in your repertoire for classic enchiladas when time allows.

Read the original article on Simply Recipes.