'Lazy Enchiladas' Are the Latest Recipe Idea to Go Viral on TikTok

There are tons of creative ideas coming out of TikTok: @PepperBellyPete's chicken fried eggs, air fryer pasta chips, and even some of Ree Drummond's recipe videos to name a few. But every once in a while, an idea pops up that truly speaks our love language—and this enchilada recipe does just that! If you haven't yet heard of lazy enchiladas, allow us to introduce you to this incredibly easy dinner made with just three ingredients. Sounds too good to be true? We thought so too, but then we saw that #lazyenchiladas have racked up more than 19.9 million views on TikTok!

So, how do you make lazy enchiladas?

First, you'll need to gather the ingredients: a jar of your favorite enchilada sauce, shredded cheese, and here's where the lazy part comes in… frozen taquitos. That's it! Somehow when these three ingredients come together, they produce a cheesy, flavorful comfort food that everyone in the family can get excited about. And since it doesn't take much effort to make, it's perfect for when you're feeling… well... lazy.

Of course, that's not to say that we don't love traditional homemade enchiladas. Ree Drummond considers enchiladas to be one of her "go-to recipes" and she has a few variations that she makes for her family meals again and again, including white chicken enchiladas and beef enchilada casserole. But on busy weekdays or times when you need to get dinner on the table as soon as possible, this quick enchilada recipe will certainly come in handy.

To see how it's done, check out the recent TikTok video from Ana Regalado aka Salty Cocina who uses chicken and cheese taquitos, Mexican blend cheese, and canned green enchilada sauce. She sprays a baking pan with cooking spray, then lays the frozen taquitos on the bottom in a single layer. She lightly sprays the taquitos with the cooking spray and bakes them at 400˚ for 10 to 12 minutes. Then, she removes the taquitos from the oven and pours two cups of the enchilada sauce over the top. Finally, she tops it all with a good helping of shredded cheese and returns it to the oven to bake until it's all gooey and melted. As Ana says, "Everything tastes better with lots of cheese."

To make these lazy enchiladas your own, swap out the type of frozen taquitos you use (bean, chicken, or ground beef would all work well) and you can use green or red enchilada sauce. If you have a little extra time on your hands, consider making a big batch of your own homemade enchilada sauce to freeze for the next time you make this recipe. To further customize this enchilada trend, you can top them with anything you like best! Ana suggests shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro, but you can also add sour cream, black olives, or jalapeños (for a hint of spice). Then, serve them up with rice, refried beans, or any vegetable side dish you like.

While this shortcut enchilada is admittedly not a traditional Mexican recipe, it does do the trick for busy weeknights. And it even got the stamp of approval from Ana's husband who said, "this doesn't taste lazy at all!"