These Pulled Pork Enchiladas are made with Pork Carnitas and topped with a delicious homemade Enchilada Sauce!
This post is part of a series of meals made using Easy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork) that I posted last week. It freezes so well and defrosts quickly, making it great to have on hand for fast meals – like Enchiladas. However this recipe can be made using any pre cooked meat – shredded chicken in particular would be fantastic. It takes a mere 15 minutes to assemble (if that), then just pop it into the oven.
Pulled Pork Enchiladas (Pork Carnitas)
There are so many ways to make enchiladas, but this is definitely my favourite, made with Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork). Shreds of moist pulled pork are mixed up with golden kernels of corn and black beans encased in a tortilla and topped with enchilada sauce and gooey melting cheese…..just describing it makes me go weak at the knees.
It goes without saying that I love cooking (and eating), and I do love taking my time in the kitchen, experimenting or making things that require patience. But on a day to day basis, I don’t just whip up a Duck Ragu with Homemade Pappardelle. 90% of my mid week dinners take me less than 15 minutes of prep (90% of which are on the table in 15 minutes!).
This is one of those dinners. 15 minutes of assembling, then throw it in the oven to do its thing. No chopping required. Just opening a couple of cans and crisping up the pulled pork to get the crunchy brown bits, the crowning glory of Pork Carnitas.
Roll up the tortillas, top with enchilada sauce and cheese, then bake until bubbly and golden on top. I like to leave the edges of the Pulled Pork Enchiladas without sauce which lets them brown nicely and go a little crisp which adds great texture. But I use enough sauce that you could cover all the enchiladas, if you wanted to.
In my books, Pork Carnitas are the ultimate “freezer stock” for seriously tasty fast food. You can make enchiladas (obviously), quesadillas, tacos, soups, salads and burritos, to name a few. I also make Mexican Sloppy Joes, Mexican Spring Rolls and Taco Soup – I’ll be sharing my recipe for these in the coming weeks.
Whenever I make Pork Carnitas, I use the largest pork I can fit into my slow cooker so I can make as much as possible, then I freeze them in small batches for convenience. I usually defrost it in the microwave (usually 1 minute per cup of pulled pork). Then I always pan fry, not to warm it through but to get the brown crunchy bits. It only takes a minute or two, and is a “must do” in my books – Pork Carnitas without the brown crunchy bits is like sausage rolls without tomato sauce, it just shouldn’t be done. You can read more about my ravings on the brown crunchy bits in the recipe I shared for Pork Carnitas.
Though I love Enchiladas the most when made with Pork Carnitas, I often make this with other meat, usually shredded chicken as I always seem to have this on hand. I’ve also made this with diced beef too. But because the Pork Carnitas are already flavoured with Mexican spices, if I use another meat I add a sprinkle of spices – instructions for this are included in the recipe below.
This Pulled Pork Enchiladas is a great recipe to add to your midweek meal rotation – it’s so fast and SO delicious! I hope you try it!– Nagi x
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Pulled Pork Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups (packed) Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork) or other shredded meat (see notes)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup tinned black beans or red kidney beans , drained
- 1 can (15oz / 400g) corn kernels , drained
- 2 cups shredded cheese (any good melting cheese)
- 8 tortillas
- 3 cups (750ml / 25oz) Enchilada Sauce (homemade or store bought)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over high heat. Add the pork carnitas and cook until the bottom is nicely browned - about 1 1/2 minutes. Do not turn, just make the bottom crispy (to keep the pulled pork as moist as possible), then remove the pulled pork into a bowl. It does not matter if the top isn't heated through, it will heat in the oven.
- Add the corn, black beans, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup cheese into the bowl and mix to combine.
- Spread 1/2 cup of Enchilada Sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Place 1/2 packed cup of filling (from step 3) into a tortilla and roll up and place in the baking dish.
- Pour over the remaining Enchilada Sauce, and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and scatter the cheese on, then bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
- Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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These are just terrific. I made the recipe as written and it was delicious. A big hit at my house. I can imagine one can tweak it quite a bit depending on what you have on hand. This recipe makes a great point of departure. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe. We loved it!
Thanks Janet! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. And you are absolutely right, you can tweak it however you want! I love making it meat free with corn and black beans 🙂 And I often use chicken too because I always have bags of frozen shredded chicken in the freezer. Thank you again for coming back to share your feedback!
Oh, wow! I did not have red sauce, so used Enchilada Verde sauce instead. To the green sauce, I added about 3/4 cup of sour cream; and, of course, I used a lot more cheese than you suggested. Heavenly! Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Oooh, this would be brilliant with Enchilada Verde!! YUM! I love adding sour cream to Enchilada sauces too, just to make it a touch more creamy! So glad you enjoyed this Shelly, thanks for coming back to share your thoughts!!
🙂
You nailed it with an emoticon! 😉
Hi again Nagi :). Well I had some left over pork loin roast and made some of your amazing enchilada sauce…put this together and YUM! Because my meat wasn’t seasoned like your pulled pork (can’t wait to try that!) I added paprika, cumin, and fresh garlic directly to my shredded pork roast and let it sit in the fridge about half an hour before quick frying it in the olive oil. I also added chopped kalamata olives at the same time as adding the cheese on top. Such a wonderful recipe. I rarely comment online…but both these recipes ( this and the sauce) are so good AND quick and easy that I just had to give feedback. Thank you! 🙂
OH YAY! I am so glad you enjoyed this with the enchilada sauce! Seasoning your pork is the perfect touch, it would have been a bit bland with out it. And olives? Well, there’s very few things olives don’t improve in my very humble opinion. Thank you SO MUCH for coming back to share your feedback Donna!! I really truly appreciate it!
Have a wonderful weekend!! 🙂
Had some leftover shredded pork from butternut squash tacos and decided to try it with this recipe. Am I EVER glad I did!. Made the simple classic enchilada sauce the recipe links to, and followed the rest of the recipe exactly and were we amazed! It turned out fabulously delicious. Just excellent. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for coming back to let me know! 🙂
My sauce didn’t come out as flavorful as I would have thought, i followed the directions to the letter as I like to do the first time I make something, tasted more like spaghetti sauce. What could I add more of to get a more Hispanic flavor?
Hi Jeff! I’m so sorry you think that – are you talking about the Enchilada Sauce that this recipe links through to? Because there is no sauce recipe in this particular recipe but I have provided a link to an Enchilada sauce recipe. To be honest, I have never had anyone say they thought the flavour was too mild before! My family thinks that my flavour preference is too STRONG! But if you do want the flavour stronger, I would increase the amount of chili, garlic, onion, cumin and oregano in it. Garlic and cumin are the strongest flavour contributors. I hope you can adjust it to your taste!
I love the photos for this dish. Mouthwatering! Thanks again for sharing at #theWeekendSocial. Pinning once again! 🙂
Thanks KC! Appreciate your kind words, still learning on the photography but hopefully getting there! See you around 🙂
Your Pulled Pork Enchiladas look AMAZING!!! I’m getting hungry just looking at them! I also use a slow cooker to cook a pork shoulder…I also have a ton a leftovers. I never thought of making Enchiladas – brilliant! I will certainly be taking a queue from you the next time I make pulled pork!
Thanks for dropping by Kathleen! Isn’t slow cooker pork shoulder the best?? Oven just isn’t the same – can’t retain the moisture as well!