Italian Enchiladas
When I go grocery shopping, I have three goals in mind: 1.) Buy lots of whole, minimally processed foods, 2.) Buy as many made-in-the-U.S. (preferably Michigan!) products as I can, and 3.) Get in and out of there as fast as humanly possible.
Let’s be honest – Goal #3 is the one that keeps me sane, but it’s totally possible to also meet Goals #1 and #2 if I know what to look for.
It’s February, the month of love, and I’m in love with comfort food. These Italian Enchiladas are what I think of as a lazy man’s version of stuffed shells. They have the same sort of filling I would make for that classic dish, but instead of boiling water and cooking pasta shells, I just grab a stack of flour tortillas.
The filling is easily adaptable to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. Here, I used a combination of ground beef, spicy Italian sausage and chopped pepperoni, along with mushrooms, artichokes, chopped spinach (gotta get some veggies in there!) and creamy ricotta. I rolled it all up in tortillas, then topped it marinara and gooey mozzarella.
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Italian Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces button mushrooms chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ pound hot or mild Italian sausage removed from casings if necessary
- 7 ounces artichoke quarters, drained and roughly chopped 1/2 of a 14 ounce can
- 2 ounces organic pepperoni slices cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 3 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought) 24 ounces
- 10 8-inch flour tortillas
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- Shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook 4 to 6 minutes or until brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and rosemary; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer mushroom mixture to small bowl.
- Return skillet to medium-high heat; add beef and sausage. Cook 8 minutes or until meat is cooked through, breaking up meat with side of spoon as it cooks. Remove skillet from heat; stir in artichokes, pepperoni, spinach, ricotta, basil and mushroom mixture.
- Spread 1 cup marinara sauce in bottom of 11x14-inch baking dish. Place flour tortilla on work surface. Spoon 1/2 cup meat mixture down center of tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top enchiladas with remaining marinara sauce; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Transfer to oven and bake 25 minutes. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Hey there Lori!
It’s been a couple years since the last comment here, but I wanted to add that you helped validate my invention of the evening…just made enchiladas but didn’t feel so inspired with the cumin-heavy mexican flavors (been getting into Italian cooking more lately), so I simply tortillas around the meat/bean mixture and covered with Italian pasta sauce and seasonings, and presto (to use an Italian word!), a whole new path to explore with Mexican form but not Mexican contents!
The Italian style is nice and light when one isn’t up for the wonderful dark cumin etc of our southern neighbors…
I also have been playing around with re-defining what the layers of a lasagne can be…another form that is flexible for different fillings and even sneaking in different quisines…
So, just wanted to write that I really appreciate your “outside the box” thinking. Even the picture of your bench at your kitchen table! Brilliant and refreshing way to redefine the dining room table: cozier and more practical too, I think! My wife and I are now looking for a bench! 🙂
From Sweden,
Andy
I am so glad to hear that, Andy. I’m a big fan of cooking with what you have on hand and playing around with flavors and textures. Happy New Year!
Love it!
Yes there was a lot of items to put in the mixture.Took me about an hour to make it.Leftovers for Thursday.
Really enjoyed the Italian enchiladas.i did make one change i did not use the artichokes and used green peppers.
Awesome, I’m so glad you liked it! I think the filling can be changed up for whatever you want to put in there. I think I only used artichokes because I had a can of them open. I was basically clearing out the fridge with this recipe 🙂
What would pair with the Italian Enchildas?
I think we ate them with a mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette 🙂
Good idea! It is nice to be able to meet the needs of what each family wants for dinner! Now there is both – italian and Mexican!
Thanks Kira. Pretty sure actual Italians and Mexicans would cringe at this recipe, but oh well. It’s just for fun 🙂
Your mom is going to be jealous that you basically repackaged the famous family stuffed shell fillings into these enchiladas . . . But, I love fusion cuisine, so I found it delightful.
Haha no, my mom has never made stuffed shells in her life! It’s LAURIE’S mom that makes awesome stuffed shells! My mom makes lasagna 🙂
Brilliant – I’ve only recently jumped on the Enchilada train and I love this Italian spin.
Oh snap, now I’m wishing there really was an enchilada train. That sounds awesome.
Delicious! My daughter was just cleared to eat dairy after 12 years! My heading is just spinning with delicious options like this!
Whoa, have fun Marjory! A whole new world!
Well look at that! You are so creative Lori! I love getting your posts in e-mail form. I agree-it’s nice to buy local, fresh,seasonal, and even organic when the budget allows it. Granted, here in China I don’t know if I can much more than fresh and seasonal (perhaps local, but then one would need to be ask that sort of thing or read it on a label…but one’s linguistic skills won’t take them past, “My son is 3.”
Thanks so much, Christine! I can’t imagine how hard it must be when you don’t speak the language fluently, but it sounds like you are doing great. Luckily, with most produce, it’s easy to spot what’s fresh and in-season just with our eyes and noses!
What will you do when your son is 4? 😉
This looks fabulous Lori! I’ve never thought to make Italian Enchiladas. I need to find some smaller gluten free tortillas so I can make this. YUM!
Thanks so much, Wendy! If you can’t find smaller GF tortillas, you could make cut up larger ones and make this a layered casserole? It’d be almost like a lasagna then, I guess! haha.
Thanks a great idea Lori!