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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Hi. Instead of rolling the enchiladas, could this dish be layered? For example, a little sauce on the bottom then softened tortillas, filling, sauce, cheese then repeat. I make my chicken enchiladas this way and it’s fast and delicious.
Yes yes YES!!!
I made this tonight with leftover pulled pork that my husband smoked. It tasted amazing since the dish had a nice flavor but didn’t overpower the nice smokey flavor of the pork. The smokey flavor actually played nicely with the sweet flavor of the corn. Delicious and super easy! We’ll be making this recipe again and again.
That’s great to hear Jodi! Thanks for leaving a review! N x
Nagi,
Thank you for sharing this delicious, simple recipe. My family loved it. I had a lot of left over pulled pork from a party and your tips to spice it up was perfect. The home made sauce was the best and topped off this recipe. Thanks again. This recipe is a keeper!
I’m so pleased to hear that Pat! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N xx
Where is the receipt for easy enchiladas sauce , I would love to have it
Just added the link into the recipe where it says Enchilada Sauce 🙂 Sorry about that Sandra!
Hi Nagi,
I am not a fan of “canned” sauces, however, when making pork or chicken enchiladas, I use green chile enchilada sauce. When I’m in a hurry, I buy the 505 Mild Green Enchilada Sauce, and one jar of Heinz Chicken Gravy. I blend them together, add some sour cream, and that’s it. Not quite homemade sauce, but it tastes homemade. For red chile sauce, I use only Rosarita brand, mild enchilada sauce, and add one jar of Heinz Savory Beef Gravy. I blend them together, and that’s it.
You share so many good recipes, I thought you might like to try one of mine.
I love those tips Kathy, thank you! I am heading to the US next month and planning to fill my suitcase with things like Enchilada sauces, we don’t have any decent ones here, only Old El Paso. 🙂
Hi, Nagi! I was searching for the homemade Enchilada sauce that you mentioned, please! Thank you!
Thank you for such an AMAZING and simple recipe!!! My whole family enjoyed this and went back for seconds! I did add cilantro and fresh diced onion ( I cant possibly not cook without onion) It was a nice addition. Plus a spoon of plain greek yogurt on the side. YUM!!!
I’m so pleased to hear that Sara!! Thanks for letting me know! N xx PS Love the idea of using yoghurt instead of sour cream. 🙂
I made your pulled pork enchiladas last night and they were wonderful!!! This time, I discovered that my cast iron fry pan is MUCH better at crisping up the pork shreds on the bottom of the fry pan than any other pan. (Made for great texture and flavor in the meat!) I did, however, use an enchilada sauce recipe I’ve been using for some time (https://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/08/red-enchilada-sauce/) that is so simple to make, with usual pantry ingredients, in 10 minutes or less, and is so delicious. I haven’t bought store sauce since!
I just checked the sauce out! How interesting, made with tomato paste! I will have to give that one a go 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
I made a sauce today with tomato paste! It’s great!I’m making the enchiladas tonight but chose to fry some frozen corn with sweet yellow onions and a couple diced Rom a tomatoes!
I was wondering if they could be made ahead of time?
Gosh yes! I would keep the sauce separate until just before baking 🙂
Made these tonight with some leftover pulled pork from the weekend. They were delicious, and so quick and easy to prepare. Loved the enchilada sauce recipe too! My husband said ‘you can make these again!’ Yummy. Thanks for sharing.
Whoot whoot! So glad to hear that Jenny! N xx
Made these today, so wonderful! I did it just like you said, it will be my go to recipe! Thanks so much for this recipe.
So glad to hear that Jana! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Delicious! I didn’t add the corn, but followed the rest of the recipe and we loved it.
Hi Pamela, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! ❤️ N xx
Hi Nagi, made this using your flatbreads instead of tortillas. A winner!!!!!
Ohhhh! You Rock Margaret, serving these with homemade flatbreads is da bomb! N xx
How is this recipes with green enchilada sauce?
DELISH!!! I love green enchilada sauce 🙂
Looking for your classic enchilada sauce recipe… Dying to make pork enchiladas!! 🙂
Here you go! Terrible photos from the early days but a terrific recipe still! 🙂 https://letfedtende.today/enchilada-sauce-easy-classic-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Do you use corn or flour tortillas?
I prefer flour 🙂 But pliable corn is fine too!
Fantastic recipe! My husband has requested that this become a regular meal at our house. I wouldn’t change a thing. Yum!
Yay! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it Elizabeth, thanks for letting me know! N x
I made these enchiladas tonight with pulled pork i had cooked a couple of weeks ago and frozen the leftovers as recommended. I also made the enchilada sauce which is an absolute winner recipe. Yum, my husband and I both really enjoyed the dish and there is plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks Nagi for another great recipe.
Thanks Lisa! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made the slow cooker pork last night. Not bad; I really prefer to slow cook on the grill because of the flavor and crust it gets but I was in hurry to get out of the house and I needed dinner to cook while we were gone. Then tonight I used the pork to make the pork enchiladas. Delicious! I reserved the liquid from the slow cooker and used it to make your homemade enchilada sauce. It was SOOOO good. Lots of flavor, I didn’t have to do a lot of seasoning. And, I took your recipe for cilantro rice and added it to the pork, corn, black bean mixture. Yum! The only sad part is that the enchilada recipe used up all the wonderful sauce and I don’t have any left for a different dish.
So glad you loved it M Chard!! Thank you for letting me know!! N x
Can you assemble these enchiladas and freeze them so that they can be all done and cooked at another time?
Hi Katie! Yes, you sure can! Enchiladas are fabulous for freezing!
We made the enchilada sauce and carnitas last night, and had enchiladas this evening. Really easy, and super tasty, and some carnitas in the freezer for a later date :D. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Melissa! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!!
I made these the other week and they were one of my boyfriend’s favorites! I didn’t love them as much… I had some issues with the tortillas. I used corn tortillas and they did not hold their shape at all. Once they were out of the oven it sort of all mushed together where I couldn’t tell where one started and another one ended. I think next time I will use flour unless anyone has any tips to using corn? I tried microwaving them first but they still broke apart when folding.
The enchilada sauce was GREAT and I am so happy I tried it. I was going to shortcut and buy a jarred one but based on the comments I thought I should try it. And it really was super easy and didn’t add that much time to the meal. And on another note – I felt really proud of myself that I made homemade enchilada sauce!
You should be proud of yourself for making homemade enchilada sauce! 🙂 It really makes a difference I feel, it doesn’t have that slight undertone of artificial flavourings and preservatives that all store bought sauces have. 🙂 You know, I’m in Mexico right now and you would be very surprised to see the enchiladas here! They are made almost like a gratin, completely covered in sauce and mushy. 🙂 Sounds like yours was pretty darn authentic! 😉
I always fry my corn tortillas first in a little veg. oil, maybe 30 seconds on each side. It makes them easier to handle and roll up 🙂
Just want to pop in to say that the slow cooker carnitas that turn into these enchiladas the following night are incredible and very high on my list of go-to’s when I’m planning meals for the week. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Nick! I am SO GLAD you loved it!!! N x
Hi Nagi
I made them for my husband who LOVES – Mexican food- he said they were EXCELLENT!!! Can you tell me the brand of the white pan the enchiladas are shown in- looks perfect for the job! Thanks again for the great recipe,
Susan
Thank you so much Susan! I’m so glad your husband enjoyed it!! I’m sorry, I can’t remember the brand of the white pan and I’m not at home so I can’t check! It was very cheap though, something I picked up from my local supermarket (Coles in Australia) 🙂