Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe (Creamy, Cheesy & Easy)
Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas with Cheese Sauce (Reader-Favorite)
Easy and Delicious Shrimp Enchiladas
These shrimp enchiladas are ultra-creamy, cheesy, and packed with flavor. The silky cheese sauce coats tender shrimp and veggies, and the whole pan bakes to bubbly perfection. This has been a community favorite for years—your comments prove it! We’ve refreshed it for 2025 with a few small upgrades, including an air fryer method and updated cooking tips for better results every time.
Why You’ll Love These Shrimp Enchiladas
- Creamy & comforting: A stovetop cheese sauce makes them irresistible.
- Beginner-friendly: Straightforward steps and cues to avoid overcooking shrimp.
- Flexible: Swap in green chiles or leftover chicken for variety.
- Make-ahead friendly: Assemble ahead and bake when ready.
Is Shrimp a Surprisingly Affordable Protein?
Yes! Shrimp delivers 19g of protein per 3 oz for under 90 calories and often costs less than other lean meats when bought frozen. According to NOAA Fisheries, strong global supply has kept shrimp sustainable and affordable.[1] Stock up during sales and thaw just what you need for recipes like this.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Shrimp: Medium or large, raw, peeled & deveined. Argentine red shrimp are perfect here, but any sale shrimp work.
- Veggies: Onion + bell pepper (or a 4-oz can of mild diced green chiles).
- Cheese Sauce: Butter, flour, milk, shredded Mexican blend cheese, and 1/8 tsp cayenne.
- Tomatoes: Fresh diced or drained petite diced.
- Tortillas: Flour tortillas stay soft; warm corn tortillas also work.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Make the sauce: Whisk butter and flour into a roux. Add milk gradually, then melt in cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- Cook shrimp: Sauté onion in butter or coconut oil; add shrimp and cook until opaque.
- Mix filling: Stir half of the cheese sauce into the shrimp with diced tomato and peppers/chiles.
- Assemble: Fill warm tortillas, roll seam-side down in a 9×13 dish.
- Bake: Top with remaining sauce and cheese; bake until bubbly and golden.
Air Fryer Method (Bakes in a Dish)
- Assemble: Roll enchiladas and place in a lightly greased 8×8 or 9×9 air-fryer-safe dish. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
- Preheat: Air fryer to 350°F for 3–5 minutes.
- Bake: Air fry at 350°F for 10–15 minutes, until bubbling and golden.
- Rest: Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Reader Comments
“Very pleased with the simplicity and outcome of these enchiladas. I prefer keeping things freshly made, so I made half the filling and saved the rest of the sauce for a few days later—worked perfectly!” — Sandy
“This recipe is to die for!! Thank you for sharing!!” — Kelly
“This was amazing! I’ll be making this again and again. Next time, I’m adding jalapeños and cilantro.” — Santana
“We loved this recipe. Family gave a huge thumbs up. I added fresh garlic and Rotel tomatoes instead of fresh—so good!” — Debbie
“Made it again with chicken when shrimp wasn’t in the budget—still incredible!” — Nick
“This recipe is amazing. I added crab meat and a little extra milk for a thinner sauce. Still perfect after two days!” — Sylvia
“So creamy and flavorful. I made them ahead and reheated later for company—came out great.” — Donna
Pro Tips
- Don’t overcook shrimp: Pull them as soon as they’re opaque—they finish baking.
- Warm tortillas: 10–15 seconds in microwave prevents cracking.
- Sauce consistency: Should coat a spoon; whisk in milk if too thick.
- Even heating: Cover for first 10 minutes; uncover to brown tops.
You’ll Need
- Large skillet (for sautéing shrimp and onions)
- Whisk (for smooth cheese sauce)
- 9×13-inch baking dish (oven or air-fryer safe)
- Foil (to tent if tops brown too quickly)
Make-Ahead, Storage & Reheat
- Make-ahead: Assemble up to 6 hours early, refrigerate, then bake.
- Leftovers: Refrigerate 3 days.
- Oven reheat: 325°F, covered 12–15 minutes; uncover last 2 minutes.
- Microwave: Short bursts; tortillas soften slightly.
- Freeze: Roll without sauce, freeze, thaw, add sauce, bake as usual.
Easy Variations
- Salsa Verde Cream: Replace half the milk with salsa verde and use pepper jack cheese.
- Lighter: Stir Greek yogurt into sauce off heat for fewer calories.
- Gluten-Free: Corn tortillas + cornstarch slurry (1 Tbsp cornstarch + 2 Tbsp milk).
- No peppers? Use 4-oz green chiles or mild salsa—reader approved.
What to Serve With Shrimp Enchiladas
- Coconut Rice – creamy and slightly sweet.
- DIY Rice-A-Roni Mix – easy pantry side.
- Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables – colorful and fast.
FAQs
How spicy are these shrimp enchiladas?
Mild, with gentle warmth from about 1/8 tsp cayenne.
Do I add half the sauce to the filling?
Yes—half in the filling, half poured over the rolled enchiladas.
Can I use pre-cooked shrimp?
Yes. Warm them briefly in the sauce before assembling.
Corn or flour tortillas?
Flour tortillas stay soft; warm corn tortillas to prevent cracks.
Can I make this ahead for company?
Definitely. Assemble in the morning, refrigerate, and bake before serving.
Source: Learn more about shrimp sustainability and pricing from
NOAA Fisheries.
Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup diced red pepper
- ½ cup diced green pepper
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 ½ cup Monterey Jack or Mexican blend shredded cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
Shrimp Mixture:
- 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
- 1 ½ pounds shrimp peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-size pieces
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced tomato
- ½ cup Monterey Jack or Mexican blend shredded cheese
- 8 flour tortillas 9-inch
Instructions
- Note: It helps to prep and measure all ingredients before starting.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
- Cheese Sauce: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan or skillet and saute the red pepper and green pepper until crisp-tender. Add the oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.
- Whisk in the milk and cook for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Stir in the cheese, until melted. Stir in the sour cream. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Enchilada Filling: In a large skillet, melt the butter or oil. Saute onion until translucent and soft, 3-5 minutes. Add the shrimp pieces and cook until pink, but don't overcook. Add the diced tomato and half of the cheese sauce.
- Spoon about 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Roll up the enchiladas tightly and arrange seam-side-down in the 9x13 baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle about 1/2 cup cheese over the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
If you have picky eaters, you can easily use the same sauce and use some leftover chicken for the non-shrimp eaters!
Nutrition
Recipe Adapted From: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
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Thanks for the recipe. I’ve always loved eating enchiladas. I didn’t know that there’s a recipe for shrimp enchiladas. Shrimp is one of my favorite things to put in recipes, so I’m glad that there’s a recipe that uses it in a tasty enchiladas recipe.
You will probably love these enchiladas, Deanna! Hope you try them soon! Thanks for your comment.
Exquisito plato y excelente explicación voy a prepararla se que les encantará a mis hijos. gracias.
Love the recipe and would like to try it for dinner tonight.
But i have a few family members that dont like tomatoes, would it still be good without them or is there something i can substitute it for?
Yes, I think it would be fine to leave the tomatoes out. (I’m actually not a fan of raw tomato, but I don’t mind it at all when it is chopped into small pieces and cooked.) You could try replacing the tomatoes with more chopped bell pepper too!
We loved this recipe. Family gave a huge thumbs up. I did make a couple changes for added flavor. I added fresh minced garlic to the peppers while they were sautéing. Instead of fresh chopped tomatoes, I added a can of drained rotel tomatoes. Delicious!!!
Awesome!! So glad it turned out!
Can you use corn tortillas ?
Yes you can!
Can you use corn tortillas ?
Corn tortillas don’t hold up well in sauce, and tend to fall apart when you try to remove them to a plate.
Not a fan of red or green peppers . Is leaving them out an option ?
You could try it with orange or yellow peppers if you would like! The taste would be a little different. OR if you do not like peppers at all, try leaving them out and seeing what it tastes like! Just experiment, maybe add in some other veggies to take their spot!
This was a great recipe. I was saying to the missus that I wanted to make a Mexican dish and thought of seafood enchiladas and I found your recipe. The only variation I made was using 2 – 4oz. cans of mild chilies rather than the green bell pepper. I used 6 of the 9″ tortillas to make them larger and we could only eat two each. They were fantastic and I will be enjoying the remaining two with my daughter for lunch tomorrow.
The only other thing I might do next time (and there will be a next time), is make the sauce in advance. There was a lot going on in making this and I’m old and slow. Best regards.
Thank you, Nick! Glad you liked them and I think your variation sounds delicious. I actually made these again this week and took some new photos so I can update this post soon – it is up there in my top 4 favorite shrimp recipes! It does help to prep and measure all of the ingredients in advance, so you can just start dumping ingredients in while cooking because, yes, it does move pretty fast once you get going. 🙂 I think making the entire sauce in advance would work great too.
I took your advice when I made this again today on doing the measurement prep. Still had to work fast but… my o my was it good.
Yum, yum! You’re making me want some now!
I made this again last night using 1.5 lbs. of cooked shredded chicken breast (could have used dark and/or white meat or even a rotisserie chicken). All other ingredients and cook times were exactly the same as the shrimp recipe with the exception of switching the green bell pepper to a 4 oz. can of mild diced green chili peppers. As before, I used 6 of the 10″ flour tortilla (trimmed about a 1/2″ on two side to fit nicely into my glass 9″x13″ baking dish) and stuffed them full of the chicken and sauce mixture. I could only eat 1-1/2 of them. Absolutely fantastic.
That’s awesome, Nick! Thank you for sharing all of your successful adaptations here. I think it is really helpful…and it makes me want to try it with chicken asap! Sometimes that shrimp is a little out of the budget. 😉
Hi Nick at what point did you add the canned green chillies?
Thank you
I am so excited to try this recipe, but I’m only cooking for two. Do you have any recommendations for freezing?
I didn’t have peppers on hand so I omitted the peppers and spices and subbed drained mild chunky salsa instead. It was AMAZING!
Awesome! Great substitution idea! Thanks for sharing, Margo.
Can you used pre cooked shrimp with this.?
Yes, I think that would be fine!
This was amazing!
Thank you for sharing!!!
I followed it to the T and it was great!
There are so many things we could all do with masterpiece too.
( cilantro & chilles and other sea food).
Thank you for sharing this,
We all loved it.
So, so good.
The instructions were wonderful to follow too!
I will be making this again and agian.
I would add some jalapenos and cilantro and maybe some imitation crab, but that is purely a preference thing.
Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Thank you, Santana! I’m so glad you like it! Those additions sound delicious too. 🙂
Can I make this ahead of time and just bake it a couple of hours later?
I think that would probably work. I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why not!
This recipe is amazing. I added 6 oz of crab also and extra milk in the sauce because I wanted it to be thinner. I made them 2 days ago, didn’t have time to eat them that day or the next. 2 days later, they were delicious. I will freeze the remaining enchiladas before they spoil. Love seeing the posts for additional add ins.
Thank you, Sylvia! Adding crab meat sounds like an amazing idea that I definitely want to try. Yum!
Do I need flour and cayenne pepper or can I do without it?
Hi, Kristina. You do not need to include the cayenne pepper. The flour is part of a roux for the sauce, but you could definitely try it out without and flour and use something different to thicken the sauce, if needed. 🙂
Seems like 1/2 cup of cayenne is excessive……should it be 1/2 TSP?
Hi, Trudy! 1/2 cup of cayenne would definitely be excessive! When I read the recipe, I see 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. 🙂 I hope you try it out with something closer to that amount!
The half of cup of cayenne is reflected in the first page of your post where you click to visit your page. It’s in the recipe to the right. I questioned that too. Lol
Hi Carol, I don’t see where you’re seeing 1/2 cup. Can you email a screenshot to me so I can get it fixed? cathy @ fabulesslyfrugal.com.
Just wondering if i can reheat leftovers in microwave ?
Definitely! Just know that they are best fresh from the oven. Reheating in the microwave totally works, but often causes tortillas to get a little soggy. 🙂
I only have a cup of mexican cheese blend left in the fridge but have a ton of cheddar… can I use cheddar?
Yes, definitely!
Can you make these ahead of time and refrigerate to heat later for company? I look forward to trying these is refrigerating is an option.
Yes, I think it would work well to assemble the enchiladas earlier in the day, refrigerate, then bake later that day. Hope it turns out awesome for you!
Thanks for sharing this recipe Melani. My family loves it, and I have saved it to “my favourites board” for future reference. Will definitely be making this many times over.
Excellent! So glad your family loves it! Thank you, Terri.
The recipe says to spoon remaining cheese mixture over the top, but I cant find where it says what to do with the first part of the cheese mixture
Hi, darcydm. In step #5, it says to add half of the cheese sauce to the enchilada filling mixture. 🙂 I hope that helps!
Can you make this a day ahead then heat in a 9X12 crockpot?
Hey Jane, great question! I haven’t tried this so I’m not sure. But I don’t see why not! Let us know how it goes!
This recipe is to die for!! Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you for the review, Kelly!
Very pleased with the simplicity and outcome of these enchiladas. Since I cook only for 2, I only made half the recipe for the shrimp filling but made the full sauce recipe, using only half the sauce and saving the other half for a few days later when I made the second half of enchilada filling. I prefer keeping things as freshly made as possible. My only concern was the cayenne pepper since my husband can’t seem to handl much of it. So I was very conservative with the shaker when I made it the first day. I thought it was too bland so when I made it a few days later, I added quite a bit more (without measuring) and may have gotten a little carried away. Of course, my husband complained. So I’ll have to play around with it a little to get just right. By a stroke of luck, I even had the Argentine Red Shrimp in my freezer (wondering what I was going to do with it). It was my first experience with them and I was very pleased. I’ll be buying them again.
Made this multiple times- great recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it Bobbie!