Enchilada Bites

These Enchilada Bites are a must-have addition to your party appetizer spread. They’re full of veggies, pinto beans, enchilada sauce, cheese, and sour cream. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also incredibly easy to make, taking less than 20 minutes to prepare. Your guests are sure to love these crowd-pleasing bites!

I’m excited about the Diwali coming up, are you?

Diwali is all about lights, fun, fire-crackers, food, etc. The thing I love about Diwali is you get to eat various foods and have parties with friends and families. J

I enjoy spending time with my friends and loved ones, and partying during the festival is so much fun.

At parties, food plays a significant role. Food is not simply stuff that people eat when they’re hungry. Food is fantastic, delicious, inventive, colorful, inspiring, and so much more. A mutual love of food can unite different people, improving any party.

During parties, appetizers are the main element, especially finger foods. Finger foods are always perfect for parties. They’re fun to eat, and you can put many different ones on your plate.

We are a Mexican food-loving family. I always come up with different ways to reinvent or make fusions of our favorites-for example, these Paneer tacos, enchilada sliders, or Stromboli wreaths.

So today, I am sharing a straightforward finger food recipe - Enchilada Bites.

We love beans and vegetable Enchiladas in our place, and these adorable and quick Enchilada Bites are just the perfect way to enjoy Enchiladas if you’re in a hurry or need to make it for the crowd.

I made these delicious enchilada bites for the first time a few weeks ago, and I was so happy with how they turned out! The crunchy veggies, soft beans, zesty enchilada sauce, and cheese combine to make an unforgettable taste explosion that will have you craving more. They have lots of flavors.

I thought of sharing this recipe with you guys.

Another reason this would make a perfect appetizer for a Diwali party is that you can prep the filling a day or two ahead of time. This will allow you to do other things before your guests arrive.

So try this for upcoming festival parties or game days; it will spice up your festivities and help feed your hungry crowd.

Ingredients required

Below is the ingredients list and possible substitutions. The exact ingredient amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Pinto beans: Make your pinto beans or use store-bought; both work fine. If you are using store-bought pinto beans, drain before use. You can substitute pinto beans with black beans, kidney beans, or any of your choice.
• Mexican seasoning: This gives so much flavor to the stuffing. You can use taco seasoning instead.
• Oil - I used olive oil. Feel free to use any cooking oil.
• Vegetables - Used corn, bell pepper, and onion. You can also use mushrooms.
• Spicy kick - for the spicy kick, I used Jalapenos. You can substitute it with spicy chilies or skip if you don’t want to make it spicy.
• Enchilada sauce - I used homemade enchilada sauce. Feel free to use store-bought ones. My favorite brand is Old-El-Paso.
• Empanada sheet: This is required to make the shells. You’ll want to use store-bought for this recipe; it’ll save you time and energy. These are readily available in the grocery stores in the freezer section. Check my recipe cards note section for the substitution.
• For the topping, you will need cheese of your choice, sour cream, cilantro, and jalapenos.
• Oil - we will need oil for frying the shells.

Step-by-step process

Make filling

• Heat oil in a pan. Add onion, bell pepper, corn, and jalapenos. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes on medium to high fames, stirring occasionally.
• Then add salt, Mexican seasoning, pinto beans, and enchilada sauce. Stir to combine everything and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat or until everything is cooked and the mixture is slightly thick. Switch off the flame. Keep it aside.

Make cups (This step is optional. You can use store phyllo cups, tarts, round tortilla chips, tortilla scoops or canapes).

• Take Empanada sheets on the working surface. Roll it a little bit. Using a cookie cutter, cut the rolled sheet into four rounds. I am using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Follow the same process with the remaining empanada sheets. Cover all the rounds with a damp cloth.
• Now take mini tart molds, the empanada round, and shape using that mold.
• Heat oil in a pan to fry the cups. Once the oil is hot, add the cups and fry them on medium flame.
• Carefully remove the mold (keep the cups inside the oil) using tongs and fry the empanada cup until golden.
• Take them out in a paper towel-lined bowl. Follow the same process with the remaining empanada rounds. Keep them aside.

Filling the cups

• Take the fried cups, fill the cavities with 1 tablespoon (or more) of enchilada filling, and top it with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and jalapenos. Enchilada Bites are ready.
• Serve them within 30 to 45 minutes of making for the best texture and taste. After that, the cups might get soggy.

Make ahead

These enchilada cups are the perfect make-ahead recipe. You can make enchilada filling and fry the cups (or buy readymade) 3 days before. Assemble everything (or let your guest assemble their own) before serving.

Notes and tips

• Instead of grated cheese, you can use nacho sauce sauce.
• The spice level of this recipe is ⅗. You can increase or decrease the spice level by adjusting the jalapeno quantity.
• You can also add lettuce as a topping.
• If you are using store-bought canned pinto beans, remember to drain them before using them in the recipe.
• Instead of making your own pastry cups or phyllo cups, you can use round tortilla chips, tortilla scoops, or canapés.
• You can use leftover enchilada stuffing to make enchiladas (of course), quesadillas, tacos, or Rice.

More Finger-food Ideas

• Dabeli swirls
• paneer pinwheels
• Samosa tart
• Dabeli dhokla
• Chinese samosa

Enchilada Bites

Author: Dhwani

37kcal

5 from 2 votes

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Prep 5 minutes mins

Cook 15 minutes mins

Total 20 minutes mins

These Enchilada Bites are a must-have addition to your party appetizer spread. They're full of veggies, pinto beans, enchilada sauce, cheese, and sour cream. 

Servings 45 cups

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American, Mexican

Ingredients

1x2x3x

For filling

• ▢ 15.5 Oz. Pinto beans drained (around 1.5 cups)
• ▢ 2 cups bell pepper diced into small pieces (I used green and red)
• ▢ 1 cup onion diced into small pieces.
• ▢ ⅓ cup corn
• ▢ 2 tablespoon jalapenos
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Mexican seasoning or taco seasoning
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
• ▢ 10 oz. enchilada sauce (around I and ¼ cup)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil or any cooking oil of your choice

Other ingredients

• ▢ 40 to 45 Phyllo cups available in grocery store in freezer sections (see note for substitutions)

Cheese, cilantro, jalapenos and sour cream for topping

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Method

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Make filling

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add onion, bell pepper, corn, and jalapenos. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes on medium to high fames, stirring occasionally.
2. Then add salt, Mexican seasoning, pinto beans, and enchilada sauce. Stir to combine everything and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat or until everything is cooked and the mixture is slightly thick. Switch off the flame. Keep it aside.

Filling the phyllo cups

1. Take the phyllo cups, fill the cavities with one tablespoon (or more) of enchilada filling, and top it with sour cream, cheese, cilantro, and jalapenos. Enchilada Bites are ready.
2. Serve them within 30 to 45 minutes for the best texture and taste. After that, the cups might get soggy.

Nutrition

Serving1biteCalories37kcalCarbohydrates6gProtein2gFat1gSaturated Fat0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat0.1gMonounsaturated Fat0.5gSodium92mgPotassium66mgFiber1gSugar1gVitamin A265IUVitamin C10mgCalcium6mgIron0.3mg

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Notes

• Instead of using phyllo cups, you can use round tortilla chips, store-bought tarts, tortilla scoops, or canapés. If you want to make your own cups/tarts, check the step-by-step process given above the recipe card. I have shared how to make tarts using readymade empanada sheets.
• Instead of grated cheese, you can use nacho sauce sauce.
• The spice level of this recipe is ⅗. You can increase or decrease the spice level by adjusting the jalapeno quantity.
• You can also add lettuce as a topping.
• You can use homemade pinto beans. To make your pinto beans, wash and soak the 1 cup of pinto beans for 3 hours in hot water. Drain the water. Take the pinto-soaked pinto beans in an inner pot of instant pot. Add 4 cups of water. Cover the instant pot. Press the pressure cook/manual button and set the time for 20 minutes under high pressure. Make sure the vent valve is in a sealing position. let the pressure release naturally. Take out the beans from the instant pot, drain and use them in the recipe. 
• If you use store-bought canned pinto beans, drain them before using them in the recipe.
• You can use leftover enchilada stuffing to make enchiladas (of course), quesadillas, tacos, or Rice.

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Warm regards,

Dhwani.