I was laughing when I posted Jason’s last article The Whole Enchilada because I KNEW that there were going to be some folks who thought – AWESOME – a paleo enchilada recipe; only to find out that alas, no food in this post but some very powerful words of wisdom from Jason instead. Just as important, but not quite as tasty. I thought I would make it up to all of you by posting an actual enchilada recipe straight from my book, Everyday Paleo.
This is a seafood enchilada recipe that has no tortilla substitute, but the sauce is homemade and out of this world. You can try this recipe as is or get even more creative and purchase these new coconut wraps recently featured in an issue of Paleo Magazine. You can also make your own coconut tortillas, or just do as we did and smother some seafood, chicken, beef, or whatever other protein source you might enjoy with the homemade sauce and devour!!
Seafood “Enchiladas”
1 medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons coconut oil or grass fed butter or ghee
2 cups tomato puree (make your own using 4 large tomatoes pureed in a food processor)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound seafood of choice such as wild caught cod, shrimp, or crab (or other protein like shredded chicken or ground beef)
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Saute the onions in the coconut oil or butter until limp.
3. Add the tomato puree, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Mix well and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
4. Pour the sauce into a food processor and process until smooth.
5. Cover the bottom of a glass baking dish with the seafood. Pour the enchilada sauce over the seafood, cover tightly with aluminum foil and back for 10-12 minutes or until the seafood is cooked.
6. Serve with sliced avocados, lime wedges, and cilantro.
*If using the coconut wraps, cook your meat prior to filling the wraps, stuff the wraps, roll, place in a baking dish, cover with the sauce and heat in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until warmed through and the sauce is bubbling.
Enjoy!!
Alta says
September 17, 2011 at 7:49 amLove me some enchiladas. I actually rather enjoy making egg crepes for my tortillas – they don’t taste all that eggy to me once the sauce is on them. But I love the idea of these coconut tortillas too (I use coconut flour in my egg crepes sometimes to provide structure). Now I want enchiladas!
Trish says
April 29, 2013 at 8:57 amWhat is your egg crepe recipe? I’d love to try it!!
kel says
September 17, 2011 at 9:27 amhaha 🙂 thank you!! cant wait to try this!!
Suz says
September 17, 2011 at 9:31 amLooking forward to trying this. You just don’t need tortillas when you’re using real fresh ingredients like this!
Anna @ Fair Flavors says
September 17, 2011 at 11:06 amOh, who cares about the tortilla anyway? 🙂 It’s usually just a bland container for what really matters: The Sauce! And this one looks particularly delightful. Thanks for this recipe.
Sally Anne @ PaleoRunnerGirl says
September 17, 2011 at 5:29 pmOh. My. Goodness. I think this might be the recipe to turn my husband paleo!!! I am SO excited!!!!
lena says
September 17, 2011 at 6:59 pmmy family is new to paleo living. my husband and i are leading all 5 children to healthier living. it’s been easier than we had anticipated but there are still some obstacles that we are working on.
we are extremely thankful for your blog and delicious recipes. my kids love your cooking videos. my 4 year old boy, especially loves your cooking videos with your boys. he has found a new interested in cooking.
i look forward to trying this recipe.
thanks!
Dee D says
September 17, 2011 at 7:54 pmThanks! This is Great! Can’t wait to try this recipe. I got your book from the library and it’s time to give it back… So I am going out to buy it!! Thank you so much Sarah for sharing! 🙂
Wenchypoo says
September 18, 2011 at 5:33 amI’d roll some of that mix in a giant collard leaf (cook the mix, but not the leaf!), and eat it like a burrito. Collard leaves have become my tortilla substitute, but used raw.
Jennifer Harrity says
September 18, 2011 at 9:27 pmGuess what I had for dinner tonight! These shrimp are awesome and the sauce is totally kick ass. I’m saving a bit of it to go on my eggs tomorrow morning. Oh, and toss the left overs onto spaghetti squash for lunch…mmmm…..
Thank you Sarah!
Sarah says
September 19, 2011 at 7:22 amSo glad you liked the recipe Jennifer!! : )
Jeremy says
September 19, 2011 at 12:03 amWoohoo!! Peer pressure wins again! Thanks for the recipe Sarah. I especially appreciate you pointing us to the coconut wraps and the homemade coconut tortilla recipe! Mark Sisson had a similar tortilla recipe. I like the idea of the wraps in particular for enchiladas and will have to give it a shot. We do tacos without tortillas, but I just can’t bring myself to call it an enchilada without being wrapped in something that has been soaked in sauce and baked for an hour!
Sarah says
September 19, 2011 at 7:22 amYou are very welcome Jeremy, I hope you enjoy it!
Mayra says
September 19, 2011 at 1:24 pmMMM…I am making this tonight! What would the bake time be for boneless/skinless thighs? Thank you in advance!
Tiffany says
September 20, 2011 at 5:43 amCan’t wait to try this one! Love enchiladas! I did make the coconut tortillas last night for my kids (we had tacos) and they LOVED them! So, thanks for the link! This morning they asked if there were more so they could put their lettuce/turkey wraps in the tortilla. Guess what I’ll be making a big batch of soon!!! Thanks for all that you do for all of us! You ROCK!
Stefani says
September 20, 2011 at 4:55 pmOhmygosh so good!! I used chipotle chili powder and, man, was it kickin’! I was going to try my hand @ the coconut tortillas, but realized how many eggs that would take to make a decent amt LOL. Maybe next time…will def be making this again!
BarbeyGirl says
September 20, 2011 at 8:11 pmI’m serving a grassfed ground beef version tonight, over plantains oven-fried in grassfed butter. Yum yum! Thanks!
Sarah says
September 21, 2011 at 7:25 amWow, that sounds AMAZING!! I’m 100% stealing this idea from you, with the fried plantains, sounds like heaven….
erin says
September 21, 2011 at 12:22 pmThis recipe was a big hit for dinner last night. Definite repeat. Here’s a serving suggestion-
Serve it over shredded cabbage and pork rinds. Added bonus- the pork rinds pop and crackle when you pour the warm enchilada sauce over them.
Jennifer eggertsen says
September 22, 2011 at 1:57 pmI made this today and loved it! I’m going to make it again and again…
Thanks!
Eva says
September 26, 2011 at 7:59 pmI just made this tonight. First recipe of yours that I’ve tried and I’m definitely going to be trying many more! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Chris says
September 28, 2011 at 11:32 amI just made this. So Good!!!! I found the sauce goes very well with shrimp and crab. more so than with the fish. Though the fish was good the shrimp and crab was way better.
Teresa Hemphill says
September 30, 2011 at 8:53 pmAnyone who thinks tortillas are bland has clearly only had Tex-Mex or Central/South American style tortillas. I’m so glad I found this recipe and can’t wait to try it since I think, having grown up with REAL tortillas (not the gluey pasty garbage most people think of as tortillas), they are the one thing I could never really give up. Thanks for posting this recipe! (Hope they’re easier to make than real ones too!)
Aubrey says
October 2, 2011 at 3:11 pmWow!! These were good, but spiiiiiiiicy. I used shredded chicken instead of seafood, and couldn’t handle the heat! I may have to use less chili powder next time. This recipe is definitely not for whimps like me, but thanks so much for the starting point 🙂
nikki Nelson says
October 2, 2011 at 4:11 pmI just made this for lunch, put it on top of fish and it was amazing. I did one thing differently though, when it was all cooked, instead of blending it all until smooth I only blended half of it until smooth and left the other half in small chunks, then mixed it back together. It was amazing and the perfect texture. thanks for sharing this with us!
Rebekah says
October 10, 2011 at 11:43 amSarah – thanks for this great recipe. I’m including it in my meal plan for the week and am excited to try it. Could you tell me about how many servings does this yield for 2 adults?
Sarah says
October 10, 2011 at 2:23 pmThis recipe serves 3-4 adults, so if you are really hungry, 2 adults could quite possibly eat it all in one sitting! : )
Rebekah says
October 10, 2011 at 3:59 pmGreat. Thank you!
Lindsay Lombardi says
October 12, 2011 at 7:51 amIs it ok to use frozen shrimp? What if they are pre-cooked – should I shorten the cooking time?
Sarah says
October 12, 2011 at 2:56 pmFrozen shrimp are fine and if they are pre-cooked than yes, shorten the cooking time by half.
Toni Colman says
January 17, 2012 at 8:52 pmThis was MY FAV!! I made it tonight num num num!! I bought a roasted chicken from Sprouts and shredded the meat, put the sauce over top (I didn’t puree it the second time to leave it a little chunky) and let it cook in the oven for 10 minutes. I let it cool a bit then plated it. For my plate mixed in salsa-chunky from Sprouts, avocado, and cilantro. Thank you sooo much, this was excellent!
Tammy says
January 21, 2012 at 6:47 pmWhy did I wait so long to try this? It’s excellent! YUMMY, thank you for a new found favorite.
Joey says
January 30, 2012 at 1:31 pmThinking of upping the quantities of these ingredients, maybe adding some more veggies, and throwing in the crock pot over night. Maybe frozen chicken breasts so I can shred it in the morning. Thoughts?
BETH says
February 19, 2012 at 4:41 pmI just made this for my family. It was absolutely delicious! My hubby can’t wait to pour the leftover sauce on his eggs in the morning! Thanks again for another wonderful recipe!
CG says
September 20, 2012 at 4:00 pmJust made this tonight but substituted the seafood for chicken and shredded it once done. It was awesome! Tastes just like an enchilada! I look forward to receiving my Amazon package with both books! =)
Jen says
December 12, 2012 at 8:36 pmUse eggplant for the wrappers. Get a really plump one for bigger sheets. Thinly slice with a mandolin, squeeze a lemon over them, dust with a pinch of cumin then fry briefly in butter (or slather in oil and grill) to soften. Wrap, cover and bake
Sarah says
December 13, 2012 at 7:44 amAwesome idea Jen, thank you!!
Katharine says
April 25, 2013 at 5:19 amI made this last night over chicken.
It was so bland.
So disappointing!!
Sarah says
April 25, 2013 at 8:46 amHi Katharine, I’m so sorry that you were disappointed with this recipe. I would maybe check the freshness of your spices. Often, if you have spices sitting in your cupboards for months, they lose their punch!
Nicole says
October 26, 2013 at 10:11 pmI tried this but used ground beef. It was EXCELLENT. This will be a regular dinner for us now! Thanks for the recipe!!
Jacquie says
January 2, 2014 at 8:36 amMade this last night with AAG’s coconut flour tortillas, except we used grass fed ground beef instead of the seafood. I doubled the sauce and tortillas to freeze some for later! I used chipotle chili pepper and it was REALLY spicy, so I just added organic tomato paste (two cans for a doubled recipe), which not only thickened the sauce a little, but dulled down the spice. Amazing served with avocado! Thanks for the recipe!
Peter says
January 27, 2014 at 6:15 pmI’m sorry, but I did everything exactly like it was in the recipe and the fish (Red Snapper) turned out very bland. The sauce itself is great but I didn’t season the fish, as per the recipe (thinking the sauce would do the job) and right now I think our dinner will be ruined. My spices are very fresh. So there HAS TO be a step to properly season the fish. I saw another comment about the dish turning out bland, and I second that – very disappointing.
Andi says
September 14, 2014 at 2:51 pmI just made this using fresh spices from Sprouts and it tasted like a tomato sauce with a little bit of a kick. Nothing like enchilada sauce if you are used to the real thing. I then doubled the spices and tried to fix it to taste like a normal enchilada sauce and it was a no go. I think it has to do with starting with the raw tomato puree.
Lara says
September 26, 2014 at 7:35 pmI made this tonight with chicken. Wow – it was so good. Not bland at all. The tomatoes were fine – the sauce is cooked, after all. My Mexican husband said it was like chicken mole (high praise from him) and my son ate and ate. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Sarah says
September 27, 2014 at 9:13 amSo glad you enjoyed it!!!