Over the weekend, I went to the mercado and was really taken aback by one particular stand that had the most beautiful tomatoes, literally an enormous pile of them. They were incredibly ripe and fragrant. You could smell them as you walking down the main hall.
I hadn’t planned on buying tomatoes that day, but I couldn’t help it. The market told me I needed to have tomatoes in my life and who am I to disagree with the market?
I am incredibly blessed to live in a place where tomatoes are beautiful and ripe year-round. Sinaloa, a state on the northern Pacific coast is the largest tomato-producing state in Mexico. In 2025, Sinaloa produced nearly 497,000 metric tons of tomatoes, more than any other state, almost 18 percent of Mexico’s total production.
So as I was heading home with my giant bag full of ripe tomatoes, I decided to make entomatadas. It’s an incredibly easy and satisfying dish and all you really need are tomatoes, a little garlic or onion or both, and corn tortillas. Entomatadas are very similar to enchiladas, they can be filled or not and rolled or folded like a taco. They can be baked or not, it’s all up to the cook.
Think about the word enchilada. It comes from enchilar, which means to season with chile. The prefix en- can mean “in” or “on,” so an enchilada is, essentially, something covered in chile. And most of the time, that something is a tortilla.
Similarly, enfrijolar means to cover in beans so enfrijoladas are tortillas covered in a bean purée. Enmoladas, from enmolar are tortillas covered in mole. And entomatadas are tortillas covered in a tomato sauce. You get the picture.
The exact origin of entomatadas isn’t known. The oldest recipe I was able to find is from late-19th-century Jalisco and it’s tomato, salt, and lightly fried tortillas. You fry the tortillas to soften them enough to roll or fold but more importantly, the hot oil seals the sides of the tortilla and prevents it from disintegrating when dipped in or baked in salsa.
Most of the time, the salsa for entomatadas has no chile added. But some cooks, myself included, like the extra flavor and kick. There are many common regional versions that use serranos or chiles de agua. I prefer chile de árbol.
If all you have are off-season tomatoes, or if it’s the middle of winter, canned tomatoes is definitely the way to go. Whole, diced, or fire-roasted diced are all great options.
As for herbs, I personally don’t think you need any, especially now. The tomato should be front and center. If you have a delicious, ripe bounty of tomatoes, nothing should get in their way.
That said, if you decide to fill them, the most common fillings are cheese, cheese and onions, or chicken. For me, it’s all about mood. Today, I was in a shredded chicken mood. I put two teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder in the tomato salsa, dipped the tortillas in the salsa, added a little shredded rotisserie chicken, folded them, topped them with a little more salsa, then drizzled crema over the top and finished them with queso fresco.
Delicious.
But then other days, all I want is cheese, a tortilla, and the tomato salsa. Also perfectly scrumptious.
It’s a super-easy weeknight dinner and a very satisfying way to use gorgeous peak-season tomatoes.
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Rick Martínez
James Beard Award winner, Mexican cookbook author, and creator of Sazón, my weekly Mexican cooking newsletter with Mexican recipes, cooking techniques, original dishes, and deep-dive guides from my life in Mexico.
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