Find Recipe For Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas made from scratch – juicy, cheesy and full of flavour! There’s a few components to homemade enchiladas, but it is absolutely worth the effort with flavour you can never achieve with packet spice mixes and bottled enchilada sauce.

The foundation of this recipe is a double duty Enchilada Spice Mix that flavours the homemade Enchilada Sauce and also seasons the chicken filling.

And I want the sauce to actually still be there when it comes out of the oven, not just a dried up crusty layer of red.

Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

Used in the Enchilada Sauce as well as seasoning the chicken filling. Nothing fancy here, just a generous dose of everyday spices!

Enchilada Sauce is thickened with flour and flavoured with chicken stock/broth and Enchilada spices. A simple 5 minute mix and simmer job. And light years better than store bought – see reader feedback on Beef Enchiladas which uses the same sauce!

We coat the chicken in the homemade Enchilada Spice Mix, thensear for maximum flavour. The smell when it hits the pan is wickedly good!

Red Chili Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

The Filling base starts with sautéed garlic and onion (flavour, flavour, flavour), then we mix in refriedbeans, stir in corn and the chopped chicken.As it simmers away, the generous amount of seasoning on the chicken will seep into the sauce, flavouring it with all those tasty Enchilada flavours!

Also, I can never resist adding a little (or big 😂) sprinkle of cheese before rolling it up! But if you’re watching your calories, feel free to skip it. 🙂

TIP: Add a little smear of sauce in the pan so the enchiladas don’t slip and slide as you place them in.🙌🏻

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Pop it in the oven to bake for just 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the whole thing is bubbly and golden….

The best way to freeze enchiladas is to keep the sauce separate. This is because the sauce soaks into the tortillas, making it excessively soggy AND leaving you with less sauce.

To freeze fully assembled chicken enchiladas, cool the sauce and the rolled up enchiladas completely, THEN assemble. Reason: Tortillas absorb less sauce when both are cold.

Green Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Bake from frozen – The enchiladas can be baked from frozen. If assembled separately, I thaw the sauce (quick zap in the microwave does the trick), pour it over the frozen enchiladas sprinkle with cheese then pop it in the oven.

If you want to go all out, serve your Enchiladas with sour cream, Guacamoleor Avocado Sauce, and/or Pico de Gallo (tomato salsa) to dollop on top.

Pico de Gallo is also a good side dish to add to more vegetables into the meal. Another firm favourite is Cucumber Salad with Herb & Garlic Dressing – it’s terrifically refreshing so it’s a great contrast to the cosy cheesy Enchilada flavours! Otherwise, try this Chipotle Lime Roasted Cauliflower – very on theme with Mexican-esque flavours.

Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Recipe video above. If you like your enchiladas plump, juicy, saucy and full of flavour, this is the recipe for you! Homemade from scratch, the foundation of this recipe is a double duty Enchilada Spice mix.

1. Tortillas -I use flour tortillas as you can buy large ones that are pliable and easy to roll up without having to warm up.

If you use corn or if the flour tortillas are a bit stiff, just warm them up slightly to make them pliable (10 seconds in the microwave does the trick).

Easy Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas

3. Refried beans - don't judge! It's a bit of a secret ingredient here, makes the burrito filling juicy and holds it together, rather than dry and crumbly (which too many burritos are!)

It's essentially just mashed/pureed beans that are a staple in Mexican/Tex-Mex cooking. Sold in the Mexican section of grocery stores, also sometimes in the canned vegetables section.

BEST way to freeze or refrigerate -keep sauce separate, then pour over and sprinkle with cheese just prior to baking. (Reason: tortillas absorb sauce) Thaw sauce then assemble (don't forget cheese!). Can bake from frozen (below).

Chicken Enchiladas (with Homemade Enchilada Sauce)

Fully assemble ahead -best way is to fully cool the sauce and the rolled up enchiladas (place them in the pan). THEn assemble. (Tortillas absorb far less sauce when both are cold). 95% as good as keeping separate.

Bake from frozen - The enchiladas can be baked from frozen. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake 20 minutes at 180°C/350°F.

Calories: 471 cal (24%) Carbohydrates: 35 g (12%) Protein: 32 g (64%) Fat: 22 g (34%) Saturated Fat: 9 g (56%) Cholesterol: 81 mg (27%) Sodium: 1152 mg (50%) Potassium: 716 mg (20%) Fiber: 4 g (17%) Sugar: 6 g (7%) Vitamin A: 1192 IU (24%) Vitamin C: 29 mg (35%) Calcium: 300 mg (30%) Iron: 3 mg (17%)

Best Weeknight Tex Mex Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Karma in action after I teased Dozer by showing him a Strawberry Custard Tart I made…..(scroll down to see what happened 😭)

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!My favorite chicken enchilada recipe is easy to make, customizable with your favorite fillings, and made with my favorite homemade enchilada sauce. It’s always a crowd fave, and perfect for meal prep and freezing too!

This chicken enchilada recipe was actually one of the first-ever posts that I shared here on Gimme Some Oven back in 2009. And now, more than a decade later, it still continues to be one of the recipes I make most often for dinner here in our house — and one of the recipes that our readers make most often too! I’m so happy you all continue to enjoy it!

Amazing Chicken Enchiladas

For those of you who are new to this recipe, these Tex-Mex style chicken enchiladas are easy to make with a basic filling of sautéed chicken, green chiles, onions, beans and shredded cheese. Then they are rolled up in your choice of either flour or corn tortillas, baked until hot and melty, and sprinkled with lots of fresh toppings. But I have to say that the real magic of this recipe lies in the homemade red enchilada sauce that brings it all together. This red enchilada sauce only requires a few extra minutes of prep time, but the flavor that it adds to these enchiladas is major. Sooo much better than the canned stuff!

I’m also a big fan of these homemade chicken enchiladas because they are easy to make ahead (perfect for meal prep), the leftovers freeze beautifully (which is why I usually go ahead and make a double batch while I’m at it), and they are also a wonderful meal to pack up and bring to friends who may be in need of some cozy comfort food (another good reason to make and freeze a second batch ♡). This recipe can also easily be adapted to be gluten-free or customized with your choice of protein, beans or cheese. And if you’d

Bottom line, these chicken enchiladas have been one of my go-to recipes for years and years, and they are always a hit when we serve them to friends and family. So if you have yet to give this recipe a try, I say that it’s time we make some enchiladas together!

Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

We have the rich food traditions of Mexico to thank for bringing enchiladas to the world. ♡ Historians believe that the origins of enchiladas actually date back to Aztec times, when the tradition of rolling or folding food into corn tortillas is believed to have begun. (The word

In the centuries and decades since, dozens of different varieties of enchiladas have become traditional in different regions around Mexico, as well as in various nearby countries in Latin America (such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala). And of course, they have also become wildly popular in the United States as well, especially in New Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine.

This particular chicken enchilada recipe probably most closely aligns with Tex-Mex and New Mexican styles of enchiladas, especially being made with flour tortillas (although you are welcome to use corn tortillas), filled with green chiles and soft shredded cheese, and made with a tomato-free red chile sauce. But if you are looking to try authentic Mexican-style chicken enchiladas, I would encourage you to consider this traditional recipe. So many delicious enchilada recipes to try!

The Best Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Before we get to the full recipe below for how to make chicken enchiladas, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this easy chicken enchilada recipe…

As I mentioned above, this chicken enchilada recipe is incredibly flexible, so please feel free to customize it however you would like! For example, feel free to…

Looking for some recommendations for side dishes to round out your meal? Feel free to check out our Mexican recipe archives for inspiration, or consider some of these favorite recipes…

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas With Rotisserie Chicken

Storage instructions: Leftover (cooked) enchiladas can be transferred to a sealed container and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Make ahead instructions. If you would like to make a pan of enchiladas in advance, follow the recipe instructions through step 3 (assembling the enchiladas). Wrap the pan