Are you in search of something cheesy, hearty and filling? If so, then this is your dish! These Chicken Enchiladas meet all three of these qualities. They are pretty cheesy, very hearty and equally filling. Not to mention, they are extremely DELICIOUS! I make these Chicken Enchiladas at least once a month and whenever I make them they bring so much joy to my household and our dinner table. It is not hard work to make these and it only takes up to about 30 minutes of your time of total preparation and cooking. Trust me, once you take a bite of one of these enchiladas, you will know that it was well worth the prep.
Typically when I make Chicken Enchiladas, I make them with either a red sauce or a green chili sauce (salsa verde). I prefer the red sauce to the green sauce, so that is what I am using for this recipe.
Chicken Enchiladas
Course: DinnerCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes20
minutesIngredients
- For the Enchilada Sauce:
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/4 teaspoon of each (ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika and salt)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
- For the Enchiladas:
2 large chicken breasts, fully cooked and shredded
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
1 whole bell pepper (any color), diced
16 ounces black beans
1/2 cup Pico de Gallo
¼ teaspoon of each (ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika and salt)
6 large flour tortillas
1 ½ cups shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
9×13 inch pan
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F/177° C.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sauté the bell pepper for about 5 minutes.
- While the bell pepper cooks, make the enchilada sauce in a bowl by combining the tomato sauce, vegetable oil, spices, sugar, water and salt.
- Go back to the bell pepper and turn off the heat. Add shredded chicken, black beans, pico de gallo, spices and a tablespoon of the enchilada sauce and mix.
- Next, spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. (This will ensure the tortillas won’t stick to the pan while baking.)
- Now, assemble the enchiladas by taking a tortilla, adding a sprinkle of cheese in the middle, the enchilada filling and rolling.
- Place enchiladas seam side down in pan. Repeat this process until all enchiladas are rolled.
- Pour enchilada sauce on top of all the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Finally, bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- You may use either cooking spray or enchilada sauce at the bottom of the pan. Both work the same.
- Whole kernel corn also works well with this dish.
- Corn tortillas may be substituted for flour tortillas.
A Chicken Enchilada ready to be rolled
The grocery store sells prepackaged enchilada sauce, but I have so much more fun making my own. This way, I can make more of it and I know exactly what ingredients are being put in it. My easy homemade red enchilada sauce consists of tomato sauce, vegetable, oil, water, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, crushed red pepper, paprika, sugar and salt. See how simple that is? You probably have a lot of those ingredients on hand already!
Next, I use pre cooked and shredded chicken breasts. Here is a tip: if you want to save yourself some time, then simply buy a whole cooked rotisserie chicken from the store and shred it up yourself. You can use either white meat or dark meat. Whatever taste you like the most, use that!
Chicken Enchiladas ready for the oven
The shredded chicken gets heated in the pan with the bell pepper, beans, pico de gallo and seasonings before being placed on the tortilla with some shredded Mexican cheese. The tortilla then gets rolled up, placed seam side down in the pan and the process is repeated until all the mixture and tortillas are used. Then, that homemade sauce we made earlier is ready to be spread on top of all the rolled tortillas and finally topped with a pretty layer of cheese. Into the oven it goes for 15-20 minutes. That is it!
Chicken Enchiladas in the oven
Here is another tip to make your dish taste as delicious as possible: Try everything as you go along. When you make the red sauce, give it a taste to see if it is to your liking. When you make the Chicken Enchilada filling, give that a taste as well. If you find that you need a little more kick, add some extra chili powder. Once you put it in the oven to bake, you cannot change the flavor, so add what pleases you!
As good as these Chicken Enchiladas are when eaten fresh out of the oven, they taste even better a day or two afterward. This is because all the flavors have an even longer time to marinate together.
As long as you follow these steps, use the spices you like and make these Chicken Enchiladas with love and care, this dish will turn out perfectly! You will certainly want to have this at least once a month to bring joy to your household and dinner table like it does to mine.
Enjoy cooking these lovely Chicken Enchiladas and Eating them all the more!
-Madison
