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Easy Chicken Enchiladas
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Rich, tasty and made in under an hour

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy chicken enchiladas is a dish that will quickly become one of your favorites. Enchiladas originate from Mexico and are super delicious and easy to make.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas
Easy Chicken Enchiladas, yum. Say hello to your new favorite lunch/dinner. All the kidding aside, these chicken enchiladas are best served warm. Warm flour (or corn) tortilla, filled with chicken, beans, corn, and a rich salsa, topped with melted cheese and parsley (or coriander). It’s SO GOOD you guys. If you love Mexican flavors, I am talking salsa, guacamole, tortillas, then you will love this one too, for sure. When you gently remove a baking dish, filled with these freshly baked enchiladas from your oven, your whole kitchen smells incredible. The aroma of baked beans, tomato salsa and spices like allspice, coriander, the cayenne paper quickly fill your home. Then you reach for your spatula, cut the corners of your enchilada that you just cannot wait to eat. You get super excited to see that melted cheese on top and the beautiful golden brown top of the tortilla. You can feel the enchilada being baked and rich inside. Now all you have to do is get that fork and eat it. This lovely enchilada dish is made in just 50 minutes and it makes not only a great midweek lunch/dinner but a perfect weekend lunch/dinner and a delicious on the go lunch too. We usually serve one enchilada per person, because these are really rich and tasty, but you can, of course, serve more. Let's jump into the recipe.

 

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

How do you make chicken enchiladas?

Tomato - Enchiladas Sauce - In this recipe, we combined diced canned tomatoes with a simple enchiladas sauce (we often use taco sauce or fajitas sauce too). That way you get a nice, fresh, light tomato-enchilada sauce with tomatoes here and there to add a bit of texture, yet still having that amazing Mexican flavors in the sauce.

Beans - It’s best to use red beans or Black Garbanzo Beans because they stay solid while baking, which makes them great for this chicken enchiladas recipe.

Sweet corn - Not only do they bring that beautiful sunny yellow color to the dish, but sweet corn also adds the sweetness to this chicken enchilada casserole. Absolutely delicious, wouldn’t recommend not adding it.

Chicken - You can actually use any part of the chicken in this recipe. We already tested this recipe with chicken breasts, legs and thighs and the result for this chicken recipe was equally delicious. It just comes down to your preference and taste. You can also use any leftover chicken or leftover turkey in this recipe as well. 

Jalapeño -  Jalapeño pepper, or to be more exact Jalapeño chili pepper is green and about medium-sized and medium hot. Pickled Jalapeños aren’t as hot and they compliment this dish beautifully, however you can leave them out or use any other fresh/pickled chilis.

Cheese - Mmm, if there’s one thing I wouldn’t leave out in these cheese enchiladas, I mean chicken enchiladas recipe is the cheese. If possible, it is good to use a mixture of cheddar, mozzarella, and gouda, just make sure that the cheese you choose melts well.

Tortillas - You can either use flour tortillas or corn tortillas. Store-bought or homemade. We have a delicious flour tortilla recipe on the blog as well.

Parsley / Cilantro - Adds freshness to this dish. You can either use fresh parsley or fresh coriander/cilantro. You can also sprinkle the baked enchiladas with scallions, spring onion or onion to add that extra freshness.

Greek Yogurt - You can optionally serve your enchiladas with a tablespoon of greek or any other plain yogurt. It adds lightness and a bit more freshness and it also reduces the spiciness from the chilis if used.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Can we make these ahead? Are these freezer meal? 

Yeees. You can. These enchiladas are very good for freezing. You can either make the chicken filling ahead of time, pack it in freezer bags and freeze for up to a month, or you can make the whole chicken enchiladas ahead of time and freeze them for a shorter period of time. Then bake and serve, it’s that easy.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Reheating the enchiladas

Enchiladas are a great lunch on the go too. Perfect to take with you to the office or even on a trip, because you can eat them cold, or you can heat them up if that’s a possibility. That way you can enjoy the lovely flavors of a home cooked meal anywhere.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

 

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Lets get cooking!

ONLY A FEW MOMENTS SPENT IN THE KITCHEN AND YOU WILL HAVE THIS FANTASTIC DISH IN FRONT OF YOU.
  • serves
    4
    people
  • preparation:
    15
    minutes
  • cook:
    15
    minutes
  • bake:
    20
    minutes
  • total time:
    50
    minutes

METHOD

  • chicken

    Cut the chicken breast on small cubes. Add them to a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 tbsp olive oil, stir to combine. Place a non-stick pan over high heat. Add 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and the chicken. Cook for about 4 - 5 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally until is nicely golden brown.

  • Add the vegetables and spices

    Dice the onion, garlic, and pepper. When the chicken is cooked, add the vegetables to the pan. Also add the spices (cumin, allspice, coriander, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper). Reduce the heat and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat your oven to 200 °C / 390 °F.

  • Make the enchiladas filling

    In a bowl mix together enchilada sauce (or taco sauce/fajitas sauce will be good too) and diced tomatoes. Add half of the sauce to the pan with the chicken and save the other half for later. Add chopped jalapeño, corn and beans to the chicken. Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.

  • Make the chicken enchiladas

    Prepare a baking dish (approx. 20 cm x 15 cm / 8-inch x 6-inch). Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of your tomato-enchilada sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, then assemble the tortillas. Spread a tablespoon of tomato-enchilada sauce over each tortilla. Add the beans, chicken mixture and about 25g / 1 oz shredded cheese on top. Roll up tortilla and place in your baking dish. Repeat the process until you make all the enchiladas. Spread the rest of the tomato-enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the rest of the shredded cheese (approx.50g / 2 oz).

  • Bake and Serve

    Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (make sure it is not touching the food) and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 10 minutes at 200 °C / 390 °F, then remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes at 200 °C / 390 °F, so that the cheese is nice and melted. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with chopped parsley or coriander/cilantro. Optionally serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Enjoy.

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