This easy chicken enchiladas recipe is an authentic Mexican food staple. Tender pieces of shredded chicken are rolled in flour tortillas and topped with a homemade enchilada sauce. The casserole is baked until the cheese is hot and melted.
Chicken enchiladas is an easy casserole dish made to feed a crowd. Lean white meat is sauteed, shredded and tossed in bold spices for maximum flavor inside warmed flour tortillas. An authentic enchilada sauce is made with a tomato based sauce, chipotle peppers, chicken broth, and seasonings to coat each serving.
A blend of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses are sprinkled on top, and the dish is baked until the cheese is hot and bubbly. It’s a satisfying meal that can be prepped ahead of time for busy weeknights or made for special celebrations like Cinco De Mayo.
How to make chicken enchiladas
Chicken enchiladas are a baked casserole dish made with four essential components.
- Shredded Chicken: Sauteed chicken breasts are seasoned before and after cooking with a blend of cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, powder, and chili pepper.
- Tortillas: 6-inch round flour tortillas are lightly charred in a pan or over the direct heat of a gas burner for just a few seconds to make them more pliable and add a smoky flavor. Corn tortillas can be used as a gluten-free substitute.
- Enchilada Sauce: It’s simple to make homemade enchilada sauce. Crushed tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, chicken broth, cumin, chipotle chili powder for a smoky and slightly spicy flavor.
- Cheese: A blend of two kinds of cheese, sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack give the right melted consistency.
The heated tortillas get lightly dipped in the enchilada sauce and then filled with chicken. Other ingredients like diced green chilis or cooked corn can also be added for more flavor. The stuffed tortillas are rolled and placed seam side down in a baking dish, so they do not open up when serving.
Just before baking, two cups of cheese are layered on top of the enchiladas. If you want to make this dish ahead of time or make a freezer meal, this is the perfect place to stop. The pan can be covered and refrigerated or frozen until ready to bake and serve.
I’ve found that covering the casserole with foil and baking for about 20 minutes keeps the cheese hot and melted. Cooking without being covered for an extended period dries out the chicken and makes the cheese harder in texture.
These shredded chicken enchiladas are a family-friendly dish that everyone will devour! Serve some toppings on the side like sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, diced avocado or sliced jalapenos for extra heat. Whenever I have leftover roasted chicken, I use it in this dish for an even quicker meal.
More Mexican recipes
Choosing the right cheese
It’s important to select the right type of cheese for casserole type dishes. A higher in moisture firm cheese, like cheddar and Monterey Jack, gives just the right melt consistency. Sharp cheddar has been aged longer and adds more flavor, while Monterey Jack is milder and slightly sweet. The combination works nicely together for the enchiladas. Sprinkle on soft cheese like cotija or harder cheese like Parmesan just before serving.
Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons (2 g) cumin, divided
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) paprika
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon (3 g) black pepper, divided
- 1 ½ pounds (680 g) boneless skinless chicken breast, flatten chicken to even thickness
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil , divided
- 2 teaspoons (3 g) minced garlic
- ¼ cup (82 g) chipotle chilis, canned in adobo sauce
- 1 cup (240 ml) unsalted chicken stock
- 1 cup (240 ml) crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 10 tortillas, flour or corn, 6-inch size
- 4 ounces (117 g) monterey jack cheese, grated
- 4 ounces (117 g) sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 teaspoons (7 g) sliced green onions
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Season each side of the chicken breasts with ½ teaspoon of the spice mixture. Save the additional seasoning mix.
- Heat a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, once hot and shimmering and the chicken to the pan.
- Cook chicken for 7 minutes, then flip over and cook until no longer pink and internal temperature reaches 160 to 165ºF (71 to 74ºC), about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer to a plate and allow to cool.
- Use fingers or two forks to shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Add 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mix and combine until evenly coated.
- In a medium saucepan add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat over medium heat, once hot add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the chipotle chilis and use a spoon to stir and break up into smaller pieces, cook 1 minute.
- Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, chili powder, and chipotle chili powder, stir to combine.
- Bring sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer enchilada sauce to a blender or food processor and process on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed. More chicken broth can be added to thin the consistency if desired.
- Heat tortillas in a pan over medium-high heat or directly over a gas flame for 10 to 15 seconds on each side, to lightly toast and make more pliable.
- Adjust oven rack to the center position. Preheat to 400ºF.
- Lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray or oil.
- Evenly spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Pour ½ cup of enchilda sauce in a shallow bowl large enough to fit the tortillas.
- Lightly dip each side of the tortilla in the sauce.
- Transfer tortilla to a plate and fill the center with about ⅓ cup of chicken. Roll into a cylinder and transfer to the pan.
- Repeat process until 10 enchiladas are rolled and lined up in the pan.
- Evenly spread the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle the monetery jack cheese and cheddar cheese on top of the enchiladas.
- Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Garnish with green onions and chopped cilantro.
Special Equipment
Recipe Video
Notes
- Topping Suggestions: Diced avocado, diced tomatoes, sour cream, or jalapenos.
- 4 cups of shredded roasted or boiled chicken can be used instead of the sauteed chicken.
- MAKE-IT GLUTEN FREE: Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.
This sounds so yummy. I was trying to think of what to make for Cinco de Mayo. Thank you Jessica.
I got you covered Judy!
Could I use shredded rotisserie chicken and season with your recommended seasoning?
That’s what I did. I shredded my chicken and sprinkled the dices and tossed. I then sprinkled 1/4 cup of chicken broth to keep the chicken moist. Worked out beautifully. Best I’ve ever made…not dry and perfect spices.
This was maybe the best enchilada I’ve ever had. The sauce was so good! And, it was quite easy to make from scratch; much better than the canned versions. Absolutely loved it.
Wow, that’s a huge compliment! Thank you for making the recipe Arnal!
I just discovered this via stonegableblog.com. We are having it tonight! It is ready to pop in the oven. I already know it will be good, because of the enchilada sauce. I doubled the batch so I could freeze some for another time! It is so good! I keep eating it with a spoon!
Thanks for a great meal!
You’re welcome, Chris! I love the idea of doubling the sauce and saving it for later 🙂
Nice recipe Jessica…curious to know why you use flour tortillas and not corn?
Thanks Alexis! The flour tortillas are easier to dip and roll, however, I think if you lightly heat corn tortillas they would work well too.
The corn work beautifully and are simple to use. I put sauce on the bottom of my pan. Cook the corn tortillas lightly, dip and completely cover the tortilla. Then place it in the pan, fill with chicken and cheese and simply flap over one side and roll over. Easy peasy and makes the best enchiladas.
Great food photos. It looks so good.
Thank you Maggie!
Can this dish be made then frozen???
Hi Mary- I would make it up to the point just before baking. You could bake then freeze smaller portions and reheat in the microwave.
This recipe was fun to make and was good, but really salty, and I like salty. I’m going to try it with half the salt next time.
Thanks for your feedback Mark! Was the chicken seasoning or sauce too salty? I appreciate your help 🙂
I think the seasoning on the chicken was fine, I tasted some of the chicken after cooking it while preparing the sauce :). I think between the tsp of salt in the sauce and putting the additional tsp of seasoning onto the shredded chicken the salt got overwhelming.
I’m going to tackle the leftovers with some rice and black beans to help spread out the salt 🙂
Ok, thanks Mark! I’ll look into some adjustments in the recipe. Appreciate your feedback!
Making tonight. For me, because everything outside of the tortilla is so “zingy, tasty, and or spicy” I tend to leave the filling less so, for contrast.
Hi Jessica,
This looks good, but I’m a bigger fan of ground beef enchiladas. Would these seasonings be okay to use with ground beef instead of chicken? Or would you suggest a different seasoning mix for beef?
Thank you,
Linda
Hi Linda- I think the seasonings would be great with ground beef too! Just adjust the amount you add to taste.
Wow! I made this recipe for some friends and they LOVED it!
One question though: I’m pretty tame when it comes to spicy food and this was really spicy for my (though my friends thought it was perfect). Is it supposed to be spicy or did I maybe use the wrong chiles?
Hi James- You can remove the chipotle chili powder and chili powder if you’d like to reduce the spiciness. The chipotle is hotter than the chili powder blend.
Hi Jessica,
If I decide to boil chicken, how do I address the seasoning for the chicken?
You could brine or marinate it first for more flavor and juiciness. Or you can add some broth, salt, herbs, onions, bay leaf, or other flavoring ingredients in the boiling liquid.
I booked it, shredded and then sprinkled the spices and tossed. I added 1/4 of the broth to the shredded chicken to keep it moist. Delicious! I make as many as will fit in the pan. Add some cheese in with the chicken too and less on the top.
Looking forward to trying this one. We are big fan of enchiladas at our house and these seem yummy and easy. Thanks.
Very very yummy! Was a great easy dinner
I made this for supper tonight and let me tell you wow wow wow it was awesome. Thank you dear for sharing this with me. Blessing dear
Why can’t the tomato sauce be spread on inside? Messy to dip then fill and roll.
You can definitely pour some sauce on the inside of each enchilada and then on top if that’s easier, good idea!
Delicious recipe! The sauce was easy and wonderfully flavored. The chicken was perfectly seasoned. A huge hit! Would definitely make again!
If you freeze them do you thaw before baking or can you bake from frozen & adjust the baking time?
This was sooooo good. I am convinced I am a terrible cook, but this was really awesome. Maybe there is hope for me yet! Thanks so much.
You rocked it! And yes, there is hope for you, keep trying new recipes and have fun!
Wow. This was SO spicy. I made a second batch leaving out the chili powder and the chipotle powder as recommended in a comment and still neither my kids or I could eat it. Even my husband needed some milk and could barely tolerate the less spicy one. The chicken seasoning is good. Chicken burritos it is!
Hi Cristina- Sorry to hear that the sauce was too spicy for your family. You could also reduce the chipotle chilis if needed. Glad the chicken found a home in some burritos!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I really enjoy making and eating homemade chicken enchiladas. I only made them “homemade” twice before, both with different recipes. The first time turned out better and was made with two different types of dried red chili’s. I like this recipe for the simplicity. I usually use corn tortillas, but for this recipe I’all use a tortilla with a 50/50 blend of corn and flower I’ve seen. This beats making them with canned sauce, however good Las Palmas might be lol. I will definitely make this soon for my family and possibly keep you posted.
So impressed with this recipe. Perfect, made me look like I knew what I was doing! Thank you!
Great job!
I’m so glad I read the comments before cooking my meal. The Chipotle peppers are extremely spicy. I had to triplicate the recipe n used only 3 little peppers and extra broth for the sauce, it still was a bit spicy but delicious! Everyone loved it! Thank you very much for the delicious recipe.
I’ve made this several times. Me and my husband love it, def a keeper! I bake the chicken and then shred it. There is always enough sauce left over for a second time as well. I don’t have Instagram so I can’t show a pic, but it looks delish!!
Wowzers. Made this tonight for dinner and it was so good. I added black beans and corn to the chicken filling. I was concerned about it being too spicy but the sweetness of the corn made it just right. Will definitely be making this again.
Terrific! We always cut salt in half and glad we did – will probably go 1/4 next time. Added corn, chopped green chiles and some black beans – not much so it was still mostly chicken. One question – why all the little boxes by each ingredient and step-by-step? I’m not going to pick up a pen and check each one off. It just clutters the page when you print it. Really liked these enchiladas!
Hi Ivan, glad to hear you liked the recipe! As for the boxes, when viewing online, you can actually click the checkbox and it will automatically strikethrough the entire step, marking it as completed. It’s something I’m testing out to see if people like it.
This is my go to recipe! I make it about three times per week it is a family favorite! I typically add an entire 7oz can of adobo jalapenos to the enchilada sauce only because i’m lazy and don’t want to go hunting for tiny tupperware in the depths of my pantry. But the heat isn’t overwhelming my picky 6 year old still devours dinner. Excellent recipe Jessica! Thanks for making my family think I’m a culinary master!
Thank you for the recipe, these were absolutely delicious. The entire family loved them. Couple days after I made the chicken I made the same thing only I used pulled pork that I had made on my smoker, they were also delicious. I appreciate all the recipes you share, thank you.