If you’ve been following along with our lessons then you would know that in our last post we made classic enchilada sauce. In it, I made the bold claim that it was the BEST damn enchilada sauce recipe ever conceived (boy am I humble). But there’s no point in having such a great enchilada sauce if you don’t have any enchiladas to smother with? Am I right? Thankfully I got you covered because today I’m going to share with you fine folks my recipe for chicken enchiladas.
Now, this particular recipe for chicken enchiladas is one that I have held close to my heart for many years. It’s one of those old recipes where I never made any proper measurement for any of the ingredients. I just knew from making it so many times before that you needed roughly this amount of x & y.
However, I didn’t want to be lazy and just leave you all guessing. So I made sure to measure every single ingredient to the best of my abilities. Is it perfect? No. Should I warn you to still use your best judgment? Yes. But please don’t let any of that stop you from giving this one a go. It’s not difficult to make and is a very forgiving recipe. Just take your time and I guarantee everything will turn out perfect in the end.
Okay enough pep talk, let’s get into making these chicken enchiladas!
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- While this recipe is for chicken enchiladas, you can easily turn these into just about any other type of enchilada that you want. Simply swap out the chicken with pulled beef/pork, for either beef or pork enchiladas. Or you can make it vegetarian-friendly by swapping in some roasted onions and bell peppers. Really you are only bound by what your imagination can come up with.
- Today’s recipe gives the measurements for one set of chicken enchiladas. However, because this is a bit of a process I like to make 3 to 4 times this amount in one sitting and freeze the rest for another day. Just make sure to not put any cheese on top of the frozen batches, and defrost them before baking them in the oven.
- A great side for these chicken enchiladas is our recipe for mayocoba beans. Give em’ a try!
Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes
Servings: 3 people
Ingredients
1 Small boneless skinless chicken breast
9 Corn tortillas
1½ to 2 Cups of enchilada sauce
3 to 4 Cups of shredded cheese, preferably Mexican blend
1 Small white onion, diced
Optional:
1 Cup of Salsa Verde
1 15 oz. Can of black beans (strained of their liquid)
Garnishes:
Head of lettuce, shredded
Slices of radish
Cilantro, minced
Instructions
- Boil and shred the chicken: Place the chicken breast in a pot and cover it with water. Let it boil in the pot for 30 minutes until it is fully cooked.
Then take it out and use two forks to shred it. Set the shredded chicken aside.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Finish prepping the other ingredients so that they are ready for the next step.
- Get out a baking pan that’s at least 6×11 and pour ½ a cup of the enchilada sauce in it. Then tilt the pan so that the enchilada sauce covers the entire bottom of the pan.
- Assemble the enchiladas: Start by warming up the tortillas in your microwave for 30 seconds so that they will be less likely to break/rip when we roll them. Then make the enchiladas one at a time. Start by placing one of the warmed tortillas on a flat surface and sprinkle about a tablespoon or two of the cheese over the surface of the tortilla.
Follow this up with a tablespoon or two of the chicken, a tablespoon of the diced onion, and if you are using them, a tablespoon each of the black beans and the salsa verde.
Finish the enchilada by placing another 1 to 2 tablespoons of cheese on top and roll it up.
Place this enchilada in the sauced baking pan and continue these steps until you have made all 9 enchiladas.
- Bake the enchiladas: Pour another cup of enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and then cover them with aluminum foil.
Place them in your heated oven and let them bake for 15 minutes. Then take the enchiladas out, remove the foil, and add 1½ to 2 cups of cheese over top of the enchiladas (depending on how cheesy you like it).
Finally place the enchiladas back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melted.
- Serve the chicken enchiladas immediately with some shredded lettuce, radishes, and some cilantro. Enjoy!
Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Small boneless skinless chicken breast
- 9 Corn tortillas
- 1½ to 2 Cups of enchilada sauce
- 3 to 4 Cups of shredded cheese preferably Mexican blend
- 1 Small white onion diced
Optional:
- 1 Cup of Salsa Verde
- 1 15 oz. Can of black beans strained of their liquid
Garnishes:
- Head of lettuce shredded
- Slices of radish
- Cilantro minced
Instructions
- Boil and shred the chicken: Place the chicken breast in a pot and cover it with water. Let it boil in the pot for 30 minutes until it is fully cooked. Then take it out and use two forks to shred it. Set the shredded chicken aside.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Finish prepping the other ingredients so that they are ready for the next step.
- Get out a baking pan that’s at least 6×11 and pour ½ a cup of the enchilada sauce in it. Then tilt the pan so that the enchilada sauce covers the entire bottom of the pan.
- Assemble the enchiladas: Start by warming up the tortillas in your microwave for 30 seconds so that they will be less likely to break/rip when we roll them. Then make the enchiladas one at a time. Start by placing one of the warmed tortillas on a flat surface and sprinkle about a tablespoon or two of the cheese over the surface of the tortilla. Follow this up with a tablespoon or two of the chicken, a tablespoon of the diced onion, and if you are using them, a tablespoon each of the black beans and the salsa verde. Finish the enchilada by placing another 1 to 2 tablespoons of cheese on top and roll it up. Place this enchilada in the sauced baking pan and continue these steps until you have made all 9 enchiladas.
- Bake the enchiladas: Pour another cup of enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and then cover them with aluminum foil. Place them in your heated oven and let them bake for 15 minutes. Then take the enchiladas out, remove the foil, and add 1½ to 2 cups of cheese over top of the enchiladas (depending on how cheesy you like it). Finally place the enchiladas back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melted.
- Serve the chicken enchiladas immediately with some shredded lettuce, radishes, and some cilantro. Enjoy!
Inspiration from other blogs
From A Sweet Pea Chef
From Gimme Some Oven
