This recipe for easy chicken enchiladas uses rotisserie chicken for a delicious Mexican dinner. Large enough to make two pans and is perfect for leftovers, and freezes well.
Every time we go out for Mexican, I order chicken enchiladas. It's also one of my favorite make-ahead meals at home. So today I'm sharing my easy chicken enchilada recipe. It makes enough for two pans, so you can freeze one for later, so there's always plenty of leftovers.
More Great Mexican Recipes: Chicken and Black Bean Casserole.....Southwest Rice & Black Bean Casserole.....Spinach Enchiladas.....Stacked Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- Flour tortillas
- Red enchilada sauce
- Salsa
- Diced green chilies
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese
- Rotisserie chicken meat
Making Chicken Enchiladas
The original recipe came from my sister and is extremely adaptable. It's a double recipe but you can easily make just one pan. If you do make two you can freeze one, however, like many things, fresh is best.
Step 1. Shred the chicken and place it into a large mixing bowl. Then add the diced chiles, salsa, and 1.5 bags of cheese. (3 cups)
Step 2. Coat your pan(s) (9x 13 inch) with a small can of enchilada sauce to prevent them from sticking. Pour any remaining sauce into the chicken mixture.
Step 3. Spoon the chicken mixture into the middle of a tortilla, roll the sides, and place seam side down in the pan.
Step 4. Once both pans are filled, pour the large can of enchilada sauce over top, making sure to coat all areas of the tortillas.
Step 5. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.
Step 6. Loosely cover with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 additional minutes.
Chicken Enchiladas Adaptations & Substitutions
The original recipe came from my sister and is extremely adaptable.
- Sometimes I make a couple with just cheese and salsa. Adapt it to your heat tolerance when purchasing the salsa and the enchilada sauce.
- You can substitute the chicken with refried beans for the vegetarian option.
- This one uses red enchilada sauce, but you could substitute green enchilada sauce.
- You can vary the type of cheese you want to use. I like the Mexican blends, but you can use only cheddar, Monterey Jack, or any of the Mexican cheeses now available, like Cojito or Queso Fresco in the market.
- Toppings can also vary from lettuce, tomato, and sour cream, to cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno slices, and guacamole.
- The key is buying a rotisserie chicken. For a few dollars, you have all the chicken you need to make about 16 enchiladas. You could also just buy some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and quickly cook them in a pot of water with some salt and pepper. Then once it cools, shred it by hand.
- I typically use flour tortillas, however, using corn tortillas would work well too.
Affordable, delicious, and easy to make. If you love Mexican flavors and are not already making enchiladas, you have to try this recipe.
Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 - 8 count tortillas packages flour or corn
- 1 - 10 oz can enchilada sauce
- 1 -20 oz can enchilada sauce
- 1 15 oz jar of salsa
- 2 - 7 oz cans of diced green chiles
- 2 - 8 oz bags of shredded cheese 4 cups total, Mexican or cheddar
- 1 whole cooked rotisserie chicken
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Shred chicken into a large bowl.
- Add chilies, salsa, and 1 1/2 bags or 3 cups of cheese to the shredded chicken.
- Mix well
- Prepare 2 9x13 baking pans by coating them with the small can of sauce and pouring any remaining sauce into the chicken mixture.
- Spoon chicken mixture into the middle of the tortilla, roll sides, and place seam side down in the baking dish.
- Once both pans are filled pour the large can of enchilada sauce over top making sure to coat all areas of the tortillas.
- Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Loosely cover with foil and bake for 30 mins.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 mins.
- Serve with chopped tomatoes, sour cream, shredded lettuce, and any other ingredients you like such as guacamole, jalapenos, pico de gallo and chopped black olives.
- Once cool cover one of the pans and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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