The Best Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Incredible melty Chicken Enchiladas the whole family will love and are never soggy! Made with homemade enchilada sauce, shredded chicken, and melty cheese, these make the perfect Mexican dinner. Includes tips, make ahead, and leftover ideas included.

One thing is for sure…we LOVE Mexican food at our house. Some of our favorites include Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cheesy Taco Stuffed Shells, Mexican Stuffed Potatoes, and Succulent Pork Carnitas, and these easy chicken enchiladas! These are always on our recipe rotation because they taste amazing and are so simple to make for busy weeknights. I can throw them together in a matter of a few minutes or make the filling ahead of time for super-fast, healthy dinner.

The homemade enchilada sauce is what makes it perfect, so don’t skip on making the sauce. It would be hard to have an authentic chicken enchilada recipe without it. So, if you have a craving for fresh Mexican, try it!

What You Will Need for Chicken Enchiladas

I adore this recipe because it’s simple, comforting, and full of flavor. My chicken enchiladas only require a short list of ingredients, but the versatility makes it a perfect recipe to keep in your regular recipe rotation.

I use certain ingredients to short cut the process of making enchiladas.

Shredded Chicken: Those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens you find at your local grocery store are inexpensive and perfect for pulled chicken. You can also sauté or grill your chicken breast, or even use diced canned chicken in a pinch.

Cheese: You may use any cheese you prefer as long as it melts well. I shred blocks of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Colby Jack because it’s cheaper and melts better than pre-shredded.

Tortillas: 8-inch flour tortillas, but whole wheat or any flavor you like works too.

Sour Cream: Full-fat, light, or fat free sour cream will work.

Green Chiles: Mild or hot canned green chilis, depending on your preferred spice level.

Cilantro: Fresh cilantro adds a fresh authentic flavor, but it is completely optional.

Chiles in Adobo Sauce: Use only the liquid if you prefer a mild flavor. Dice the chiles for more heat.

Chicken Broth: I use low sodium broth.

Garlic: Mince the garlic and add them to the sauce. It adds great flavor.

Tomato Sauce: Regular canned tomato sauce is perfect without adding any unnecessary spices.

Spices: Keep it simple with Chili Powder, Cumin, Salt and Pepper. This stuff packs a punch

The Easiest Way to Shred Chicken

Forget shredding all the chicken with forks! I love this method because it literally takes about a minute and the chicken is shredded in small bites that are mostly even.

Shredded chicken can be made a variety of ways. I generally prefer to either grill or sauté the chicken first. Boiling works, but I find that the chicken retains a lot of moisture that this recipe doesn’t need. You can also use a store-bought plain rotisserie chicken for a fast fix too!

Dump the whole, cooked chicken breasts into a kitchen aid or other stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed (2) and mix until the chicken is magically shredded! You can increase the speed after it gets most of the giant chunks.

I let the cooked chicken rest for about 10 minutes after cooking before I shred. This method works on both warm and cold chicken, although warm chicken is easier to shred.

How To Make Amazing Enchilada Sauce

While you can use canned sauce from the store, this flavorful sauce is so easy to make at home with ingredients easily found in your pantry! This homemade sauce is so much more flavorful than the store-bought stuff and much easier to control the heat level.

To make the sauce, heat the butter and minced garlic until melted and fragrant. I know when it’s done when the garlic edges start to brown. Add adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

How To Make Chicken Enchiladas Step By Step

Filling: The star of any enchilada is the filling, and this filling is delicious - and SO easy!  I use an easy shortcut by stirring all the filling ingredients together in one bowl. 

Fill Tortillas:  Add a generous amount of filling (about ½ cup) and place down the center of each tortilla. This makes them about 1 ½ inches thick.

Roll Tortillas:  Bring up one side of the tortilla and fold over the filling. Then roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Since I use 8-inch tortillas, they fit perfectly in a row in a 9×13 inch baking pan!

Mild or Spicy Heat Level

This cheesy chicken enchilada recipe has a kick, but I wouldn’t call it hot or spicy. You can always serve with hot sauce to suit an individual tastes.

If you want more heat, substitute fresh jalapenos or double the amount of chopped green chilis. You can also substitute any fresh diced peppers for the green chilis.

Want less heat? When I make these chicken enchiladas for the kids, I dice poblano peppers up instead of green chilis. I also use mild or medium salsa.

Ideas to Personalize the Recipe

I love these simple and easy enchiladas with chicken and cheese, but you can customize them in SO many different ways:

• Add black beans or refried beans to the filling or on top
• Add pre-cooked white rice to the filling
• Add cotija or farmer’s cheese to the filling or on top
• Top with Mexican White Cheese Sauce (seriously delicious!)
• Add fire roasted tomatoes or red peppers to the filling
• Top with Avocado Crema or Poblano Cream Sauce instead of salsa.
• Add diced veggies like corn or zucchini
• Use corn tortillas instead of flour (make sure to flash fry them!)
• Add hot sauce to your enchiladas after baking. Everyone can customize the heat of their own enchiladas

Serving and Storage Tips

Serve: These enchiladas are amazing on their own, but I sometimes like to serve Mexican rice, Amarillo rice, or refried beans on the side.

I love serving them directly from the oven with the toppings spread over the top like pictured. Makes it super easy (and mouthwatering!) That way everyone can help themselves.

Toppings: You can add additional toppings to suit your own personal tastes. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

Diced Tomatoes
Canned Sliced Jalapenos
Mexican White Sauce (see above)
Sliced Olives
Sliced Green Onions
Red Onions
Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Diced Avocado
Lettuce (Iceberg is great on Red Sauce Enchiladas)

What to do with Leftovers

Store: Leftovers are really good! If I know there will be leftovers, I serve the toppings and salsa on the side or pull what I know will be leftovers. It keeps them fresher and easier to reheat in the microwave. For reheating, I don’t want to heat toppings like sour cream or cilantro. They are good for 4-5 days.

Reheat: This easy Chicken Enchilada recipe keeps and reheats well both in the oven and in the microwave.

• OVEN:  Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
• MICROWAVE:  You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave by transferring to a microwave safe plate and microwaving for 90 seconds.  Continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until heated through.

Freeze: While I often freeze shredded chicken, I have not personally frozen these after assembly because of the sour cream component in the filling. I also worry that the sauce components might make them soggy as they thaw.

Can Chicken Enchiladas be made ahead of time?

Yes! These easy chicken enchiladas are wonderful as a make ahead dinner to pop in the oven! To make ahead, assemble the enchiladas according to directions (without the sauce poured over top), cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

You can bake the enchiladas straight from the refrigerator and increase the baking time by approximately 10 minutes or until they are hot and bubbly and completely heated through.

If you don’t want to assemble ahead of time, there are still a few ways to cut down on time when the family is hungry.

• Shred chicken: Either shred rotisserie chicken, thaw pre-shredded chicken, or make your own shredded chicken. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Make filling: Mix all of the filling ingredients up to make assembly a snap!
• Make the Enchilada Sauce: Make the sauce ahead of time and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Frequently asked questions

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