My favorite chicken enchilada recipe is easy to make, customizable with your favorite fillings, and made with my favorite homemade enchilada sauce. It’s always a crowd fave, and perfect for meal prep and freezing too!
Say hello to my all-time favorite chicken enchiladas. ♡
This chicken enchilada recipe was actually one of the first-ever posts that I shared here on Gimme Some Oven back in 2009. And now, more than a decade later, it still continues to be one of the recipes I make most often for dinner here in our house — and one of the recipes that our readers make most often too! I’m so happy you all continue to enjoy it!
For those of you who are new to this recipe, these Tex-Mex style chicken enchiladas are easy to make with a basic filling of sautéed chicken, green chiles, onions, beans and shredded cheese. Then they are rolled up in your choice of either flour or corn tortillas, baked until hot and melty, and sprinkled with lots of fresh toppings. But I have to say that the real magic of this recipe lies in the homemade red enchilada sauce that brings it all together. This red enchilada sauce only requires a few extra minutes of prep time, but the flavor that it adds to these enchiladas is major. Sooo much better than the canned stuff!
I’m also a big fan of these homemade chicken enchiladas because they are easy to make ahead (perfect for meal prep), the leftovers freeze beautifully (which is why I usually go ahead and make a double batch while I’m at it), and they are also a wonderful meal to pack up and bring to friends who may be in need of some cozy comfort food (another good reason to make and freeze a second batch ♡). This recipe can also easily be adapted to be gluten-free or customized with your choice of protein, beans or cheese. And if you’d really like to make the prep quick and easy, I’ve included a few additional time-saving shortcuts below too.
Bottom line, these chicken enchiladas have been one of my go-to recipes for years and years, and they are always a hit when we serve them to friends and family. So if you have yet to give this recipe a try, I say that it’s time we make some enchiladas together!
Chicken Enchilada Recipe | 1-Minute Video
The History of Enchiladas
We have the rich food traditions of Mexico to thank for bringing enchiladas to the world. ♡ Historians believe that the origins of enchiladas actually date back to Aztec times, when the tradition of rolling or folding food into corn tortillas is believed to have begun. (The word enchilada is derived from the Spanish verb enchilar, which means “to season with chili.”)
In the centuries and decades since, dozens of different varieties of enchiladas have become traditional in different regions around Mexico, as well as in various nearby countries in Latin America (such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala). And of course, they have also become wildly popular in the United States as well, especially in New Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine.
This particular chicken enchilada recipe probably most closely aligns with Tex-Mex and New Mexican styles of enchiladas, especially being made with flour tortillas (although you are welcome to use corn tortillas), filled with green chiles and soft shredded cheese, and made with a tomato-free red chile sauce. But if you are looking to try authentic Mexican-style chicken enchiladas, I would encourage you to consider this traditional recipe. So many delicious enchilada recipes to try!
Chicken Enchilada Ingredients
Before we get to the full recipe below for how to make chicken enchiladas, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this easy chicken enchilada recipe…
- Chicken: I typically sauté diced boneless skinless chicken breasts for the enchilada filling. But feel free to use pre-cooked chicken (such as a shredded rotisserie or any leftover diced/shredded baked chicken) if you would like to save some prep time.
- Onion and diced green chiles: White, yellow or red onion will work for the enchilada filling sauté. Then I always like to add in a can of diced green chiles too for extra flavor.
- Beans: I typically add a can of black beans or pinto beans to the filling for extra protein. But white beans, lentils or chickpeas would also work well here.
- Tortillas: Corn tortillas are traditionally used in Mexican-style enchiladas, but I typically use flour tortillas (which are more commonly used in Tex-Mex and American-style enchiladas) since they are much easier to roll. That said, just about any style of tortillas will work in this recipe.
- Cheese: I most often use either Asadero, Pepper Jack, or a Mexican-blend of shredded cheese for these enchiladas. But feel free to use any type of shredded cheese that you love best.
- Toppings: When it comes to enchiladas, I vote the more toppings the merrier! Any combination of chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, diced red onion (or quick pickled red onions), sliced radishes, fresh or pickled jalapeños, sour cream or Mexican crema, and/or extra cheese would be delicious!
- Enchilada sauce: Finally, you can use any type of enchilada sauce that you prefer for this recipe, but I highly recommend using my favorite homemade enchilada sauce! It only takes a few extra minutes to prep and can simmer on the stovetop while you prepare the rest of the enchiladas. It’s made with simple ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry (oil, flour, a handful of spices, and chicken stock). But most importantly, it’s incredibly delicious and tastes a million times better than the store-bought canned stuff. Thousands of our readers have made and loved it over the years, so I highly recommend giving it a try!
Chicken Enchilada Recipe Variations
As I mentioned above, this chicken enchilada recipe is incredibly flexible, so please feel free to customize it however you would like! For example, feel free to…
- Use corn tortillas: To make Mexican-style enchiladas, use corn tortillas (homemade or store-bought) in place of flour tortillas. Since corn tortillas are typically smaller, you will likely need to use nearly double the quantity of tortillas. (Just arrange them in the pan however you’d like.) Then to bring out that toasty corn flavor and prevent the corn tortillas from tearing, I recommend either flash-frying the tortillas for about 10 seconds per side in a skillet that has been lightly drizzled with oil. Or alternately, you can just dip the tortillas briefly in the warm enchilada sauce before rolling them up.
- Use green enchilada sauce: Instead of red enchilada sauce, try making green chicken enchiladas with my homemade green enchilada sauce recipe. It’s also very simple to make and brings the most delicious savory green chile flavor to this dish.
- Use a different protein: I most often make these enchiladas with chicken, but they would also be delicious with ground or shredded beef, shredded pork (especially carnitas), shrimp, or any other protein that you prefer.
- Use different beans: As I mentioned above, white beans, lentils or chickpeas would also work well here in place of pinto or black beans.
- Make vegetarian enchiladas: To make these vegetarian enchiladas, simply omit the chicken and replace it with veggies (such as roasted cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, etc), extra beans, or any other vegetarian fillings you prefer. To make vegan enchiladas, use a vegetarian filling as well as vegan cheese.
- Make gluten-free enchiladas: To make gluten-free enchiladas, use gluten-free corn or flour tortillas. And also be sure to use a 1-for-1 gluten-free flour blend (in place of all-purpose flour) in the homemade enchilada sauce recipe.
What To Serve With Chicken Enchiladas
Looking for some recommendations for side dishes to round out your meal? Feel free to check out our Mexican recipe archives for inspiration, or consider some of these favorite recipes…
- Salad: Everyday Mexican Salad or Mexican Caesar Salad
- Chips and Dip: Tortillas Chips and Favorite (Red) Salsa, Salsa Verde, Guacamole or Elote Dip
- Drinks: Margaritas or Watermelon-Lime Mocktails
- Dessert: Sopapillas
More Favorite Enchilada Recipes
Looking for more awesome enchilada recipes to try? Here are a few of my faves…
- Mole Enchiladas
- Beef Enchiladas
- Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas
- Breakfast Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into small 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 3 cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese
- 1 batch red enchilada sauce
- optional toppings: fresh cilantro, chopped red onions, diced avocado, sour cream, and/or crumbled cotija cheese
Instructions
- Prep oven and enchilada sauce. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare your enchilada sauce.
- Sauté the filling mixture. In large sauté pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced chicken and green chiles, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté the mixture for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add in the beans and stir until evenly combined. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Assemble the enchiladas. To assemble the enchiladas, set up an assembly line including: tortillas, enchilada sauce, chicken mixture, and cheese. Lay out a tortilla, and spread two tablespoons of sauce over the surface of the tortilla. Add a generous spoonful of the chicken mixture in a line down the center of the tortilla, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Roll up tortilla and place in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Assemble the remaining enchiladas. Then spread any remaining sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas, followed by any extra cheese.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, until the enchiladas are cooked through and the tortillas are slightly crispy on the outside. Transfer the baking dish to a wire baking rack.
- Serve. Serve the enchiladas immediately while they're nice and hot and melty, garnished with lots of fresh toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This is an excellent recipe. First time I made it I did as you did with the chicken. I just finished another batch except I used beef with onion, bell pepper, jalepeno, and the green chilis. The sauce recipe is great as well. Canned sauce has always seemed pretty bland to me.
Thank you, we’re so glad you enjoy it!
Can this recipe be made gluten-free with corn tortillas?
Hi Melodi! Yes, you could definitely use corn tortillas for this. We hope you enjoy!
I just made this with canned enchilada sauce. It was delicious. I like the idea of making my own sauce and will next time. I would also crisp up the tortillas since they get soggy. But this is a great recipe.
Awesome, thanks for trying the recipe, Theresa!
The sauce is unbelievably good! Love that does not have the tomato sauce. Tastes like the authentic sauce one gets in a Mexican restaurant. Will be using it on your chicken enchiladas later for dinner. Agree with another post that you could eat the sauce right out of the bowl. Wonder if it would work on nochos and cheese?
So glad you like the sauce! And yep, I’ve used it on nachos here! https://axis-sanctum.live/chicken-enchilada-nachos-recipe/%3C/p%3E
My family loves these. Really hits the perfect note, plus it is quick and easy. I make my own chili powder using Alton Brown’s recipe, and usually a homemade chicken broth.
We’re so glad to hear that, Helen! :)
This is a good recipe for chicken enchiladas. Not the best I’ve had, but good. I dont use flour tortillas for enchiladas, so I substitute corn because I like them better for this dish and you will never find a flour tortilla enchilada anywhere in Mexico…they just don’t do that. Its considered a huge no no, but I think if that’s what you like, then that’s what you should do.
I lightly toast both sides of the tortillas on my comal, or cast iron skillet if you don’t have one, until they looked slightly charred and bubble up a little, which adds tons of flavor. You can fry them in a little bit of oil if you want but it’s really not necessary if you don’t want the extra calories. Then I dip them in the enchilada sauce before filling and rolling them. I’m also not a huge fan of enchilada sauce make from only chili powder so after dry toasting the chili powder and flour in my skillet for a few minutes, I add a can of tomato sauce, then add the chicken stock and seasonings. I let that simmer for about 20 minutes or so until it thickens to the desired consistency. This is a personal preference but I really feel it makes a better sauce and I get tons of compliments whenever I make it. I also love to garnish the top of each enchilada with a dollop of sour cream and sliced fresh green onions after they’re baked and before serving. Again, not traditional but oh, so good!
We appreciate your feedback, Vickie, and we like your suggestion of dry toasting the chili powder!
Have you tried making ahead and keeping refrigerated until next day? or make ahead and feezing?
Hi Sharon! We haven’t, but we think that would be fine for most of the day, but any longer and it might get soggy or dried out. For freezing, they can either be baked and then frozen once cooled, or assembled, (unbaked), then frozen and baked later. If you’re freezing them after assembling, just leave off the sauce and cheese that go on top. If you bake these and then freeze them (again, just make sure they’ve cooled completely before popping them into the freezer), top with the sauce and cheese, and bake (covered) for about 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 minutes (or until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown). We hope this is helpful!
Sorry for the last email,my computer is giving me major issues I would like to print these two recipes but can’t find the print button.Would you point me in the right direction please…….thank-you
:)
Hi Delcie — if you scroll down to the recipe box, you’ll see a little “print” icon right underneath the small, round photo of the recipe (in the upper righthand corner of the recipe box).
I’ve used this several times and I appreciate it. I actually boil my bone in chicken breasts in seasoned water and then shred it and use that broth for the sauce. If I need to, I add a bit of bouillon and then I have fresh and moist chicken and no boxed broth. I appreciate this because real enchilada sauce shouldn’t use tomato sauce. Thank you so much!
Thanks, Sayuri — we’re glad you enjoy the sauce and the enchiladas! :)
I made these tonight but made a couple of changes. I also increased the recipe as I am feeding a family of 8. I put six chicken breast in a crockpot. I poured some salsa and green chilis on top. I cooked them on high for two hours. The chicken remains moist and a fork shreds the meat flawlessly. I then add a can of cream of chicken to add flavor and let the chicken sit in the crockpot on warm for 10 minutes. I put some enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish and formed my enchiladas and placed them in the pan. I omitted the black beans, and I also used Monterrey jack cheese instead as it goes perfect with chicken. I put a liberal amount of enchilada sauce and cheese on top. I also then topped them with a little cilantro and a small bit of mint. I also cooked them at 300° for 25 minutes, and it allowed the tortillas to absorb the enchilada sauce without the ends of the tortillas being dry. All six of my children and my husband devoured two full pans of them. I also made homemade Mexican rice with corn to go on the side. A simple and tasty meal, that is quick to make.
Thanks for sharing with us, Lyndsey — we think your change sound great and we’re glad you and your family enjoyed these!