The Best Chicken Enchilada Recipe (Made With Red Sauce)

I’ve been craving something slightly spicy, cheesy, saucy, but tangy lately that I haven’t had in a while, but couldn’t figure out what my taste buds were craving… I was thinking of Lasagna, and maybe Spicy Baked Spaghetti with cheese, but those weren’t quite it.

Then I thought of Mexican and Italian dishes, which are typically tangy and spicy, and Enchiladas came to mind. Listen, y’all, enchiladas are the bomb, but you have to have an acquired taste for them because they’re not for everybody or everybody’s thing.

They are acidic like most Mexican food, so make sure you have some tums on hand yall. Haha! I have bad acid reflux, so unfortunately, I wasn’t able to have too many of these, but I greatly enjoyed them and know y’all will too, so give this recipe a shot if you love enchiladas like I do.

What to love about this recipe:

• It stretches: One thing I love personally about enchiladas is how much they stretch and what I mean by stretch is how you can feed a lot of people with this dish because of all the ingredients in it and how you can break and slice them up into several pieces.
• Fills you up: When I say they are filling, I am not lying. One thing I notice every time I make enchiladas is how quickly stuffed I become – I rarely go in for seconds, probably because of the tortillas, the meat, the rice, and the beans. That’s a pretty filling combination of ingredients.
• Hearty comfort food: Most casserole dishes are hearty, so this comes as no surprise. Chicken enchiladas will definitely warm you up and comfort you, which is why I think of them as a comfort food perfect for cold winter evenings.

What are chicken enchiladas?

Enchiladas are a Mexican dish made with meat, cheese, rice, beans, and vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, green chiles, and green onions, which are cooked, sautéed, and combined, then wrapped in a flour or corn tortilla.

It’s then placed in a pan, covered with more cheese, and sometimes sour cream and vegetables, and baked for a few minutes. Most resources indicate that enchiladas originated in Mexico among the Aztecs.

They would take tortillas and traditionally wrap corn and fish in them. In modern times, we use a variety of ingredients, including chicken, steak, cheese, different types of vegetables, and various sauces.

My first time trying chicken enchiladas

I told you all before I spent years away from family as a kid in a group home in Austin Texas where I lived for over a year. Well, that’s where I had my first enchilada and where I fell in love with them, although I don’t make them very often.

And for all my Texas folk out there, you know how big the Mexican population is and how famous Mexican cuisine is. Well, it was in this group home where they served a lot of Mexican food for lunch and dinner, and one of the Mexican dishes they served often was chicken Enchiladas.

I remember being so mind blown by the flavors and how good it was when I first tasted it. I had never tried anything like it before and, oddly, never even heard of it up until that point.

It easily became one of the dishes I looked forward to them serving the most. Back in 2014, I made a video on how to make Chicken Enchiladas, and I believe I made another one in 2016.

I’ll post the videos below to give you a visual on how to make them, although I’ve made slight differences and minor changes. 

Watch Me Make It

What’s interesting is I don’t think I even had an enchilada between 2005, when I returned to Philly from Texas, until 2014, when I uploaded my first Enchilada recipe video. I went years without making or having one, but I definitely remembered how it tasted and how to make it; that’s how much of an impression it made on my taste buds, I guess. Lol!

What you need:

Okay, I’m going to break down the ingredients into sections to simplify things for you, so you know when and where to add each ingredient.

• Tortilla: Flour tortilla
• Meat: Boneless chicken
• Cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese and shredded Mexican blend cheese
• Vegetables: Onions, Minced Garlic, Tomatoes, and Chiles
• Condiments: Sour Cream and Red Mild Enchilada sauce
• Thickener: All-Purpose Flour
• Fat: Olive oil and butter

The top layer

• Cheese: Shredded Cheddar Cheese and Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
• Vegetables: Green onions, Tomatoes, and Chiles
• Condiments: Sour Cream and Red Mild Enchilada Sauce

Season everything!!!

For best results, season everything, including the meat, beans, rice, corn, and the cheese you garnish the enchiladas with.

During my first test run, trying to create this recipe, I got real close to mastering it, but it was lacking in flavor and seasoning. So I not only added to the amount of seasonings used but also MADE SURE TO SEASON EVERY PART. Sort of like the way I season every part of my macaroni and cheese or Lasagna.

You want to ensure this is packed with flavor, and the way to do that is to make sure all parts are seasoned, because nothing is worse than a bland, boring enchilada.

The chicken and cooking time

• Rotisserie chicken: I use boneless chicken breasts, which are solely white meat, but you can use a combination of white and dark meat from a rotisserie chicken if you want. Ensure you get one that isn’t pre-seasoned, so you can season it yourself.
• Boneless chicken: Boneless chicken breast can dry out easily, so I ensure it’s cooked over high heat for a short period to achieve a brown exterior and a tender, juicy interior.
• Cooking time: I only fry it for 4 minutes per side which is just long enough to cook it all the way through and keep it juicy without drying it out. So high and short is the key to the perfect boneless chicken breast.

Flour tortillas vs Corn tortillas

• Corn tortillas: Corn tortillas are typically found in plastic packages just like flour tortillas, but they’re usually very small in size. So if you decide to use corn tortillas, which is the more traditional way to make enchiladas, you can make more enchiladas since they’re smaller in size. 
• Flour Tortillas: With flour tortillas, because they’re soft, you want to toast them to harden them til they’re nice and crispy so they don’t become soggy while baking. I toast them with a bit of butter in a skillet until they’re lightly brown, then flip them over and brown for about 30 seconds per side.

How to make chicken enchiladas

1. Season the chicken and fry it, then shred it into small pieces. 
   
   

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2. Boil rice, then mix with beans and corn, and then season.
   
   

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3. Chop the vegetables up into small pieces.
4. Fry onions, half of the tomatoes, and half of the chile, then add flour and sauce.
   
   

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5. Add cheese and sour cream, then stir well.
   
   

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6. Toast the flour tortillas until they’re light brown.
   
   

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7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Add a little sauce to the casserole dish, and add rice and chicken to the tortillas.
9. Fold tortillas and flip over on the folded side, then coat with sour cream and more enchilada sauce.
   
   

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10. Garnish with remaining tomatoes, chiles, scallions, and cheese.
    
    

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11. Bake for 30 mins
    
    

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Add-ins & Variations:

• Green Enchilada Sauce: The sauce you use is totally optional. Most green enchilada sauces are more spicy and made with jalapenos of chile. Red enchilada sauce, on the other hand, is typically made from a variety of red chilies, vinegar, onions, garlic and spices.
• Steak Enchiladas: Another popular way to make enchiladas is to simply switch the meat, but with using steak meat I would use a few different ingredients nd wont use all the ingredients I use when making chicken enchiladas which is my favorite and only way to make it.
• Black beans and rice: This is the perfect option for vegetarians or people who dont eat meat. I love meat but I tried this recipe and it was good. Now I also want to mention most people use black beans regardless even in this recipe. Its the traditional way to make enchiladas but I just so happen to prefer pinto beans over black which is why I used them.
• Feta cheese: Feta cheese is an optional if you on ya healthy type time… now I personally haven’t tried enchiladas using feta cheese but I can tell people seem to looooove it so give it a try if you feel like its healthier and you want to get away from the cheese.

Storage and reheating

• How to store chicken enchiladas? Storing enchilada’s are very simple. If you plan on storing some leftovers for a few days, do so by wrapping them up tightly in a dish, or aluminum foil and sitting them in the refrigerator. They’ll be fresh for 3-4 days.
• Storing them in the freezer: If you plan on storing them for a later time, place them in the freezer, just make sure they’re tightly sealed or covered in a Ziploc bag to avoid freezer burn.
• How to reheat chicken enchiladas in the oven: Place them in the oven on aluminum foil and heat at 350°F until warm, 15-20 minutes.

Equipment:

Ok, so for the cookware and utensils you’ll need for this dish. First, make sure you have a Casserole Dish on hand to bake them in. You’ll also need a Saucepan to boil the rice in, a Griddle or Large Skillet to fry the chicken and toast the tortillas in.

You’ll need some Tongs to flip the chicken and tortillas, so make sure to have some on deck. Make sure you have a Mixing Bowl, a Cutting Board, and Knife to chop the vegetables, and a spoon to spread everything out.

And last but not least you need some oven mitts to remove the casserole dish from the oven once the enchiladas are all done and last but not least a Spatula to remove and plate them.

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Alright guys I hope you enjoy this Mexican chicken enchilada recipe as much as I do. All the detailed instructions are down below. If you like it please give me 5 stars, comment, and share with your friends and family.

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Enjoy, later!

PBJ~

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