These are the best Chicken Enchiladas and my family’s go to recipe for a comforting dinner. Flavorful, juicy chicken breast meat cooked with homemade enchilada sauce and all rolled together into a soft, flour tortilla with extra sauce and cheese. Rolled enchiladas are then nestled in more spicy enchilada sauce, covered with more cheese and baked.
What makes these enchiladas the best is the Homemade Enchilada Sauce! Try it with our Beef Enchiladas as well.
There is something so magic about biting into cheesy, spicy, soft chicken enchilada that just melts your heart. No wonder it’s one the the best comfort food dishes out there and it’s certainly a favorite in my house. The second my husband smells the aroma of enchiladas in the air, he comes running.
I’ve been making enchiladas for many years and have made dozens of variations with just chicken alone. I’m not even counting all the beef and seafood enchiladas, and even the breakfast ones. After all these different enchiladas, classic chicken ones are still number one in our heart.
It’s so simple to make and you can take many shortcuts with preparing sauce and chicken ahead of time. You can even prepare the whole enchilada dish ahead of time, just don’t skip the homemade sauce. This homemade sauce is what makes these enchiladas so good. I use the same sauce for my classic enchilada recipes and just make an adjustment for beef or chicken.
I use beef or chicken stock to make the sauce depending on the type of enchiladas. It’s very easy to adjust the spice level in the sauce too. Use more or less chili powder and add a dash of cayenne pepper for spicier sauce.
PRO TIP: I don’t recommend adding more chipotles is adobo sauce because that makes the sauce more bitter.
Enchilada Sauce – I can’t stress enough that homemade enchilada sauce makes a big difference in this dish! It only takes about 20 minutes to make and you can make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Chicken – we prefer chicken breast meat but you can use boneless skinless chicken thigh meat or a combination of the two.
Cheese – use Mexican cheese mix, it usually contains a mix of cheddar, Colby, Monterrey Jack, Asadero, and queso quesadilla cheeses. You can mix your own cheeses listed if you’d like.
Tortillas – we like to use soft flour taco tortillas but you can use corn instead if you’d like. You can use homemade corn tortillas or store-bought. Corn tortillas have a very different flavor and texture so it is a personal preference.
Your first step would be to prepare the enchilada sauce and then, you are all good to go. The sauce will take about 20 minutes and then you can make the enchiladas right away or store it in the fridge until you’re ready.
Once you have the sauce, spread some on the foil lined baking sheet and place the salted chicken over it (1). Spread some more sauce over each chicken breast and bake for 18-20 minutes at 425° (2).
Shred cooked chicken (3) and make sure to retain the sauce it was cooked in. Mix the sauce that the chicken was cooked in with the shredded chicken.
To stuff the enchiladas, spread some chicken in the tortilla, in one line. Add some more enchilada sauce and some shredded cheese over the chicken (4). Roll up the enchilada and place it in the prepared baking dish seam down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Evenly spread the remaining sauce over each rolled tortilla (5) and generously top it all off with shredded cheese (6). Bake enchiladas for 17-20 minutes at 375°.
From start to finish, this dish takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to make. It’s not a long time but for a weekend meal, but I like to stick to 30 minutes or less for weeknights.
To save some time, make the sauce ahead and keep it in the fridge, in an air-tight glass jar.
You can also cook chicken ahead or time, shred it, and keep it in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Once you have the sauce and the chicken, enchiladas will only take 30 minutes to make.
You can follow the recipe all the way up to the baking step but instead of baking, cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. When ready to bake, take the dish out of the fridge and discard plastic wrap.
Let the dish sit on the counter while the oven is pre-heating or start preheating the oven with the dish in it. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.
TIME-SAVING TIP: If you’re in a pinch to make chicken enchiladas quickly but don’t have cooked chicken, you can use rotisserie chicken. Just shred the meat and mix in some enchilada sauce with it.
There is usually quite a debate among my readers about which are the best tortillas to use, flour or corn. Personally, I side with the flour tortillas in most enchilada recipes. But there is no need to debate, it all comes down to personal preference. Flour tortillas are softer and sturdier, white corn tortillas do have a tendency to break and crumble. There is also a noticeable flavor and texture difference between the two types of tortillas, that is mostly where personal preference comes in. You can absolutely use corn tortillas if that is what you love or use flour.
Yes! If you are using homemade or raw tortillas, you have to pre-cook them first! It will help soften tortillas, make them sturdier, and develop the flavor.
If you want to use corn tortillas for enchiladas, it is important to soften them! Trying to roll cold tortillas will be frustrating because they will be breaking. To soften corn tortillas, lightly brush or spray them with some oil and place them on a sheet tray. Bake at 325° for 3-5 minutes. After they’re warmed, stack them and cover with a damp warmed clean towel to keep them soft while rolling enchiladas.
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.
I use beef or chicken stock to make the sauce depending on the type of enchiladas. It’s very easy to adjust the spice level in the sauce too. Use more or less chili powder and add a dash of cayenne pepper for spicier sauce.
Shred cooked chicken (3) and make sure to retain the sauce it was cooked in. Mix the sauce that the chicken was cooked in with the shredded chicken.
Enchilada Sauce – I can’t stress enough that homemade enchilada sauce makes a big difference in this dish! It only takes about 20 minutes to make and you can make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Chicken – we prefer chicken breast meat but you can use boneless skinless chicken thigh meat or a combination of the two.
Evenly spread the remaining sauce over each rolled tortilla (5) and generously top it all off with shredded cheese (6). Bake enchiladas for 17-20 minutes at 375°.
We accidentally bought flour tortillas instead of corn for our enchiladas. Is dinner doomed? Should we switch routes? Will the enchiladas be soggy?
How To Prepare Easy Enchiladas with Flour Tortillas – DIY Food & Drinks Tutorial – Guidecentral
FAQ
Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn for enchiladas?
Will flour tortillas getting soggy in enchiladas?
Do Mexicans use flour tortillas for enchiladas?
Should I heat flour tortillas for enchiladas?
Should I use corn or flour tortillas for enchiladas?
You can make your recipe with either flour tortillas or corn tortillas (see my thoughts on whether you should use corn or flour tortillas for your enchiladas!), and while many experts will tell you corn is best, I say it’s up to your and your family’s preference.
How do you keep enchiladas from breaking?
Make sure that you lightly grease your dish, which will help keep the tortillas from sticking to the pan. Fry each of your tortillas in hot oil before adding in your enchilada filling. This will help keep the tortillas from soaking up too much of your sauce too quickly, which can also cause them to break apart. No one wants that!
Can you make beef enchiladas with flour tortillas?
Enchiladas are a delicious and easy-to-make meal, and ground beef is a great ingredient to use. Beef enchiladas with flour tortillas are a classic Mexican dish that everyone loves. They’re easy to make and can be customized with your favorite toppings. In this post, we’ll show you how to make beef enchiladas with flour tortillas from scratch.
Should you put enchilada sauce on tortillas?
Not Dipping the Tortillas in Sauce After you fry and drain the tortilla, dip both sides into your enchilada sauce to coat the entire tortilla. Dipping your tortillas in sauce will ensure even distribution — and means you can use less sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, which will prevent them from getting soggy.