Ready for the BEST Chicken Enchiladas? This recipe takes tender, seasoned chicken breast, diced green chilies, and a blend of Mexican spices, all enveloped in warm, soft flour tortillas. As the enchiladas bake to perfection, the gooey blanket of melted cheese melds with the white enchilada sauce, creating a symphony of flavors that will have you begging for more!
Try serving this easy dinner with a side of cilantro lime rice and salsa for a full meal everyone will love!
Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Now, the full sauce recipe is located in the recipe card. Can you skip homemade and use store-bought? Absolutely, but you will be missing out on so much creamy delicious flavor. Here’s the quick guide on how to assemble enchiladas:
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mist a 9×13″ (or two 9″) pan with cooking spray and set aside for later.
- FILLING: Combine the diced chicken with 1 cup of shredded cheese. Add a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture to the bottom third of a tortilla. Roll tightly and place in a line inside the prepared pan, seam side down.
- BAKE: Continue with remaining chicken and tortillas. Smother with sauce and bake as directed.
Freezing The Sauce Separate:
- Find a good aluminum foil tin or glass freezer dish that you love.
- Follow the recipe through step four (placing the filled tortillas in your pan).
- Wrap tightly and freeze.
- Make the sauce as directed. Cool and freeze. We find these small soup freezer containers to be ideal for this.
- When you are ready to bake, take out of the freezer and allow to thaw overnight.
- Spread the enchilada sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese, and bake as directed.
Follow all of the steps above, except with the sauce directly on your enchiladas.
Yes. It’s an amazing time saver to use pre-cooked chicken for enchiladas. I use leftover rotisserie or grilled chicken.
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use either flour or corn tortillas! Both taste incredible.
Absolutely. If you prefer a red enchilada sauce vs the green chili sauce you can make that switch.
Yes, you can prepare chicken enchiladas ahead of time. After assembling the enchiladas, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake, simply remove the covering and follow the baking instructions in the recipe.
To store leftover chicken enchiladas, allow them to cool to room temperature. Then, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or transfer them to an airtight container. Refrigerate the enchiladas and consume them within 3-4 days. If you have a large batch of leftovers, you can also freeze them individually. Wrap each enchilada tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. Frozen enchiladas can be stored for up to 2-3 months. When ready to eat, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven or microwave until heated through.
Freezable Chicken Enchiladas
Can you freeze cooked enchiladas?
Cooked enchiladas are safe to freeze, but the tortillas often become soggy or rubbery when the frozen enchiladas are baked. Line a baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang. Assemble and bake the enchiladas as instructed. Let the enchiladas cool completely, then cover with foil and freeze until firm.
How do you cook frozen enchiladas?
Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Remove enchiladas from freezer, leave foil on pan and cook for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook additional 15-20 minutes, until bubbling and cheese completely melted. Or thaw enchiladas in the refrigerator, then bake as directed above (for enchiladas that are not frozen).
Can You reheat frozen enchiladas?
To reheat a frozen casserole of enchiladas using the microwave, place it in a microwave-safe dish and heat it for around 3 minutes. Turn the casserole every 1 minute to allow even heating. Make sure that you check its interior before you serve it.
Do you need to thaw frozen enchiladas before baking?
You don’t actually need to thaw frozen enchiladas prior to baking them. In fact, frozen uncooked enchiladas should be baked from frozen. This helps preserve the texture of the tortillas and prevents them from becoming soggy. However, cooked enchiladas can be thawed or baked from frozen.