Chicken Enchiladas
Published Sept. 22, 2023

- Total Time
- 65 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 55 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ¼cup vegetable oil
- 12(6-inch) corn tortillas
- ½medium white onion, chopped
- 1medium poblano or green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
- 3garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2large tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 2cups cooked shredded chicken (from a roast chicken or rotisserie chicken)
- 2½cups enchilada sauce or from 2 (10-ounce) cans
- 12ounces (3 cups) sharp Cheddar, shredded
- Pico de gallo, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Using 2 tablespoons of the oil, lightly brush both sides of each tortilla. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high and, working in batches, cook tortillas until lightly browned and just starting to crisp but still pliable, 45 seconds to 1 minute per side. (This will prevent the tortillas from completely falling apart while cooking.) Set aside.
- Step 2
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high and cook onion, poblano, garlic, tomatoes and juices, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until most of the liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to stick to the skillet, 9 to 11 minutes. Stir in chicken, ½ cup enchilada sauce and ½ teaspoon salt until combined and just warmed through; remove from heat. Taste and season with additional salt, if necessary.
- Step 3
Pour ½ cup enchilada sauce into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spreading to cover the bottom. Working one at a time, arrange a scant ¼ cup of chicken down the center of the tortilla, roll to secure the filling and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and chicken, making sure they’re nestled right up against each other.
- Step 4
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas, then scatter cheese on top. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is just beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm topped with pico de gallo, if desired. For leftovers, divide remaining enchiladas into portions of 2 or 3; wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap or place in a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, seal and freeze for up to 3 months.
Private Notes
Comments
I have made enchiladas like this numerous times, and they are delicious. I would make one recommendation. If making ahead or to freeze, dip each tortilla into the sauce, roll up, and place in dish as instructed. Then, keep the remaining sauce separate and pour it on and top with cheese just prior to cooking. Otherwise, the sauce soaks into the tortillas to the point of causing the final product to be very dry.
Im too lazy to bother rolling so I just stack them. Tortilla on the bottom, filling, tortilla, sauce, cheese, and bake.
Chiles Poblanos, never green bell peppers.
Used EggLife wraps as I'm GF and prefer higher protein option. Was still great. Definitely recommend pan frying for 30 seconds per side after preheating the wraps. This makes them stronger, and they held up very well.
Hatch or poblano or similar. If there's no heat, anyone who actually likes enchiladas will be deeply disappointed. Maybe able to choke it down if extremely hungry, but sadly. No Anaheim nor green peppers.
Made the enchiladas the other night with rotisserie chicken. Delicious and a definite keeper. Made a couple of tweaks based on what was available at the supermarket and taste preferences. No poblano peppers at the supermarket. I used a mixture of aijcito and habanero peppers (we like it hot!). Added chopped cilantro to the chicken mixture. Used Trader Joe’s tomatillo sauce instead of enchilada sauce (what I had on hand).
