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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…
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!
Storage instructions: Leftover (cooked) enchiladas can be transferred to a sealed container and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Make ahead instructions. If you would like to make a pan of enchiladas in advance, follow the recipe instructions through step 3 (assembling the enchiladas). Wrap the pan tightly with foil. Then you can either refrigerate the enchiladas for up to 3 days, then bake as directed. Or you can freeze the enchiladas for up to 3 months, then let them thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then bake as directed.
Hey! These look amazing and i plan on cooking them for my parents tonight, but i am a new cook and have to ask, can anyone tell me if you are supposed to cook the chicken breast separately before you cook them with the tortillas and everything else. Or do you cut the raw chicken and put it on the tortillas and it cooks with everything else?
Thanks Katherine! You dice the chicken (uncooked), then add it to a large skillet and cook it with the onion and green chiles (you’ll see the directions in the first paragraph (after preheat the oven). Alternatively you could use pre-cooked chicken, such as a roast chicken. If so, just cook the onion and green chiles for an extra minute, (leave the chicken out of that step), and add it after you’ve finished cooking the onion and chiles, and have taken that skillet off the stove. I hope that makes sense and is helpful!
I love this recipe so much! We make it all the time. We made some changes though. Here is how we modified this recipe:
– We normally use 3 chicken breasts to fill 10 tortilla’s. Cut them in half so that they cook faster, so you’ll have 6 thin breasts.
– We use canned enchilada sauce
– We don’t put black beans in it
– We add black olives on top before putting it in the oven
– We cook the chicken breasts just with a little bit of oil, then shred them using 2 forks on a cutting board to pull it apart. (instead of doing cubed chicken)
We cook the chicken in one pan, and the onion in a separate pan. Once the chicken is cooked through, then shred it. Make sure the onions are cooked through (not too crunchy), then add the green chilies and cook for a few minutes. Then add the shredded chicken, salt, and pepper and cook for a few minutes to marinate, then assemble the enchiladas.
These enchiladas were fantastic. I dipped the tortillas in hot oil to make them softer. That is what my Mom used to do.
The sauce was incredible. I did add 3 tablespoons of chili powder and 1 tablespoon of Chipotle Chile powder. I like spicy and these were perfect. For company, I would probably reduce the amount of chili powder just to taper down the heat!
Definitely a keeper recipe!
Made these for my boyfriend once and he has not stopped talking about them since. Finally getting around to making them again this weekend, and he is soooo excited about it! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe! Absolutely adore your blog.
I made these tonight and found the flavors were amazing and instructions were wonderfully direct. I think my next venture making them will be with shredded chicken versus diced, since I had the chicken cubes rip my tortillas when I was wrapping them. I also found that when I laid them in the baking dish, seam down was more functional due to the tortillas not staying secured seam up. Still, with even these small adjustments, I look forward to making these many times to come. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Am making these tonight for a test run. Want to make them for cinco de mayo dinner party! What is your advice for making them in advance? I was thinking about assembling them, and not pouring the sauce over until I was ready to bake. Have you made them in advance before?
Thanks so much!
Hey Sarah, how fun! How far out were you planning on assembling them before baking? Were you planning on just keeping them in the fridge, or freezing them?
If I have to prepare this a couple days in advance, i.e make sunday and eat tuesday, can the enchiladas be refrigerated for so long? And can they be microwaved?
Hey Amar! I think it’s fine if you assemble them (without the sauce and cheese, so they don’t get soggy) and leave them in the fridge (covered tightly with plastic wrap) for up to a few hours before baking, but if you plan on doing this more in advance, I would just assemble them (again, without the sauce and the cheese), and freeze them, then add the sauce and cheese and bake them (you’ll just need to allow an extra 30-40 min. of baking time at least). Otherwise, I’m afraid if you let them sit unbaked in the fridge for too long, the tortillas will dry out. I hope this all makes sense/helps. Good luck!
Hi! I am also having a cinque de mayo party tomorrow night and want to make and assemble them in the morning so just bake them in the evening? Is that ok? What do you suggest? I don’t want to be trying to assemble them while I should be cleaning up and getting organized…. Thanks! So excited to try this for tomorrow! Any tips on assembling them in the morning and cooking them in the evening for a party? Yum and thanks!
Hi
I can’t wait to make these but need to assemble them before hand for a dinner party tonight. I will cook them just before serving. Is it ok to leave them in the fridge assembled until I cook them or will they go soggy? Thanks so much!!
Janita
Hey Janita, I’m sorry I’m just now seeing this. I think it’s fine if you assemble them (without the sauce and cheese, so they don’t get soggy) and leave them in the fridge (covered tightly with plastic wrap) for up to a few hours before baking, but if you plan on doing this more in advance, I would just assemble them (again, without the sauce and the cheese), and freeze them, then add the sauce and cheese and bake them (you’ll just need to allow an extra 30-40 min. of baking time at least). Otherwise, I’m afraid if you let them sit unbaked in the fridge for too long, the tortillas will dry out. I hope this all makes sense/helps. Good luck!
I would recommend poaching the boneless skinless chicken breasts. Bring pot of water to a boil then put in chicken breasts and bring back to a boil, then boil on medium heat for approx. 20 minutes or until the chicken floats. Do not over boil. Then remove chicken and dice or shred and it is ready for the recipe. Chicken is a meat you have to make sure is done and watch cross contamination (raw meat juices on table, utensils, or hands that contaminate the finished product (cooked chicken). The chicken comes out really nice like this and can be used in many other recipes requiring cooked chicken. Love the recipe, wonderful !!!
Ali,
Those were absolutely the best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever made, you were right. That’s a keeper recipe even for my picky eater over here ( my boyfriend). Thank you! If I Iwere to make them with beef would I use the same ingredients??Thanks again! The enchilada sauce was out of this world!
I made your Best Chicken Enchiladas for my Bunco group tonight along with the enchilada sauce. They were awesome! I was concerned about what the sauce would taste like. I made it last night and wasn’t crazy about the flavor, but I put it in a mason jar and refrigerated it until today. When I took it out to use it in my enchilada assembly line, I could tell it was already better. It was darker and thicker; the flavors had really come together. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
I feel like the lone person here. Recipe sounded great and made them last night. I used the can sauce and I thought they were very dry and lacking in taste. I will try again with your sauce recipe and minus the beans. Maybe some black olives and sour creme on top.
I made these last night and was scared to make a sauce from scratch due the the fact it’s always a hit or miss with homemade sauces. Luckily, while my boyfriend shopped for the ingredients, i refrained from asking to buy a back up enchilada sauce because you definitely don’t miss it after this homemade one! it was so amazing. I think people are buying the wrong kind of chilli powder thinking that it’s too spicy. I bought the McCormick one and I needed to actually add some cayenne pepper for a higher kick. I brought some leftovers for my brother to try and he ended up eating mine! guess i’ll have to make another batch but we definitely do not mind! Thanks for sharing these!
Made these last night and they were phenomenal! I made the enchilada sauce to go with and it was so good and easy, the only thing I added was some Cayenne because we like spicy. Had to use olive oil instead of vegetable oil and it tasted fine. Also added some corn inside and squeezed some lime juice on top, would have taken pictures but we ate them all before I could snap some! As a beginner in cooking this recipe was totally do-able and quick- thank you!
My kids keep coming inside from playing and telling me how good it smells – and that is just the enchilada sauce and the chicken! Wonder what they’ll say when it all comes together! Thanks!
These look fantastic, I want to try them this weekend. But i need to make them gluten free….have you ever tried making them with corn tortillas instead of flour, and do you have any tips to make them not dry out? Thanks so much!
Sure, you can definitely make them with corn tortillas. I find it helps to dip the corn tortillas in enchilada sauce first and then let them sit for a minute before rolling them into enchiladas.
Hey Ali, these chicken enchiladas look incredible. The recipe, thankfully, does not seem to be overly complex, which seems to imply that I can actually pull these off without too much trouble. I’m going to have to give these a try on taco Tuesday, instead of the tacos. See what kind of deliciousness I can concoct with your enticing recipe.
I hadn’t made enchiladas in a while and had almost an entire rotisserie chicken left, so I thought this would be good. She’s right! These were the best enchiladas I’ve ever made, and I will NOT buy another can of enchilada sauce again. It was so easy and SO GOOD! I served them with guacamole, sour cream (actually plain greek yogurt), and cilantro.
I have modified it to use ground beef. Amazing! I will usually make one pan of each (chicken and beef) and see which disappears first. If it is my guy friends over with their dates, the beef goes first. If it is the wife’s dinner party guest then it is the chicken. Both are always finished by the end of the night which is fine by me. Makes cleaning up even easier.
Hi there! Just wanted to drop a note to thank you for the recipe. I made it tonight, (including your enchilada sauce!) I had to rif a bit with the ingredients cause I didn’t have exactly what was called for, but my hubby said the kitchen smelled like Mexico so I’d say it was a success!! many thanks to you for that :)
I made these tonight, incredible! My wife’s family is from New Mexico (but most are in Texas now) and I can’t wait to make this for them! I did do one thing differently… I used boneless skinless trimmed chicken thighs. They are more tender and juicer than chicken breast. But again, incredible recipe, our whole family enjoyed it as we will again tomorrow night finishing off the leftovers!
Hey Liz, I think it’s fine if you assemble them (without the sauce and cheese, so they don’t get soggy) and leave them in the fridge (covered tightly with plastic wrap) for up to a few hours before baking. However, if you plan on doing this more in advance, I would just assemble them (again, without the sauce and the cheese), and freeze them, then add the sauce and cheese and bake them (you’ll just need to allow an extra 30-40 min. of baking time at least). Otherwise, I’m afraid if you let them sit unbaked in the fridge for too long, the tortillas will dry out. I hope this all makes sense/helps. Good luck!
Man, these were so delicious!!! I’ve never made enchiladas before, and I made these along with your “special sauce” and I’ll never make another recipe for them again. So so good!
Amazing recipe, my family loved it… I wanted to make it extra special by making my own flour tortilla by hand, yes it was exhausting by certainly worth it. I did not have canned black beans and so I boiled a pack just with enough water till it was soft yet firm. I also had some fresh green chiles as this is always abundant in the house, so I boiled around 12 green chiles with a tablespoon of vinegar till it was soft yet still firm. As for the other ingredients I just followed the recipe. I laid my all my tortillas in the table and added the ingredients to each tortilla so it was uniform in filling. I might have added a little too much chicken filling, but that’s okay, everybody loooooves chicken, who doesn’t; the sauteed chicken with chiles is soooooo good, reminds me of a Filipino dish called Bicol Express, (Ali you should give it a try as well since you like spicy food). The red enchilada sauce is spicy, I and my sisters like it, but my mom could not handle the heat, I’ll probably reduce it to 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of chili powder next time. Thanks for the recipe, definitely a keeper —– Greetings all the way from the Philippines =)
Thank you, I’m so happy your family loved these! Thanks for sharing your take on them! And homemade tortillas? My hat is totally off to you! : ) Now if I can just get my hands on some fresh green chiles…
cheers Ali means alot for you to share these beautiful enchilada recipe it was a blast with the misses and the 7 little kids that i have. just wondering how do you roll the chocolate properly?
This is a terrific recipe, except that I would like it much better with corn tortillas. Made this as it was, with flour tortillas, and the leftovers get wet and the enchiladas taste like a casserole with soggy flour tortillas. I would make again, but with corn tortillas that are prepared w oil and baked so the corn ones don’t get soggy.
Hi Tanya, I probably wouldn’t use coconut flour in this, because I worry the flavors might clash. If you have a gluten allergy/sensitivity, I’d opt for a gf flour blend. I hope that helps!
Our kiddos are picky (odd aversion to beans), so we just did chicken and cheese, but I just had to come comment on the sauce. Came out AMAZING. Our 9-yr old said it was delicious and the 14yr old said it was the most authentic Mexican thing I’ve ever made, it tasted just like a Mexican restaurant (is this a compliment? I’m just happy they ate it) Plus made me feel healthy giving them something that wasn’t from the can. And it was a perfect, quick weeknight dinner. LOVE!
These were so good. I use penzey’s chili powder – has flavor without all the spice. Kids loved it. Can’t wait to try the other recipes. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve made this three times now, once for my girlfriend, once for my immediate family, and just tonight for our family reunion, and every single time, this comes out amazing!!! Everyone who’s ever tried it has been blown away by it. That sauce is just…SO. GOOD. Thank you x 1,000,000,000,000,000!!!!
I had never made enchiladas before and was looking for a recipe online. It was the photo that made me look at your site. What drew me in was making the enchilada sauce from scratch as I typically don’t enjoy the store bought I have had in the past. WOW! This doesn’t even describe how amazing these enchiladas came out! I followed the recipe to a T minus the black beans. These will be the only Enchiladas I will ever make!
Thank you so much for the great find!!!
Val in Reno, NV
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s such a nice compliment, Val, we thank you! We’re thrilled that you loved them! : )
I saw this recipe yesterday and made my mouth water ! I got all the ingredients together and gave it a try , well my husband loved it !!! And so did I thank you .
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s great to hear, Yazmin! We’re so glad they were a hit with you and your husband!
This recipe was superb!!!!!!!, and the homemade enchilada sauce was absolutely delicious, and so easy. Thank you for sharing.
I made this low Cal, with lavosh instead of tortillas , fat free cheddar and ff sour cream and garnished with chopped black olives and chopped scallions.
This would be an excellent and easy dish for entertaining.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Dianne! We’re glad you enjoyed the sauce, and the enchiladas, and think it’s very cool that you made this low-cal the way you did!
I want to make these this weekend, however, I am not a meat eater! Any suggestions? could I use extra beans?
Thanks!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi, Sarah! We’re sorry for the delayed reply. We’d suggest using extra beans, or you could try “Smart Ground,” or Tofurky’s “ground chorizo.” We hope that helps, and that you enjoy the recipe!
Best dinner I have ever made ! Thank you thank you thank you !
Wow, thanks so much Katy! I’m thrilled you enjoyed them! : D
Hey! These look amazing and i plan on cooking them for my parents tonight, but i am a new cook and have to ask, can anyone tell me if you are supposed to cook the chicken breast separately before you cook them with the tortillas and everything else. Or do you cut the raw chicken and put it on the tortillas and it cooks with everything else?
Thanks Katherine! You dice the chicken (uncooked), then add it to a large skillet and cook it with the onion and green chiles (you’ll see the directions in the first paragraph (after preheat the oven). Alternatively you could use pre-cooked chicken, such as a roast chicken. If so, just cook the onion and green chiles for an extra minute, (leave the chicken out of that step), and add it after you’ve finished cooking the onion and chiles, and have taken that skillet off the stove. I hope that makes sense and is helpful!
I love this recipe so much! We make it all the time. We made some changes though. Here is how we modified this recipe:
– We normally use 3 chicken breasts to fill 10 tortilla’s. Cut them in half so that they cook faster, so you’ll have 6 thin breasts.
– We use canned enchilada sauce
– We don’t put black beans in it
– We add black olives on top before putting it in the oven
– We cook the chicken breasts just with a little bit of oil, then shred them using 2 forks on a cutting board to pull it apart. (instead of doing cubed chicken)
We cook the chicken in one pan, and the onion in a separate pan. Once the chicken is cooked through, then shred it. Make sure the onions are cooked through (not too crunchy), then add the green chilies and cook for a few minutes. Then add the shredded chicken, salt, and pepper and cook for a few minutes to marinate, then assemble the enchiladas.
Thanks Kelsey, happy to hear that, and I appreciate you sharing your tips!
These enchiladas were fantastic. I dipped the tortillas in hot oil to make them softer. That is what my Mom used to do.
The sauce was incredible. I did add 3 tablespoons of chili powder and 1 tablespoon of Chipotle Chile powder. I like spicy and these were perfect. For company, I would probably reduce the amount of chili powder just to taper down the heat!
Definitely a keeper recipe!
Thank you Ed! So thrilled you enjoyed both the sauce and the enchiladas. Also, thanks for sharing your tips! : D
Made these for my boyfriend once and he has not stopped talking about them since. Finally getting around to making them again this weekend, and he is soooo excited about it! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe! Absolutely adore your blog.
Jennifer, that’s so awesome! And I’m happy you enjoy my blog, thanks for visiting. : D
I made these tonight and found the flavors were amazing and instructions were wonderfully direct. I think my next venture making them will be with shredded chicken versus diced, since I had the chicken cubes rip my tortillas when I was wrapping them. I also found that when I laid them in the baking dish, seam down was more functional due to the tortillas not staying secured seam up. Still, with even these small adjustments, I look forward to making these many times to come. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Glad you liked these Stephanie, and thanks for sharing your tips!
I gave these a go last night for dinner, and everyone loved them! Amazing recipe! Thank you and I can’t wait to make them again.
Thank you Shauna, I’m happy to hear that!
Am making these tonight for a test run. Want to make them for cinco de mayo dinner party! What is your advice for making them in advance? I was thinking about assembling them, and not pouring the sauce over until I was ready to bake. Have you made them in advance before?
Thanks so much!
Hey Sarah, how fun! How far out were you planning on assembling them before baking? Were you planning on just keeping them in the fridge, or freezing them?
If I have to prepare this a couple days in advance, i.e make sunday and eat tuesday, can the enchiladas be refrigerated for so long? And can they be microwaved?
Thanks,
Amar
Hey Amar! I think it’s fine if you assemble them (without the sauce and cheese, so they don’t get soggy) and leave them in the fridge (covered tightly with plastic wrap) for up to a few hours before baking, but if you plan on doing this more in advance, I would just assemble them (again, without the sauce and the cheese), and freeze them, then add the sauce and cheese and bake them (you’ll just need to allow an extra 30-40 min. of baking time at least). Otherwise, I’m afraid if you let them sit unbaked in the fridge for too long, the tortillas will dry out. I hope this all makes sense/helps. Good luck!
Hi! I am also having a cinque de mayo party tomorrow night and want to make and assemble them in the morning so just bake them in the evening? Is that ok? What do you suggest? I don’t want to be trying to assemble them while I should be cleaning up and getting organized…. Thanks! So excited to try this for tomorrow! Any tips on assembling them in the morning and cooking them in the evening for a party? Yum and thanks!
Hi
I can’t wait to make these but need to assemble them before hand for a dinner party tonight. I will cook them just before serving. Is it ok to leave them in the fridge assembled until I cook them or will they go soggy? Thanks so much!!
Janita
Hey Janita, I’m sorry I’m just now seeing this. I think it’s fine if you assemble them (without the sauce and cheese, so they don’t get soggy) and leave them in the fridge (covered tightly with plastic wrap) for up to a few hours before baking, but if you plan on doing this more in advance, I would just assemble them (again, without the sauce and the cheese), and freeze them, then add the sauce and cheese and bake them (you’ll just need to allow an extra 30-40 min. of baking time at least). Otherwise, I’m afraid if you let them sit unbaked in the fridge for too long, the tortillas will dry out. I hope this all makes sense/helps. Good luck!
Happy cinco de mayo! Making these tonight
Happy Cinco de Mayo Tiffany, hope you enjoy these! : D
I am making the enchilada sauce right now and I’m going to make these tonight I will let you know!
Awesome, please do! Hope you enjoy!
making these tonight as well … ever tried with corn tortillas??
I always thought enchiladas were made with corn tortillas and if it was flour it was more of a burrito ? just a question.
Traditionally, yes. But I love making enchiladas with flour tortillas because they are larger and more forgiving when it comes to breakage.
I would recommend poaching the boneless skinless chicken breasts. Bring pot of water to a boil then put in chicken breasts and bring back to a boil, then boil on medium heat for approx. 20 minutes or until the chicken floats. Do not over boil. Then remove chicken and dice or shred and it is ready for the recipe. Chicken is a meat you have to make sure is done and watch cross contamination (raw meat juices on table, utensils, or hands that contaminate the finished product (cooked chicken). The chicken comes out really nice like this and can be used in many other recipes requiring cooked chicken. Love the recipe, wonderful !!!
Thanks Donnie and thanks for sharing your tips!
I am making these tonight already have my chicken mixture and my enchilada sauce made this morning. I will let you know these look so yummy!
Ali,
Those were absolutely the best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever made, you were right. That’s a keeper recipe even for my picky eater over here ( my boyfriend). Thank you! If I Iwere to make them with beef would I use the same ingredients??Thanks again! The enchilada sauce was out of this world!
I made your Best Chicken Enchiladas for my Bunco group tonight along with the enchilada sauce. They were awesome! I was concerned about what the sauce would taste like. I made it last night and wasn’t crazy about the flavor, but I put it in a mason jar and refrigerated it until today. When I took it out to use it in my enchilada assembly line, I could tell it was already better. It was darker and thicker; the flavors had really come together. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thanks Samantha, I’m glad you liked everything!
Made these for dinner last night for Cinco de Mayo. Also made the enchilada sauce.
Everyone loved them! Easy to make and delicious!
Thanks for sharing Kathy, so glad to hear that!
I feel like the lone person here. Recipe sounded great and made them last night. I used the can sauce and I thought they were very dry and lacking in taste. I will try again with your sauce recipe and minus the beans. Maybe some black olives and sour creme on top.
I made these last night and was scared to make a sauce from scratch due the the fact it’s always a hit or miss with homemade sauces. Luckily, while my boyfriend shopped for the ingredients, i refrained from asking to buy a back up enchilada sauce because you definitely don’t miss it after this homemade one! it was so amazing. I think people are buying the wrong kind of chilli powder thinking that it’s too spicy. I bought the McCormick one and I needed to actually add some cayenne pepper for a higher kick. I brought some leftovers for my brother to try and he ended up eating mine! guess i’ll have to make another batch but we definitely do not mind! Thanks for sharing these!
Thanks for sharing Ally, I’m so happy you liked the sauce and the enchiladas! : D
Hello Ali,
1) Thanks for sharing the recipe, I used to live in NM, so I think this recipe will be closer to what I remember for enchiladas.
2) Go Royals!
Hey Ben! Of course, I hope you enjoy these! And YES, go Royals!! : D
Made these last night and they were phenomenal! I made the enchilada sauce to go with and it was so good and easy, the only thing I added was some Cayenne because we like spicy. Had to use olive oil instead of vegetable oil and it tasted fine. Also added some corn inside and squeezed some lime juice on top, would have taken pictures but we ate them all before I could snap some! As a beginner in cooking this recipe was totally do-able and quick- thank you!
Thanks Shelby, I’m so glad to hear that! I be the fresh lime juice was an excellent addition! : )
My kids keep coming inside from playing and telling me how good it smells – and that is just the enchilada sauce and the chicken! Wonder what they’ll say when it all comes together! Thanks!
Thanks Dona! I hope they enjoyed them!
These look fantastic, I want to try them this weekend. But i need to make them gluten free….have you ever tried making them with corn tortillas instead of flour, and do you have any tips to make them not dry out? Thanks so much!
Sure, you can definitely make them with corn tortillas. I find it helps to dip the corn tortillas in enchilada sauce first and then let them sit for a minute before rolling them into enchiladas.
Hey Ali, these chicken enchiladas look incredible. The recipe, thankfully, does not seem to be overly complex, which seems to imply that I can actually pull these off without too much trouble. I’m going to have to give these a try on taco Tuesday, instead of the tacos. See what kind of deliciousness I can concoct with your enticing recipe.
Thanks Victor! I really hope you love them. : )
I hadn’t made enchiladas in a while and had almost an entire rotisserie chicken left, so I thought this would be good. She’s right! These were the best enchiladas I’ve ever made, and I will NOT buy another can of enchilada sauce again. It was so easy and SO GOOD! I served them with guacamole, sour cream (actually plain greek yogurt), and cilantro.
Thank you Kristen! I’m so thrilled you like them!
Love this receipe!!!
I have modified it to use ground beef. Amazing! I will usually make one pan of each (chicken and beef) and see which disappears first. If it is my guy friends over with their dates, the beef goes first. If it is the wife’s dinner party guest then it is the chicken. Both are always finished by the end of the night which is fine by me. Makes cleaning up even easier.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Matthew! I’m happy to hear these are a hit with you and your wife and friends! Thanks for making them! : )
Hi there! Just wanted to drop a note to thank you for the recipe. I made it tonight, (including your enchilada sauce!) I had to rif a bit with the ingredients cause I didn’t have exactly what was called for, but my hubby said the kitchen smelled like Mexico so I’d say it was a success!! many thanks to you for that :)
That’s awesome, thank you for sharing! I’m happy you and your husband liked them! : )
I made these tonight, incredible! My wife’s family is from New Mexico (but most are in Texas now) and I can’t wait to make this for them! I did do one thing differently… I used boneless skinless trimmed chicken thighs. They are more tender and juicer than chicken breast. But again, incredible recipe, our whole family enjoyed it as we will again tomorrow night finishing off the leftovers!
Thanks for sharing, Daniel — so glad you and your family enjoyed these! : )
Can you make them ahead of time and freeze them?
The throw in oven the day you eat them?
Hey Liz, I think it’s fine if you assemble them (without the sauce and cheese, so they don’t get soggy) and leave them in the fridge (covered tightly with plastic wrap) for up to a few hours before baking. However, if you plan on doing this more in advance, I would just assemble them (again, without the sauce and the cheese), and freeze them, then add the sauce and cheese and bake them (you’ll just need to allow an extra 30-40 min. of baking time at least). Otherwise, I’m afraid if you let them sit unbaked in the fridge for too long, the tortillas will dry out. I hope this all makes sense/helps. Good luck!
I made these and they turned out great. You are right about the sauce, it’s what makes this dish. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks, Karen! Glad you liked both the sauce and the enchiladas!
Man, these were so delicious!!! I’ve never made enchiladas before, and I made these along with your “special sauce” and I’ll never make another recipe for them again. So so good!
Thank you, Mallory! So happy you liked them!
I made these for dinner tonight and my husband and I can’t get over how amazing they are! I’m already planning on making them again later this week!
That’s great, Charlotte! So glad you two liked them! : )
Amazing recipe, my family loved it… I wanted to make it extra special by making my own flour tortilla by hand, yes it was exhausting by certainly worth it. I did not have canned black beans and so I boiled a pack just with enough water till it was soft yet firm. I also had some fresh green chiles as this is always abundant in the house, so I boiled around 12 green chiles with a tablespoon of vinegar till it was soft yet still firm. As for the other ingredients I just followed the recipe. I laid my all my tortillas in the table and added the ingredients to each tortilla so it was uniform in filling. I might have added a little too much chicken filling, but that’s okay, everybody loooooves chicken, who doesn’t; the sauteed chicken with chiles is soooooo good, reminds me of a Filipino dish called Bicol Express, (Ali you should give it a try as well since you like spicy food). The red enchilada sauce is spicy, I and my sisters like it, but my mom could not handle the heat, I’ll probably reduce it to 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of chili powder next time. Thanks for the recipe, definitely a keeper —– Greetings all the way from the Philippines =)
Thank you, I’m so happy your family loved these! Thanks for sharing your take on them! And homemade tortillas? My hat is totally off to you! : ) Now if I can just get my hands on some fresh green chiles…
The best enchiladas I have ever had! And so easy to make!
Thank you so much, Geri!
Sooo yummy! Everyone loved them. Thanks for sharing and giving helpful step by step instructions.
Thank you, Roxy, so glad you liked these!
cheers Ali means alot for you to share these beautiful enchilada recipe it was a blast with the misses and the 7 little kids that i have. just wondering how do you roll the chocolate properly?
Thank you, Connor, so glad you and your family enjoyed these! Roll the chocolate though? Not sure what you mean.
This sauce was sooooo amazing. One of the best we had.. Samantha uk
Thanks, Samantha, so glad you liked it!
This is a terrific recipe, except that I would like it much better with corn tortillas. Made this as it was, with flour tortillas, and the leftovers get wet and the enchiladas taste like a casserole with soggy flour tortillas. I would make again, but with corn tortillas that are prepared w oil and baked so the corn ones don’t get soggy.
Oh no, I’m sorry! I’m glad you still liked the recipe besides that, thank you for sharing!
Can I use coconut flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Tanya, I probably wouldn’t use coconut flour in this, because I worry the flavors might clash. If you have a gluten allergy/sensitivity, I’d opt for a gf flour blend. I hope that helps!
Made this twice and its fantastic!
Thanks, so glad you liked them!
Our kiddos are picky (odd aversion to beans), so we just did chicken and cheese, but I just had to come comment on the sauce. Came out AMAZING. Our 9-yr old said it was delicious and the 14yr old said it was the most authentic Mexican thing I’ve ever made, it tasted just like a Mexican restaurant (is this a compliment? I’m just happy they ate it) Plus made me feel healthy giving them something that wasn’t from the can. And it was a perfect, quick weeknight dinner. LOVE!
Thank you for sharing, Rachel! I’m so happy you and your kiddos loved the sauce as well! : D
These were so good. I use penzey’s chili powder – has flavor without all the spice. Kids loved it. Can’t wait to try the other recipes. Thanks for sharing.
That’s great to hear, Bonnie! So glad your kids loved them as well!
I’ve made this three times now, once for my girlfriend, once for my immediate family, and just tonight for our family reunion, and every single time, this comes out amazing!!! Everyone who’s ever tried it has been blown away by it. That sauce is just…SO. GOOD. Thank you x 1,000,000,000,000,000!!!!
Thank you, Matias, that’s wonderful to hear! You are so very welcome! : )
I had never made enchiladas before and was looking for a recipe online. It was the photo that made me look at your site. What drew me in was making the enchilada sauce from scratch as I typically don’t enjoy the store bought I have had in the past. WOW! This doesn’t even describe how amazing these enchiladas came out! I followed the recipe to a T minus the black beans. These will be the only Enchiladas I will ever make!
Thank you so much for the great find!!!
Val in Reno, NV
That’s such a nice compliment, Val, we thank you! We’re thrilled that you loved them! : )
I saw this recipe yesterday and made my mouth water ! I got all the ingredients together and gave it a try , well my husband loved it !!! And so did I thank you .
That’s great to hear, Yazmin! We’re so glad they were a hit with you and your husband!
This recipe was superb!!!!!!!, and the homemade enchilada sauce was absolutely delicious, and so easy. Thank you for sharing.
I made this low Cal, with lavosh instead of tortillas , fat free cheddar and ff sour cream and garnished with chopped black olives and chopped scallions.
This would be an excellent and easy dish for entertaining.
Thank you, Dianne! We’re glad you enjoyed the sauce, and the enchiladas, and think it’s very cool that you made this low-cal the way you did!
Hi Ali,
I want to make these this weekend, however, I am not a meat eater! Any suggestions? could I use extra beans?
Thanks!
Hi, Sarah! We’re sorry for the delayed reply. We’d suggest using extra beans, or you could try “Smart Ground,” or Tofurky’s “ground chorizo.” We hope that helps, and that you enjoy the recipe!