Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Good morning beauts! My boyfriend is absolutely obsessed with my chicken enchiladas recipe – which is awesome because it is very simple and easy, yet he thinks I’m a master chef and this will feed the both of us for an entire week! So I figured I would share this super simple, yet super delicious recipe with my BFFs (that’s you).

First, let’s make sure you have the proper equipment to make these chicken enchiladas. You will need:

1. Large baking dish (preferably with a lid so you can store leftovers easily) I think mine is 9×13 but just anything big enough to fit 8-10 enchiladas will work!
2. Cutting board
3. Foil
4. Medium-large saucepan (also preferably with a lid so the sauce doesn’t splatter)
5. Cooking spray
6. Olive oil

Now let’s discuss the ingredients that you will need:

1. Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken – I just grab one from HEB because it’s faster/easier but you can cook the chicken yourself or buy pre-cooked chicken breasts.

2. Two 15 oz cans of red enchilada sauce. I like mine really spicy so I buy “hot” but you can use medium or mild as well. Of course you can also use green enchilada sauce if you prefer green. I always use Hill Country Fare enchilada sauce because that’s what they have at HEB and it’s delicious.

3. 8 oz of Mexican style shredded cheese

4. Cilantro

5. Flour tortillas – I get the 10 pack, sometimes I’ll use 8, or 9, or all 10, depending on how much chicken/sauce mix I have

6. Olive oil

7. Optional: red or white onions (can heat with chicken in sauce), sour cream (to top), and avocado slices (to top)

Now that you have everything you need let’s get cookin’!!

Step #1: preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour one can of enchilada sauce into a medium-large saucepan and heat (covered) over medium heat. While the sauce is heating up, shred/carve the rotisserie chicken; I usually use a fork and my hand to tear the meat apart and then pull it off the bone. You’ll want to use as much chicken as possible and shred into bite-size pieces.

Step #2: once the chicken is nice and shredded, add to the sauce and stir well to combine. Cook on low-medium heat for about 15 minutes (covered). While that is cooking, now would be a good time to finely chop the cilantro, spray the baking dish with cooking spray, and heat the tortillas in a damp paper towel in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Step #3: add about ¾ of the chopped cilantro into the chicken/sauce mixture (save some for a topping when serving). Add ½ of the shredded cheese to the chicken/sauce mixture (save other half for the top later on). And finally, add ½ of the second can of enchilada sauce to the mixture. Stir well to combine and turn heat off so mixture will begin to cool.

Step #4: grab a tortilla, hold it in your hand slightly bent to curve the tortilla so filling won’t spill off sides, and using tongs, begin to fill the middle of the tortilla with the chicken/sauce mixture. Don’t fill up too much so you can’t roll the tortilla, but also fill it up enough so the tortilla edges can wrap over each other just once. Place the filled tortilla SEAM SIDE DOWN into the baking dish. Continue filling each tortilla until 1.) you run out of filling, 2.) you run out of tortillas, or 3.) you run out of room in the baking dish. Make sure the filled tortillas are in a single layer and packed closely together so filling stays inside.

And here’s my puppy, Boo, waiting patiently for me to drop an enchilada[/caption]

Step #5: brush the tops of the tortillas with olive oil (if you don’t have a brush, just use your hands to spread the olive oil around. Also, now would be a good time to measure the baking dish with foil so you don’t have to touch it when it’s hot. You can set the foil aside for later.

Step #6: place the uncovered baking dish into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Step #7: reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the remaining sauce over enchiladas and top completely with the remaining cheese. Note that you don’t have to add as much sauce as I do, I just like it really saucey 😉 Cover the dish with the foil and place back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step #8: remove foil from the dish and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is golden brown.

Step #9: remove from oven and let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. It will be really hot. Serve with cilantro, sour cream, and avocado slices/cubes if desired!

I hope you enjoy this easy chicken enchilada recipe. These enchiladas are perfect for super bowl parties, Bachelor/Bachelorette watch parties, or just saving the leftovers and eating it for an entire week!