Homemade Chicken Enchiladas
These Cheesy Homemade Chicken Enchiladas are an Indianapolis favorite. Shared in our Junior League cookbook, Winners, they’re always a hit!
Homemade Chicken Enchiladas
We love anything Mexican or Tex-Mex at our house! From Smothered Burritos to Tacos and Enchiladas, the family is happy when any of these are on the menu.
Slightly spicy and super cheesy. Hands down, these are our favorite enchiladas. Yes, your kitchen may look like a disaster area after you’re through making the enchilada and smothering sauces and filling and rolling your tortillas, but the taste is definitely worth the effort. Just ignore the dirty pots, empty cans, and tomato splatters on your countertops and savor the deliciousness of these super cheesy chicken enchiladas.
Tips for Making Chicken Enchiladas:
- I can usually eek out a few extra enchiladas, making closer to 14 than 10.
- Since they freeze well, I just put half in another baking dish, cover well, and store in the freezer for a quick meal on a busy night.
- I typically grate my own cheese but found pre-shredded cheddar Jack which streamlined the preparation a bit. Unfortunately, I left 2 of the 4 packages in the fridge, so these weren’t ultra cheesy, but still super tasty (actually, nobody noticed)! So if you’re watching fat and calories, you may elect to do the same. But it may be the two pounds of cheese that make this such a winning dish!
Homemade Chicken Enchiladas
Super Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas from the Junior League cookbook , Winners
Ingredients
Enchilada Sauce:
- 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 12 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Smothering Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce
- 1 1/4 cups stewed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup green chiles, chopped, drained
Chicken Filling:
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups stewed tomatoes, drained
- 3/4 cup green chiles,chopped, drained
- 3/4 cup sliced black olives, optional
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 10-14 flour tortillas
- 1 pound cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 pound Monterey jack cheese, grated
- Sour cream and guacamole, to serve
Instructions
- To make enchilada sauce, combine tomato sauce, oil, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a medium-size saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Combine 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, tomatoes and chilies to make smothering sauce.
- Combine chicken, onion, tomatoes, chilies, olives , chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Assemble by brushing inside of tortillas with 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce. Top each tortilla with 3-4 tablespoons of chicken mixture.
- Mix grated cheeses. Place 2-3 tablespoons cheese on each tortilla and roll.
- Place rolls, seam down, in 9x13-inch baking dish. Add any remaining enchilada sauce to smothering sauce and pour over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream and guacamole as toppings.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1276Total Fat: 74gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 207mgSodium: 7382mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 9gSugar: 14gProtein: 66g
60 Comments on “Homemade Chicken Enchiladas”
Absolutely delicious! When I make enchiladas, my kitchen is a disaster, but I’m thrilled…because they are SO good!
Hot stuff! Those are my kind of enchiladas…the kind that leave a big mess in the kitchen for hubby 🙂
I love enchiladas but oddly, have never made them for myself! These look so cheesy and good..and that side of guac is just perfect. And what dirty dishes, pots and pans??? ;- )
delicious looking enchiladas looks wonderful
those look really really delicious… great pictures
Yummy I love chicken enchiladas! Lizzy yours look fantastic! Great recipe! 🙂
I had to come back for another look at your blog, Lizzie. Mmmm, these look good!
-Karen
Enchiladas are my favorite! These look super yummy!
Another great recipe. Love enchiladas. Mexican food is great. Love it
Your enchiladas look delicious! I like how your recipe has a no-fuss sauce.
Enchiladas are by far, my favorite Mexican dish! These enchiladas look fantastic, Lizzy!
These look and sound fantastic Lizzy. Drool worthy photos!
This looks really good.
Wouldn’t be too hard to have a vegetarian option either, just leave the meat out.
Love the cumin in there! This looks like a great dish and great for making ahead and freezing when you live alone. Now all I need is a dishwasher or a dish washer 😉
Your sauce sounds great. I much prefer homemade to store-bought. These look delicious!
These sound awesome, and look perfect! I haven’t made any for a long time, but I always had a hard time keeping them from getting mushy in the oven.
You obviously know what you’re doing!
Lizzy, I saw this on Facebook and RUSHED right over! I’m looking forward to trying the enchilada sauce in a presentation like what you’ve shared with us here. Your description of the preparation aftermath in the kitchen brought visual splendor, but no more splendid than the flavor these bad boys must have…you’re right, kitchen cleanup can come later!
Lizzy, your enchiladas look so delicious and perfect for the more brisk fall months! What a great recipe. I’ll be sure to try it soon! Thanks for sharing.
My biggest pet peeve about enchiladas is that they are too runny. Bravo for making enchiladas that can be scooped out of the pan without losing all their filling!
These are perfect and no doubt delicious- I have saved this recipe. Glad you posted this!
First of all, congratulations on being nominated for *Most Valuable Foodie* for Foodbuzz 2011 Blog Awards! Very well deserved, best wishes.
Secondly, your enchiladas look great!