Today’s recipe is a classic chicken enchilada recipe that is easy to make, customizable with the fillings you want, and made with the homemade enchilada sauce that I love. Everyone loves it, and it’s great for meal prep and freezing. In this article, you can also find out how many calories an enchilada contains from homemade ingredients.
These Tex-Mex chicken enchiladas are simple to prepare with a filling of sautéed chicken, poblano peppers, shallots, beans, and parmesan cheese. They’re then folded in flour or corn tortillas, cooked, and topped with fresh ingredients. But the homemade red enchilada sauce makes this dish. This red enchilada sauce adds substantial flavor to your enchiladas with just a few minutes of prep time. Sooo much better than the canned stuff!
Home-Made: Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Before we get to the complete chicken enchilada recipe below, here are a few items you’ll need. You may use enchilada sauce for this recipe, but my homemade version is suggested! It takes a few minutes to make and may boil on the burner while you finish the enchiladas. It uses ordinary pantry items (oil, flour, a handful of spices, and chicken stock). Most significantly, it tastes better than canned food. It has been a big hit with thousands of our readers!
What Do You Need To Prepare Enchilada?
- Chicken: sauté diced boneless skinless chicken breasts for enchiladas. If you want to save time, use shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover chopped/shredded baked chicken.
- Enchilada filling sautés white, yellow, or red onion. For flavor, I always add a can of chopped green chilies.
- Beans: Add black or pinto beans for protein. White beans, lentils, and chickpeas would also work.
- Tortillas: Tex-Mex and American-style enchiladas utilize flour tortillas, whereas Mexican-style ones use corn tortillas. This recipe works with most tortillas.
- Cheese: I usually use Asadero, Pepper Jack, or Mexican-blend shredded cheese for these enchiladas. Use your favorite shredded cheese.
- Toppings: Enchiladas are better with extra toppings! Any combination of chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, diced red onion (or fast pickled red onions), sliced radishes, fresh or pickled jalapeños, sour cream or Mexican crema, and additional cheese is delicious!
4 Tips To Make A Perfect Enchilada
- If you’re making these simple enchiladas with beef and want to know the difference between red and green enchilada sauce, keep reading! Authentic red enchilada sauce is made with finely chopped garlic, onion, oregano, basil, cumin, and a ton of ground red ancho-dried ripe poblano chiles powder, along with a little amount of puréed tomato and stock. Traditional green enchilada sauce relies heavily on roasted green chiles and tomatillos and has a far higher heat than its red counterpart.
- Saucy enchiladas taste great with ground chicken or turkey instead of ground beef. The southwest is fond of Turkey in particular.
- Make ground chicken or turkey enchiladas instead of beef enchiladas to keep your meal interesting.
- Make a condiment bar with a bowl of spicy green salsa verde, another bowl of smoky tomato salsa, a mountain of shredded fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and sliced avocado to top these simple ground beef enchiladas.
How Many Calories In A Enchilada?
Amount of calories in chicken enchilada dinner: Calories 576
Preparation Time: 15 Minutes, Cook Time: 35 Minutes, Total Time: 50 Minutes
Ingredients
- Avocado oil, three teaspoons (or olive oil)
- Diced white onion from 2 small onion
- One and a half pounds of chicken breasts, skin removed, cut into small cubes.
- Diced green chiles, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper; one can
- Black beans, one 15-ounce can wash and drained
- The equivalent of 8 big tortillas made with wheat
- Shredded cheese with Mexican seasoning, three cups’ worth
- A single pot of red enchilada sauce
- Fresh cilantro, chopped red onions, diced avocado, sour cream, and crumbled cotija cheese can be added as toppings.
Directions
- Make the enchilada sauce – Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Stir the filling mixture into the sauté pan. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan.
- Stir occasionally for 3 minutes after adding the onion.
- Season with salt and pepper, then add diced chicken and green chiles.
- For 6-8 minutes, sauté the mixture, occasionally stirring, until the chicken is cooked.
- Mix in the beans evenly. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside.
- Prepare enchiladas. Set up a line with tortillas, sauce, chicken mixture, and cheese to make enchiladas.
- Cover a tortilla with two teaspoons of sauce.
- Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese over a big dollop of chicken mixture down the middle of the tortilla.
- Wrap the tortilla in a buttered baking dish.
- Spread any leftover sauce and cheese over the enchiladas.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes until the enchiladas are cooked, and the tortillas are crispy.
- Place the baking dish on a wire rack.
- Serve the enchiladas hot and melty with plenty of delicious garnishes.
Chicken Enchilada Variations
This chicken enchilada recipe is one of the most flexible recipes I have come across and may be customized.
- Make Corn Tortillas
- Enchilada Sauce
- Switch Proteins
- Try Different Beans
- Vegetarian Enchiladas
- Prepare Gluten-Free Enchiladas
Can I Freeze The Leftover Enchiladas?
The leftover enchiladas can be refrigerated or frozen for up to 3 months if sealed in a sealed container.
What Is The Secret To Making Good Enchiladas?
Taking a quick fry of your tortillas in hot oil before you fill and roll them is the best way to avoid soggy enchiladas. The tortillas won’t absorb too much sauce and, therefore, won’t start crumbling. This is a barrier to prevent the tortillas from absorbing too much sauce.
In Conclusion
These chicken enchiladas have been my go-to recipes for years and years, and they are consistently well-received whenever we serve them to our guests and family. If you haven’t tried this dish before, now is the perfect moment for us to get together and prepare some enchiladas.
Feature Image: Realfood
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