Last week I tried a new recipe for making chicken in the slow cooker. Long story short, it was kind of a bust – the chicken was flavorless and bland. I probably could have doctored it up, but well, I was lazy so instead we went ahead with the plan to use the chicken to make tacos, loading them up with tons of good, flavorful ingredients to compensate for the boring chicken. After three straight nights of tacos though I realized we’d barely made a dent in this giant bowl of chicken, and as much as we love taco night, I think we were both ready to move on.
Enter these chicken enchiladas, which rescued us from our predicament. I’d seen the recipe on a number of blogs, always with rave reviews, and we definitely weren’t disappointed. From the homemade enchilada sauce to the flavorful chicken filling and of course the melty cheese on top, these were a home run! I served the enchiladas with this Mexican rice on the side. Both recipes make enough food to feed just the two of us for several nights; I’m not sure we’ve ever looked forward to leftovers quite so much π
If you don’t have shredded chicken on hand, you can cook chicken breasts in the enchilada sauce (see Laura’s post for instructions). Also, if you’re really short on time, you could substitute canned enchilada sauce for the homemade, though I wouldn’t recommend it – this stuff is good!
Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce
adapted from Tide & Thyme and America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook (originally seen on Fake Ginger)
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (4-oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Preheat oven to 425 F.
To make the sauce: Add the oil to a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds – 1 minute, just until fragrant. Mix in the tomato sauce and water. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer, really pressing on the onions to extract all the liquid you can. Transfer the onion mixture to a medium bowl. Season the strained sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken, half of the cheddar cheese, the chiles, the parsley, and 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce to the onion mixture. Stir to combine.
Place 2 tortillas at a time on a microwave safe plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 25 seconds, or until the tortillas are soft and pliable. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of each tortilla, and roll tightly. Place seam side-down in a 13×9 baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with nonstick cooking spray. Cook, uncovered, for about 7-8 minutes, or until the tops of the tortillas just start to brown slightly. Remove the enchiladas from the oven and reduce the temperature to 400 F. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over them and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the enchiladas are heated through.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese browns. Let the enchiladas stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional parsley and serve with your favorite toppings.
Glad you liked this one, it is currently our faaavorite enchilada recipe here!! I love to always try new recipes, but this one is definitely on the repeat list. Thank you for the Mex rice link! I haven’t tried that yet
This meal is definitely one of my new favorites, thanks for making it!
Where do you get your corn tortillas?? I can only find flour or “made with corn”, which is sooooo NOT corn:( help.
Great way to use up that chicken. It always stinks when you make a ton of something that didn’t turn out great and then on top of it have to find ways to use it up!
Tracey you’re reminding me how much I love enchiladas. As if I could ever forget how much that is – but seriously, I haven’t made them in years. And now? It’s going to happen. These look fantastic. I want some for lunch!
Love the idea of homemade enchilada sauce, especially since it calls for things I usually have on hand. This looks like a must-try recipe!
I entered a 12-step program to wean myself away from the slow cooker. Actually it was a one-step program: throw the darn thing into the trash. Love the sound of these enchiladas.
Way to turn that boring old chicken into something magical! These enchiladas look spot-on awesome.
These look so delicious, Tracey! I tell ya, enchiladas are tricky to make look pretty in a photo, but you definitely managed! Great recipe.
Enchiladas are one of my go-to recipes for leftovers… These look absolutely fabulous!
This looks really good Tracey. Love that Mexican food!!!
We eat so much Mexican! It’s almost always a hit. I’ve been looking for a good red sauce, so I’ll have to keep these enchiladas in mind. They look great by the way!
Definitely saving that – looks FANTASTIC! π
i swear you’re the only person who knows how to make enchiladas look gorgeous and not a big floppy pile of…well, you know. this looks so good!
These are awesome, Tracey! My husband loves enchiladas and I never make them. Love it!
I just happen to have a lot of chicken that needs to be used up. . .my husband will love this!
These look fabulous! I can’t wait to try the chile sauce especially!
I have been meaning to make enchiladas recently. I have all the stuff, they just keep getting pushed to the back. Definitely going to have to change that!
You’re killing me Tracey. I’m so hungry right now but we’re kinda snowed in with no food in the house- so I just found a place that would deliver me enchiladas because these look so incredibly good. I’m sure mine will be nowhere near π
Once again, you are making me hungry! These sound awesome. Now I just need to get Hubby to make them for me. π
Yours are so much prettier than mine! This is definitely one of our favorites though.
What a nice change from the tacos. Enchiladas is one of my favorite dinner meals – it’s been a while since i’ve made them but that has to change ASAP!
Wow. Just wow. I love enchiladas and can never decide if I prefer red or green sauce. Right now, I’m going with red!
Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is collecting links to posts about Mexican dishes and flavours. I do hope you link this one in. This is the link . Please do pop back to check out some of the other links β there are a lot of good ones already. Have a great week.
This looks amazing….