This Mexican inspired Chicken Enchilada Recipe is absolutely the BEST! Enchiladas are easier than you think – flour tortillas filled with chicken in the most delicious homemade enchilada sauce, loaded with cheese.
This is a great make-ahead meal and is especially good topped with Pico De Gallo!
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Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing our EASY Chicken Enchiladas!
Chicken Enchilada Recipe:
Chicken Enchiladas are a classic Mexican dish. Not only are the enchiladas easy to make, but they are so filling and loved by kids and adults alike. Enchiladas are essentially tortillas filled with chicken and smothered in a creamy homemade enchilada sauce and cheese.
Just like our Mexican Pulled Pork Carnitas, this enchilada recipe is sure to become a new favorite.
Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing our EASY Chicken Enchiladas!
How to Make Chicken Enchiladas:
- Cook chicken – and shred chicken with two forks. Save time by using leftover cooked chicken (like our Instant Pot Whole Chicken) or even a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Prepare enchilada sauce – In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, add sour cream, enchilada sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, green chilis, and beat until combined.
- Prepare the filling – Divide this enchilada sauce mixture into two bowls, about ⅔ of the sauce mixture in bowl one and ⅓ of the mixture into a second bowl. Add the cooked chicken into the first bowl with 2 cups of shredded cheese.
- To Assemble Enchiladas – Take the cheesy chicken filling from bowl 1 and place it into the center of each tortilla.
- Arrange Enchiladas – Tightly roll up the tortilla and place seam-side-down into a 9”x13” baking dish. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Pour the reserved ⅓ part enchilada sauce mixture over all of the tortillas and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese (you can add more cheese if you like a lot of cheese).
- Bake – Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and begins to turn a golden brown.
NOTE: Use your favorite cheese. Mexican, Four Cheese or Colby Jack will all work great in this recipe.
What to Serve with Chicken Enchiladas:
Though you can serve the enchiladas just as they come out of the oven, you can also add personalized toppings. Here are some of the most popular toppings to serve with enchiladas:
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Red onion
- Homemade Spicy Guacamole
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pico de Gallo
- Jalapenos, fresh or jarred
- Jalapeno Ranch
Can I Prepare Enchiladas in Advance?
Yes! These enchiladas are great to prepare in advance. Prepare the recipe per instructions (don’t bake), cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. NOTE: Since the ingredients will all be cold, add an additional 5 minutes baking time to the dish when covered with foil.
I hope these homemade enchiladas become a family favorite. We especially love that you can add the toppings buffet style and allow the family members to each add their favorite toppings.
More Crowd-Pleasing Dinner Ideas:
- Shrimp Tacos with the Best Shrimp Taco Sauce
- Philly Cheesesteak Quesadillas – everyone loves these
- Shrimp Fajitas – so simple and delicious
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken– Ready in just 15 minutes
- Chicken Lo Mein– So much better than takeout
The BEST Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas, 10-inch burrito size
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast or thighs
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 4.5 oz diced green chilis, with their juice
- 20 oz mild red enchilada sauce, (We used 2 - 10oz cans)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided (Mexican, Four Cheese or Colby Jack)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Shred pre-cooked chicken or cook your own: Add chicken to a saucepan, completely cover with water and season with 1 tsp salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken with two forks and set aside.
- Make the Enchilada Sauce Mix: In a bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add the sour cream, green chilis, enchiladas sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika; beat until combined.
- Divide the enchilada sauce mixture into two bowls, add 2/3 of the sauce into a large bowl. Set aside the remaining 1/3 of the sauce for the top.
- Add the shredded chicken with 2 cups cheese to the first bowl with 2/3 of the sauce. Mix with a spatula to combine.
- Generously add chicken filling to the center of each tortilla and roll up tortillas tightly. Arrange the tortillas in a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Pour the reserved 1/3 of sauce over the tortillas and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese (add more cheese if desired).
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400˚F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
These sound yummy. Can I use corn tortillas instead and would the cooking time remain the same?
Hi Debbie, we prefer it with flour tortillas but it will work with corn tortillas also. Here’s what one of my readers wrote: “I have used both corn tortillas and flour tortillas and they both turn out GREAT!” I hope that helps!
So I forgot to buy tortillas! DOH! I put this all in a baking dish with some cooked penne pasta, topped with cheese and baked until cheese melted. My family liked it.
What a great idea! I’m glad it worked.
What? No mention of baking temperature? What gives? Please can you provide. Assuming 350 degrees.
Hi Sue, we have it in the first step of the instructions and in the last step.
“Step 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9×13 casserole dish.”
“Step 7. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400˚F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.”
I hope that helps!
These were wonderful, especially the sauce. The addition of the cream cheese and sour cream add so much more to plain enchilada sauce. So delicious. I can see using shrimp, fish, beef or almost any filling. So yummy. Natasha has done it again.
Hi Andrea! That is a great idea. I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Turned out awesome! Topped with chopped tomato, avocado, and green onion, with a dollop of sour cream.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Larry!
This sounds delicious. What Enchilada sauce did you use? I’ve tried a few & was not happy. Don’t want to try another without a good sauce.
Hi Donna, I usually do homemade enchilada sauce. Prepare enchilada sauce – In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, add sour cream, enchilada sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, green chilis, and beat until combined.
I have the same question. I have sworn off red sauce enchiladas because I couldn’t stand the taste of the canned sauce. When your recipe calls for “enchilada sauce”, can you share what brand you use?? Or do you make your own enchilada sauce? (Your reply to Donna doesn’t actually say what brand of red enchilada sauce you use). Can you please share? Thanks!
Any brand will do. Here’s my recipe for the enchilada sauce. Prepare enchilada sauce – In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, add sour cream, any brand of enchilada sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, green chilis, and beat until combined.
My family loved this! Thank you! Such a win tonight! It says I need to say more to leave a comment. I have no recipe corrections or changes that are necessary. It’s a solid recipe!
That’s wonderful to hear, Jenny! Thank you for sharing.
Tried this recipe tonight. Unfortunately, we did not care for it. Very few items I’ve ever prepared that my husband won’t eat – but he actually told me he would not argue with me if I decide to throw it.
Recipe would probably be better with a green enchilada sauce, the red sauce was not good.
HI Diane, I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t meet your expectations. I will do my best to help troubleshoot. Was anything changed in the recipe or maybe any substitutions made? Maybe it was a specific type of enchilada sauce that didn’t work well?
Could ground meat be substituted for the chicken in the same amount? If so what lean:fat ratio would you use.
Hi Mark, I haven’t tried it, but you can try ground beef instead.
I’ve made these enchiladas many times and it is always a hit! My husband loves them and it makes a great meal for company. I have used both corn tortillas and flour tortillas and they both turn out GREAT! I have also used chicken in a can and it is an easy quick alternative when you don’t have rotisserie chicken or chicken ready and thawed for this meal. Planning to make it this upcoming week for my in-laws who will be in town. They were missionaries in Ukraine for 30 years ❤️
Hi Marta! Thank you for sharing that. So glad this recipe is a hit! 🙂
Sooo delicious and easy to make. Will be adding this recipe in the rotation.
I’m glad you found a favorite to add to your rotation. Thank you.
Hi trying this recipe but I’m wondering if you have a recipe to make the sauce from scratch?
Hi Erika! I do not have a recipe for that at the moment.
I am definitely using this recipe fory dish but while researching and comparing I did find this website with an enchilada recipe. Her reviews are not as good as this recipe that I am gonna use but there was a link to a homemade enchilada sauce that I thought I would share with you since you asked. I hope it helps! I’m not making it, it’s gonna take too much of my day lol
https://kristineskitchenblog.com/homemade-enchilada-sauce/
This is a great recipe and freezes well
Any suggestions on how to make this low carb? Thank you! I make food for different families and I’d love to make your enchiladas but some of the families follow a low carb diet.
Hi Victoria! I believe they have keto or low-carb tortillas that you could purchase and use in place of flour tortillas. Also, you may consider using corn tortillas since they usually contain fewer carbs than flour tortillas. I would try to heat them up in the microwave beforehand so they are soft and moldable and able to be filled without tearing or splitting. I hope that helps!
Consider using a roasted poblano pepper. After roasting, remove the skin and slit it open to remove seeds. Fill with the chicken mixture and close it back up. It’s ready for the sauce and the oven.
Can you sub green enchilada sauce here instead of red enchilada sauce?
Hi Victoria, I saw one of readers commented this “I made these and only switched up the red enchilada sauce for the green and tossed a handful of Cilantro in they were very good which I new Natashia’s recipe would be thanks for sharing with all of us.” I hope that helps.
I made this tonight for the first time. The chicken breasts were small so I added canned black beans, drained and rinsed. I also used my homemade enchilada sauce. Topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato and a dollop of sour cream. Excellent!! I’ll be making this again!
That sounds wonderful, Patty! I’m so glad you loved this recipe.
These were delicious! My husband gobbled them up!
Just one question…bottoms were very crusty and difficult to cut. Suggestions?
Hi Nickie! I’m glad they were a hit! 🙂 You can try spreading a little sauce on the bottom of the pan before adding the enchiladas, not too much or they can become soggy. Also, check to see that your oven rack is centered and not too close to the bottom. Hope that helps.
Just finished making this and eating it! It is absolutely delicious and so easy to make! Made exactly as recipe is written. Love the detail in all the recipes you have! Thank you!!!
That’s wonderful, B! Thank you for the feedback.
WOW! Better than restaurant enchiladas. My family would not stop ranting and raving. I scaled this down for my family of 4 (small kids) and baked in an 8×8 pan, which yielded 6 enchiladas. I made the same amount of sauce, but reduced the chicken to 1lb and it was perfect. I boiled the chicken the day before, and shredded. The next morning i whipped up the sauce in 10 minutes and arranged the six enchiladas in the pan with the pour over sauce. Popped it in the oven in the evening and topped with tomato slices and sliced black olives for the last 10 minutes when i removed the foil (with a last sprinkle of cheese addition). I used the last 10 minutes to also warm some store bought tortilla chips in the oven as a nice “fresh” side, along with heating some canned black beans on the stove. Everyone loved this recipe and it’s our new favorite! I am still in shock at the delicious taste. ONE thing i would do differently is slightly oil spray my baking pan next time. The tortillas stuck pretty strongly to the baking dish and caked on.
Thank you for your awesome review, Reema! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I’m a little confused with this recipe. I made it two times already and it turned out very yummy but I feel like my sauce with the chicken turns out SO liquidy and I can’t understand why. I’ve been following all the measurements. I end up getting way more of the liquid and not enough chicken filling for 8 enchiladas.. any advice?
Hi Veronika, I haven’t had that happen, but I’m wondering if it’s the type of chicken used. Some chicken has more water infected in is to preserve them.
Good evening!
Delicious Natasha! I make so many of your recipes and they never fail 👋
That makes me happy! I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Brenda.
Wow! Delicious!!!!! Definitely a make again. Add some fresh cilantro on top and it’s even better.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Darquise!
This has become my go-to enchilada recipe and my friends and extended family all love it. I get requests for it! I’m in Australia, so have adapted it for ingredients available here, measurements etc, but it’s pretty faithful to yours, Natasha. And I do give you the credit for it – I don’t claim it as my own!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Deb! I’m so glad the family loves it!