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
Please tell me how to get each separate enchilada out of the pan w/o making a mess like the restaurants do? In Mexico they make them to order on individual plates. Thank you
Hi Juana! You can use a spatula to help lift them out. It helps to be able to see where the enchilada starts and ends so you know where to cut. I don’t know that I have a specific method to recommend. It takes some trial and error until you find a method/process that works for you.
Absolutely delicious! Follow recipe exactly except instead of chicken I use a can of refried beans. This way my vegetarian family can enjoy it too.
Takes a little more time to prep than it says on the recipe, but it’s an easy prep! I used a 28 ounce can of LasPalmas enchilada sauce, so I added more chicken and cheese and the consistency was fine. I made this ahead so it’s in the fridge and ready to bake tomorrow for my company! I’m serving it with Homemade authentic Spanish Rice, guacamole and chips. It’s very nice that it can be made ahead, as the guacamole and the Spanish rice have to be made tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Cyndee!
Those were absolutely the BEST chicken enchiladas I’ve ever made! I didn’t have green chillis, so I substituted half of a small, jalapeno pepper (diced and seeds). Thanks for sharing!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Margo!
This was delicious, even though I made some substitutions based on ingredients I had on hand. I seasoned the chicken thighs before baking them on a bed of freshly sliced sweet peppers and onion. I used one jar of red enchilada sauce and made up the rest of the sauce with leftover fresh salsa. I don’t care for flour tortillas, so I used corn tortillas. Due to that, it came out a little mushy, but super delicious as a casserole. I made sure to use the measurements in the recipe for the substituted ingredients.
So easy and delicious! This is a family favorite and will be making it again and again!
The Enchiladas were so dry
HI Winnie, I’m sorry to hear that. Could they have been over-baked? Also, did you mix sauce into the filling?
I’m going to try these & make up a couple casseroles for others.. Can these be frozen??
And if so.. do they have to be thawed first?
Hi Alyce. I haven’t frozen these. We have always enjoyed that fresh, but I imagine that may work. Let us know if you experiment.
Also- see my note above for assembling these in advance, refrigerating, and baking later.
Simple and delicious! Picky hubs said to add this to the rotation. Thank you for the recipe!
You’re very welcome!
These are great!! I typically use a green sauce for American/flour enchilada recipes so I was hesitant to try this, but I’ve only had good experiences with recipes from Natasha, and I was not disappointed! I used El Paso enchilada sauce and it worked just fine. I used a whole rotisserie chicken to get 1.5 lb of chicken. I think I’ll just use a lb next time as we had leftover meat after I put my preferred amount in the tortillas. I might also stick to soft taco sized tortillas. I added the extra tsp of salt to the chicken/sauce mix. I only baked for 30 mins, without the extra 10 uncovered and they came out great. I’m still waiting for a recipe on this site that I don’t like…not sure I’ll find one! Another hit to add to the rotation!
Thank you so much for your trust and great feedback. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe a lot!
I just think it’s awful how some people can not read a recipe and then complain about it. You have included everything a person would need to make these enchiladas which by the way are delicious.
Thank you for your kind comment, Chris! I’m so glad you enjoyed this enchiladas!
I was a bit skeptical at first with cream cheese in this, but I quickly changed my mind once I tasted it!! My family LOVED it! Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Darlene! You’re very welcome. Thanks for trying the recipe. I’m glad it was a hit!
Our family LOVES this recipe and it is really easy especially after your first time. I have made a few recipe from this site and have added them to our meal rotation. Always delicious ideas on Natashaskitchen.com!
I’m so glad to hear that, Jill!
I followed the recipe exactly but only had enough sauce/chicken for 6 enchiladas. I had to skimp on the last two even to get six. Next time I’ll double the sauce. (I used a 20 oz. can of sauce plus the other ingredients.) Also I noticed the recipe said to divide the 1-1/4 tsp salt. Unless I missed it, it never called for the remaining 1 tsp so I forgot it. I think it would’ve been too salty if I had added it. Lastly, I missed black olives so I added those to the top. They turned out good though!
This recipe makes no sense.
#2 combine the listed ingredience Add enchilada sauce ? How much, obviously not 20oz.
#3 Divide mixture into two
bowls. OK, then add 2/3 of enchilada sauce, chicken and cheese. OK but what happens to the 2nd bowl of the mixture?
HI Radcon, you make the sauce first which includes all of the enchilada sauce. Then you divide the entire sauce into 2 bowls. In the first bowl, you have 2/3 of the mixture and in the second bolw you have 1/3 of the mixnture. The second bowl gets poured over the top when they are assembled in the dish before baking. I tried to further clarify the instructions and hopefully it’s more clear now.
Wow.. I usually love this site for recipes. This was awful. You say you use your own recipe in the comments for the sauce although I don’t see a link that’s accessible to make your sauce, and even using popular enchilada sauce that’s canned you ask for extra salt and it made it way too salty. I think we need more clarification here
Hi T.S. The enchilada sauce is everything in step 2: “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.” With adding the cream achees and sour cream, 1/4 tsp of salt shouldn’t make it overly salty but you can add salt to taste.
Hi Natasha,
This is such a tasty recipe! I think the confusion stems from people misunderstanding the premade enchilada sauce and the enchilada mix that includes the premade sauce with the cream cheese, sour cream, etc…Anyways, it a great recipe and has become a regular in our dinner rotation! Thank you!
Thanks for the tip and suggestion. Good to know that this recipe has become one of your favorites!
My gosh, this recipe made wonderful enchiladas! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Betsy! I’m happy to know that you loved our Chicken Enchiladas Recipe.
These are the absolute best enchiladas that my family has ever had. I will be making them AGAIN tonight for a family of 5.
So glad to hear that!
This was a HUGE hit with my family. I didn’t have any chillies but it was still delicious
Hi Daniela, great to hear that your family loved our Chicken Enchiladas recipe!
Canned enchilada sauces have preservatives in them that make them very bitter. If you don’t like that, be sure to add some sugar. I added 1 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp seasoned salt, to the enchilada sauce to get that bitterness out. I would highly recommend just making your own. Otherwise the recipe is great!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Astriel!
I spent most of my life in Texas. Tex-Mex is everywhere there and much loved. Baking these now for my 2nd take on your delicious recipe! I use the John Soules pre cooked chicken fajitas. One pound is enough for me, using 12 regular size tortillas. Made these enchiladas with both corn and flour tortillas. Flour is easier to manipulate. Your recipe works great!!!! Delicious! I had no idea about the cream cheese and sour cream! Also used plain yogurt instead of sour cream the first time. Also delicious!
It’s so easy to make enchilada sauce with Roma tomatoes….a Mexican lady taught me.
8 Roma tomatoes cut in pieces
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic.
Salt and pepper
Optional: 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon chile powder
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon flour dissolved in water
Sauté onion and garlic and add tomatoes.
Simmer 25 minutes, cool slightly and blend in food processor or blender. Add back into pot and add chicken broth and flour mixture. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.