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Close up shot of a row of chicken enchiladas in a baking dish topped with melted cheese and fresh herbs
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Chicken Enchiladas

These chicken enchildas are a blistering tray of tortilla wrapped shredded chicken, spiced with traditional flavours in a smoky, tomato sauce.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chicken enchiladas
Servings: 6 people
Author: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Equipment

Ingredients

For the chicken

  • 4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or chipotle paste
  • 3-4 cloves garlic pressed
  • 225ml / 1 cup This is an affiliate link.tomato passata / crushed tomatoes

For the enchiladas

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.ancho chilli powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 750ml / 3 cups This is an affiliate link.chicken stock

Other ingredients

  • 18 small corn tortillas
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese
  • 2 sprigs cilantro
  • 2 green onions sliced

Instructions

  • Prepare the chicken by mixing 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 chilli powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika or chipotle paste and pressed garlic. Arrange the chicken breasts at the bottom of the Instant Pot, pour the sauce over and mix to coat the chicken.
  • Pressure cook in Instant Pot on Manual at high pressure for 8 minutes. Allow for natural pressure release. Take the chicken out of the pot and shred with two forks, bring back to the liquid. Initially it will look like the chicken is swimming in the sauce but give it 10-15 minutes and most of the sauce will get absorbed up by the chicken. Alternatively, you can cook this chicken, covered with a lid or tin foil in the oven at 180C/350F for 40 minutes or until it could be shredded.
  • While the chicken is cooking make the enchilada sauce. In a saucepan heat the vegetable oil, then add the flour and mix to combine into a paste, then add the ancho chilli powder, onion and garlic powders, dried oregano, salt, ground cumin and tomato paste. Continue cooking it over low heat while stirring. You will have a thick dark coloured paste, which will smell very fragrant.
  • To that paste add a small amount of chicken stock and stir with a whisk until well blended, then pour in the rest of the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until it thickens slightly. Take off the heat and set aside till needed.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. You will need 2 9X13 inch rectangular pans to cook the enchiladas. Add 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce to the bottom of each pan and spread with a spatula to cover it entirely.
  • Assembling enchiladas is a messy affair, so wear kitchen gloves if you wish. To start the process, dip each corn tortilla into a hot enchilada sauce, this will soften it and make it more pliable as well as give it flavour. Then lay it on a cutting board and add some prepared shredded chicken filling, then roll it up like a cigar, then place in the pan seam side down. (See photos in the post for reference). Continue until the chicken and tortillas are used up and both pans are full. (If you have leftover chicken, keep it refrigerated and use up in quesadillas.)
  • Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, then top them with grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, cover with aluminium foil and cook in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then uncover and cook for 5-10 minutes longer until the cheese is bubbly.

Notes

    • The fastest and easiest way to prepare this juicy chicken filling is to use a pressure cooker. However, the instructions are given for both the Instant Pot devotees and traditional oven-users.
    • If you can’t get jarred enchilada sauce, you can use a salsa. I recommend blending any chunky types first though.
    • Enchilada recipes are straightforward and simple to follow. But they come in stages which can take time. Luckily, those stages can be broken up and spread over a couple of days. I.e. day one: pre-cook the chicken and sauce; day two: assemble and oven cook. 
    • You might be tempted to use flour tortillas, in the UK they are more widely available. I advise against it! They tend to go gummy in sauce. Traditionally, corn tortillas are used for enchiladas, and there’s a reason for that!
    • Rolling enchiladas can get very messy. Use kitchen gloves if getting down and dirty isn’t your thing.

Nutrition

Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 1129mg | Potassium: 827mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1014IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 251mg | Iron: 4mg