Chicken Enchiladas are one of the easiest, most flavorful dinner recipes ever! By using leftover shredded chicken, these Chicken Enchiladas are assembled in minutes with only a few ingredients. Creamy, cheesy, and perfectly spiced, you will be making this meal on repeat!
Serve these enchiladas with a side of Mexican Corn or Instant Pot Rice and Beans, and a Tropical Kale Smoothie, for a filling, easy family meal.
I have had probably over 100 variations of enchiladas. Vegetarian Enchiladas, Green Chicken Enchiladas, Pumpkin Enchiladas, Breakfast Enchiladas, and the list goes on.
But these Easy Chicken Enchiladas rank as one of my all-time favorites. It is the recipe my mom made for us growing up and they are SUPER easy! Not to mention creamy, a bit spicy, cheesy, and a true family favorite.
Anytime my mom had leftover shredded chicken, she whipped up chicken enchiladas. It was a recipe that people used to beg her for–and they were always shocked how simple these enchiladas are to make.
If you like Mexican and you like easy (seriously, if you don’t like easy–who are you?!!) these chicken enchiladas are for you.
Ingredients for Chicken Enchiladas
There are not many ingredients needed for this recipe, and there are modifications you can make to the ingredients to suit your family’s tastes. See recipe card at bottom of post for specific amounts.
- Shredded Chicken: You can use leftover Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, Oven Baked Chicken Breasts, or Rotisserie Chicken. If you don’t have any precooked chicken, you can parboil chicken breasts.
- Cream Cheese: Use neufetchel or full-fat cream cheese for the filling. And be sure to let it soften to room temperature so it is much easier to mix into the chicken. The spicy kick from the enchilada sauce is calmed down by the cream cheese added to the filling.
- Green Chiles: A can of diced green chiles add kick and flavor to the enchilada filling. If you don’t like spices, look for milk green chiles, but don’t omit as they add a lot of flavor!
- Enchilada Sauce: I use my homemade enchilada sauce as it is free from MSG and preservatives and I like the taste better. However, you can canned sauce if desired.
- Tortillas: Use any tortillas you like–homemade flour tortillas, corn tortillas, or gluten-free tortillas. Authentic chicken enchiladas call for corn tortillas, but they fall apart easily when rolled and my family does not care for the taste as much as flour tortillas. I have made these many times with gluten-free tortillas with success.
- Cheese: Cheese is a must to finish off these enchiladas. Use shredded cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Colby, or a combination of cheeses.
How to Make Chicken Enchiladas
Like I said the beauty of this recipe is that it is EASY!
Simply mix together the cream cheese, chicken, and green chiles. Fill the tortillas with the mixture, top with enchilada sauce and cheese and bake. Easy-Peasy.
However, there are a few tricks I want to share with you that will help you have the BEST enchiladas that are NOT soggy!
No More Soggy Enchiladas
One of my husband’s biggest complaints about homemade enchiladas is that they are often soggy. So, I set out to make enchiladas that are delicious, smothered in sauce, and that do not turn into a soggy, mushy mess.
I succeeded and want to share these simple tips with you!
- Preheat your baking dish BEFORE adding your rolled enchiladas to the pan. That way when you place your prepared chicken enchiladas into the pan, they will begin to crisp up on the bottom, keeping the tortillas from getting soggy.
- Do NOT put enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Most recipes call for covering the bottom of the pan with enchilada sauce. However, this will cause the bottom of the enchiladas to steam in the sauce, causing the tortillas to soak up the sauce and get really soggy. Instead, just cover the top of the enchiladas with the sauce. You will have all the flavor–just no mushy tortillas.
- Do NOT cover enchiladas with foil when baking. Again, this will cause your enchiladas to steam in the sauce and can result in soggy enchiladas. There is no need to cover with foil. Unless you are baking from frozen, then you will need to keep covered for part of the baking time so that enchiladas will cook through before drying out.
And now be prepared to enjoy enchiladas that are a bit crispy, a bit soft, and absolutely PERFECT!
Tips and Modifications for Chicken Enchiladas
- If you don’t have leftover chicken, you can parboil chicken breasts on the stove. Place about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then turn to medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove chicken and shred to use for chicken enchiladas.
- To prepare Chicken Enchiladas in advance. Simply roll the enchiladas and place into a greased pan. Cover with foil and place in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge while preheating the oven. Remove the foil. Cover with enchilada sauce and cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until warmed through.
- To freeze Chicken enchiladas, prepare up to baking, using a pan that is both freezer and oven safe. Cover with foil and freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to prepare, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are warmed through.
- These enchiladas are delicious served plain right out of the oven. However, I really enjoy topping with sour cream, diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and avocado. Top as you desire.
- Use shredded Salsa Verde Chicken for the filling for a tangy, fresh spin on the filling for the enchiladas.
More Tex Mex Favorites
Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened (very important to use soft cream cheese for smooth filling and easy mixing.
- 1 4 ounce can diced green chiles (do not drain)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 8 flour tortillas 8 inch size
- 1 cup enchilada Sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and place in oven to preheat for 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese with cumin, salt, and diced green chiles, until well combined. Add in shredded chicken and mix well.
- Place about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in preheated pan
- Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas and then sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted.
- Serve enchiladas with minced cilantro, sour cream, avocados, etc
Yummy! 2 thumbs way up from my whole family, even the pickest 6 year old eater, who hates everything. I used your recipe to cook frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot. Also used your recipe to make the enchilada sauce (yum!) I gave my picky eater 1/2 of one and she surprisingly ate quickly and asked “can I have more of that yummy stuff?” She also commented “I hope there’s some for lunch tomorrow” and “I love enchiladas!” Thank you for a new family favorite recipe.
Ah, that is so sweet! I love hearing how much your picky eater (and your whole family) enjoyed these enchiladas! Thank you for taking the time to share.
This has become our favorite Chicken Enchilada recipe. Your homemade Enchilada Sauce is so tasty and makes this recipe pop with flavor. I use 2 cups of the sauce instead of one…PERFECT! Your recipes have pulled me back into the kitchen with delicious, easy meals. Your Instant Pot recipes are GREAT, too! Bless you and your precious family during this challenging time in our world. You make it fun to cook again!!
You just made my day Melinda! I am so happy to hear how much your family enjoys my recipes 🙂 Blessings to your family as well!
taste absolutely fantastic, making tomorrow for friends, Easy, quick and so delicious. thanks so much.
I am so glad you enjoy this so much and I hope your friends love it as well.
I love when I find a meal that my whole family enjoys and this one was a winner! So easy to put together using leftover chicken.
I am so glad your family enjoyed Jen!
Love these enchiladas, easy and yummy!
Yay for easy and yummy! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
So much flavor, we couldn’t get enough!
I LOVE hearing you enjoyed so much Courtney!