These delicious chicken enchiladas are made quick and easy with leftover or store bought rotisserie chicken. And the addition of the homemade enchilada sauce makes them a crowd pleaser.
Be sure and watch the how to video at the end.
I love a good enchilada. And I love a quick and delicious meal. I love to make these enchiladas with leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken purchased at the store to cut the cooking time in half! And I prefer my enchiladas made with corn tortillas. But if you prefer flour tortilla, feel free to switch them out.
Start by shredding your cooked chicken and combining it with enchilada sauce. You can use your favorite store bought enchilada sauce, but homemade enchilada sauce is easy to make and so yummy! The first step is to use the chicken from your rotisserie chicken and combine it with some enchilada sauce Then add in some cheese, cilantro and chopped green chiles.
Then, soften the tortillas by wrapping them in a paper towel and microwaving them for about a minute. This will help you roll the enchiladas. You want them nice and warm and soft. Place about 1/3 cup of filling in the middle of each tortilla and roll.
Fill the pan with your rolled chicken enchiladas.
And cover the top of the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce, cheese and green onion.
Bake for 20 -25 minutes, until your cheese is wonderfully melted and gooey.
Serve with your favorite side and enjoy a yummy plate of homemade enchiladas!
Check out these easy chicken recipes:
Layered PoppySeed Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Chicken Enchiladas and Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 C shredded rotisserie chicken
- 3 C shredded cheddar cheese or a combination of cheddar and jack cheese
- 2-3 C enchilada sauce canned or homemade
- 1 can chopped green chiles drained
- 1/3 C chopped fresh cilantro
- 12 soft corn tortillas
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion minced
- 3 Tbsp chili powder
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
- 1/2 C water
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the shredded chicken with 2 cups of the cheese and 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, chilies and cilantro.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Soften the tortillas in the microwave by placing them on a paper towel covered plate and then plastic wrap on top. Microwave on high for 1 - 1/2 minutes, depending on how many tortillas you are softening at once.
- Instead of microwaving, I like to fry them lightly in some hot oil for about 5 seconds on each side. This will help the tortilla hold up better and not get mushy. Blot them between paper towels to remove excess oil.
- Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
- Fill each tortilla with about 1/4-1/3 cup of chicken mixture and roll up, placing seam side down into the pan.
- Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled up enchiladas and add the remaining cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
- Remove foil and bake for about 5 minutes more or until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown. May serve with additional sauce if desired.
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Heat oil in skillet.
- Add in onion and salt and cook until onions are softened. About 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chili powder, garlic, cumin and sugar.
- Cook for a few minutes or until it smells really good.
- Add in tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened. About 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Video
Nutrition
I made this with the home made enchilada sauce. It was pretty good but I think one less tablespoon of chili powder in the sauce would have made it less overpowering.
Thanks very much for this recipe, Leanne. I have made it several times. My husband and I really enjoy it. Yesterday, I made it for a big family Mexican dinner. It was the hit of the evening with lots of requests for the recipe. Of course I will share! 🙂
Delicious! I used Ortega taco sauce but tweaked it using some semblance of your sauce recipe. I added a can of black beans. Will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Could I make this recipe ahead of time and freeze it? Do you think that it would freeze well? Thanks!
I think you could but the texture of the tortilla may change somewhat.
Very good 🙂
Hi. I made these tonight and it was a hit. I only had green enchiladas sauce but it still was delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I was wondering if I could make this as a casserole and if I could prepare it the night before. I want to make it for our church lunch for about 100 people! Please advise… Thank you.
So glad you loved it too! I bet it was yummy with green sauce. This could easily be made for 100 people, just do a lot of 9 x 13 pans full. Could be done a day ahead and refrigerated and then baked the day of.
Just cooked these tonight for the first time. They were so easy and delicious! I’m getting raves from my family!
Yeah! So glad you all loved it.
I made this recipe last night. The “Fam” LOVED IT!! Thanks for sharing.. This is definitely a keeper..(:
So glad your family loved it! One of our family’s all time favorites
I made your enchiladas tonight, including the homemade sauce, and they were delicious! I’ve never made enchilada sauce from scratch and will from now on. I can’t eat gluten and many canned sauces have ingredients I can’t eat. Thanks for this recipe!
Made these last night and they were awesome! Loved the sauce recipe very easy to make and tasty!
So glad you liked them – definitely comfort food for me!!
I made this recipe tonight as my husband was craving enchiladas and they turned out SO GOOD! I did not get rotisserie chicken but cooked some chicken breasts instead that I seasoned with taco mix after I shredded them. Also I followed your instructions to prepare the enchilada sauce and even though I was a bit sceptic at first (3 Tbsp of Chili powder?! lol..) it turned out delicious. Defninitely cooking this again, thank you for this great recipe 🙂
It’s a favorite at our house – glad you liked it.
They do look great, I am making them for Xmas Dinner I hope try look and taste good as your’s Leigh.
These are amazing! Restaurant quality. I love Mexican food and enchiladas are my fave. Great recipe. Thank you!!!
So glad you enjoyed them!!
great looking recipes.. im sure they taste just as good.
Made these last night for the “fam”! They were a big hit! We topped them with sour cream, lettuce, and diced fresh tomatoes….really good! Thanks so much!
the recipes sound (and look) yum… my family’s sure to enjoy them…
These look amazing! I’m looking forward to trying them. Have you seen these great things that heat up the tortillas? You just put the tortillas in, put the whole thing in the microwave for about 20 seconds, and the tortillas come out warm and pliable. It’s great because you reuse it for years and don’t have to throw away lots of damped paper towels or other wrap. This is the one I have and I love it! http://www.amazon.com/Camerons-Products-Tortilla-Warmer-Peppers/dp/B0025UIDAM/ref=pd_sbs_k_2
I haven’t seen them but now that I have I think I need one!!
They’re so great! It’s a great way to keep them warm for parties as well. I had a mexican food dinner party last year and the tortillas stayed warm for a long time inside of the pouch. 🙂
Awesome going to buy the tort. warmer! Thanks for the link ????
I love enchiladas – and what a great thing to do with leftover chicken. Have to make this sometime – hmm, my birthday dinner is going to be Friday – I think I’ll print this off my hubby!
Do you put green onion in your chicken mixture too. It’s not in the recipe but I see them baked on the top in the picture. Do you just use them as a garnish on top? Thanks! These look yummy.
The green onion is in the photo before they are baked so I would say just sprinkle them on before baking.
I just used a little bit more on top after they baked for a garnish and to make them look pretty.
Yum! These look delicious. I will definitely be making these soon. 🙂
My husband and i LOVE enchilladas. We’ll definitely be trying this recipe. Thanks for posting it!
These look amazing! I am excited to try making the homemade enchilada sauce as well! My mom always put lettuce on top of the enchiladas she made when I was growing up. It’s an excellent touch!
I love enchiladas too. I sometimes use canned chicken from Costco in a pinch. They are so easy when you don’t have to add the step of cooking the chicken.
Delish!!! I love enchiladas and I adore the use of a rotisserie chicken to make them. Great short cut and delicious looking dish. I’m with you, too, the lettuce is crucial to a good enchilada! Wouldn’t want one with out it 🙂