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.
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 chicken 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 chicken enchiladas!
Looking for more quick and easy recipes? Check out these recipes using rotisserie chicken:
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 chicken with 2 cups of the cheese and 1 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.
- 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 and 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 another 10 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.
Nutrition
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Andrea the Kitchen Witch
August 11, 2011 at 6:57 amDelish!!! 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 🙂
Caren with a "C"
August 11, 2011 at 9:15 amI 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.
Angie Tijerina
August 11, 2011 at 11:39 amThese 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!
Jeni
August 11, 2011 at 1:02 pmMy husband and i LOVE enchilladas. We’ll definitely be trying this recipe. Thanks for posting it!
Amy
August 11, 2011 at 2:33 pmYum! These look delicious. I will definitely be making these soon. 🙂
Liz
August 11, 2011 at 7:12 pmDo 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.
Kathi
February 9, 2012 at 9:30 amThe green onion is in the photo before they are baked so I would say just sprinkle them on before baking.
Leigh Anne
February 9, 2012 at 10:00 amI just used a little bit more on top after they baked for a garnish and to make them look pretty.
Robyn Neville
August 11, 2011 at 9:39 pmI 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!
Saleta
August 12, 2011 at 6:05 pmThese 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
Leigh Anne
August 12, 2011 at 9:37 pmI haven’t seen them but now that I have I think I need one!!
Saleta
August 20, 2011 at 9:07 amThey’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. 🙂
Brenda
January 7, 2017 at 11:45 amAwesome going to buy the tort. warmer! Thanks for the link 😉
foodaholic
August 14, 2011 at 12:05 pmthe recipes sound (and look) yum… my family’s sure to enjoy them…
Jana
August 16, 2011 at 7:28 amMade 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!
Shawn
September 3, 2011 at 10:26 amgreat looking recipes.. im sure they taste just as good.
Christine
September 9, 2011 at 12:29 pmThese are amazing! Restaurant quality. I love Mexican food and enchiladas are my fave. Great recipe. Thank you!!!
Leigh Anne
September 9, 2011 at 12:52 pmSo glad you enjoyed them!!
Romana
May 2, 2013 at 5:02 pmI 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 🙂
Leigh Anne
May 3, 2013 at 3:45 pmIt’s a favorite at our house – glad you liked it.
martha
December 23, 2013 at 5:00 pmThey do look great, I am making them for Xmas Dinner I hope try look and taste good as your’s Leigh.
Meli
May 2, 2014 at 9:19 amMade these last night and they were awesome! Loved the sauce recipe very easy to make and tasty!
Leigh Anne
May 2, 2014 at 9:51 amSo glad you liked them – definitely comfort food for me!!
Natalie
May 5, 2014 at 8:44 pmI 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!
Melissa Bower
October 11, 2014 at 11:21 amI made this recipe last night. The “Fam” LOVED IT!! Thanks for sharing.. This is definitely a keeper..(:
Leigh Anne
October 11, 2014 at 1:20 pmSo glad your family loved it! One of our family’s all time favorites
Tammie
January 12, 2015 at 6:11 pmJust cooked these tonight for the first time. They were so easy and delicious! I’m getting raves from my family!
Leigh Anne
January 12, 2015 at 8:38 pmYeah! So glad you all loved it.
Stacey
May 28, 2015 at 8:28 pmHi. 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.
Leigh Anne
May 29, 2015 at 7:34 amSo 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.
Val Schnur
September 12, 2015 at 2:21 pmVery good 🙂
Kelli
February 1, 2017 at 8:03 pmCould I make this recipe ahead of time and freeze it? Do you think that it would freeze well? Thanks!
Leigh Anne
February 1, 2017 at 8:27 pmI think you could but the texture of the tortilla may change somewhat.
Ann
March 24, 2018 at 10:41 pmDelicious! 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.