Easy Chicken Enchiladas

These Easy Chicken Enchiladas are baked in casserole form for a simple, delicious weeknight meal. This crowd-pleaser is comfort food at its best!

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It’s easy to make delicious Mexican food at home. Take these Easy Chicken Enchiladas for instance. Aside from sautéing up some onions and a jalapeno, there isn’t any other cooking until the whole dish goes into the oven.

Sure, it can get a little messy filling and rolling the tortillas…but that mess is worth it. After all, you end up with a large dish full of cheesy goodness! (This recipe yields 10 portions. That’s enough for a large family…or in our case, leftovers for the week.)

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

These Easy Chicken Enchiladas feature corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken, cheese and more cheese. And then the entire thing is topped with green enchilada sauce for a tangy flavor. From there, the dish goes into the oven until the cheese is all melty and gooey. This classic recipe is easy enough to make on a weeknight, and it’s always a crowd favorite!

Traditional enchiladas are pan-fried in oil. While they are mighty tasty, they also require more work. This Easy Chicken Enchiladas recipe cuts out a lot of that work by baking the rolled enchiladas in a casserole style. You can either serve the enchiladas individually, or just scoop out portions as you would a traditional casserole.

Chicken Enchilada Ingredients

• Shredded Chicken. Part of what makes this recipe so easy is that it uses shredded rotisserie chicken. We always keep bags of rotisserie chicken in the freezer. They’re a timesaver for all sorts of recipes! This recipe would also be a great way to use leftover chicken. Diced, cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts could also be used here.
• Onion, Jalapeno and Garlic. I used a white onion in this recipe, but any color of onion would work. In addition to the diced onions, a diced jalapeno (seeds removed) and some minced garlic adds so much flavor to the recipe!
• Cream Cheese and Sour Cream. Cream cheese might not be a traditional ingredient in enchiladas, but it’s a game-changer when it comes to this baked enchilada recipe. The sour cream and cream cheese leads to a creamy filling that will have everyone in the family asking for more.
• Salsa. Another shortcut ingredient! The salsa boosts the flavor in this recipe without adding more prep work. We used a traditional tomato-based salsa, but feel free to mix it up. Go with a Hatch green chile salsa or even a corn salsa. If you like it hot, use a spicy salsa!
• Corn Tortillas. We usually make this dish with corn tortillas as they bring more flavor. However, flour tortillas would also work well in this recipe. (Side note: Using corn tortillas keeps this recipe gluten-free.)
• Cheese. Pepper Jack cheese or Monterey Jack cheese would both be good options here depending on your preferences. Both of these cheeses melt well! We went with Cabot Pepper Jack cheese for this version.
• Enchilada Sauce. The enchilada sauce adds moisture and flavor to the recipe. We’ve made this baked chicken enchilada casserole using both green enchilada sauce and red enchilada sauce. Go with your preferences here – or just switch out the enchilada sauce for an entirely different flavor profile. (When we use green enchilada sauce, sometimes we boost the flavor by adding a can of diced green chilies.)

I topped these Easy Chicken Enchiladas with chopped cilantro, but that’s entirely optional. If cilantro isn’t your thing, then you could skip it. Other topping options include a dollop of sour cream, diced tomatoes or diced avocados. My wife added some pickled red onions to hers because she absolutely loves the vinegary flavor.

What to Serve with Chicken Enchiladas

We served these Easy Chicken Enchiladas with some steamed veggies. To keep the Mexican theme going, other options might be Mexican rice or seasoned black beans. A simple salad would also be a great side dish!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover enchiladas should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, place in a dry skillet over medium heat or just microwave.

This recipe also freezes very well! Feel free to put half of the dish straight into the freezer…or just make a double batch and freeze the second one. To freeze, let the enchiladas cool and then place in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

If you’re looking for an easy dinner recipe that is sure to be a family favorite, then make a batch of these Easy Chicken Enchiladas this week! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do here in our house!

Did you make this Easy Chicken Enchiladas recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

These Easy Chicken Enchiladas are baked in casserole form for a simple, delicious weeknight meal!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 573kcal

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Ingredients

• ½ Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced white onions
• 1 jalapeno diced, ribs and seeds removed
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup salsa
• 4 cups chopped cooked chicken (see note)
• 10 6”-7” corn tortillas, see note
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese I used Cabot Pepper Jack
• 2 10-oz. cans green enchilada sauce
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spray a 9”x13” baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set pan aside.
• Using a large skillet, add olive oil and place over medium heat.
• Once hot, add onions and jalapeno; sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the garlic; continue sauteing for 1-2 more minutes, stirring often. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
• Place cream cheese in a microwavable bowl and microwave in 15-second intervals until soft and easy to stir.
• Transfer softened cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Add sour cream and salsa; blend until well combined. Add cooked chicken and sauteed onion mixture (from above); stir until well combined.
• Spread ½ cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.
• To assemble enchiladas, spread ~1 Tbsp of enchilada sauce on each tortilla. Spread ~¼ cup of chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Sprinkle ~2 Tbsp of cheese on top of chicken filling. Roll each tortilla up and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Pour any remaining enchilada sauce on top of rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining shredded cheese. (Note: Feel free to create a 2nd layer of enchiladas on top if needed!)
• Wrap top of baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove foil and continue baking for 20-25 minutes, or until top begins to turn light golden brown.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Notes

Using a rotisserie chicken makes this recipe very easy!

Corn tortillas are typically not as soft as flour tortillas. To soften corn tortillas before rolling, brush the tortillas lightly with vegetable oil and stack on a microwaveable plate. Microwave for 60 seconds.

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