The Best Homemade Chicken Enchiladas

I have a chicken enchilada recipe for you that will change your life for the better. Say goodbye to canned enchilada sauce and get ready to experience a whole new level of taste and authentic flavor with homemade Mexican cuisine.

I first started making this recipe about five years ago after my friend Josie posted them on her blog. I have made them countless times since. Everything about them is homemade. You start from scratch with both the chicken and the sauce.

The homemade red sauce is seriously what makes this dish. It is so much better than anything you can buy pre-made and it’s not that complicated to prepare. Once you’ve prepped the sauce, the chicken cooks in the sauce. This results in tender, juicy chicken that has soaked up all the flavor of the sauce.

I love these enchiladas topped with sour cream, avocado and cilantro alongside my Mexican Quinoa recipe. This is a great dish to make and enjoy leftovers, to use for entertaining or to take to a friend. Everyone I have ever served these enchiladas to has absolutely loved them.

Here’s the recipe!

Chicken Enchiladas
(Recipe heavily adapted from Pink Parsley, originally America’s Test Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons sugar
1, 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
2 cups of the cheese blend of your choice (cheddar, monterey jack, Mexican blend, etc)
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
cooking spray
salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add oil. Once shimmering, add onion, jalepeno and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook until fragrant and covering the veggies, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water and tomato. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken to the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part reaches 160 degrees), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool.

Pour the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl. Press down on the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Once cool enough to handle, shred the chicken. Add chicken to the onion mixture and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese and the cilantro. Stir to combine.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Working one at a time, spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven uncovered for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly.

Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with condiments of your choice. I recommend sour cream, avocado, hot sauce, salsa, extra cilantro, etc.

Yield: 6 servings