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Easy Chicken Enchiladas

A restaurant classic made easy as can be.

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This is not the first time I’ve told you how much I love enchiladas. No, I’ve told you here and here and here. I’ll probably tell you again a number of times, too. But these Chicken Enchiladas are especially easy to love. They have classic flavor, take only a few ingredients to whip up, and are easy enough for any given weeknight. Give them a try and they’ll surely be a new go-to.

This is a six-ingredient situation, seriously. It’s a great use for leftover rotisserie chicken, should you have it, and if you’re using store-bought enchilada sauce, it takes mere minutes to throw together. First up, the filling:

That’s just chicken, some cumin, and your favorite salsa. Don’t have salsa on hand? You can use some of the enchilada sauce in a pinch. You’re just looking to add flavor and keep things moist.

Then you want to roll that filling up in a tasty little tortilla bed (with some cheese, of course). Very important: you need those tortillas to be pliable so they don’t break and you do that with heat. My favorite way is to wrap them in a damp towel and microwave them for a minute, flipping them over halfway through.

Roll, and line ’em up in your baking dish.

And top them with sauce and cheese. Now, enchilada sauce is reasonably easy to make but since these are meant to be super easy enchiladas, we’re going with storebought sauce. It’s a great thing to keep in the pantry for weeknight meals and you’re honestly not sacrificing flavor with storebought — it’s still delicious.

And there you have it! Classic, comforting, cheesy, and easy as can be!

Yield(s): Serves 6

15m prep time

20m cook time

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5
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Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
  • 1/2 cup salsa
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 cups red enchilada sauce
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, salsa, cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
  3. Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute, flipping halfway through. (You can also warm them on the stove. You just want to make them more pliable.)
  4. Line the center of each tortilla with some of the chicken mixture and a bit of cheese, leaving at least 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for topping. Roll each tortilla closed and place seam side down in baking dish.
  5. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas, then top with remaining cheese.
  6. Bake until cheese is melted, and sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes.
  7. Serve hot and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Isabel Eats.