Enchiladas are kind of like lasagne — time consuming to make, but always always worth it. If you don’t have time to cook chicken, substituting a rotisserie chicken makes these enchiladas super easy to put together. Make these in the morning and spend the rest of the day stress free knowing dinner is only 15 minutes away. You can’t have enchiladas without beans and rice, so these two side dishes complete the meal.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast (you can also use a fully cooked rotisserie chicken)
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cans of diced green chilies
2-4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced (add more for lots of heat, less if you like less heat)
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 15 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes
16 flour tortillas (or corn to make it gluten free)
1 1/2 cups of your favorite enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses (I also like to use the Mexican blend from Trader Joes)
Optional garnishes: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Instructions

Coat large sauté pan with oil. Season chicken** generously with salt and pepper, and sprinkle both sides with the cumin, garlic powder and chili powder. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Remove chicken to a platter, and allow to cool.
Once it’s cooked, using 2 forks, shred the chicken and set aside
**If using rotisserie chicken, tear off pieces of the chicken, shred them and add to the sauté pan. Sprinkle with the spices and warm over medium low heat. Once warm remove from pan and set aside.
Sauté onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Don’t worry if you’re using rotisserie chicken because there won’t be drippings, but you’ll still get the flavor from the spices that will incorporate into the onions and garlic. Add chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned stewed and fire roasted tomatoes, sauté 1 minute.
Add shredded cooked (or rotisserie) chicken to sauté pan, combine with vegetables.
Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable.
Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce into a shallow dish. Dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Roll the tortilla over to seal in the filling and lay the filled tortilla in the pan, seam side down. Once you have 8 filled tortillas in the pan, top with ½ the remaining enchilada sauce and ½ the cheese. When one pan is filled, continue the same process for the next pan, using the rest of the enchilada sauce and the rest of the cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven until cheese melts.
Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving.

Have you made this recipe?I’d love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

Chicken Enchiladas with Black Beans and Spanish Rice