These Easy Chicken Enchiladas are great for week night dinners. Rotisserie chicken and canned enchilada sauce help these delicious enchiladas quick to make!
About Easy Chicken Enchiladas
Whether for Cinco de Maya, Christmas Eve or simply the middle of the week, these chicken enchiladas are deliciously perfect almost anytime.
I mentioned Christmas Eve because, although we’re predominantly Irish, our family tradition has always served Mexican food on Christmas Eve.
No question that Chicken Enchiladas have always been at the top of the list followed closely by Tamales. Then maybe Fajitas.
And when the whole family gathers, well then may be all three.
But the star of the show is the enchiladas the way we have always made them.
Enchilada sauce dipped tortillas brimming with chicken, creme fraiche, garlic, onions and black olives all rolled up, snuggly tucked into a baking dish and sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese. Yum!
Just tasting them reminds me of happy parties.
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Ingredients for Easy Chicken Enchiladas
- Corn Tortillas: For authentic Mexican flavor
- Olive oil: For health
- Yellow onion: For total flavor
- Garlic: An extra layer of flavor
- Rotisserie chicken: For ease
- Creme Fraiche: For creaminess
- Prepared red enchilada sauce: For additional ease
- Black olives: Just adds the saltiness
- Cheddar cheese: For rich flavor and more creaminess
How to Make Easy Enchiladas
A cooked rotisserie chicken saves so much time. Just shred the chicken into a medium sized bowl.
Then add olive oil to a frypan over medium heat. Add sliced onions and stir until just browned. Stirring is important because they’ll burn easily.
Stir in the minced garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
Then add the onion mixture, along with the cream fraiche to the shredded chicken and mix thoroughly.
Instead of the creme fraiche you certainly can substitute sour cream. In fact, that’s how we originally made them.
But somewhere along the line we switched to creme fraiche and I really like the taste better. It’s just creamier.
The easiest way to make enchiladas is to have everything ready for each step of the way.
First, grease a large (approximately 9” x 12”) baking dish and spoon enough enchilada sauce in the bottom to coat it. This will be about 4 Tbsp.
Then add some enchilada sauce to a large plate. This will be the dipping platform for the corn tortillas.
And to make the tortillas more pliable to work with just place 3 tortillas between two paper towels and microwave them for 10-12 seconds.
A quick thought on the type of tortillas to use. Corn vs Flour. Some cooks prefer using flour tortillas because they’re easier to work with, but we’ve always used corn for a couple of reasons.
Corn has a more authentic Mexican taste and a better texture. Where flour tortillas, once they’re dipped in sauce, have a tendency to have a doughy, more gummy texture.
So now that everything is in place, it’s time to construct the enchiladas.
Begin by dipping a warmed corn tortilla into the enchilada sauce on both sides.
Then add about 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture down the middle.
Top with about 1 tsp chopped olives and add a light sprinkle of cheese.
Then roll the enchilada up and place it seam side down into the baking dish.
Continue to fill and roll the enchiladas placing each snugly into the dish.
Then sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese and about 2 Tbsp of chopped olives even over the top.
Place the enchiladas into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake 25-30 minutes.
These enchiladas are full of flavor but mild in heat. If you want it hotter, just use a hotter version of the enchilada sauce.
When they’re finished, sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Easy Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 6 Corn tortillas
- 2 Tsp Olive oil
- 1/2 Large Yellow onion Sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Cup Cooked chicken Cooked Rotisserie Chicken
- 2 Tbsp Creme Fraiche
- 1 14 oz can Enchilada Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Black olives Sliced
- 1 Cup Cheddar cheese Shredded
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Add the shredded chicken to a medium size mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Add olive oil to a fry pan over medium heat. When hot add onions and cook until just browned. Stir in minced garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
- Add the onion mixture to the shredded chicken and mix thoroughly.
- Grease a large (9' x 12") baking dish and spoon Tbsp of enchilada sauce in bottom to coat.
- Add 1/4 cup enchilada sauce to a plate.
- To make the tortillas more pliable, place 3 tortillas between 2 sheets of paper towels and microwave for 10-12 seconds.
- To construct the enchiladas: Take a tortilla and dip it into the enchilada sauce on the plate on both sides. Then add 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture, 1 tsp of sliced olives and a sprinkle of cheese down the middle of each tortilla. Roll up the enchilada and place it seam side down in the baking dish.
- Continue to fill the enchiladas placing each snugly into the dish.
- Then sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese and the olives evenly over the top.
- Place dish in the oven and bake 30-35 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Nutrition
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