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Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
These easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas include lean chicken, hearty black beans, aromatic Tex-Mex spices and veggies, and gooey cheddar cheese, all wrapped in soft tortillas and smothered in a rich, flavorful red enchilada sauce. Soon to be a family favorite!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (15-16 ounces) red enchilada sauce (rec: Siete Enchilada Sauce)
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, juice and all
- 1/3 cup salsa (rec: Mateo’s Salsa, mild or medium)
- 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas (rec: Stacy’s Organic Whole Wheat Tortillas)
- 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (sub: Monterey Jack)
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9×13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish (and reserve the rest).
- Saute Onions & Chicken: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute for 4 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Cook Filling: Sprinkle the taco seasoning and garlic over the chicken/onion mixture and stir to coat. Stir in black beans, green chiles, and salsa and simmer for about 4 minutes, until sauce thickens and reduces.
- Build Casserole: Arrange the tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with a generous 1/2 cup chicken/bean mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up tortillas and place them seam-side down, side-by-side in the baking dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas. Then, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake: Bake enchiladas for 15 minutes, until cheese is golden.
Freeze For Later: Pour 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of 9×13-inch freezer-safe casserole dish. Follow Steps 2-4. Either snap on an air-tight lid or wrap the casserole in multiple layers of plastic wrap or foil, squeezing out any excess air. Label and freeze the casserole for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw enchiladas in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake enchiladas for 15 minutes, or until bubbling on the edges and cheese is golden brown on top. If the enchiladas are somewhat frozen when cooking, cover them in foil and bake longer until hot in the center.
Notes/Tips
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- I made a choice to make this recipe a little easier by using flour tortillas than the traditional corn tortillas. That’s because the corn tortillas need to be warmed first so they don’t fall apart and dipped in the enchilada sauce before rolling. It’s messier and takes longer. But, if that’s your thang, go for it! I also like using whole wheat tortillas because they have more fiber and are bigger than the corn tortillas. I highly recommend using Stacy’s Organic Whole Wheat Tortillas because of their clean ingredients. I find these at health food stores.
- Spice Level: You can adjust the spice level of this recipe by the ingredients you use. If you don’t like things to be too spicy, I would suggest buying “mild” for the salsa, taco seasoning, green chiles, and enchilada sauce. When I tested with mild salsa, medium chiles, and medium enchilada sauce, it was pretty spicy for my kids. (My husband and I loved it, though.)
- Gluten-Free Swaps: If you’d like to make this recipe GF, use an enchilada sauce that’s gluten-free like Siete brand. Use 8-inch gluten-free flour tortillas (I’ve found that the corn tortillas are too small and fall apart easily.)
- To Make It Healthier: If you want to up the nutrition ante on this casserole, use whole wheat organic tortillas (like Stacy’s Organic Tortillas found in health food stores), use an all-natural enchilada sauce (like Siete brand) or make your own, and cut back on the cheese a little. You could also add in diced bell peppers when sautéing the onions to include more veggies.
- Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our meat from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from small, trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves. Read my honest review here.