Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Friday, August 10, 2018
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My favorite enchilada recipe! Loaded with chicken and cheese, these EASY Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas come out of the oven with a slight crunch, which makes them a little extra special.
As I said before, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas are one of my favorite Mexican recipes. They are so easy to make, the baked tortillas have a really nice crunch (I love crunchy foods!), and this dish is pretty-much fool-proof!
The secret to their slight crunch is the baking method. The assembled enchiladas bake uncovered for the first 10 minutes at a high temperature. Then, the oven temperature is lowered and the enchiladas are topped with sauce and cheese, covered with aluminum foil, and returned to the oven to bake 20 minutes. The final step is to remove the foil and bake uncovered for another five minutes or so to crisp them up!
We like to top our enchiladas with a little extra cilantro, fresh Avocado Salsa, and sour cream. Add a side of beans or rice and you have a complete, delicious Mexican dinner.
As I said before, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas are one of my favorite Mexican recipes. They are so easy to make, the baked tortillas have a really nice crunch (I love crunchy foods!), and this dish is pretty-much fool-proof!
The secret to their slight crunch is the baking method. The assembled enchiladas bake uncovered for the first 10 minutes at a high temperature. Then, the oven temperature is lowered and the enchiladas are topped with sauce and cheese, covered with aluminum foil, and returned to the oven to bake 20 minutes. The final step is to remove the foil and bake uncovered for another five minutes or so to crisp them up!
We like to top our enchiladas with a little extra cilantro, fresh Avocado Salsa, and sour cream. Add a side of beans or rice and you have a complete, delicious Mexican dinner.
Having a full-time career sometimes creates challenges for my weekend passion for cooking and blogging. The cooking and blogging are not the problem, but the preparation, planning, and shopping can often take more of my precious weekend hours than I like. I really, really enjoy browsing through cookbooks and food blogs for inspiration and I can completely loose track of time doing it!
That’s what makes the idea of Kroger’s ClickList so appealing to someone like me. I can plan my menu and at the same time build my shopping list online. With ClickList, it’s literally like having a personal shopper…so ultra convenient, right?!
I already do a fair amount of online shopping, but I had never really considered shopping for food online until I learned about Kroger’s ClickList. Using ClickList to do my grocery shopping online is really convenient and easy to use. My frequently purchased items are already listed when I log in, so I can click if I need to add those items to my cart this week. The search function allows me to find the items and brands that I want and I can see what I am spending as I add items to my cart.
With my first ClickList experience, I was a little concerned about adding produce items to my cart since I couldn’t “touch and feel” them myself, but everything was great quality!
Once my list and order was complete, all I had to do was choose my pick up time and then drive up to the designated pick up location. I paid for my groceries without even getting out of my car!
With the convenience of ClickList, I can dream up recipes, a dinner menu, or even a weeknight meal plan, and then add the ingredients that I’ll need to my shopping list as I think of them throughout my work week. That means I gain extra time for my weekend that I would have spent shopping for ingredients and gives me a jumpstart on doing what I really enjoy…cooking, entertaining, and sharing recipes with my friends and readers.
Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cans (3 cups) enchilada sauce
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
- 8 flour tortillas
- cooking spray
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Pour enchilada sauce into a deep skillet and add the minced garlic; heat to boiling. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides and add to the skillet, nestling into the sauce. Reduce to low heat and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the sauce and let the chicken and the sauce cool slightly. Use two forks to shred the chicken (pierce the chicken with one fork and hold it steady while slowly scraping the other fork, prongs faced backwards, away from the other fork).
- Lightly coat the bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add chicken, 3/4 cup reserved enchilada sauce, and 1 cup cheese to a large bowl. Add cilantro (if desired) and stir gently to combine.
- Warm the tortillas wrapped in a damp cloth or paper towel in the microwave on high for 20-30 seconds. Assemble the enchiladas by spooning a heaping 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla around the filling and place into the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Brush the tops of the enchiladas with a small amount of olive oil. Place the dish into the oven and bake uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until the tortillas begin to turn golden.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese over the sauce. Lightly cover with aluminum foil and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
- Carefully remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.
- Let stand 5-10 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with cilantro and serve with sour cream or salsa, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from A Sweet Pea Chef.
