This shredded chicken enchilada recipe is easy and full of flavor! These chicken enchiladas are filled with shredded chicken, hatch chilies, black beans, cheese, and a delicious homemade enchilada sauce recipe too!
Mexican food is just so full of flavor and usually always incorporates cheese, my favorite food group. These chicken enchiladas are packed with flavor and so much fun to make.
Ingredients
Mexican ingredients are always so full of flavor. With the homemade enchilada sauce I love using chipotle peppers in adobo sauce as the base. It is so rich and full of flavor on it’s own, but we bump up the flavor even more with additional spices. Another favorite ingredient is hatch chilies. If they are in season (August/September), go for the fresh ones, if not you can always find the canned version.
Homemade enchilada sauce
The homemade enchilada sauce is made with a delicious spice blend of: dark chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, and kosher salt. I use these spices in addition to the chipotles in adobo to elevate the flavors.
I thicken the ingredients with some flour and add chicken broth (or you can use vegetable) to create the sauce. I then pass the immersion blender through to make the sauce consistent and free of clumps. You can also do this in a heat safe blender. Short on time? Store bought enchilada sauce is fine too.
Enchilada Stuffing
You can fill enchiladas with so many different ingredients, which makes it fun to personalize. For my vegetable base I use: onion, garlic, hatch chiles, fresh jalapeños, and black beans. I sauté all of these in the pan.
For the protein in my enchiladas, I use my either my slow cooker or Instant Pot shredded chicken. Both are the same spice blend and ingredients, just two different ways of preparing it! Short on time? Use a rotisserie chicken and shred it up!
Assembling Enchiladas
After making the sauce and sautéing the black bean mix, I make an assembly line of ingredients to start filling the tortillas. I place the tortilla, spoon a bit of sauce and spread, add the chicken and black bean mix, then sprinkle some cheese.
Grease your baking dish and place the rolled enchiladas side by side as you make them. I put the opening “flap” of the tortilla on the bottom so they do not unravel. Pour half the the enchilada sauce over the top, I like to reserve some sauce for after they have finished cooking. Top with Mexican shredded cheese and place into the oven!
You can also personalize the garnish with your favorite toppings. I use red onion, diced avocado, sliced jalapeños, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro.
These chicken enchiladas can also be made ahead of time and frozen! Perfect for meal prepping during the week.
Make sure to check out the cooking/assembling video!
Things you’ll need: saucepan, blender or immersion blender, large skillet, rectangular baking dish, crockpot/slowcooker
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PrintChicken Enchiladas
Shredded Chicken Enchiladas filled with black beans, hatch chilies, delicious shredded chicken, cheese, and a homemade spicy enchilada sauce made from scratch!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10 + 10 +25
- Total Time: 55 min
- Yield: 8–10 Enchiladas 1x
- Category: Enchiladas
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp dark chili powder
- 4 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can [see note below on spice level]
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken stock (or veg)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Enchilada Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 1/3 cup diced white or red onion
- Shredded chicken breast, can use rotisserie or see my recipe: Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- 4 ounces diced hatch chili’s
- 1 jalapeño, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can black beans, rinsed
- large flour tortillas (8-10 pack)
- 3 cups Mexican shredded cheese
- Enchilada sauce (homemade above or pre-made)
Garnish:
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Diced red onion
- Cotija cheese
- Sliced avocado
- Sliced jalapeño
Instructions
Sauce Directions:
- Heat oil in small saucepan over med/high heat.
- Add flour and whisk together for 1 min, until combined.
- Stir remaining seasonings (chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, salt).Gradually add chicken stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Once combined add can of chipotle peppers in adobo. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15min until slightly thickened.
- Using a heat safe blender or immersion blender, blend the sauce until chipotle peppers are blended. Set aside.
Enchilada Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F
- In sauté pan, heat oil over med/high. Add onion, hatch chili’s, garlic, and jalapeños for 5-7 min. Add rinsed beans and cook an additional 3 minutes until beans are heated through. Set aside.
- To assemble, set up an assembly line: tortillas, enchilada sauce, shredded chicken, beans/onion mix, cheese.
- Lay out tortilla, spread 1 spoon of sauce on surface of tortilla. Add a spoonful of each filling, roll and place in a greased baking dish. Repeat.
- Spread remaining enchilada sauce on top of rolled tortillas and sprinkle cheese over the top
- Bake for 25 min uncovered, remove from oven and serve with garnish’s
Notes
- Can use store bought enchilada sauce instead of homemade
- Can sub a rotisserie chicken and shred that instead of making in the crockpot or instant pot
- The enchilada sauce is spicy. If you do not like spicy, use half the chipotle peppers in the can and only 1 tbsp of dark chili powder. The sauce on it’s own will taste way spicier than when combined with the other ingredients that levels it out.
Keywords: chicken enchiladas, shredded chicken, enchiladas, mexican
This looks amazing – you have me craving Mexican food too now!
Thank you so much Rachel! It’s so flavorful!
I may try this tonight with some left over pulled pork I made. Have you tried it with pork?
Hi Lisa! I haven’t tried it with pork yet, but I can imagine it will be delicious! Lmk how it turns out!
In the enchilada directions, it references garlic being sautéed with the onion and jalapeno’s however the ingredients don’t list garlic. How much garlic do you use? 2 -3 cloves?
Hi Lisa, thanks for catching this! I just fixed it, 2 cloves minced!
Thanks.
I just finished the sauce and it is very, very, very spicy. Was I supposed to use the whole can of adobos? Does it not seem quite as spicy once combined with the tortillas, meat, etc? Anything I can do to cut the heat?
Hi Lisa, when I pour over the tortillas and add a spoon into each one it isn’t as spicy when combined with the ingredients. I typically only pour half of the sauce over the dish prior to baking and then reserve the rest for those who would want more on the side when serving. I will make a note on level of spicy in the recipe
Thanks. I’m trying it with the pork and will let you know how it turns out.
Yes, let me know!