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white baking dish with red enchiladas covered in melted cheese and topped with avocado and cilantro
4.58 from 7 votes

Chicken Enchiladas

This chicken enchilada recipe has the most flavorful homemade red enchilada sauce. These spicy chicken enchiladas are filled with shredded chicken, hatch chilies, black beans, aromatics, and melty cheese. These enchiladas rojas are so fun and easy to make!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
8 -10 enchiladas

Ingredients

Red Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • cup diced yellow onion
  • 4 ounce diced hatch green chiles (1 can)
  • 1 jalapeño (seeded and finely chopped)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 15 ounces black beans (rinsed)
  • 1 1/2 pounds Mexican shredded chicken (see note)
  • Large flour tortillas (10-12 pack)
  • 8 ounces Colby jack cheese (freshly grated (see note))
  • Enchilada sauce (homemade above)

Garnish

  • Diced avocado
  • Freshly chopped cilantro

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Instructions

Red Enchilada Sauce

  • In a saucepan over medium heat, add avocado oil. Once hot, whisk in the all purpose flour until fully incorporated to form a roux. Whisk in the dark chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, and kosher salt. Slowly begin whisking in the chicken broth, removing any lumps. Add in chipotle peppers and allow enchilada sauce to come to a gentle boil.
  • Lower heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes for flavors to meld. Using an immersion or heat-safe blender, blend the enchilada sauce until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

Enchiladas

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • In a large skillet over medium/high heat, add 2 tbsp avocado oil. Add in the yellow onion and jalapeño, sauté until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Next, add in the minced garlic and sauté an additional minute until fragrant. Add in the diced hatch chiles and black beans and mix all the ingredients together. Allow the beans to heat through, 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
  • The easiest way to assemble the chicken enchiladas, is to make an assembly line of ingredients. Have your Mexican shredded chicken, hatch chili bean mixture, red enchilada sauce, cheese, tortillas, and a rectangular baking dish. Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce at the bottom of the baking dish, tilt so the entire bottom is coated.
  • Grab one tortilla and add 1 heaping spoon of red enchilada sauce, spread around tortilla. (Some tortillas are more fragile than other, if you find them tearing, you can lightly toast them prior to filling). Next add a line of shredded chicken, grated cheese, and hatch chili black bean mixture. To roll, gently push ingredients to one side and tightly roll the tortilla. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish, so they do not unravel as you place them. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
  • Once you have rolled all the enchiladas and placed them in the baking dish, add enchilada sauce over the top. Next, spread the rest of the shredded cheese over all the enchiladas. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until all the cheese is melted and edges of tortillas are charred. If you want the cheese more well done, you can broil for 1 minute at the end to brown the cheese (keep a close eye).
  • Carefully remove from oven and garnish. To serve, my best tip is to use two spatulas. First, I separate them depending on how many you want, and then I use a spatula on each end of the enchilada so it doesn't break in half.

Notes

Chipotle peppers

  • How many chipotle peppers you add, will dictate how spicy the sauce will be. I use 6 peppers (almost the whole can) for very spicy, but you can use 4 peppers or even 2 for your spice preference. [Note: the sauce on it's own will taste very spicy, but it will mellow out when it is eaten with the tortillas and other ingredients]

Cheese

  • I always prefer grating fresh cheese when I am going to be melting a lot of it. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents which don't allow it to melt as well, but still can be used if that is what you have on hand. I grated 8oz of Colby jack (which is a combination of Colby and Monterey jack cheese) to be used inside and on top of the enchiladas.

Making ahead/freezing

  • You can assemble the enchiladas ahead of time and place in the refrigerator prior to baking. Ensure to fully seal the enchiladas in the baking dish to keep them fresh and add an additional 10 minutes to bake time.
  • To freeze the enchiladas, I recommend using a disposable pan. Do all the steps except for adding the cheese on top prior to baking, cover tightly with plastic wrap so they are fully sealed, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in fridge overnight, then bake.

*See in-post for step-by-step photos*

Video

Nutrition Information

Calories: 413kcal (21%), Carbohydrates: 19g (6%), Protein: 39g (78%), Fat: 20g (31%), Saturated Fat: 8g (50%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 100mg (33%), Sodium: 688mg (30%), Potassium: 531mg (15%), Fiber: 7g (29%), Sugar: 1g (1%), Vitamin A: 936IU (19%), Vitamin C: 8mg (10%), Calcium: 242mg (24%), Iron: 3mg (17%)
© Author: Stephanie