Corn tortillas rolled around shredded chicken, covered in homemade red enchilada sauce, then topped with Monterey Jack and cheddar and baked until golden.
Some evenings call for a big dish set down in the middle of the table for everyone to dig into with a spatula. The cheese stretches from the dish to the plate, the red sauce smells of cumin and oregano, and under the golden crust the corn tortillas hold firm around the tender chicken.
Chicken enchiladas are the Tex-Mex dish for a full table, generous and fuss-free. The first serving leaves the dish trailing a long string of cheese, and the second follows close behind.
What Are Chicken Enchiladas?
Chicken enchiladas are corn tortillas rolled around shredded chicken, packed snugly into a baking dish, covered in red enchilada sauce, then baked under a blend of Monterey Jack and cheddar until golden.
The sauce is homemade, with sautéed onion, garlic, chili powder, corn flour, broth and tomato paste. Part of it is used to cook the chicken, and the rest is blended to cover the dish. Enchiladas share the tortillas and melted cheese of quesadillas, but baked in the oven until golden.
The word comes from the Spanish enchilar, “to season with chili.” An enchilada is therefore, literally, a tortilla coated in chili.
From Mexico to Texas, the Enchilada Goes into the Oven
In Mexico, enchiladas are eaten right away. Lightly cooked corn tortillas are dipped in a blended sauce, whether salsa roja, salsa verde or mole, then filled with chicken, pork or cheese, rolled and served on individual plates. The enchiladas suizas of Mexico City add a creamy tomatillo sauce and melted cheese.
The oven-baked, cheese-topped style comes from Texas. Tex-Mex was born in the 19th and 20th centuries among the Tejanos, Texans of Mexican descent, who adapted their recipes to the beef and cow’s milk cheeses that became cheap as cattle ranching took off. Its signature is chili gravy, a thick red sauce, thickened and flavored with chili powder and cumin, that blankets a whole dish of rolled tortillas before it goes into the oven under the cheese.
The Main Ingredients for Chicken Enchiladas
The chicken breasts simmer gently in part of the sauce, then get shredded with a fork right in it: they stay moist and take on the flavor of the spices. The tortillas are corn, as in the Tex-Mex tradition. A flour tortilla turns mushy as it cooks in the sauce, while a corn one holds its shape. You’ll find them in the international foods aisle.
The thing to watch is the chili powder. In the United States, chili powder is a mild blend of ancho chile, cumin, oregano and garlic; in Europe, a jar labeled “chili” almost always holds pure hot chili pepper. So you need a mild Tex-Mex blend, or a homemade blend based on sweet paprika. Chicken broth and tomato paste give the sauce body and umami, while oregano and cumin give it its aroma.
Monterey Jack melts while staying creamy, and cheddar brings flavor and color. Monterey Jack is hard to find in Europe: a young Gouda, Havarti or mild cheddar makes a good substitute. Cheese you grate yourself melts more evenly.
Technical Tips for Successful Enchiladas
The corn tortillas are warmed one at a time in a lightly oiled skillet, just long enough to turn pliable: cold ones crack when you roll them. This quick pass through the oil also protects them from the sauce, so the dish doesn’t turn soggy.
The chili powder and corn flour cook with the onion and garlic for 45 seconds to 1 minute before the liquid goes in, just long enough to release their aroma. The blended sauce should be perfectly smooth: a third goes in the bottom of the dish, and the rest over the enchiladas, right before the cheese.
The dish can be assembled ahead and kept in the refrigerator until it’s time to bake. On the side, mashed black beans, yellow rice or garlic fried rice do the job very well. Sliced onion, fresh cilantro and sour cream are up to each person’s taste.
Ingredients
Red Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter, or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 0.5 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoons chili powder (mild American-style spice blend, see notes)
- 2.5 tablespoons corn flour
- 500 ml chicken broth
- 250 ml water
- 170 g tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 2 teaspoons cumin ground
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
Shredded Chicken
- 250 ml red enchilada sauce, taken from the sauce above
- 120 ml water
- 700 g chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
Assembly and Baking
- Oil, for warming the tortillas
- 16 corn tortillas, gluten-free if needed
- 340 g Monterey Jack, shredded
- 340 g cheddar, shredded
Instructions
Red Enchilada Sauce
- In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until the butter has melted.2 tablespoons butter,, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the onion.0.5 onion,
- Sauté until the onion starts to caramelize.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, and corn flour.3 cloves garlic,, 5 tablespoons chili powder, 2.5 tablespoons corn flour
- Stir for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Gradually pour in the chicken broth and water, stirring, until the mixture is smooth.500 ml chicken broth, 250 ml water
- Add the tomato paste, oregano, cumin, and salt.170 g tomato paste, 1 teaspoon oregano, 2 teaspoons cumin, 0.5 teaspoon salt
- Stir until the sauce is smooth.
- Bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
- Take out the portion of sauce meant for the chicken and set it aside.250 ml red enchilada sauce,
- Blend the rest of the sauce until perfectly smooth.
- Set the blended sauce aside for assembly.
Shredded Chicken
- Return the sauce set aside for the chicken to the saucepan.
- Add the water and chicken breasts.120 ml water, 700 g chicken breasts,
- Bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Shred the chicken right in the sauce using two forks.
- Set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Mix the Monterey Jack and cheddar in a bowl.340 g Monterey Jack,, 340 g cheddar,
- Set the cheese mixture aside.
- Pour one third of the blended sauce into the bottom of a 28 x 38 cm baking dish, or two smaller dishes with the same total area.
- Lightly grease a heavy-bottomed frying pan with oil.Oil,
- Heat the pan.
- Warm a corn tortilla in the pan on both sides until it is pliable enough to roll without breaking.16 corn tortillas,
- Place the warm tortilla in the dish.
- Top the tortilla with about 3 tablespoons of shredded chicken in its sauce and 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture.
- Roll the tortilla up tightly.
- Place it in the dish, seam side down.
- Repeat with the remaining tortillas until the dish is full.
Baking
- Spoon the rest of the blended sauce over the enchiladas.
- Top with the rest of the cheese mixture.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
- Serve hot with your choice of toppings.
