These Hearty Chicken Enchiladas are perfect for feeding a crowd. Seriously, who can say “NO” to dry-rubbed chicken thighs and melty cheese wrapped in homemade beef tallow tortillas, all smothered in a robust enchilada sauce? In fact, these are so good, you might NOT want to invite your friends and family over so you can keep them all to yourself. No judgment here!
Chicken Enchilada Ingredients
The Chicken:
The dry rubbed and pan seared chicken thighs are the foundation of this dish. The dark meat adds more flavor and richness compared to chicken breasts, which are a popular protein choice for making chicken enchiladas. Feel free to use breasts if that is what you prefer! I’m certain these would still be delicious. I prefer chicken thighs because they have more flavor. A light dusting of a simple rub consisting of equal parts chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder provides some warmth, but isn’t overpowering.
The real star of the show is the homemade enchilada sauce, which starts with pan-searing the chicken. Building a nice fond (the brown stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan) adds depth and richness to the sauce that you would lose out on if you were to use any other cooking method. After the chicken reaches at least 165°F, remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl or shallow dish to cool. Once you get your sauce to a simmer (steps below), use two forks to shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and wait for assembly time.
Pro-tip: No time to make your own chicken or tortillas? Make this an even quicker weeknight meal by using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Toss in some store-bought tortillas, and you could have these on the table in about 45 minutes!
Robust Enchilada Sauce:
As I said before, the real winner of this recipe is the enchilada sauce. Made with whole, dried guajillo and Japones peppers, this robust sauce is irresistible. Guajillo peppers are moderately spicy and flavorful and are popular in many Mexican sauces and side dishes. The Japones peppers are similar to Chile de Arbol’s but are slightly less spicy. If you can’t find whole dried peppers (or if you don’t want to use them), adjust the chili powder up by about a teaspoon. In my opinion, using the whole chilis adds a certain warmth to the sauce that is difficult to replicate with powdered spices. You can also tweak this and make it your own by choosing different pepper varieties. (I’ve even toyed around with throwing a dried chipotle pepper into the mix.)
A great way to add depth and complexity to the sauce is to make it in the same pan that you cooked the chicken in. Deglazing the fond that is leftover from the chicken is a crucial step in building the layers of flavor for this dish. If you are using rotisserie chicken, the sauce can be made with the exact same steps as outlined in the recipe below and would still turn out excellent. The flavor won’t be quite as intense or rich, but it will still work perfectly fine.
After a quick 5- to 10-minute simmer to thicken, the sauce is then heavily blended to provide a silky-smooth texture. It may take several minutes of blending to get the texture just right, but it is totally worth it.
The Tortillas:
Store-bought flour tortillas will work for this recipe, especially if you are planning on making it as a quick weeknight meal. However, if you want to bring this dish to an entirely new level, I highly recommend taking the time to make your own tortillas. They can be made several days ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to a week. They can also be frozen, which is a great option for busy week nights. No need to stress about making all of this in one day! Just be sure to get the 6- to 8-inch-sized tortillas that are used for tacos. The larger fajita or burrito sizes are too big for this recipe.
I have a separate post for Beef Tallow Flour Tortillas that I typically make for this dish. Check it out and give them a try. They are really delicious, and they are versatile for a ton of other recipes. This version uses beef tallow as the main fat component, which adds another layer of flavor that helps elevate this dish to the next level. Beef tallow isn’t necessary for that recipe, but that is explained in more detail in the post. (The tortilla dough is also made in food processor, so no kneading is required either!)
The Cheese:
The filling and topping cheese of choice is Oaxaca cheese. If you are not familiar with this, it is a low-moisture, semihard cheese that originates from Oaxaca, Mexico (surprise!). It has a flavor profile similar to Monterey Jack, but is stringy and slightly salty like low-moisture mozzarella. It melts perfectly and lends a fantastic salty richness to round out the dish. (One of my favorite parts are the enchiladas at the ends of the dish, where the cheese gets slightly crispy around the edges—so good!)
Monterey Jack would be my first choice as a substitution, followed by low-moisture mozzarella. You can also substitute it for any Mexican cheese blend if that’s what you prefer.
Enchilada Assembly and Baking
Once the chicken, the sauce and the tortillas are done, it’s assembly time! Take several scoops of your sauce and spread it evenly on the bottom of two 7 x 11-inch casserole dishes. Fill a tortilla with shredded chicken, a few pieces of your cheese, then roll tightly and place on top of the sauce. Repeat until both of your dishes are full. Six 8-inch tortillas should fit each dish. Top with the remaining sauce and cover with the the rest of the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350°F oven. Move the oven rack to the upper ⅓ position and broil on low for several minutes until the cheese is perfectly bubbly and melted.
Serving Suggestions
These hearty chicken enchiladas have become a staple meal in our household, and I hope they make it into your rotation. Serving these with Restaurant Style Cheese Dip and our Simple Corn Salsa (Chipotle Copycat) is a combination that is tough to beat. Pair everything with a Classic Margarita and you’ve got the full Mexican restaurant experience at home.
Did you make this recipe for Hearty Chicken Enchiladas?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don’t forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Hearty Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Bottomed Skillet
- 1 Blender or Immersion Blender
- 2 7-inch by 11-inch Casserole Dishes
Ingredients
Rubbed Chicken
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs Approx. 1 ½ lbs.
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
Enchilada Sauce
- 1 Yellow Onion Diced
- 2 Dried Guajillo Peppers Stems and Seed Removed
- 3 Japonés Peppers Stems and Seed Removed
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 3 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 3 tablespoon AP Flour
- 2 Cups Beef Broth
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper to Taste
- Kosher Salt to Taste
Assembly Ingredients
- 12 6 to 8-inch Beef Tallow Flour Tortillas Store-bought, taco sized flour tortillas will work best. Fajita/Burrito sized are too big.
- Rubbed Chicken Pulled into bite sized pieces
- 1 Package Oaxaca Cheese Pulled into bite sized pieces or shredded
- Pickled Jalapenos Diced for Garnish
- Cilantro Finely Minced for Garnish
Instructions
The Chicken
- Wash and pat chicken thighs dry. Sprinkle with salt, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin and rub into chicken. Let rest at least 30 minutes or overnight (preferred).
- Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and sear seasoned chicken thighs for approximate 6 – 8 minutes per side, flipping occasionally until golden brown on the outside and reading at least 165°F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.
- As the enchilada sauce is simmering, shred the chicken with two forks or pull into bite sized pieces.
The Sauce
- In the same pan the chicken was cooked in, add the diced onion, and both dried chili pepper varieties and add a small pinch of kosher salt. As the onions begin to release liquid, begin scraping up the fond left over from cooking the chicken. Cook onions and peppers for approximately 3 – 5 minutes until the onions start to take on some color.
- Add the butter and melt. Add the tomato paste and stir to incorporate, approximately 30 seconds.
- Add the chili powder, oregano, onion powder, granulated garlic, cumin and salt. Sauté for a minute or two until seasonings are fragrant and tomato paste begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the flour and stir to incorporate. Sauté for 2 -3 minutes until the flour smell has dissipated, and has been incorporated.
- While whisking constantly, slowly stir in the beef stock until combined. Bring the sauce to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 8 – 10 minutes until thickened.
- Add the ingredients to a blender and and blend for several minutes until very smooth. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper as needed.
Assembly and Baking
- Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle position.
- Spoon approximately ½ cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of each 7 x 11-inch casserole dishes until covered.
- Place 1 – 2 tablespoons of cooked chicken and several pieces of Oaxaca cheese on a 6 – 8-inch flour tortilla. Roll up tightly and place over the sauce in the casserole dishes. Repeat until both dishes are full (you should be able to fit six in each one).
- Spoon the remainder of the sauce over the rolled enchiladas and top with the remaining pieces of cheese. Cover as much of the enchiladas with sauce and cheese as you can. Any bare spots might scorch before the cheese is browned when under the broiler.
- Bake at 375°F for 15 – 20-minutes until cheese is melted.
- Move the oven rack and enchiladas to the upper ⅓rd level and turn your broiler on low. Broil for 3 – 5 additional minutes until cheese is completely melted and bubbly with brown spots.
- Remove from broiler and sprinkle with finely minced cilantro and pickled jalapenos if desired.
Crystal
Very delicious and filling! Comfort food. The homemade tortillas are a must.
Spencer Klickman
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed them!
Michelle
These are hearty and filling and were very tasty! Can’t wait to have them again. The sauce is delicious!
Spencer Klickman
So glad you enjoyed these!