Weeknight Meal Your Family Will Love: Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Written by Piera Jolly of Jolly Mom for Personal Creations Blog.

One of our family’s favorite types of foods is Mexican. While we love going out to a restaurant for Mexican food, the truth is that it is very easy to reproduce at home too. And, honestly – it is usually better! One of our go-to weekday meals is our Chicken Enchiladas. I know that you must be thinking that these are time intensive, but they are not. Actual prep time is about 20 minutes and then they go in the oven for another 20 minutes. They are super simple to make and even utilize leftover chicken. If you don’t have any leftover chicken, you can easily use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or just throw a few chicken breasts into the slow cooker. This dish is comforting and full of flavor, but it’s also pretty low in calories and healthy!

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1 can enchilada sauce (14 oz)
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed and minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 small onions, minced and divided
• 1 tsp canola oil

Enchiladas:

• 3 cups shredded and cooked chicken
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 lime, juiced
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp canola oil
• salt to taste
• 12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
• sour cream (optional; to be used as topping)

Directions: To make the sauce, add oil to small sauce pan over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic, and jalapeño pepper until soft (about 5 minutes).  Add the cilantro and enchilada sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Take off the heat and set aside.

To make the enchilada filling, add oil to large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic until soft (about 5 minutes).  Add the chicken, tomato paste, lime juice, chicken broth, salt, and cumin to the pan and stir to combine. Take off the heat and set aside.

To assemble the enchiladas, pour a small amount of the sauce to the bottom of your baking dish. I used the lasagna dish from Personal Creations and it fit 12 enchiladas perfectly! Then, carefully dip a tortilla into the sauce and fill with about 2 tbsp of the chicken filling. Roll the tortilla up and place in your baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Top with remaining sauce and cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and golden brown.

Top with a dollop of sour cream, chopped cilantro and enjoy!

Piera Jolly is the founder and editor-in-chief of JollyMom.com, a savvy and popular blog that provides moms with helpful parenting information, fun child-friendly activities, craft ideas, recipes, and the latest trends for moms, kids, and families. JollyMom.com is also proud to have been named a Top 10 Inspiring Blogger by Mashable, a Power Mom by Nielsen and one of Access Communication’s Top 50 Mommy Blogs!