Easy Chicken Enchiladas With Red Sauce Recipe

This Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce recipe is made with a homemade enchilada sauce and tortillas stuffed with delicious chicken and cheese!

Ever since I shared my recipe for White Chicken Enchiladas, I’ve had a lot of requests for a red sauce version. Of course, I still keep it simple to make but I definitely had to make sure I made a homemade enchilada sauce!

In a medium-sized sauce pot melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin whisk to combine and “fry” in the butter until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Whisk in the cornstarch and cook an additional minute. Slowly pour in the chicken stock while whisking constantly until combined. Whisk in the tomato sauce, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened, set aside.

One Pan Chicken Enchilada Skillet (+video)

In a large bowl, add the shredded chicken, 1 cup of the cheddar, the sour cream, cilantro, and ¼ cup of the sauce. Stir to combine, set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, pour in 1 cup of the sauce, making sure to cover the bottom of the dish.

To the side, lay out the tortillas and evenly distribute the filling among them, using about ¼ cup of the filling per tortilla.

Cheese Enchiladas With Red Sauce

Roll the tortilla around the filling and place it in the baking dish seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.

Pour the remaining sauce on top and smooth it out to make sure all of the tortillas are covered in the sauce.

Calories: 614 kcal | Carbohydrates: 16 g | Protein: 44 g | Fat: 42 g | Saturated Fat: 23 g | Cholesterol: 172 mg | Sodium: 1075 mg | Potassium: 565 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 6 g | Vitamin A: 2125 IU | Vitamin C: 2 mg | Calcium: 550 mg | Iron: 3 mg

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas With Red Sauce Recipe

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.Our favorite red chili chicken enchiladas! Corn tortillas are dipped in red chili sauce to bake in the flavor in this easy chicken enchiladas recipe. Simple make-ahead midweek dinner. Reheats well for leftovers!

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

To make them, you first dip the tortillas in red chili enchilada sauce before rolling them up into enchiladas. This way the tortillas all get well coated with the sauce, and when you bake the enchiladas, the sauce will bake into the tortillas to infuse them with flavor.

Best Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

All you need to make the enchiladas are corn tortillas, already cooked and shredded or chopped chicken meat, some grated melty cheese like cheddar or Monterey Jack, and red chili enchilada sauce. You can either use canned enchilada sauce or make your own from scratch. (It's easy!)

Chill the enchiladas in the refrigerator if making a day or two ahead, or freeze for up to a month (thaw in the fridge before heating).

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas With Red Sauce

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.These easy Chicken Enchiladas are full of satisfying Mexican flavors with a hearty filling. Prepared red enchilada sauce and loads of cheese make them a dinner time favorite!

Chunks of moist, succulent chicken breast meat, tangy green chiles, creamy refried beans. This is just the start of what makes these easy chicken enchiladas a family favorite.

Easy Chicken And Cheese Enchiladas

The filling can include meat, beans, cheese, vegetables or even potatoes. Often at Mexican restaurants you’ll choose between beef, chicken or cheese enchiladas.

Canned diced green chiles. Use mild chiles. The enchiladas can be made spicier if needed by adding hot sauce when served. If you LOVE heat, use hot diced green chiles.

Flour tortillas. Regular or gluten-free flour tortillas can be used. We used flour tortillas because they are usually more pliable and easier to roll without breaking. If preferred, corn tortillas can also be used.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Shredded Mexican cheese. Mexican cheese blend gives this great flavor and color. We recommend grating the cheese yourself for best melting (cheddar, colby and monterey jack cheese).

Or use Tillamook’s Farm-Style Mexican blend. The cheese doesn’t have caking agents that cause it to not melt well as do other prepared cheese blends.

You can also divide the filling between 8 tortillas. This will make smaller enchiladas but 8 will fit in the baking dish.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Add the refried beans and 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce (photos 4-6). Cook 2-3 minutes until combined and heated through (photo 7).

When all the enchiladas are in the baking dish drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce evenly on top (photo 10). Sprinkle on the cheese (photo 11).

Rotisserie chicken. For a shortcut or if you have some leftover rotisserie chicken cut that into cubes and add with the refried beans. Skip the chicken cooking time. Cook until the mixture is warmed through.

Pollo Rojo Enchiladas (chicken Enchiladas With Red Chili Sauce)

Shredded chicken. Use homemade shredded chicken (regular or taco flavored shredded chicken)or store bought shredded chicken instead of cubed chicken. Use 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken. Add with the refried beans and warm through.

Make it vegetarian. Swap out the chicken for more vegetables or beans. Black beans, pinto beans, corn, chopped red pepper (saute that with the onions) would all be great.

Add cheese inside and out. We added the cheese on the outside of the enchiladas. You can add some inside and some outside too if desired.

Easy And Delicious Chicken Enchilada Recipe {instant Pot}

Using corn tortillas. Corn tortillas can be substituted but be sure they are warm before starting. They tend to break more easily especially when rolling the enchilada if they are cold.

Try Green Enchilada sauce. For a different flavor profile try green enchilada sauce. Or a mix! Make it ‘Christmas style‘ as they do in the southwest. Use one in the pan and the other on top of the enchiladas.

Make it SPICY!! If you love the heat in Mexican food, bump it up by using hot red enchilada sauce and/or hot green chiles. You can add some chili powder to the filling mixture when cooking it too. Try chipotle chile powder for some smoky heat.

Easy & Healthy Red Chicken Enchiladas With Veggies

Start off mild. You can always add spicy heat but you can’t take it away. Depending on who is eating the enchiladas, we recommend using mild sauce and diced green chiles. You can always add spicy salsa when serving.

Grate your own cheese for best melting. As convenient as store bought cheese blends are, they contain an anti-caking agent so the cheese doesn’t stick together. This keeps it from melting like regular cheese will.

The one exception we’ve found is Tillamook brand Thick Farm-Style blends. They make a Mexican cheese blend that’s perfect for this recipe. We now use it alot as a time saver.

Easy 5 Ingredient Chicken Enchiladas

Serve with sour cream to beat the heat. If you are serving mixed diners who all can’t take some heat, serve with sour cream or Mexican crema to top. Dairy products quell spicy flavor (that’s why some people drink milk with spicy foods!).

Check canned ingredients if gluten-free. Double check the ingredients for gluten for the canned enchilada sauce. We’ve found plenty of choices that are ‘GF’ but ingredients can change over time.

These easy Chicken Enchiladas are packed with chicken, green chiles, refried beans brimming with red enchilada sauce and gooey cheese. They are simple to put together and the best kind of comfort food!

Spinach And Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

This recipe is for classic enchiladas made with flour tortillas and a bean and chicken filling. They’re topped with a traditional red sauce and shredded Mexican cheese.

These enchiladas are easy to make and incredibly delicious. Each tortilla is stuffed with a mix of chopped onion, green chiles, chicken, refried beans and cheese. They’re cheesy, hearty, and always a crowd-pleaser.

We added all the cheese on top. Some can be added into the individual enchiladas and the rest on top if desired.

Quick & Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Calories: 435 kcal | Carbohydrates: 31 g | Protein: 30 g | Fat: 21 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Trans Fat: 1 g |