Theseย creamy red sauce chicken enchiladasย are the best Iโve ever had. The tortillas are stuffed with chicken, green onions, and cheese, then smothered in a rich red sauce with sour cream. And the best part? The recipe is ready in about 30 minutes.
What can I say about these creamy red sauce enchiladas with chicken? This greatย recipe is a total game-changer; I wouldn't tweak anythingโit's just perfect and definitely our favorite enchilada recipe.
The homemade enchilada sauce recipe takes only minutes to cook, and the pantry ingredients cost almost nothing. You can make a double batch of flavorful enchiladas and freeze one for later.
Try more of our super easy Mexican recipes to celebrate Cinco de Mayo:ย Mexican Chicken Soup, Mexican Chicken Legs, or Mexican Chorizo Tostadas.
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Recipe ingredients
- Shredded chicken: I usually fill the enchiladas with store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken. If you donโt have any leftovers, you can cook one or two chicken breasts for this recipe; you will need about 7 oz/ 200 g (about 1 ยฝ cups when shredded).ย
- Cook frozen chicken breast in the air fryer for this recipe.
- Tortillas: I had six large flour tortillas with a 10 inches/ 25 cm diameter. If your tortillas are smaller, use more.
- Whole wheat tortillas are great, too.
- Corn tortillas should be ok, too, but I have never used them for this recipe.
- Red sauce ingredients: Canned tomatoes, olive oil, onions, fresh garlic, sour cream, red chili flakes or cayenne pepper, oregano, a pinch of sugar, fine sea salt, and ground black pepper.ย
- Filling and topping ingredients: Cheddar cheese or another good melting cheese you like (for instance, Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican cheese), green onions, and fresh cilantro.
Variations
- Cooked ground beef is an excellent choice for making beef enchiladas with red sauce. Try our Ground Beef Quesadillas or Beef Empanadas too.
- Ground turkey or leftover roast turkey is also a great choice.
- For a vegetarian version, replace the meat with beans (kidney or black beans) or a mixture of beans and corn.ย
How to make red sauce enchiladas?
Step #1: Saute onions and minced garlic on medium heat in a large saucepan, add tomatoes and spices, and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.ย
Step #2: Add sour cream and fresh herbs and adjust the taste.
Step 3: Warm the tortillas in a dry pan to make them pliable. Top with a bit of Mexican red sauce, shredded chicken, green onions, and cheese.ย
Step 4: Spread a bit of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish and arrange the rolled tortillas in the dish. ย
Step #5: Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
Step #6: Bake for only 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the red sauce enchiladas are heated through.
Good to know
Always soften the tortillas before rolling them into enchiladas; otherwise, they will break. Itโs very quick and easy. Place each one in a large, dry, hot pan and heat them for about 10 seconds on each side.
Recipe FAQ
Store leftover enchiladas in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freeze them for up to 2 months and defrost them in the refrigerator.
Reheat them in the oven or the microwave.
Yes. Let the sour cream red sauce come to room temperature, then assemble the dish. Cover it well with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one day until ready to bake.ย
Freeze the well-wrapped (plastic wrap and then aluminum foil) uncooked red sauce chicken enchilada dish for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, remove the wrapping, and bake as instructed.ย
What to serve with enchiladas?
Make a menu
- Starter: Mexican Deviled Eggs
- Sides: Buttered Rice or Chimichurri Rice and Mexican Bean Salad with Corn
- Dessert: Tres Leches Cake
Do you like this recipe?
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Creamy Red Sauce Enchiladas with Chicken
Equipment
- Casserole dish 10x8 inches/ 25x20 cm
- Large saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ยฝ teaspoon red chili flakes more or less to taste, Note 1
- 1 lb chopped tomatoes from a can
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 6 large tortillas Note 2
- 1 ยฝ cups cooked chicken shredded, Note 3
- 3-4 green onions depending on size
- 2 cups grated Cheddar Note 4
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF/ 200ยฐC.
- Saute onions: Finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onions for about 2 minutes or until translucent. Grate the garlic and add it to the pan together with the chili. Stir for one minute.2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 medium onion + 2 garlic cloves + ยฝ teaspoon red chili flakes
- Make red sauce: Blend the canned tomatoes in a blender or with an immersion blender. Pour them into the pan, add the sugar, dried oregano, and salt, and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Cover the pan partially if it starts to splutter. Stir occasionally. Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. 1 lb chopped tomatoes / 450 g + 1 teaspoon sugar + 1 tablespoon dried oregano + ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Stir in the sour cream and the chopped cilantro.1 cup sour cream/ 250 g + 2 tablespoons cilantro
- Prepare ingredients: In the meantime, shred the chicken and finely slice the scallions. Grate the cheese.1 ยฝ cups cooked chicken/ 200 g + 3-4 green onions + 2 cups grated Cheddar/ 200 g
- Heat tortillas: Heat a large pan without adding any oil. Heat one tortilla at a time until softer and pliable, about 10 seconds on each side. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.6 large tortillas
- Assemble the enchilada dish: Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with 2-3 tablespoons of the sauce (a thin layer of sauce).
- Fill enchiladas: Smear each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon of the sauce. Divide the shredded chicken meat and the green onions between the tortillas. Sprinkle the filling with just a little bit of the grated cheese.
- Roll the tortillas and place them in the casserole dish. Pour the remaining tomato and sour cream sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle everything with the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake enchiladas for only about 15-20 minutes. The cheese should be melted, and the enchiladas should be heated through.
- Leave the enchiladas to rest for about 5 minutes, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Spices: You can use ground cayenne pepper or any other fresh or dried chili you like; think to adjust the quantity according to your heat tolerance.
- The tortillas have a diameter of 25 cm/ 10 inches. If using smaller tortillas, you will need more.
- I used leftover chicken from making chicken stock. You can use any kind of leftover chicken (roasted, rotisserie) or poach about 200 g/ 7 oz chicken breast. Leftover turkey works as well.
- Cheese: Cheddar works perfectly, but it can be replaced with a suitable sort of Mexican cheese.
Roland says
Simply good!
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
It's so funny how your kids ask for enchilada because of a TV show! These are making me hungry right now, and I know my kids would love this as well! There are no beans, so my picky husband might even try them ?
Adina says
Hi Thao. I think most of the Mexican food we eat is because of a TV show. You won't believe how many kids series there are out there, where they only mention tacos, burritos and enchiladas when it comes to food. Beans would have been a no go for my children as well. ๐
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Adina, these enchiladas look fabulous! Love the sour cream sauce. We eat lots of Mexican food. It's so tasty!
mjskitchen says
There are very few dishes that are more comforting that a batch of enchiladas. I could eat them every day. ๐ Yours look fabulous!!!
angiesrecipes says
That looks super mouthwatering! Only if my husband ate cheese..sighs..