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two red sauce chicken enchiladas on a small plate with a fork.
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5 from 3 votes

Creamy Red Sauce Enchiladas with Chicken

These red sauce enchiladas are stuffed with chicken, green onions, and cheese, then smothered in a rich red sauce with sour cream. They are ready in about 30 minutes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Poultry
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4 -6 servings
Calories: 543kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

  • Casserole dish 10x8 inches/ 25x20 cm
  • Large saucepan

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ½ 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
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
  • 6 large tortillas Note 2
  • 1 ½ cups cooked chicken shredded, Note 3
  • 3-4 green onions depending on size
  • 2 cups grated Cheddar Note 4
US - EU

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
  • 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 + ½ 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 + ½ 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 ½ 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

  1. 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.
  2. The tortillas have a diameter of 25 cm/ 10 inches. If using smaller tortillas, you will need more.
  3. 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.
  4. Cheese: Cheddar works perfectly, but it can be replaced with a suitable sort of Mexican cheese.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the dish | Calories: 543kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 701mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g