Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Baked cheesy chicken enchiladas in a white, square baking dish with a striped towel and server next to it

5 from 2 votes

Easy, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas are the perfect weeknight dinner when you're craving a flavorful Mexican meal. This recipe is quick, easy, and can be adapted to suit a keto, low carb, or gluten free diet.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Chicken, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Mexican

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free

Servings: enchiladas

Calories: 222kcal

Author: Lauren Harris

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken (cooked and shredded)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 19 ounce cans enchilada sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded, plus extra for topping)
fresh cilantro (optional, garnish)
8 tortillas (see notes)

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium. Add the shredded chicken, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and one can of the enchilada sauce. Cook to warm through.
Stir in the shredded cheese until completely melted and well combined.
Divide the mixture among the tortillas. To close, fold in about 1 inch of the tortilla on both the left and right edges, then fold the bottom up. Roll to the top to close.
Pour enough enchilada sauce from the second can to coat the bottom of a large baking dish.
Place the enchiladas into the dish and pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top.
Sprinkle on extra cheese.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the enchiladas are hot and bubbly.
Garnish with cilantro, if using. Serve with sour cream, queso, sliced jalapeno peppers, and/or salsa, if desired.

Video

Notes

Tips and Techniques

For the best melting and texture it is preferable to shred cheese from a block, rather than use pre-shredded bagged cheese.
You can use corn or flour tortillas. Tortillas now come in regular, gluten free, and low carb options.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 3-4 days.

How To Make Shredded Chicken

You can use a rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken for these enchiladas. Simply shred the already cooked chicken with two forks.

If you need to cook the chicken, you can bake it, but the quickest and easiest way to cook chicken for shredding is to cook it in an Instant Pot. Two pounds will take about 15 minutes at high pressure, with a natural release of 10-15 minutes.

If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can also use a slow cooker. Either start it at night before bed, or early in the morning.

** Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary. Tortillas are not included in the nutritional calculation, since you can use regular flour or corn tortillas, low carb, or gluten free tortillas. The nutritional facts of easy vary greatly.

Nutrition