I am still working my way through my month’s worth of meals, and we finally got to try this really yummy & quick recipe from “The America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook.”
My family is not really into Mexican food and I have to ease them into new dishes, thus why the enchiladas are not smothered in sauce and cheese. Instead, I provided the sauce and cheese on the side so everyone could smother them (or not smother them as they like).
I really loved this homemade enchilada sauce because it was made from pantry ingredients. I also could adjust the spiciness to our own tastes (hold the cumin, 1 teaspoon of chili powder versus 3 tablespoons). That is truly the beauty in making your own mixes & convenience foods.
The entire family gobbled these up and the enchilada sauce on the side appealed to my children’s urge to dip everything. These were absolutely delicious and we had just enough leftover to take in my husband’s lunch this week.
Easy Chicken Enchiladas (Courtesy of “The America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook“)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken (1.5 pounds)
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (3 cups)
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (use provided recipe or 20 ounces in the can)
1-2 (4-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to four hundred degrees. Combine the chicken, 2 cups of the cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce, the chiles and cilantro. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Stack the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high until warm & pliable (approximately 1 minute). Spread the warm tortillas out over a clean counter. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll the tortilla around the filling, then lay seam-side down in a 9×13″ baking dish lightly coated with vegetable oil spray. Lightly spray the enchiladas with vegetable oil spray. Pour 1 cup of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas to coat thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheddar down the center of the enchiladas. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheddar browns, about five minutes longer. Serve, passing the remaining 1 cup of sauce.
Fast Enchilada Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chili powder (we adjusted to 1 teaspoon)
3 garlic cloves,minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
Pepper
Heat the oil in a 12″ skillet over medium heat until shimmering. add the onion and salt and cook until softened, about five minutes. Stir in the chili powder, garlic, cumin, and sugar. Cook until fragrant, about fifteen seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about five minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
We love mexican food – so I’m thrilled to see your homemade enchilada sauce recipe! I had already planned to make enchiladas this week – now I’ll try your sauce!
Thanks so much – have a great day!
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We love Mexican food here, so I’m sure this would be a hit! I’ve always wondered about making my enchilada sauce – afraid it wouldn’t turn out. I’ll be giving this a try later this week.
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Mmmmmmmmmm! I am going to try this one. I love mexican food. Thanks so much!
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Oh, I should also mention that if you want it to look just like the bottled stuff, you can strain the sauce. No one seemed to mind it not being strained in our family, but wanted to mention that for the picky eaters in the group
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Mexican food is a favorite around our house. I’m looking forward to trying your homemade enchilada sauce.
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Yum! I am totally making these this week! One question….is there an easy way to shred chicken? I usually just boil it to cook it & then shred it with a fork but it's a real pain (so sometimes I make my husband do it!).
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AnneMarie-
I hate that too! This would be my easiest way, you could just put the chicken breasts in your slow cooker for six hours and then they will just fall apart when you go to shred them. If you wanted to up the taco taste throw in a 1/2 cup of chicken broth and one of those taco seasoning packets. That would probably make a little better meat!
The enchilada sauce is REALLY good! Worth the effort, I promise! Just adjust the seasoning to your taste. We are weak, weak people. 1 teaspoon is all I can handle. I know your kids are probably better about that stuff than mine!
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Wow! I had no idea making enchilada sauce was so simple! I had an idea that it was some exotic thing best left to the canned food people
I’ll be adding this to my “recipes to try”.
Thank-you!
The Queen
Grammy’s Recipes
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My family loves Chicken enchiladas and to make the chicken for the enchilada’s I simply place my chicken breasts in the slow cooker with 1 can of Rotelle tomatoes with green chiles- Mild- and let them cook until they fall apart- no need to try and shred. It makes the chicken just the right level of “spiceiness”. Since my daughter does not eat beef, I always make extra and place 2 enchilada’s worth in small clear plastic containers and freeze it so that when we have beef tacos or beef enchilada’s, we can grab a container of chicken and thaw it for her. I am going to try the sauce recipe and see how they all like it.
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Oh yay. Enchilada sauce is so darned expensive and is one of the few staples that Aldi (at least the one near me) doesn’t carry and now I’ve found a simple enough recipe so I can have my enchilada fix anytime.
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This looks delicious. I have one question. The recipe calls for corn tortillas and I will use those because my husband can’t eat flour tortillas. However, corn tortillas are really hard to roll. They are always breaking. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks,
Kari
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Kari- I used the flour tortillas because they have them at Aldi
The recommendation for corn, from Taste of Home, was to nuke them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until they are warm and soft. This will make them easier to roll. To prevent the cracking and make them golden on top, spray lightly with a little cooking spray.
I hope that helps!
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The best way to heat corn tortillas so there soft enough to roll up, is to heat vegetable oil in a skillet at med heat, and put the corn tortillas in until there soft and then i stack them on paper towels. There so easy to roll up without cracking or breaking this way.
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Thank you soooo much !! This recipe is great! I have been married to a Mexican for 27 years and couldn't make a red chile sauce to save my life. This recipe is sooo easy and delicious! It has opened up a whole new world of Mexican cooking. When you can make a good red chile sauce …. you got it made!! Thank you from the bottom of my full stomach! Susanna
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Susanna- I am so thrilled your family liked it. That is a favorite recipe in our house and gets repeated about once a month! I am so happy you tried it!
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I just use canned chicken- I know that sounds lazy- but it’s already to the consistency of being shredded, and cheaper in bulk at Bjs Warehouse, and takes up less time, power and energy from the oven, and myself. and I’m 6 months pregnant, so conserving all my energy is super important right now.
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I have been looking for a homemade sauce. The premixed stuff is so salty. thanks for sharing!!
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Amy Reply:
February 21st, 2011 at 4:39 pm
So glad that you caught this recipe on the Facebook page, Francine. I love anything that I can make out of my own pantry and control the ingredients that go in it. I hope it works for you too!!
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I saw this on your FB page today, too. Mmm, I loooove enchiladas!
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Amy Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
I think you would like these, Teresa! The sauce is heavenly too!!
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I can’t wait to try this recipe. I tried a recipe a couple of months ago, and it was okay, but I wouldn’t repeat the recipe. Hopefully this will satisfy my picky taste buds!! Question, though, I always make extra to freeze, but I don’t know the best method of doing this. Do you bake them first then freeze or just prep them then freeze? And do you need to freeze them a special way with foil over the dish first then a lid? Thank you so much!
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Amy Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 9:55 am
I would just freeze them prepared, but not baked. I would put them in a freezer bag and freeze my sauce in a separate container. We really love this recipe! I hope you like it too!
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