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Chicken Enchiladas · Red Chile Sauce

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Corn tortillas wrapped around chicken and green chiles, smothered in a quick homemade red chile sauce and baked until bubbly. Leftover or rotisserie chicken makes it a weeknight dish.

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Prep
25 min
Cook
35 min
Total
1 hr 5 min
Serves
6 · 12 enchiladas
Level
Easy

Ingredients

Red chile sauce

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp chili powder, a mild American blend
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
  • ½ tsp kosher salt

Filling

  • 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (rotisserie works)
  • ½ cup onion, finely chopped
  • 1 can diced green chiles, 4 oz, with their juice
  • 1 cup monterey jack, shredded

Assembly

  • 12 corn tortillas, 6-inch
  • 1 ½ cups monterey jack, shredded, for the top
  • fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving (optional)
  • sour cream, for serving (optional)

Steps

  1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish.
  2. Warm the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking, until it smells toasty.
  3. Whisk in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and oregano and cook just until fragrant. Spices scorch fast, so keep whisking.
  4. Slowly pour in the broth while whisking so no lumps form, then whisk in the tomato sauce and salt.
  5. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, whisking now and then, until the sauce lightly coats a spoon. Take it off the heat.
  6. In a mixing bowl, stir together the chicken, onion, green chiles, 1 cup cheese and 1/2 cup of the sauce.
  7. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
  8. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave until soft and bendable. Cold corn tortillas crack when rolled.
  9. Spoon about 1/3 cup of filling down the center of a tortilla, roll it up snugly and set it seam side down in the dish. Repeat with the rest.
  10. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, making sure the tortilla edges are covered so they don't dry out. Sprinkle with the 1 1/2 cups cheese.
  11. Bake until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the cheese is melted.
  12. Let the enchiladas rest so the sauce settles, then top with cilantro and serve with sour cream.

Tip: Want them spicier? Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne to the sauce or a minced jalapeño to the filling.

Tip: Flour tortillas work too and roll without warming, but they soak up more sauce and turn softer.

Storage: Refrigerate covered up to 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F until hot in the center, about 20 minutes.

Make ahead: Assemble without the top cheese, cover and refrigerate up to 1 day. Add the cheese and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Or freeze unbaked up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge first.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 500 calories · protein 37 g · carbohydrates 31 g · fiber 6 g · sugars 3 g · fat 26 g (saturated 11 g) · sodium 1,190 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 15 of 15 ingredients.