Chicken Enchilada Bake
I have been on the hunt for an enchilada recipe that our entire family likes for a very long time. You see…my neighbor growing up made the BEST beef enchiladas…we used to beg to be blessed with a batch of her homemade enchiladas. I have no idea how she made those, but these are also delicious and I think a lot less work.
Yes…you can make the enchilada sauce and individually roll each enchilada….but this is way easier. Either way…you have to make the enchilada sauce…way better than store-bought and it is so easy and quick!
Chicken Enchilada Bake
Serving size: 8
Prep time: 20-25 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes (plus 3-4 hours if making the chicken in the slow cooker)
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 10 oz rotel tomato and green chilies
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 8 oz Colby jack, shredded
- 8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
- 18 corn tortillas
Enchilada sauce:
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 4 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1-8 oz tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
Cook chicken, spices, rotel tomatoes, and onion in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high. Once it has reached 165 degrees, shred the chicken and turn off the crock pot. (OR…if I forget to do this…I cook my chicken in a medium skillet with avocado oil, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin. When it is cooked, I shred it and then add the onion and rotel in a bowl.
Make your enchilada sauce:
Whisk together the avocado oil and flour over medium heat. Cook the mixture for a few minutes, whisking constantly. Whisk in the spices and then slowly add the chicken broth and tomato sauce while whisking constantly. Let this simmer until slightly thickened (about 10 minutes). Add a couple of tablespoons of the sauce to the chicken mixture and mix.
Now to assemble: You can totally make these into actually rolled enchiladas, but I like to skip that step and just make it into a kind of lasagna bake.
In a 9x13 pan, spread a little bit of the enchilada sauce to cover the bottom. Place 6 tortillas on top of the enchilada sauce- overlapping is fine. Place half of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Top with 1/4 of the cheese. Top with 6 more tortillas and then the other half of the chicken and another 1/4 of the cheese. Then top with the last 6 tortillas, then the remaining enchilada sauce, and then finish with the rest of the cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
We like to pair it with beans and our Mexican Rice.
Enjoy!
