Chicken Enchiladas With Red Sauce You Can Make at Home

Chicken enchiladas are one of Mexico’s most beloved comfort food dishes. Corn tortillas are filled with tender shredded chicken, rolled tightly and laid in a baking dish, then smothered in a rich red enchilada sauce and topped with a generous layer of melted cheese. The result is a deeply flavourful, satisfying dish that looks impressive but is surprisingly straightforward to make at home.

The homemade red enchilada sauce is what makes this recipe stand apart from anything made with a store-bought version. It is built from a roux of flour and oil, chilli powder, cumin, garlic, oregano and chicken stock and takes about 15 minutes to make. The sauce is bold, slightly smoky and coats the enchiladas in a way that no canned sauce ever manages to. The chicken is poached directly in seasoned water, shredded and mixed with a little of the sauce before being rolled into the tortillas so every bite is moist and well-seasoned all the way through.

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes 
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the chicken:

  • 500g Boneless Chicken Breast
  • 1 litre water
  • 1 small onion, halved
  • 3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

For the red enchilada sauce:

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 3 tbsp red chilli powder or a mix of Kashmiri red chilli and smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 400ml chicken stock (use the poaching liquid from the chicken)
  • 200ml tomato puree or passata
  • Salt to taste

For the enchiladas:

  • 8 to 10 medium corn or flour tortillas
  • 5 cups grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or thick yoghurt (for serving)
  • Fresh coriander leaves, chopped (for garnish)
  • Sliced red onion and lime wedges (for serving)

Steps

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a pot with the water, onion, garlic, salt, cumin and black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through. The internal temperature should reach 75 degrees Celsius. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool slightly. Reserve 400ml of the poaching liquid for the enchilada sauce.
  2. Make the red enchilada sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk continuously for 1 minute to form a smooth roux. Add the chilli powder, cumin, garlic powder and oregano and whisk for another 30 seconds. Gradually pour in the reserved chicken stock while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add the tomato puree and stir well. Simmer over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens to a coating consistency. Taste and adjust the salt. Remove from heat.
  3. Shred the cooled chicken using two forks into thin, even pieces. Place the shredded chicken in a bowl and mix with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce so every piece is lightly coated and moist. Set aside.
  4. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Warm the tortillas one at a time in a dry pan over medium heat for 20 to 30 seconds on each side until pliable. Keep them covered with a clean cloth to stay warm and flexible.
  5. Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce across the base of a large baking dish. Take a warm tortilla and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the chicken filling down the centre. Add a small pinch of grated cheese. Roll the tortilla tightly and place it seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, placing each one snugly against the last.
  6. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled enchiladas making sure every tortilla is covered. Scatter the remaining grated cheese generously over the top.
  7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbling and lightly golden at the edges.
  8. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander, sliced red onion and a squeeze of lime. Serve hot with sour cream or thick yoghurt on the side.

Tips for Best Results

Use the chicken poaching liquid for the enchilada sauce. It is already seasoned and adds a depth of flavour to the sauce that plain water or store-bought stock cannot replicate. This is one of the most effective ways to build flavour with minimal extra effort.

Mix some sauce into the chicken filling before rolling. This step is critical. Dry chicken filling makes dry enchiladas. A few tablespoons of sauce mixed through the shredded chicken ensures every bite is moist and well-seasoned all the way to the centre.

Warm the tortillas before rolling. Cold tortillas crack and tear when rolled. A quick 20 to 30 seconds on each side in a dry pan makes them pliable and easy to roll without splitting.

Cover every tortilla with sauce before baking. Any part of the tortilla left exposed in the oven will dry out and turn hard. Make sure the sauce reaches every rolled enchilada from end to end.

Let the enchiladas rest for 5 minutes after baking. This allows the sauce to settle and makes them easier to serve without falling apart.

This dish can be assembled up to a day ahead. Prepare the enchiladas, cover the baking dish tightly with foil and refrigerate. Bake fresh when ready to serve, adding an extra 5 minutes to the baking time.

Chicken enchiladas are one of those recipes that become a household staple once you have made them. The homemade sauce, the tender shredded chicken and the bubbling cheese come together into something genuinely comforting and satisfying. Once you have made these at home you will find it very hard to go back to the restaurant version.

Order Zorabian’s Boneless Chicken Breast from shop.zorabian.com and try this recipe at home.

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