How to make homemade enchiladas, the easy way

The perfect chicken enchilada recipe! That is not only more authentic than boxed mixes but also far more delicious. I will show you how to make your own enchiladas completely from scratch, which is far easier than you might think. And it’s a good thing that they are so easy to make since my family keeps asking me to make them again.

If you make these chicken enchiladas for your family or friends, they will keep asking too when you will make them again. And who could blame them? Because who doesn’t love Mexican cuisine with all their spices and millions of variations on a whole plethora of dishes? I don’t know anyone. But sometimes, all these different variations can be overwhelming, and we just want to grab an easy boxed mix. But you’re missing out on so many delicious meals if you do that. So I developed this recipe to be easy and delicious while being as authentic as possible. Because I believe that cooking from scratch should be easy. As well as nutritious and absolutely delicious, because why eat if it’s not delicious. Or is that just me?

So I will show you how to make an easy enchilada sauce, which you will use to cover the rolled-up tortillas. I will also show you how to make your own enchilada chicken filling. I prefer using leftover chicken, although you can also use fresh if you prefer that. In a previous post, I already showed you how to make homemade flour tortillas which you can use to fill up with the chicken mixture. And to top it all off, you sprinkle some cheese on top and let it brown in the oven, then you can serve it on its own or serve it with a salad if you prefer.

What are enchiladas actually?

Traditionally enchiladas were corn tortillas covered in a chilli sauce then stuffed with whatever filling was available. They weren’t always baked or topped with cheese the way most recipes are now. And since so many Mexican dishes vary so much according to their region, there is no one original recipe.

There are enchiladas verdes (or green enchiladas) as well as enchiladas rojas (or red enchiladas). And then there are still the hundreds of variations that use different beans, vegetables, and different types of meat and fish. And since modern times and the rise in popularity of Mexican cuisine, the variations have only increased. Which resulted in even more variations. Of which some like enchiladas suizas are very heavy on the dairy and of course the boxed variations from the shops.

How to make the enchiladas

Deliciously rich and topped with plenty of cheese, these enchiladas are perfect for when you want a good old comforting hearty meal at the end of the day. These enchiladas are also made in a more traditional way while ensuring that the recipe stays are simple as can be.

This recipe consists of three parts, the enchilada sauce which you will spread under and over the filled tortillas, the chicken enchilada filling which you will use to fill the tortillas, and lastly the tortillas. If you want to follow my recipe, then go to homemade wheat tortillas. I highly recommend making your own since it is so much more delicious than store-bought and easier than you might imagine.

The oven dish that I use is about is 17 cm by 30 cm. But the oven dish size doesn’t really matter as long as all your tortillas fit in it.

Makes: 4 portions
Prep: 15 min
Bake: 20 min

Enchilada sauce:

• 40 gr butter
• 40 gr plain flour
• 4-6 tsp chilli powder (depending on how spicy you like things)
• 1 medium onion (grated)
• 2 cloves of garlic (grated)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp cocoa powder (pure & unsweetened)
• 500 ml chicken stock
• Salt to taste

Preparation for the enchilada sauce

Add butter to a saucepan and let melt on medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted, add in the grated onion and garlic. Let them cook for about a minute or two to soften up and take the sharpness off.

Add the flour, chilli, cumin, and cocoa powder to the pan and stir until well combined. Then while continuing to stir, let it cook for about a minute. Cook off the flour and let it brown a bit to enhance the flavours.

Slowly add the chicken stock to the saucepan while stirring continuously to avoid any lumps and ensure proper thickening of the sauce. I prefer to use a whisk when I’m adding water to any kind of roux, since it makes creating a smooth sauce so much easier. (a roux is a mixture of fat and flour to thicken sauces)

Once all the stock is incorporated and you have created your sauce. Salt it to taste and leave it to boil for a minute or five.

After which, you can pour half of it into a glass jar and save it for later. It will keep for a week in the fridge.

The other half you will use for your chicken enchiladas today.

If you prefer, you can half the recipe so you won’t have extra. But we so enjoy this sauce that I always make this amount. So we can enjoy the other half of the sauce with our other meals during the week.

Chicken enchilada filling

• 300 gr leftover chicken (you can use fresh, as long as you make sure to cook them through completely)
• 500 gr tomato passata or freshly diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic (grated)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
• Salt to taste

Preparation for the chicken enchilada filling

Dice your onions and fry them in a little olive oil in a saucepan until they soften.

Add your cumin powder to the pan and let it fry for half a minute or so to boost the flavour.

Shred your leftover chicken and grate your garlic, then add them to the onions. If you’re using fresh diced chicken, then I recommend frying them until they’re cooked through.

Pour in the tomato passata or the diced tomatoes, the oregano and if you want it extra spicy the chilli, stir and bring to a boil.

Leave to simmer for 5 minutes while you prepare the wheat tortillas unless you’ve already prepared them ahead of time.

Assembly of the enchiladas

• Half of the prepared enchilada sauce
• 10 homemade wheat tortillas
• The prepared chicken enchilada filling
• 200 gr cheddar cheese (grated)

Spread out half of your enchilada sauce onto the bottom of your oven dish.

Fill your tortillas with about two big scoops of your chicken filling, then roll up and while holding them carefully on the sides, place them on top of the sauce into the baking dish.

Repeat the filling and rolling of your tortillas until you’ve filled the entire oven dish.

Spread out the other half of your enchilada sauce on the top of your filled tortillas and sprinkle them with cheese.

Grill them in the oven on high until they are nice and golden brown. If you don’t have a grill function on your oven, you can bake them in the oven at 210 C for 20 minutes or until golden and brown.

You can serve your homemade enchiladas with your leftover enchilada sauce if you want some extra spice.

Enjoying your chicken enchiladas

I hope you will enjoy these chicken enchiladas, and if you do, please let me know either in the comments or send me a dm on Instagram. Even if you don’t enjoy them, still let me know. So that I will know how to better help you in the future.

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