Amazing Chicken & Cilantro Enchiladas Recipe with Extra Cheese
These are the best enchiladas you can make! Stuffed with lots of chicken and cheese with bursts of fresh cilantro flavor, this is a delicious crowd-pleasing recipe for every occasion. Chicken and cilantro enchiladas are smothered in a pungent tomato-based sauce that will keep you coming back for more!
Enchiladas have been one of my favorite meals to make for years! In college, they were my go-to recipe when making a dish for a group. I rarely make a recipe the same way twice (unless I feel like it just can’t get any better), and over the years I’ve experimented with different ingredients to create the best enchiladas. I’ve finally created chicken & cilantro enchiladas that I don’t want to change a bit!
Why You’ll Love Chicken & Cilantro Enchiladas
Delicious flavor – You’ll love the combination of fragrant spices with fresh cilantro which perfectly balance the chicken and cheese filled tortillas.
Simple ingredients – This recipe uses only simple, real ingredients you likely already have in your pantry and fridge.
One-dish meal – These enchiladas include a protein, vegetable (if you count tomatoes), and starch, so you don’t need anything else to complete your meal. Add on some toppings to make your meal even more complete!
Gluten-free option – To make this recipe gluten-free, simply use gluten-free tortillas.
Healthy & Easy Meal Idea
Chicken & cilantro enchiladas make for a wonderful healthy meal! They are packed with high-quality protein from the chicken, cheese, and refried beans. The tomato sauce is loaded with vitamins A, C, E, and others and it even has lots of disease-fighting antioxidants! Fresh cilantro is loaded with more health benefits including heavy-metal detoxification properties.
The toppings can be another wonderful source of important nutrients! Choose high quality, fresh ingredients such as avocado slices or chopped tomatoes for the most health benefits.
Make for a Crowd
This recipe is perfect for feeding a large group! Here’s some tips to make this a delicious crowd-pleasing meal:
Multiply the recipe – You can easily make a bigger batch of enchiladas by multiplying the recipe as many times as necessary.
Prepare in advance – If you don’t want to think about cooking right before an event, you can put the enchiladas together before hand (see detailed instructions in the next section).
Go easy on the spices – In case some people are more sensitive to spicy foods, you may want to reduce the amount of spices slightly.
Provide a variety of toppings – Lots of toppings are perfect for a large group so everyone can customize it to their personal tastes.
Gluten-free option – If some people are on a gluten-free diet, you can use gluten-free tortillas instead of regular tortillas.
Prep in Advance
To prepare in advance, assemble the chicken & cilantro enchiladas and, right before baking, cover the pan to make it airtight. Refrigerate for up to three days. Before baking, remove it from the fridge and make sure the pan comes to room temperature before placing it in the oven and baking as usual.
If you’d like to prepare the enchiladas more than 3 days in advance, you can put them in the freezer instead of the fridge for up to three months. 24-48 hours before baking, place them in the fridge to thaw. When you’re ready to bake them, remove them from the fridge and make sure the pan comes to room temperature before placing in the oven.
Chicken & cilantro enchiladas can also be frozen already baked. When you’re ready to serve them, thaw them in the fridge and reheat in the oven.
Tools You May Need
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Ingredients for Chicken & Cilantro Enchiladas
Sliced chicken breasts – Make sure they’re thawed before slicing into approximately 1/2 inch strips.
Shredded cheddar cheese – You can use sharp or mild cheddar cheese depending on your flavor preference.
Tomato sauce – I used canned tomato sauce for this recipe, however, you can also use homemade sauce.
Yellow onion – Finely chopped
Refried beans – Canned or homemade refried beans both work great for this recipe.
Avocado oil – You can substitute any other type of mild or flavorless cooking oil. I prefer avocado oil because of it’s high smoke point and health benefits.
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped – Fresh cilantro adds so much flavor to this recipe, however, if you’re in a pinch, you can substitute a small amount of dried cilantro.
Spices – You can use slightly more or less depending on how spicy you like your enchiladas.
Salt – Sea salt or Himalayan
Water
8″ tortillas – Premade or homemade are both great options! I often buy uncooked tortillas and cook them before making the enchiladas. You can also use gluten-free tortillas.
Optional Topping Ideas
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro
Chopped tomatoes
Salsa
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce
Sliced avocados
Fresh or pickled jalapenos
Guacamole
How to Make Chicken & Cilantro Enchiladas
Sauce and Filling
In a large skillet, heat the avocado oil on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, sauté the chopped onion until it starts to turn brown.
Add the spices and salt to the skillet and stir until the onion is coated and the spices are fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Then, add the chicken and stir until it’s well coated with the onion and spice mixture. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, and let the chicken simmer uncovered in the sauce for 10 minutes. Afterwards, remove the skillet from the heat.
Using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the chicken from the sauce and place in a large bowl. Some of the chopped onions will stay in the sauce and some will come with the chicken. Add the refried beans, cilantro, and 2 cups of the cheese to the chicken and stir until it’s well mixed.
Assemble and Bake
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish. I like to use a small amount of avocado oil, but you can use whatever type of oil you prefer for greasing pans.
Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the filling down the center of a tortilla, roll, and place in the dish with the tortilla seam facing down. Continue until all of the tortillas and filling have been used up.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve right away with any tasty toppings of your choice!
If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments! Tag me on Instagram @violet_rightathome
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Chicken & Cilantro Enchiladas
These delicious enchiladas are stuffed with chicken, cheese, and fresh cilantro and smothered in a rich tomato sauce. You'll want to make them again and again!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2 inch strips
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup refried beans
- 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 6 8 inch tortillas
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the avocado oil on medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, sauté the onion until it starts to turn brown.
- Add the spices and salt to the skillet, and stir until the onion is coated and the spices are fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Add the chicken and stir until it's well coated with the onion and spice mixture.
- Stir in the tomato sauce and water.
- Let the chicken simmer uncovered in the sauce for 10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the chicken from the sauce and place in a large bowl.
- Add the refried beans, cilantro, and 2 cups of the cheese to the chicken, and stir until it's well mixed.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease a 8" x 8" glass baking dish.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Spread the chicken mixture down the center of a tortilla, roll, and place in the dish with the tortilla seam facing down. Continue until all of the tortillas and filling have been used up.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve right away with any tasty toppings of your choice!
Notes
Optional Topping Ideas: sour cream, fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes, salsa, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced avocados, fresh or pickled jalapenos, guacamole
