Chicken Enchilada Skillet
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A quick, easy one pot dinner to feed a crowd! No rolling, no folding! Serve with your favorite toppings. SO GOOD!
why i love this easy recipe
- One pot miracle dinner. We’re talking one skillet for the most effortless flavor-packed 45 min dinner, start to finish. Even with baking the tortillas on the oven rack, we’re still cooking in a single pot. Can we say easiest clean up ever? Yes, please!
- Short ingredient list. This recipe does not require much, including repurposing leftover rotisserie chicken and utilizing pantry staples. Want to go the extra mile and take your enchilada skillet to the next level? Use homemade enchilada sauce!
- Shortcut enchiladas (aka lazy enchiladas). Imagine an inside out enchilada. There’s zero rolling, zero wrapping, no nothing. You get all the favorited enchilada flavors without any of the work, all baked in a hot, cheesy skillet.
- Family-favorite meal. This is one of those dishes where family, friends and weekend company will be begging for second helpings. Serve with your favorite toppings – avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream, cilantro and lime wedges to name a few – there’s a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy.
- Flexible recipe. Swap out the shredded chicken for a different protein or use salsa verde or green enchilada sauce in place of the red enchilada sauce.
how to make the easiest deconstructed lazy enchiladas
- Toast the tortillas (corn or flour) directly on the oven rack, about 5 minutes
- Cook the onion + pepper + spices, stirring in diced tomatoes + enchilada sauce (red or green) + chicken (or desired protein)
- Let it simmer for about 5 minutes
- Stir in crisp torn tortillas
- Top with cheeses and bake until hot and bubbly
- Add your favorite toppings and serve from the skillet
tips and tricks for success
- Toast the tortillas. Crisping the tortillas beforehand is a key step, creating a barrier and preventing them from becoming soggy.
- Use red or green enchilada sauce. Use your favorite brand of enchilada sauce, mild or spicy. Homemade enchilada sauce is even better.
- Mix it up. Swap out the chicken for crumbled ground beef (or turkey) seasoned with taco seasoning or make it vegetarian by skipping the chicken and adding in black beans + bell pepper + broccoli (or cauliflower) + leafy greens.
- Make it gluten-free. This recipe can easily be made GF by swapping out the tortillas for gluten-free tortillas.
what to serve with chicken enchilada skillet
- Taco Salad
- Mexican Rice
- Mexican Corn Dip
- Mini Chicken Quesadillas
- Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Chicken Enchilada Skillet: Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have a recipe for rotisserie chicken?
We love this IP rotisserie chicken and this 6-ingredient lemon herb rotisserie chicken.
Can I use flour tortillas?
Absolutely! You can use corn or flour, it really just depends on personal preference. Corn tortillas are traditionally used for enchiladas as they maintain their structure a little more (less cracking and tearing when rolled for traditional enchiladas) but either option will work great here.
What vegetables can I add here for my picky eaters?
Sweet potato, mushrooms, zucchini and cauliflower are all great options.
Can I use a different kind of cheese?
We love Mexican blend but Cheddar, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack and Monterey Jack can also be used.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Chicken Enchilada Skillet
A quick, easy one pot dinner to feed a crowd! No rolling, no folding! Serve with your favorite toppings. SO GOOD!
Ingredients
- 7 (5 1/2-inch) corn tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce, homemade or store-bought
- 2 ½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tortillas directly on the oven rack in a single layer, baking until toasted and crisp, about 5 minutes; let cool 5-10 minutes before breaking into pieces.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion and poblano, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce and chicken; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors have blended, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in tortillas until evenly combined; sprinkle with cheeses.
- Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve immediately with desired toppings.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
This was super delicious and you can easily add veggies and I will add some corn next time. This time had asparagus. Will brown the tortilla pieces before the chicken next time.
I made this for lunch today and my hubby and I both LOVED IT! My hubby asked if this was another “Damn” recipe and I told him yes and she hasn’t failed us yet!! Everything we’ve tried, we’ve loved. Thank you for another great recipe!!
I already had some boneless, skinless chicken that I had grilled a couple days earlier. I cubed it and used this recipe. I made minor changes and added chopped black olives and extra cheese. It was great…
Sounds very good!
What if I wanted it to feed 9 people how will I change it
This recipe yields 6 servings so you can multiply the ingredients by 1.5 or 2 – it’s up to you! 🙂
Flour tortillas get gummy, I prefer corn!
I absolutely LOVE your recipes! I will be making this for dinner tomorrow, only because tonight we are having your Chicken with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce 😀
Question: I’ve made this mistake before, when you say corn tortillas cut into strips…you mean the soft ones right? And they will crisp up in the pan?
Thanks!
Yes, that is correct but they will not really become crisp per se – they have a similar texture as traditional enchiladas.
New to your website. Love your passion for easy, healthy, and fun eating/cooking. Any possibility of including total calories, carbs, prot, etc. in your recipes that are in your blog?
Your niece is just adorable. If I could magically transport myself to LA for visits, forgoing the drive, that would be ideal.
Thanks for fab buffalo chicken quinoa bites with Gr. yogurt
Thank you for the kind words!
Nutritional information is actually provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, it is best that you use free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
I add black beans, corn, and rice to this to stretch it out! It’s fantastic for breakfast with a fried egg on top.
This was amazing!!!! Your recipes rock!!! 🙂
I’m curious — have you ever tried freezing this meal? I’ve been looking for ways to freeze my favorite recipes for nights when I don’t have time to cook an entire meal from start to finish…and making freezer meals myself is so much healthier than buying them at the grocery store! So…have you ever frozen this recipe and then made it later?
Unfortunately, I have not tried freezing this as there were no leftovers to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Another great “easy” dinner! This is the third recipe I’ve made from your wonderful site and my family has really loved them all. I can’t wait to try the Orange chicken.
Great recipe! Thank you, made it tonight and loved it. Used pepper jack cheese and skipped the tomato sauce. I fried my own tortillas (chile whole grain ones). It is similar to what we in the Southwest call “migas” (often a breakfast dish). Not sure I cold stretch it to six servings, but that might be because it is soooo good!
Made this last night for dinner. So quick (especially when you cook your chicken in the Ziploc Zip N Steam bags. Seriously LOVE those btw. You should look into a sponsorship!) and tasted great! Never would have thought to fry the tortilla bites like that. Added something extra to the dish. Will certainly be making this again!!
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This is probably my new favorite recipe. Thanks for sharing.
This is amazing, and so easy to bring together. I served ours with rice. This dish is definitely a keeper. 🙂
What a fantastic idea! I have all these ingredients on hand and can’t wait to try it!
Just tried this recipe. Quite tasty. I didn’t have any Tomato Sauce, so I used Mexican stewed tomatoes and used my bamix to turn it into a “sauce” rather than chunks. I poured out a little juice, then pulsed it until it was a sauce. I also added onions and yellow pepper to the chicken just to get some veggies in. Very good. Will definitely make again.
I love quick and easy recipes, and this one looks super delicious!
This looks delish! To the hilt! I’m new to your site, I found you on Pinterest! As sad as this sounds, I don’t think I can find enchilada sauce here, so I might have to do from scratch, do you know of any recipes?
Marie, I recommend perusing through google and various cookbooks for an enchilada sauce recipe. I do plan on making one soon for this site though!