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!
You always create such great dishes and take beautiful photos. I just love your blog. My hubby will absolutely love this dish!
Wow, this dish sounds amazing and so simple! I gotta try this as soon as I can 🙂
Um, can I come over for dinner?!
Under 30 minutes and only 1 dish to clean… sounds good to me. And eating out of the skillet? Bonus points. Why dirty up more dishes?! 😉
Chicken enchilada ANYTHING is kind of an obsession of mine, I just love enchiladas so much! This looks seriously delicious girl!
Sounds (damn) delicious! I like enchiliadas with a salsa verde, so I may play around with the ingredients. Love the idea!
Yum, this looks amazing! I love new twists on my fave Mexican foods 🙂
I love your blog, Chung-Ah! Beautiful photos and great recipes! I love enchiladas in any form! Thank you!
I love enchiladas but they are so time consuming to make. This skillet is the perfect solution!
Love this. Easy, one skillet and eat right out of the skillet. Pinning!
I want a whole lot of yumminess in a skillet! Nom Nom! Pinning
I’ve been looking for more recipes like this to add to my hectic weeknight dinner game plan. Definitely pinning!
Just my Southwestern Chick 2 cents: corn tortillas = healthy, high fiber, whole grain, fabulous taste. Flour tortillas = none of the previous. Corn chips = high fat, high calorie, high sodium, high price. See corn tortillas……
Buy ’em soft (I prefer Mission brand to all others except when in Texas, when I can buy them from the tortilla makers themselves), fry them yourself. SO worth the effort! Slice a stack with a pizza cutter before frying if you want them for a skillet dish or tortilla soup.
Thank you for your input, Barbara! I really just want my readers to be able to choose either corn or flour based on their personal preference.
When you says “tortilla strips’, is that the same as chips?
Yes, you can use crushed up tortilla chips as well.
I seriously want to dive right into those close up photos! This looks incredibly delicious!
You should come on over for dinner, Jaclyn!
Definitely going to try this. We typically only make enchiladas on the weekend because of the time it takes to make them and clean up, but we could do this on a week night. Thanks!
I hope you get a chance to make this. It really is so much easier than traditional enchiladas!
In Mexico this is called Chilaquiles 🙂
One pot meals are totally the way to go! This skillet looks wonderful. I think it would be a hit at my house!
Ah, I love this! I never get tired of chicken enchiladas. Love that this dish is so easy and quick!
This looks sooooo good!