Easy One Pan Cheesy Enchiladas
Mexican
This Cheesy skillet enchilada dish is made in one pan, done in under 30 minutes and can be made with shredded chicken, beef, vegan mince, or vegetarian. This Mexican-inspired meal offers all the goodness of cheesy chicken enchiladas with half the effort. It’s skips the need to stuff and roll corn tortillas. If you don’t have a skillet don’t sweat it, because you can use any oven-safe skillet instead.
It’s a hearty quick meal perfect for those days you just don’t feel like fussing too much in the kitchen. Rotisserie chicken is simmered in enchilada sauce and salsa, then sliced tortillas are stirred in. They get topped with cheese and baked off for a few minutes to get that cheese melted and gooey. Then serve and top with favorite toppings like guacamole, sour cream, green onions, olives, pickled jalapeños, chopped tomatoes and the list goes on.
Another thing I love about this recipe other than how quick and easy it is to make, is how versatile it is. I have added several recipe notes below that I think you should definitely check out before making this recipe to see for substitutions or add ins. For example I had loads of shredded chicken leftover after a client shoot so I used it in these enchiladas but I love this recipe with ground beef or ground turkey or if you want to keep this vegan you can use a vegan mince and make sure to use vegan cheese and yoghurt/sour cream too.
How to make skillet enchiladas:
The whole process couldn’t be easier I promise you. Once you have all your veggies chopped and ingredients ready - it takes minutes to put together and minutes to bake and get the cheese melty and delicious.
- Pan fry the peppers, onions and garlic with the spices
- Stir in the enchilada sauce if using, green chilies, sour cream and salsa - making the base of the sauce
- Fold in the sliced tortillas, beans and the chicken if using (if using ground beef or turkey see recipe note below)
- Top with cheese and bake a few minutes until it’s bubbling and melted - a few extra minutes to get it crispy and golden.
- Serve right out of the skillet with all the extra toppings you love and enjoy!
This has to be one of the easiest and fastest melas I have ever made. Ultra satisfying and tasty too. Hope you try it and do let know what you added to yours. If you like this recipe you will love these too:
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 small bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Chipotle chili powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (16-ounce/455ml) jar medium, hot or mild red salsa (choose depending on taste and how much heat you like)
- 1 (4-ounce/127ml) can of chopped green chilies
- ½ cup of store bought or homemade enchilada sauce (my homemade red sauce is easy to make
- ½ cup sour cream, plus more for serving
- 6 corn tortillas, torn into quarters
- 4 cups shredded cooked chicken (from rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast or thighs approx 1 - 1½ lbs)
- 1 (19-ounce/540 ml) can black beans, drained, rinsed
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Pickled jalapeños and cilantro (for serving; optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat oil in a 10” heatproof skillet (or oven proof pan) over medium. Add onion, garlic, peppers, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and salt and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add salsa, chopped green chilies, ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup of enchilada sauce to onion mixture and stir to combine.
- Fold in tortillas, chicken, and beans until thoroughly coated. cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle cheese all over and bake until cheese is bubbling 5-7 min
- Serve topped with jalapeños, cilantro and sour cream or whatever fixings you like
Recipe Notes
- We like our enchiladas with a bit of heat but you can reduce the amount of heat by removing the chili powder and making sure you to use mild salsa.
- I love using corn tortillas in this dish because I like the colour and texture of them. Feel free to use wheat ones if that is what you have or what you prefer. Both will work.
- If you are noticing that while you fold in the tortillas you have very little liquid left in the pan feel free to add a little extra enchilada sauce if needed
- If you don’t want to use enchilada sauce in this dish you can use extra salsa in its place or even stock or broth - I like to use the enchilada sauce for extra flavour and a little more body to the wet ingredients instead of just adding stock or salsa or water as some recipes call for. The recipe will still work though if replacing it with broth or water or extra salsa.
- If you want to substitute the sour cream you can do so with Greek yoghurt
- If you want to add extra veggies - feel free to. You can even leave out the chicken and make this a completely veggie based enchilada dish.
- Don’t like chicken in your enchiladas - no problem - feel free to substitute it with ground beef or ground Turkey or even your favorite vegan mince. Make sure to cook it breaking it up in the pan first then proceed with the recipe in the same pan you have cooked it in.
- Some recipes call for pan frying or toasting your sliced tortillas before folding them through the sauce. You can definitely do that if you find it makes a difference texturally. I find that even when I have used tortilla chips in sauce they soften in no time so the frying doesn’t make that much of a difference in my opinion
Inspired by Epicurious
