Chicken Enchiladas made from scratch – juicy, cheesy and full of flavour! There’s a few components to homemade enchiladas, but it is absolutely worth the effort with flavour you can never achieve with packet spice mixes and bottled enchilada sauce.
The foundation of this recipe is a double duty Enchilada Spice Mix that flavours the homemade Enchilada Sauce and also seasons the chicken filling.
Chicken Enchiladas
I like my Enchiladas plump and generously stuffed, rather tham skimpy on the filling
I want the filling to be JUICY and full of flavour, rather than dry and crumbly inside.
And I want the sauce to actually still be there when it comes out of the oven, not just a dried up crusty layer of red.
If this sounds like your kind of Chicken Enchiladas, then this recipe is for you!
What you need for Chicken Enchiladas
Here’s what you need for these homemade from-scratch Chicken Enchiladas.
1. Enchilada Spice Mix
Used in the Enchilada Sauce as well as seasoning the chicken filling. Nothing fancy here, just a generous dose of everyday spices!
2. Enchilada Sauce and Filling
Let’s pretend I didn’t forget to include the tortillas for rolling all this up in! 😂
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Refried Beans – This is the “secret ingredient”. It fills out the filling so we can make big, plump enchiladas without using tons of chicken, holds it all together and makes it nice and juicy – and I wrote exactly the same thing about Chicken Burritos just a few weeks ago!
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Tomato Passata – I use Tomato Passata as the base for enchilada sauce which is smooth, pureed tomato sold in bottles. It’s plain tomato, no flavourings or salt added, and I prefer it over crushed tomato because it makes a smooth sauce. US: What you call “tomato sauce” (such as Hunts) is an ideal substitute.
Passata is sold in the pasta aisle in supermarkets for around the same price as crushed tomato.
How to make homemade Chicken Enchiladas
The 3 components to making homemade Chicken Enchiladas are:
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Enchilada Sauce
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Chicken Filling
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Rolling and baking
1. How to make Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada Sauce is thickened with flour and flavoured with chicken stock/broth and Enchilada spices. A simple 5 minute mix and simmer job. And light years better than store bought – see reader feedback on Beef Enchiladas which uses the same sauce!
2. Chicken Filling
We coat the chicken in the homemade Enchilada Spice Mix, then sear for maximum flavour. The smell when it hits the pan is wickedly good!
The Filling base starts with sautéed garlic and onion (flavour, flavour, flavour), then we mix in refried beans, stir in corn and the chopped chicken. As it simmers away, the generous amount of seasoning on the chicken will seep into the sauce, flavouring it with all those tasty Enchilada flavours!
↑↑↑Note the thick, juicy texture of the filling that’s going to be generously stuffed inside our enchiladas!
3. Rolling and assembly
It’s best to cool the Filling slightly so it thickens up a bit, making it easier to roll up.
Also, I can never resist adding a little (or big 😂) sprinkle of cheese before rolling it up! But if you’re watching your calories, feel free to skip it. 🙂
TIP: Add a little smear of sauce in the pan so the enchiladas don’t slip and slide as you place them in.🙌🏻
Pop it in the oven to bake for just 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the whole thing is bubbly and golden….
Best way to freeze enchiladas
The best way to freeze enchiladas is to keep the sauce separate. This is because the sauce soaks into the tortillas, making it excessively soggy AND leaving you with less sauce.
To freeze fully assembled chicken enchiladas, cool the sauce and the rolled up enchiladas completely, THEN assemble. Reason: Tortillas absorb less sauce when both are cold.
Bake from frozen – The enchiladas can be baked from frozen. If assembled separately, I thaw the sauce (quick zap in the microwave does the trick), pour it over the frozen enchiladas sprinkle with cheese then pop it in the oven.
What to serve with Enchiladas
If you want to go all out, serve your Enchiladas with sour cream, Guacamole or Avocado Sauce, and/or Pico de Gallo (tomato salsa) to dollop on top.
Pico de Gallo is also a good side dish to add to more vegetables into the meal. Another firm favourite is Cucumber Salad with Herb & Garlic Dressing – it’s terrifically refreshing so it’s a great contrast to the cosy cheesy Enchilada flavours! Otherwise, try this Chipotle Lime Roasted Cauliflower – very on theme with Mexican-esque flavours. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 8 tortillas , flour or corn (about 20cm/8" wide, Note 1)
Enchilada Seasoning:
- 1 tsp EACH onion powder, garlic powder, salt
- 1 tbsp EACH dried cumin powder, paprika, dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, adjust to taste)
Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose
- 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock/broth , low sodium
- 1.5 cups (375ml) tomato passata or US puree (Note 4 sub)
Chicken Filling:
- 600g / 1.2lb chicken breast , sliced in half horizontally (or boneless thigh) (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 1/2 onion , chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper , diced
- 400g / 14oz refried beans (Note 3)
- 400g/14oz canned corn , drained (sub frozen 1 3/4 cups)
- 1/4 cup (65ml) water
- 1 cup (100g) cheese shredded (Mexican cheese blend, Monterey Jack, cheddar)
Topping
- 1.5 cups (150g) cheese , shredded
- 2 tbsp coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped
Instructions
- Enchilada Seasoning: Mix Enchilada Seasoning Spices. To be used for Filling and Sauce.
Enchilada Sauce
- Make roux - Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir 20 seconds.
- Add other ingredients - Add 2 tbsp Enchilada Seasoning, broth and tomato. Stir to combine.
- Simmer to thicken - Increase heat slightly to medium high. Cook for 4 minutes, whisking regularly, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of thick syrup (see video). Remove from stove.
Chicken Filling
- Coat chicken - Drizzle 1 tbsp oil over chicken, mix to coat. Sprinkle with Seasoning, toss to coat.
- Cook chicken - Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, cook 2 minutes. Turn and cook 1.5 minutes. Remove, rest 2 minutes then chop.
- Saute onion - In the same skillet, add onion and garlic, cook 1 minute. Add capsicum, cook 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add everything else - Add refried beans, diced chicken, corn and water. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until reduces slightly. Should be thick and juicy, not watery.
Assemble and bake:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Roll - Lay tortilla on work surface. Spread 2/3 cup Filling on lower third, sprinkle with cheese then roll up, finishing with the seam side down (to hold it closed). Repeat to make 8.
- Smear a scoop of Enchilada Sauce across base of 22 x 33cm /9 x 13" pan. Place Enchiladas in, pour over remaining Sauce, sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Serve immediately, sprinkled with coriander!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Mexican Mania
I like my Mexican food loaded with BIG flavours!
Life of Dozer
Karma in action after I teased Dozer by showing him a Strawberry Custard Tart I made…..(scroll down to see what happened 😭)
Hi Nagi, this is the 4th time I’ve made your chicken enchilada recipe. As you mentioned, moist, plump and packed with the perfect balance of flavour.
I made this batch with the intent to freeze for later, so I made sure that the filling and sauce were cold before putting them together.
I’ve exhausted my supply of Monterey Jack Cheese. As it was I had difficulties sourcing it.
I think uou’ve mentioned in previous Mexican recipes that you’ve seen it at Harris Farms. May you tell me which Harris Farm you saw it?
I’m I Sydney this week until 19th August as my son has two specialist appointments at Westmead Hospital, and I want to take the opportunity to restock my Monteray Jack cheese. Thank you 😊
2nd time making, so good! Don’t forget to put more sauce at the bottom, mine stuck to the bottom! Also, what kind of cheese for the topping do you use?
I – and my family- loved your enchilada recipe. I have not made it from scratch before but found it a straight forward cook.
My main adjustment was to cut back on the corn and added grated zucchini as my other half doesn’t like too much corn. (She also doesn’t like refried beans but I didn’t tell her about it) lol
Much nicer from scratch. Not very spicy, so serve with jalapeños for that heat. We also accompanied with tomatoes, cucumber, guacamole and sour cream. This makes a lot of Enchiladas!
Sorry to be stupid – do I use all the spice mix, half for the chicken and half for the sauce?
Never mind! Made it tonight – fabulous!!! We all garnished it in different ways (chipotle, jalapeño, sour cream etc) and it was a huge success.
This is delish and well worth the minimal effort.
This is for Fizza Re: Your own kidney beans and i dont know if i’m allowed to do this but here goes.
1 tin Kidney Beans drained & rinsed(retain tin)
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 Chopped onion
1 chopped garlic clove
2 Tsp tomato puree
2 Tsp cumin
1/2 Tsp hot paprika
1/2 Tsp cayenne (optoinal)
1 Tsp chipotle paste
1 Tsp Red vinegar/any
1 Tsp Brown sugar/any
1/4 tin water
Soften onion/garlic in oil add everything else apart from water and beans, cook ‘out’ 1 min add mins stir add water and simmer till nearly all water gone then wizz with hand blender.(For texture/crunch remove 1/3 of mixture before wizzing and crush with fork then add back to wizzed beans).Seems alot but is dead easy and you can adjust as you please.
Oh so yummy! I cooked the filling and the sauce the night before and assembled and cooked after work. It was absolutely delicious and so easy! I also added sliced kalamata olives sprinkled with the cheese on top.
These came out great. I made the sauce and the filling on my day off and just assembled enough for dinner each time we had them. They were perfect in 20 min. Super easy; my husband doesn’t say much about most meals but he really loved these. Next time I’ll double the recipe and freeze half, and maybe reduce the refried beans a little and add some red rice. We liked them with both flour and corn tortillas.
Woo hoo!! That’s great Anna!! N x
Can I just boil some red kidney beans and puree them and use as substitute to the can of refried beans?
Refried beans have quite a few spices and are cooked with oil or lard so I don’t think that would work Fizza as an exact sub. N x
Another amazing dish! Apparently “the best enchiladas I’ve ever had” from my partner who’s obsessed with restaurant Mexican food! I recommend your page to so many people! Such fab recipes. Thanks x
I am happy that you enjoyed it Alana!! N x
My Hispanic husband and I loved this recipe! Although he doubted me the entire time making the enchilada sauce, it turned out absolutely delicious!! Thank you!!!
Woo hoo!! I am so glad you enjoyed it Alexi!! N x
I made this entree today.
We are unfamiliar with enchiladas and enjoyed it very much.
However, I feel the recipe layout and instructions very difficult to follow. I had to read and re-read the instructions several times due to missing information. For example, there is no mention of the spice mix under the sauce recipe ingredient list.
I didn’t like the idea of frying the chicken for just a few minutes, before adding it to the other ingredients. It is still raw chicken, being mixed with cheese, corn etc. I chopped my chicken first, coated it with spice, then pan fried.
Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Anna – did you click the recipe button at the top to jump down to the written/printable recipe? I’m not sure why you missed the spice mix – it is in Step 1 of the recipe where it says “Enchilada Seasoning: Mix Enchilada Seasoning Spices. To be used for Filling and Sauce.” Also if your chicken breast was sliced in half horizontally as the recipe instructs, then it should have been fine to chop after cooking 2 mins on one side and 1.5 minutes on the other side. I am glad that you enjoyed the enchiladas and thanks for your feedback! N x
Hi.
I was referring to the section at the very top of the recipe:
ENCHILADA SAUCE
▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
▢ 3 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose
▢ 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock/broth , low sodium
▢ 1.5 cups (375ml) tomato passata or US puree (Note 4 sub)
There is no mention here of the spice mix, however it is mentioned under instructions. And under instruction you list “tomato” which was a bit confusing at first as well. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Guessing the spice mix goes on chicken.
Most recipe websites have the detailed, full recipe at the bottom, not in the actual blog post itself. So if you scroll to the bottom it details the spice mix there and all the instructions are there easy to follow 🙂
Another smashing success – once again thank you so much for all your inspiration – I had to listen to my husband rave about how much he enjoyed it all through our meal 🙋🏻♀️
That’s not a bad problem to have Lesley! N x
your food is delish
Nagi, Ur the best, thnx, we used this for our food tech assignment.
Well I hope that you got top marks!!! N x
Excellent! Just the thing to feed hungry teenagers! My new go-to enchiladas.
Can I make this with your tortilla/ wrap recipe? Also make my own refried beans, I know that will create extra work, at least I will know all the ingredients. Do you have a refried bean recipe??
Absolutely the best Enchiladas we have ever had. So glad I made the whole recipe for the two of us as the leftovers will be great. Thank you 😊
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Definitely 5 star for this delicious enchilada specially the homemade sauce. Death to jar sauce indeed!! This instantly made it to our family faves list.
I love making these, always a hit. Somehow the tortillas always get stuck to the bottom of my dish and make plating a bit of an annoyance (and less visually pleasing haha. Would anyone have advice on how to prevent that? Perhaps smear a bit more sauce on the bottom
I put more sauce on the bottom and less on top as wanted a crispy top with soggy bottom (for once!)..didn’t stick at all
Great tip Sarah! N x