Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Avocado Sauce

Creamy avocado sauce, chicken and cheese are rolled up in warm flour tortillas to create THE BEST Cheesy Chicken Enchilada recipe out there!

These chicken enchiladas are easy to prepare in only 35 minutes with precooked and shredded chicken. And the Creamy Green Chili Avocado Sauce, well let’s just say, it’s legendary around my house! 

Pair the enchiladas with Mexican Street Corn and Restaurant Style Mexican Rice for an incredibly flavorful meal!

Enchiladas were something that we ate a lot of growing up. We ate chicken enchiladas, ground beef enchiladas, enchiladas with red sauce and enchiladas with green sauce. Let’s just say, we were big enchilada fans in the Bond household!

On the blog, you’ll find recipes for everything from Pumpkin Enchiladas to Italian Enchiladas to Low Carb Enchiladas, made with zucchini instead of tortillas. You’ll also find more traditional enchilada recipes, like these chicken enchiladas with green enchilada sauce.

Now this isn’t just any homemade enchilada sauce, this is THE CREAMIEST, MOST FLAVORFUL enchilada sauce EVER! It has everything you could want from an enchilada sauce.

It has sour cream and avocado for creaminess, green chiles and sriracha for spice, and cumin, cilantro and salt for flavor. This sauce really makes this recipe a winner, winner, chicken enchilada dinner!

Ingredients

• Chicken broth
• Sour cream
• Avocados – if avocados are not in season, you can find frozen avocado near the other frozen fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. You’ll want to use two cups of frozen diced avocado, in place of two fresh avocados.
• Diced green chilies – these canned chilies are found in the Hispanic section of most grocery stores, near the salsas and hot sauce.
• Sriracha – feel free to substitute in your favorite hot sauce, or eliminate the sriracha for a mild sauce.
• Lime juice – fresh squeezed is always preferred for the best flavor!
• Ground cumin
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Fresh cilantro
• Cooked, shredded chicken – this can be roasted, grilled, pressure cooked or rotisserie chicken. More on that in the next section.
• Flour tortillas – corn tortillas can be substituted in to make this recipe gluten free. See the section below for more details on that.
• Pepper jack cheese – you can also use monterey jack cheese, cheddar cheese, or spicy cheddar cheese, if you prefer.

How to cook chicken for enchiladas

There are several different ways to cook (or buy) chicken to make enchiladas. These include pressure cooking the chicken, roasting the chicken, grilling the chicken or pulling the chicken from a purchased rotisserie chicken. Pick how you’d like to cook the chicken, then follow the steps below for each method.

• Pressure cooked chicken for enchiladas – Add one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts to an Instant Pot, or electric pressure cooker. Cover the chicken with water or chicken broth in the pot. Add the lid to the Instant Pot and make sure the steam release is set to “sealing”. Press the “poultry” button on the Instant Pot, or set the manual timer to high pressure for 15 minutes. Once the chicken has finished cooking, allow the pressure cooker to pressure down for 10-15 minutes, then remove the lid. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and place on a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken for the enchiladas. One pound of chicken will equal three cups of pressure cooked, shredded chicken.
• Roasted chicken for enchiladas – Rub one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts with olive oil, then season with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place on a baking sheet and into a 450°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F. Remove the chicken from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then dice up the roasted chicken for the enchiladas.
• Grilled chicken for enchiladas – Rub one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts with olive oil, then season with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place on a grill, preheated to medium heat, and grill for 5-7 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer to verify the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165°F before removing the chicken from the grill. Dice the grilled chicken and add to the enchiladas.
• Rotisserie chicken for enchiladas – the easiest way to cook chicken for enchiladas is to actually not cook the chicken at all! Simply purchase an already cooked rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off the chicken to use in the enchiladas.

Step by step instructions

Once you’ve prepared the chicken, it’s time to make the sauce. There’s nothing I love more than an easy “dump and blend” sauce, which is exactly how you make this incredible, creamy green enchilada sauce. And after the sauce and chicken are prepared, it’s time to put the enchiladas together.

1. Prepare the sauce. Add chicken broth, sour cream, avocados, green chilies, sriracha, lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper and cilantro to a blender or food processor.
2. Blend the sauce until smooth and creamy.
3. Sauce the chicken. Toss a cup of the prepared avocado enchilada sauce with the prepared shredded or diced chicken.
4. Prepare the pan. Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 inch x 13 inch baking dish.
5. Get ready to assemble. Pour another 1/2 cup of the sauce onto a large rimmed plate.
6. Assemble the enchiladas. Place a flour tortilla on the plate of sauce and gently press down to cover the tortilla in the sauce. Flip the tortilla and press the other side into the sauce. Add about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture and 1-2 tablespoons shredded pepper jack cheese to the middle of the tortilla.
7. Add the enchiladas to the baking dish. Roll the tortilla up and over the ingredients and place the enchilada seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat step 6, adding more sauce to the plate when needed, until all 10 enchiladas are prepared and in the baking dish.
8. Add cheese and bake. Top the enchiladas with any remaining sauce and pepper jack cheese. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.

Tips and tricks

• The enchilada sauce is a medium, to low, on the spice level. But if you want a mild spice, simply omit the sriracha and cut the amount of green chilies in half.
• These enchiladas are very saucy! Don’t worry if you feel like there’s too much sauce, that’s how they’re supposed to be!
• If you’re only cooking for 2 people, you can divide the enchiladas into two separate dishes before baking them. I’ve found that two 8 inch x 8 inch dishes work great for this. One can be baked immediately and the other can be sealed tightly and refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for up to 6 months. And voila! You now have two meals from one delicious recipe!

How to make them gluten free

Every ingredient in this recipe for chicken enchiladas is gluten free except for the tortillas. This makes it super easy to make these enchiladas gluten free with just one simple swap, corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas!

Because corn tortillas tend to be smaller, usually 6″ wide, instead of 8-10″ wide like the flour tortillas used in this recipe, you’ll want to add at least 2 extra corn tortillas to this recipe.

Corn tortillas will need to be heated before preparing the enchiladas so that they’re more pliable and easier to roll up without tearing. You can do this by lightly pan frying them, baking them or microwaving them.

To pan fry them, add canola oil to a skillet until the bottom is covered. Heat the oil over medium heat, then add the tortillas one at a time until they’re soft, but not crispy.

To bake them in the oven, wrap all of the tortillas together in foil, then place them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. To heat them in the microwave, wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels, then microwave for 30-60 seconds or until all of the tortillas are warm.

Topping ideas

These enchiladas are absolutely scrumptious just as they are, but if you’d like to add a little extra spice, flavor or cheese, try adding one of these tasty toppings!

• Sliced jalapenos – pickled or fresh, sliced jalapenos are a deliciously spicy addition to these enchiladas!
• Sliced avocado – yes, the sauce is made with avocados, so do you really need more avocado on top? Well, if you’re like me there’s no such thing as too much avocado, ever!! And if you really want to double-down on the avocado goodness, add a scoop of guacamole on top!
• Fresh cilantro – cilantro is the perfect garnish for these enchiladas!
• Diced green onions – if you’re not a fan of cilantro, substitute diced green onions as a garnish on top of the enchiladas.
• Black olives – if you’re an olive fan, sliced black olives make a great addition on top of these enchiladas.
• Pico De Gallo – for a fresh burst of flavor on top, try adding this easy pico de gallo recipe. You can quickly whip it up in 5 minutes while the enchiladas are baking!
• Green Chili Queso Dip – growing up, it was unheard of to serve enchiladas without queso! This green chili queso pairs perfectly with these enchiladas. Simply toss the queso recipe in a slow cooker before you begin preparing the enchiladas, then you’ll have warm, creamy queso when the enchiladas are ready!

More Mexican recipes

Looking for more easy Mexican food recipes to make at home? Try these 5 favorites made in 29 minutes or less!

1. Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa
2. Quinoa Chicken Enchilada Casserole
3. Instant Pot Fajitas with Steak and Veggies
4. 20 Minute Enchilada Pasta
5. Veggie Fajita Rice Bowls

And for more enchilada goodness, be sure to check out this Green Enchilada Sauce and this Red Enchilada Sauce recipe, great for making beef, chicken or vegetable enchiladas, or Kurt’s Famous Chilaquiles!

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