Chicken Enchiladas
These easy Chicken Enchiladas are loaded with meat, veggies, and beans. A light green cilantro sauce adds a great flavor and texture to the meal.
These easy Chicken Enchiladas are loaded with meat, veggies, and beans. A light green cilantro sauce adds a great flavor and texture to the meal.
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- salt & pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 - 15 ounce can black beans drained & rinsed
- 1 - 15 ounce can corn drained
- 1 - 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chil drained
- 1/2 cup taco sauce
- 3 cups chicken broth divided
- 1/3 cup packed chopped cilantro
- 8 - 10 inch flour tortillas
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese
- Carbohydrate 4.75755328553892 g
- Cholesterol 359.241796882275 mg
- Fat 74.4788131395989 g
- Fiber 0.0354185697115385 g
- Protein 85.8444312081307 g
- Saturated Fat 23.0982829763855 g
- Serving Size 1 1 enchilada (491g)
- Sodium 558.550146650249 mg
- Sugar 4.72213471582739 g
- Trans Fat 6.23800123093632 g
- Calories 1055 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, taco sauce, and 1/2 cup cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, cilantro, sour cream, cumin, and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Heat the butter in a skillet until melted. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the other 1 1/2 cups of broth. Bring to boil and cook 1 minute. Add to the mixture in the blender and pulse. Pour 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
- Lay out all the tortillas. Divide the chicken mixture onto each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the pan.
- Pour the green sauce on top. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top evenly. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm with sour cream, tomatoes, avocados, and cilantro, if desired.
Soggy, waterlogged tortillas ruin more homemade enchiladas than any other single factor. Excess moisture in the filling ingredients escapes during baking, turning the surrounding dough into paste before the cheese even melts thoroughly. Drain canned black beans and canned corn in a colander for several minutes, then press them gently with paper towels to extract surface liquid. Thoroughly drain the diced tomatoes with green chilies before mixing them with the shredded chicken and taco sauce.
Building the green sauce requires strict adherence to thickening mechanics. Melting butter and cooking flour together for precisely one minute creates a blond roux, which eliminates the raw starch taste. Whisking chicken broth into this hot roux gradually prevents lumps from forming. Bringing that mixture to a boil activates the starch's thickening power before combining it with the blender ingredients. Pulsing this thickened base with sour cream, cilantro, cumin, and pepper yields a velvety emulsion that clings to the rolled tortillas rather than pooling as a thin broth.
Baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes provides enough thermal energy to heat the dense protein filling through to the center without scorching the exterior dairy. Placing the rolled tortillas seam side down in the 9x13 pan prevents them from unrolling during this heat transfer. Distributing the remaining shredded Mexican cheese evenly across the top creates an insulating blanket that protects the green sauce from drying out under direct oven heat.
Substituting flour tortillas with corn tortillas alters the structural integrity completely. Corn tortillas require a brief dip in warm oil or a steam softening process to gain the pliability necessary for rolling without cracking. White corn varieties offer a distinctly earthy flavor profile that contrasts sharply with the brightness of the fresh cilantro and sour cream finishing toppings.
