Red Chicken Enchiladas

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Savory red chicken enchiladas are a go-to weeknight dinner for us. They’re easy to make with just 6 ingredients, endlessly customizable, and give us plenty of leftovers! Try serving them with avocado and Greek yogurt crema for a nutritious, comforting meal you’ll return to again and again.

Enchiladas are one of our favorite weeknight dinners, especially during busy weeks when we want leftovers for a few days. It’s such a versatile dish; we make enchiladas with pork, chicken, and even sweet potatoes, and like to change up the sauce based on what flavors we’re craving.

These saucy red chicken enchiladas might just be our favorite though! They’re classic, comforting, and satisfying thanks to plenty of protein (25 grams per enchilada!). Plus, they come together quickly with just 6 ingredients.

We like to make them with black beans and corn, but you can easily customize the filling to your liking with other veggies. See our Variations section below for ideas.

Key Ingredients

• Shredded chicken – We like to shred poached or boiled chicken breast for recipes like this one, but you can easily use whatever your go-to shredded chicken is, whether that’s a rotisserie chicken or instant pot chicken. Plainly seasoned chicken works best in this recipe for classic flavor.
• Canned black beans – We love adding beans to Mexican recipes for extra flavor, fiber, and protein! We like to use canned black beans; simply drain and rinse before adding them to the filling.
• Corn – You definitely don’t need fresh corn for this recipe. We like to keep a family-size bag of corn in our freezer and quickly defrost some in a colander under cold water at the same time as we’re rinsing the beans.
• Red enchilada sauce – Homemade enchilada sauce tastes 1000 times better (and more authentic) than store-bought. We love to make Cookie and Kate’s recipe; the flavor is amazing, we usually already have the ingredients on hand, and it only takes 10 minutes. We highly recommend this if you can spare the extra few minutes and a saucepan!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Red Chicken Enchiladas

Step 1: Add the shredded chicken, black beans, corn, 1 cup of the cheese, and 2 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce to a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine.

Step 2: Working with one tortilla at a time, assemble the enchiladas. Spread about 1 tablespoon of sauce over the tortilla, then add a few spoonfuls of the filling in a line down the center.

Step 3: Roll the enchiladas tightly and place them seam side down in a lightly greased baking dish (9×13 works great).

Step 4: Top the enchiladas generously with the remaining sauce and cheese.

Step 5: Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, until the enchiladas are warm and gooey. Serve hot with your favorite toppings and sides, like avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and chips and salsa.

Serving Suggestions

Mexican nights are always one of our favorite dinners! While we normally have tacos, all the same side dishes and add-ons for taco night go great with these red chicken enchiladas, too:

• Crockpot Mexican street corn dip
• Easy bean dip
• Cottage cheese queso
• Cilantro lime rice
• Avocado lime crema
• And of course, a spicy mezcal margarita!

Or, keep it simple and serve these enchiladas with a scoop of Greek yogurt crema (plain Greek yogurt + fresh lime juice + salt), sliced avocado, and chips and salsa. You can’t go wrong!

Red Chicken Enchiladas FAQs