These skillet chicken enchiladas are family-pleasing and fast enough to make on a busy weeknight. Soft tortillas are stuffed with cheesy chicken marvelousness and smothered with green enchilada sauce, and then topped with three (yep, three!) types of cheese.
And it all comes together in a single skillet so there’s no bickering about who has to do the dishes. (We can’t promise there won’t be fighting over leftovers, though.)–Angie Zoobkoff
Skillet Enchilada FAQs
If you don’t care for spinach, just use just any greens you prefer. Try kale, collards, or beet or turnip greens. If you’re looking for something other than greens, try a medley of julienned squash, peppers, and onions.
Absolutely. Just follow the instructions through step 5. In step 6, instead of adding 1 cup of enchilada sauce to your skillet, add it to an oven-safe 8-by-8-inch pan or casserole. Build your enchiladas, place them into this dish, and bake as directed.
If you’re using the same level of sharpness (usually mild, medium, sharp, or extra sharp), you won’t notice any flavor difference between the two kinds of cheese. Yellow cheddar is colored by annatto (or achiote) – but that doesn’t affect the flavor. Most recipes that call for both do so because having two colors of melty cheese just looks lovely.
Serve your favorite sauces on the side, including hot sauce, guacamole, sour cream, and tomatillo salsa. To make it a bigger meal, a bowl of Mexican rice or some Mexican-style street corn would be a welcome addition.
Skillet Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh baby spinach or one 10-ounce (283-g) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the skillet
- Kosher salt and freshly black ground pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded white Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded yellow Cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 6 to 8 small corn or flour tortillas (about 8-inch or 20-cm)
- Two (14 1/2-oz) cans green enchilada sauce or salsa verde
- 2 scallions, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- If you’re using fresh baby spinach, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spinach and cook until wilted but still bright green, 1 to 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water and drain again. Squeeze the spinach to release as much liquid as you can, pat it completely dry, and then coarsely chop it. If you’re using frozen chopped spinach, place the spinach in a colander set over the sink to drain. Squeeze to release as much liquid as you can, then pat the spinach completely dry.
- In a 12-inch (30-cm) ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool.
- In a large bowl, stir together the onion mixture, spinach, chicken, sour cream, half the mozzarella and half the white and yellow Cheddar, and all the cilantro.
- If you’re using corn tortillas, wrap the pile of tortillas in aluminum foil and pop them into the oven for 5 minutes to make them more pliable. If you’re using flour tortillas, simply proceed with the recipe. There’s no need to warm them.
- Wipe out the skillet and slick it with just enough olive oil to coat it. Spread 1 cup enchilada sauce in the skillet and pour 2 cups sauce in a pie plate or a shallow bowl.
- Using tongs, dip a tortilla in the sauce and coat both sides. Place the tortilla on a work surface, spoon a few tablespoons chicken filling along the center of the tortilla, and roll it up. Place the enchilada, seam side down, in the skillet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
- Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce, including any sauce that’s left in the pie dish, evenly over the enchiladas, and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and white and yellow Cheddar.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Garnish with the scallions and cilantro and serve right away.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
These skillet enchiladas were so delicious! I usually make enchiladas with red sauce, but I found that I loved how the green sauce complemented the chicken, and spinach, and seemed to melt together with that oh-so-creamy filling.
Perfect rich, satisfying meal for a snowy (yes, snowy in April!) night. I used a 12-inch cast-iron skillet which worked well, and 6 enchiladas with about 1/2 cup filling in each one fit snugly into the pan.
These chicken enchiladas are awesome! The filling is so creamy and the combination of spinach and chicken is something I never thought of before. I usually make either one or the other so the combination satisfies two cravings at once. My entire family loved these and the addition of spinach is a great way to add in some extra vitamins and nutrition without any complaints!
I used Hatch brand Green Chili and corn tortillas. I microwaved the stack of tortillas in the microwave for 1 minute covered with a damp paper towel to make them pliable for rolling. I was only able to fit 10 corn tortillas into my 12 inch skillet.
I had about 1 plus cup of filling leftover and also had about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce left. If using flour tortillas as indicated in the recipe the skillet could only fit about 5- 8 inch flour tortillas.
This isn’t the traditional way to make enchiladas …. I mean c’mon spinach (Meegan from Walking Dead voice)…. REALLY? YUCK!
Ha! Neegan from The Walking Dead. That cracked me up. Of COURSE it’s not traditional! We don’t say it’s traditional. Perhaps this might be more to your liking?
These skillet enchiladas were perfect! Cheesy, soft yet crunchy, and full of flavor. They weren’t heavy, either, like some other Mexican dishes. Do not skip the fresh cilantro—it adds the perfect bite of freshness to the dish. Using the pre-made enchilada sauce makes this an easy, super tasty, weeknight meal. I ate two and my boyfriend ate three. I used flour tortillas, not the big burrito size but not the super tiny taco size, either. Somewhere in the middle. I used a 10-inch skillet and wasn’t able to fit all of my enchiladas in the skillet. I actually ended up cooking them in two baking dishes. The skillet seems unnecessary as a cooking apparatus in this recipe. Do it all in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish instead. I baked them for 35 minutes and they were perfectly warm and melty with brown and crisp edges.
I, too, love the juxtaposition of textures and taste of these, Audrey. Thrilled that you and your boyfriend were pleased and appreciate the baking dish trick. Anything that saves a dish to clean is always welcome here!