This recipe for chicken enchiladas as well as black bean enchiladas is as ideal as it gets for simple weeknight dinners as well as budget-minded entertaining for crowds with some omnivores and some vegetarians. At least everyone will be able to agree on just how spectacular the green chile sauce turns out.–David Leite
Chicken Enchiladas | Black Bean Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the chicken enchilada filling
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chile powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For the black bean enchilada filling
- Olive oil
- 1 red onion, sort of finely chopped
- 1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch (6-mm) slices
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- One can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the green chile sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 jalapeños, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- One can vegetable or chicken stock, or 2 cups homemade chicken stock
- 16 ounces (2 cups) sour cream
- One can fire-roasted mild green chiles
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Cayenne pepper, to taste
For rolling and saucing the enchiladas
- Sixteen (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 pounds Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
- Thinly sliced scallions
- 2 limes, cut into 6 wedges
Instructions
Prepare the oven and pan
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a baking dish with aluminum foil.
- In a medium bowl, combine the mustard (if using), oil, chile powder, and salt. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Place the chicken in the baking dish and bake until just cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- Let the chicken cool slightly and then shred the breasts using 2 forks or your fingers. Set the meat aside along with the juices from the baking dish.
Make the black bean filling
- Add just enough olive oil to a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet to coat the surface and place it over medium heat. Sauté the onion until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the zucchini and continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender and browned, another 6 minutes or so.
- Add the garlic, beans, chile powder, cumin, and salt, and cook until the beans are tender and the garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Make the green chile sauce
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and jalapeños and cook until softened but not yet beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
- Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Still stirring constantly, add the stock in a slow, steady stream. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has become opaque, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor, add the sour cream, chiles, cumin, chile powder, salt, and cayenne, and purée until smooth. (If you don’t have a food processor, mince the chiles by hand and then whisk all the ingredients into the skillet).
Assemble the enchiladas
- Coat the bottoms of two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes with some of the green chile sauce.
- Place the tortillas on your work surface. Top 8 tortillas with the chicken mixture and 8 with the black bean and zucchini mixture, spooning the mixture along the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle each with some cheese and cilantro.
- Roll the tortillas over the filling and place the filled tortillas, seam side down, in the baking dishes. (You can assemble the enchiladas–all of ’em–ahead of time and stash them in the fridge prior to warming them. Cover and refrigerate the green chile sauce separately.)
- Pour the remaining green chile sauce evenly over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake the enchiladas for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is beginning to brown.
- Garnish with the extra cilantro and scallions and serve with the lime wedges. (A word to the wise: You can stash the leftovers in the fridge and sneak them out of the house in the morning to take to work with you for lunch. You’re welcome.)
Notes
What You Need To Know About Making This Recipe More Quickly On A Weeknight
You could easily swap leftover grilled, roasted, or rotisserie chicken for the baked breasts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This enchiladas recipe is the epitome of budget-friendly entertaining. Lots of food for little coin. The good news is that almost every component can be made in advance for quicker assembly when entertaining.
My family really enjoyed this recipe. My husband isn’t a huge zucchini fan, but even he liked it in this recipe.
I did the chicken and veggie filling, and the recipe made very full enchiladas. I used light sour cream and the sauce turned out just fine. It was very flavorful, and I skipped the step of puréeing it in the food processor to save time.
I might try it with corn tortillas next time to make it a little healthier, but this recipe produces great results as-is.
I have only had a tomato-based sauce with my enchiladas, hence the green chile (sour cream) sauce looked very appetizing to me. I wasn’t disappointed.
I prepared a couple of enchiladas without cheese, as the sauce was rich enough, and they tasted good, too.
The seasoning needs to be adjusted depending on the heat of the jalapeños and the chile powder; otherwise, they tend to overpower the taste of cumin, garlic, and the fire-roasted mild green chiles. Though I found the sauce very tasty, I still missed the taste of tomatoes. Maybe I will sprinkle some on top next time I make it.
Though this dish is a bit time-consuming to prepare, it was worth it—especially that green chile sauce. I used the Dijon mustard on the chicken and I think it added a layer of great flavor to the dish.
I halved the recipe, as I was only serving 2 people, and it was the perfect size—I even had leftovers. In the future, I would combine the chicken and black beans in each enchilada (minus the zucchini, because I didn’t think it added much to the dish).
This was an easy recipe to make and tasted delicious. My whole family raved about it and it made plenty for leftovers! The chicken was really tender.
I ended up using chicken tenders, because I had them, and it was still really moist. I also ended up making some plain chicken enchiladas and the rest with the veggies and chicken. The sour cream sauce was so good, I would make this dish again using whatever I have for meat and veggies.
This recipe produces a very nice enchilada. The flavor is smooth and creamy with just a touch of heat. Everyone really enjoyed them. The texture is soft, but the filling provides a satisfying bite.
The prep looks a little overwhelming but really doesn’t take that long. Working with flour tortillas cuts down a bit on the usual frustration of enchilada rolling.
I would recommend using a whisk to stir the flour with broth while making the sauce. Next time, I might mix the chicken with black bean and zucchini fillings with one another. The enchiladas really do benefit from a squeeze of fresh lime.
Made this dish last weekend as a special treat for my in-laws who usually prefer simpler “meat and potatoes” meals… What a hit! They both licked their plates clean (along with my husband and me) and took a meal for the next day as well! The only thing I did differently was to remove the seeds and pith from the jalapenos, just to ensure it wasn’t too spicy for them. Other than that I followed the ingredient list exactly and the directions as well, choosing to mix the two fillings together as the note above suggested. Delicious! I served the enchiladas with Mexican rice and corn on the cob. 🙂
Moo, we love it when we’re a tiny part of a successful dinner. Delighted the in-laws like the dish!
I love enchiladas! These sound really good, but I’ll pass on the black beans. Pintos, maybe. I’m not great with flour thickened sauces, so I’m going to try to tweak this to use corn starch or arrowroot — maybe mix it with the sour cream and add it to the sauce on the stove. I’d have to watch the heat, but I think that would work. The sauce sounds too yummy to write off without at least a try. 😉
This was a great “slide show.” Thanks!
You are so very welcome, ruthie. Lovely to hear from you, as always. And I think pintos and your arrowroot-thickened sauce ought to be just fine. Let us know, please, how it goes. And thanks for the recipe love…!
We made these the other night and absolutely loved them. My boyfriend accidentally mixed the two fillings, so we filled the enchiladas with that mixture and they were delicious. The sauce was also very good, creamy and just slightly spicy. I used corn tortillas to make the enchiladas, and made 12 with some leftover filling, which we later rolled thinly in flour tortillas and fried up to make taquitos. Yum!
Terrific to hear, An! Appreciate you letting us know. Love the taquito trick…