Skillet Chicken Enchilada Bake
Who doesn’t love a quick and easy one-pan meal? This Skillet Chicken Enchilada Bake is a perfect weeknight meal that your whole family will love! There is a ton of flavor and texture to the dish…and don’t be surprised when everyone wants seconds! You just better hope there are some leftovers for lunch the next day!
I love Chicken Enchiladas! Talk about delicious comfort food! Don’t even get me started with all of the gooey cheeses and drippy sauces….it makes my mouth water just thinking about them. We are big fans of Taco Tuesday at our house, but sometimes I like to change it up. Actually, who am I kidding? I could eat Mexican food every day for the rest of my life and be 100% content. One Taco Tuesday I was feeling creative and wanted all of the flavors of my beloved Chicken Enchiladas in one skillet. I took a few shortcuts to come up with this Skillet Chicken Enchilada Bake. It’s quick enough for a Tuesday night, or any weeknight for that matter.
Shortcut #1 is a store-bought rotisserie chicken. I buy them all of the time to save some time and a step in the kitchen. Costco sells them for like $5…I can’t even buy a chicken and cook it myself for $5! So, it actually saves money and about 1-1/2 hours of time. I shred the meat, put the bones in a ziplock, throw them in the freezer and use them to make chicken stock the next chance I get. The second shortcut is a store-bought jar of your favorite salsa verde. Of course you can make your own, it’s not very difficult or time consuming. But we’re talking about a few shortcuts where you can save a few steps and the flavor won’t be compromised one bit for a weeknight dinner.
Layer it all up, throw it in the oven and dinner is on the table in 30 minutes. While the Skillet Chicken Enchilada Bake is cooking, it’s time to prep the toppings. I suggest lime wedges, pickled red onions, crumbled cotija cheese, chopped cilantro, diced avocado and sour cream. Everyone builds their own with the toppings they like and dinner is served! Don’t forget what I said about the leftovers…they are fantastic the next day!
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Total Time
35 minutes
Course
Entree
Cuisine
Mexican
Servings
6 servings
Ingredients
1 Rotisserie Chicken Shredded, reserve the bones for stock if you'd like
2 Poblano Peppers
1 Tbs. Ground Cumin
1 Tbs. Ground Coriander
1 Tbs. Mexican Oregano
1/2 Tbs. Garlic Powder
1 Tbs. Chipotle in Adobo sauce
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro chopped and divided for chicken mixture and topping
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2 Limes divided for chicken mixture and wedges for topping
1 Jar Salsa Verde
9 White Corn Tortillas
2 Cups Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
Cotija Cheese for topping
Sour Cream for topping
Pickled Red Onions for topping, recipe note below
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F
Shred Chicken into a bowl and reserve.
Roast Poblano peppers over an open flame or, in the oven on broil, turning every few minutes until charred on all sides. When cool enough to handle, cut off the stem, cut in half, discard the ribs and seeds and chop. Reserve.
In the bowl with the shredded chicken, add the spices; Cumin, Coriander, Oregano, Garlic Powder, 1 Tbs. of Chipotle in Adobo sauce, Salt and Pepper. Add about 2 Tbs. of chopped fresh cilantro, the reserved chopped poblano peppers and squeeze of 1/2 lime. Stir to combine.
in a large, flat bottomed skillet, add some of the salsa verde and spread to cover the bottom in a light layer. Next, layer the corn tortillas, slightly overlapping. Next add a layer of the chicken mixture. Then, add some shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat with sauce, tortillas, chicken mixture and shredded cheese twice for 3 total layers. Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes on the top rack. For the last 5 minutes, raise the oven temp to 425F to get the cheese nice and bubbly.
Meanwhile, prep the toppings. Sliced limes, chopped cilantro, crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream and pickled red onions.
When it comes out of the oven, top with desired toppings and cut to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
My recipe for Pickled Red Onions can be found on my Carnitas Bowls recipe.