We’ve been making some version of enchiladas over at Furrow & Trowel for years now, but when I landed on a top-notch enchilada sauce that allows me to preserve the summer goodness of my tomato harvest, we suddenly had large batches of sauce to try over a variety of enchilada fillings. I’ve tried vegan and vegetarian enchiladas that showcase black beans as the primary protein and loved them well, but my go-to filling for red enchiladas these days is shredded chicken with a blend of sautéed onions, sweet or mild chili peppers, and mushrooms.
Over the years of baking pans of enchiladas, I have found that lightly frying the tortillas before filling them goes a long way in helping them hold up against the sauce that pools over them while they bake. I also like a crisp cheesy lid on my enchiladas for textural balance. If you, too, overthink your eating experience, I recommend cranking up the broiler at the end of baking time to add that crispy element to these Red Chicken Enchiladas.
Red Chicken Enchiladas Makes One 9 x 13-inch dish
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup thinly sliced sweet or mild peppers, stems and seeds removed
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (I love shiitakes here but have also used cremini or white button.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend or Monterrey Jack, divided
8 corn-wheat tortillas (The ones I link here are my favorite tortilla brand if I'm using store bought.)
vegetable oil for frying tortillas
2 cups red enchilada sauce
Optional and recommended toppings: 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, and chopped avocadoes
Directions
Add the oil to a large cast-iron skillet and heat on the stove over medium. Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent and softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the peppers, mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and continue sautéing until softened and starting to brown. This could take up to 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir into mixture, cooking for an additional minute.
Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Stir in chicken and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
Time to preheat that oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wipe out the pan used in Step one and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, heating on medium high. Toss in a couple of corn tortillas, being careful to keep them separated in the pan, and lightly fry, turning after a minute or two fry the other side. Move to a plate and continue frying remaining tortillas, adding more oil as needed.
Grab your baking dish, and pour 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce into the dish and spread across its bottom.
Grab a fried tortilla (be aware they may still be hot!), cradling it in your hand. Add enough chicken-vegetable filling that will allow you to still roll it closed. Now, gently place the enchilada into the dish, seam-side down, to seal in that filling. Repeat for remaining tortillas.
With the enchiladas assembled, pour the remaining sauce over them and top with remaining cheese.
Place the dish in the oven, and bake for 25 minutes. At the 25-minute point, I turn on the oven's broiler for about 3 minutes and allow the cheesy top of the enchiladas to get crispy.
Remove from oven and serve hot.