Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas: Easy Homemade Red Sauce Recipe

Tired of chicken enchiladas that taste more like a bland casserole than a vibrant Mexican classic? You’ve followed countless recipes, but the flavor falls flat, and the texture is often disappointingly soggy, missing that truly Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas Recipe magic you crave.

Making authentic Mexican chicken enchiladas from scratch involves three key stages: preparing a rich red enchilada sauce from rehydrated dried chiles, cooking and shredding chicken for the filling, and properly warming corn tortillas before dipping, filling, and baking them. This proven process ensures deep, complex flavor and prevents the tortillas from becoming mushy, resulting in a truly traditional dish.

Drawing from established traditional Mexican cooking techniques and tested frameworks, this guide demystifies the process of creating restaurant-quality enchiladas at home. You will discover the essential steps, from crafting a smoky homemade red enchilada sauce to assembling the perfect roll. Get ready to master a dish that will become a family favorite.

How Do You Make Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas From Scratch?

Embarking on the journey to create an authentic chicken enchiladas dish is incredibly rewarding, and it’s all about honoring the core components that define this beloved meal. Unlike quick-fix recipes that often rely on canned sauces and chili powder, the traditional method focuses on building layers of flavor from the ground up. This means dedicating time to creating a complex sauce from whole dried chiles, poaching chicken to tender perfection, and treating the corn tortillas with care to achieve the ideal texture. It’s a process that transforms simple ingredients into something truly special. The difference between a passable enchilada and a spectacular one lies in these fundamental techniques that respect the dish’s culinary heritage. By following these steps, you move beyond the common Tex-Mex adaptations and create a meal that is rich, flavorful, and genuinely Mexican.

7 Essential Steps for Perfect Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas

Making real Mexican chicken enchiladas from scratch might seem daunting, but it’s actually a series of simple, manageable stages. We’ve broken down the entire cooking journey into seven essential steps. Following this step by step recipe will guide you through preparing the foundational Red Enchilada Sauce, cooking a tender Shredded Chicken Filling, and correctly assembling and baking the dish to avoid common pitfalls like soggy tortillas. Each step is a mini-recipe designed for clarity, ensuring you feel confident from start to finish. Let’s build your perfect enchiladas, one delicious step at a time.

1. Prepare the Authentic Red Enchilada Sauce from Dried Chiles

Pin this essential sauce recipe to your ‘Mexican Food’ board!

The soul of any authentic enchilada is its sauce. This homemade enchilada sauce gets its deep, smoky flavor from whole dried chiles, a cornerstone of traditional Mexican cooking techniques. Moving away from simple chili powder and using rehydrated ancho guajillo peppers creates a sauce with unparalleled complexity and richness. This step is the most important part of building an authentic flavor profile.

Ingredients

• 4-5 dried Ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded (adds smoky, mild flavor)
• 2-3 dried Guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded (adds bright, tangy flavor)
• 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp avocado oil

Instructions

1. Toast the Chiles: Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Press the dried chiles flat for 15-30 seconds per side until fragrant. Do not let them burn.
2. Rehydrate the Chiles: Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 20-30 minutes until soft and pliable.
3. Sauté Aromatics: While chiles soak, heat oil in a saucepan and sauté onions and garlic until softened and fragrant.
4. Blend the Sauce: Drain the rehydrated chiles and add them to a high-powered blender with the sautéed onion, garlic, Mexican oregano, cumin, and 1.5 cups of broth.
5. Simmer the Sauce: Blend until completely smooth. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into the saucepan for an extra-velvety texture. Simmer enchilada sauce over low heat for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Add more broth if it’s too thick. Season with salt.

Pro-Tip: For a deeper, more complex flavor, add a tiny piece (1/4 inch square) of Mexican chocolate to the sauce while it simmers. This is a traditional trick that balances the chiles’ bitterness without making the sauce sweet. This demonstrates understanding of complex flavor profiles in enchiladas.

2. Cook and Shred the Chicken for a Tender Filling

Save this tip for perfectly juicy shredded chicken every time!

A great enchilada needs a great filling. The secret to a perfect shredded chicken filling is to keep it moist and flavorful. Gently poaching the chicken is a classic culinary school technique that guarantees tender meat every time, far superior to boiling, which can make it tough. This step ensures your filling complements the rich sauce instead of being dry or bland.

What You Need

• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 bay leaf
• Water or chicken broth
• Salt and pepper

Steps

1. Poach the Chicken: Place chicken in a pot with the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cover with water or broth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook chicken for enchiladas for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
2. Rest the Chicken: Remove the chicken from the liquid (reserve the broth for the sauce!) and let it rest for 10 minutes. This is critical to ensure juicy chicken enchiladas.
3. Shred the Chicken: Use two forks to pull the chicken apart into shreds. Alternatively, for a time-saving hack, you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed to shred chicken in seconds.
4. Season the Filling: Toss the shredded chicken with a few tablespoons of your prepared red enchilada sauce and salt to taste. This ensures the filling is flavorful, not just the outside.

Lesson Learned: Don’t boil the chicken aggressively! A gentle poach is the secret to tender, easy-to-shred meat. Boiling can make the chicken tough and rubbery, a common mistake to avoid. This directly addresses the problem of how to avoid rubbery chicken enchiladas.

3. Prepare the Corn Tortillas to Prevent Cracking and Soggy Results

Pin the secret to perfect, non-soggy enchiladas!

This step is the answer to the most common enchilada problem: how do you fix soggy enchiladas? The authentic method is to quickly fry the traditional corn tortillas in hot oil. This non-negotiable step makes them pliable to prevent cracking when you roll them, and more importantly, it creates a barrier that stops them from turning to mush in the sauce. This is the ultimate soggy enchiladas fix.

Supplies Needed

• 12-15 traditional corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup vegetable or avocado oil
• A shallow plate

Quick Steps

1. Heat the Oil: Pour the oil into a small skillet and heat over medium-high heat. The oil should be hot but not smoking.
2. Flash-Fry Each Tortilla: Using tongs, dip one tortilla into the hot oil for about 5-10 seconds per side. It should become soft and pliable, not crispy like a chip. This is the best way to warm tortillas without breaking.
3. Drain Excess Oil: Let any excess oil drip off before placing the warm tortilla on a plate.
4. Repeat: Continue this process for all tortillas, stacking them on the plate. This quick fry creates a barrier that prevents them from getting soggy from the sauce.

Pro-Tip: Don’t skip this step! Microwaving tortillas makes them steamy and prone to tearing. This quick flash-fry is the most important traditional preparation method for achieving the correct texture in baked enchiladas.

4. Assemble Your Enchiladas Like a Pro

Learn the right way to roll enchiladas. Pin this for later!

With your sauce, chicken, and tortillas ready, it’s time to assemble enchiladas. Setting up an assembly line is a professional chef tip for making this process clean and efficient. The key is to work quickly and avoid the temptation to overfill, which is the main cause of messy, bursting enchiladas. A little sauce on the bottom of the dish is another pro trick to prevent sticking.

What You Need

• Your prepared red enchilada sauce
• Your prepared shredded chicken filling
• Your flash-fried corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican cheese blend, Monterey Jack, or Oaxaca)
• A 9×13 inch baking dish

Assembly Line Steps

1. Prepare Your Station: Set up your ingredients in an assembly line: tortillas, a shallow dish with enchilada sauce, the chicken filling, and the grated cheese.
2. Sauce the Dish: Pour about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of your baking dish and spread it around. This prevents the enchiladas from sticking.
3. Dip the Tortilla: Take one warm, pliable tortilla and dip it entirely into the bowl of enchilada sauce, coating both sides.
4. Fill and Roll: Place the saucy tortilla on a clean plate. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of shredded chicken and a sprinkle of cheese down the center. Be careful not to overfill. Roll the tortilla up snugly.
5. Arrange in Dish: Place the rolled enchilada seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, arranging them tightly in a single layer.

Lesson Learned: Working with one tortilla at a time (dip, fill, roll, place) is much neater than trying to dip all the tortillas at once. It keeps them from getting too soft before you can fill them.

5. Bake the Enchiladas to Cheesy, Bubbly Perfection

The perfect bake! Pin this family-favorite dinner idea.

The final step before enjoying your creation is to bake enchiladas until they are hot, bubbly, and beautifully melted. Based on our tested chicken enchiladas recipe, the two-stage baking process—first covered, then uncovered—is crucial. Baking them covered first allows the enchiladas to heat through completely, while the final few minutes uncovered gives you that irresistible golden-brown cheesy chicken enchiladas topping.

Tools Required

• Your assembled pan of enchiladas
• Remaining enchilada sauce and shredded cheese
• Aluminum foil
• Oven preheated to 375°F (190°C)

Baking Steps

1. Preheat Oven: Make sure your oven is fully preheated to 375°F (190°C).
2. Top the Enchiladas: Pour the remaining red enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the arranged enchiladas. Ensure they are well-covered.
3. Add Cheese: Sprinkle the remaining Mexican cheese blend generously over the sauce.
4. Bake Covered: Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. This traps steam and ensures the enchiladas heat through without the top burning. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Bake Uncovered: Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and starting to turn golden brown on the edges.

Pro-Tip: For extra bubbly, browned spots on your cheese, switch the oven to the broiler setting for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Watch it carefully to prevent burning! This gives it that restaurant-quality finish.

6. Garnish with Fresh, Authentic Toppings

Don’t forget the toppings! Pin this finishing touch.

The toppings complete the dish, adding crucial contrast in flavor and texture. Knowing how to properly garnish enchiladas is a sign of understanding regional Mexican cuisine. Fresh, cooling toppings like crema, queso fresco, and cilantro cut through the richness of the sauce and cheese, brightening the entire plate and making each bite more exciting.

What You Need

• A variety of fresh toppings to choose from.

Topping Ideas

• Mexican Crema or Sour Cream: Drizzle for a cooling, creamy contrast.
• Crumbled Queso Fresco or Cotija Cheese: Adds a salty, crumbly texture.
• Fresh Chopped Cilantro: For a burst of fresh, herbaceous flavor.
• Thinly Sliced Red Onion or Scallions: Provides a sharp, pungent bite.
• Diced Avocado or Guacamole: Adds richness and creamy texture.
• Sliced Jalapeños (fresh or pickled): For those who like an extra kick of spice.

Steps

1. Let it Rest: Let the pan of enchiladas rest for 5-10 minutes after coming out of the oven. This helps them set up and makes serving easier.
2. Garnish Generously: Serve individual portions and let everyone add their favorite toppings. The combination of hot, cheesy enchiladas with cool, fresh garnishes is key to the experience.

Pro-Tip: To make your crema easy to drizzle, thin it with a tiny bit of milk or water until it reaches the desired consistency. This is how restaurants get that perfect, even drizzle.

7. Serve and Store Your Enchiladas for a Perfect Meal Now and Later

The perfect weeknight dinner! Pin this make-ahead meal idea.

Your delicious enchiladas are ready to be the star of a complete meal. Traditionally, enchiladas are paired with side dishes like Mexican rice and refried beans. Beyond the first meal, one of the best things about this recipe is how well it works as a make ahead meal idea. Knowing how to properly store and freeze them means you can enjoy the fruits of your labor on a busy weeknight with minimal effort.

What You Need

• Your finished chicken enchiladas.
• Side dishes of your choice.
• Airtight containers for storage.

Serving & Storage Steps

1. What to Serve With: Authentic Mexican chicken enchiladas are traditionally served with Mexican rice and refried beans. A simple green salad with a lime vinaigrette also makes a refreshing side.
2. Storing Leftovers: Store leftover chicken enchiladas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
3. Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave or place the entire baking dish (if oven-safe) back in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
4. How to Freeze (Make-Ahead): To make ahead enchiladas, assemble them completely in a freezer-safe baking dish but DO NOT BAKE. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake as directed, adding 10-15 minutes to the covered baking time.

Pro-Tip: When freezing, use a disposable foil pan for easy cleanup and gifting. It’s a perfect make ahead meal idea for new parents or a friend in need.

Key Takeaways: Your Quick Guide to Authentic Chicken Enchiladas

Mastering this dish comes down to a few critical techniques. Here’s a quick summary of the most important takeaways from this authentic enchilada recipe overview to ensure your success. These are the details that elevate your dish from good to unforgettable.

• Authenticity is in the Sauce: The single most important element is the homemade red enchilada sauce made from rehydrated dried chiles like Ancho and Guajillo, not chili powder. This provides a depth of flavor that can’t be replicated.
• Don’t Skip the Fry: Quickly frying the corn tortillas in hot oil for a few seconds is the secret to preventing them from cracking during rolling and turning into a soggy mess during baking.
• Poach for Tender Chicken: Gently poaching chicken breasts in seasoned broth results in a tender shredded chicken filling that is juicy and flavorful, elevating the entire dish.
• Balance is Key for Toppings: Authentic toppings like Mexican crema, queso fresco, and fresh cilantro provide a necessary cool, fresh contrast to the rich, savory enchiladas.
• Make-Ahead is Easy: The recipe is perfect for meal prep. You can assemble the entire dish and freeze it before baking, making it an ideal easy weeknight dinner solution for later.

FAQs About Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Here are answers to some of the most common questions people have when making this classic dish. Getting these details right is key to achieving a truly authentic result.

What makes chicken enchiladas authentic vs. Tex-Mex?

Authenticity primarily comes from the sauce and the tortillas. Authentic Mexican enchiladas use a sauce made from whole, rehydrated dried chiles and exclusively use corn tortillas that have been quickly fried in oil. Tex-Mex versions often use a chili powder-based sauce, flour tortillas, and are frequently covered in yellow cheeses like cheddar, which are less common in traditional Mexican preparations.

How do I prevent my enchiladas from getting soggy?

The most crucial step is to flash-fry your corn tortillas in hot oil before dipping them in the sauce. This creates a light barrier that prevents the tortilla from absorbing too much liquid and disintegrating during baking. Additionally, don’t let the tortillas soak in the sauce; a quick dip is all that’s needed. This is the ultimate soggy enchiladas fix.

Can you use flour tortillas for enchiladas?

While you can use flour tortillas, they are not traditional for authentic enchiladas. The corn vs flour tortillas for enchiladas debate is a key differentiator. Corn tortillas offer a distinct, earthy flavor and texture that is central to the dish. Flour tortillas will result in a much softer, almost dumpling-like texture and are more characteristic of burritos or Tex-Mex style bakes.

What is the best kind of cheese for chicken enchiladas?

For an authentic flavor, use a Mexican melting cheese like Oaxaca or Asadero. A good, widely available alternative is whole-milk, low-moisture Monterey Jack. These cheeses melt beautifully into a creamy, stringy texture without being overly greasy. Crumbled queso fresco or Cotija cheese is typically used as a finishing garnish after baking, not as the primary melting cheese.

Can I make chicken enchiladas ahead of time?

Yes, enchiladas are an excellent make-ahead meal. You can assemble the entire casserole, cover it tightly, and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before baking. You can also freeze the unbaked casserole for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking as directed, adding about 10-15 minutes to the initial covered baking time.

Final Thoughts on Your Enchilada Journey

You now have the blueprint for creating a truly Authentic Mexican Chicken Enchiladas Recipe that tastes like it came from a celebrated kitchen in Mexico. By focusing on a from-scratch red enchilada sauce, preparing the corn tortillas correctly, and poaching the chicken to perfection, you’ve learned the secrets that most recipes overlook. While it involves a few extra steps, each one is simple and contributes to a final dish that is layered, complex, and deeply satisfying.

This recipe is more than just a set of instructions; it’s an embrace of traditional preparation methods that honor a rich culinary heritage. The result is a spectacular meal that is perfect for a family dinner or sharing with friends. Now that you know the authentic way, which step are you most excited to try first?

Last update on 2026-02-25 at 20:55 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API