Creamy Red Chile Sauce Chicken Enchiladas are baked bubbly in a luscious tomato cream sauce topped with lots of cheese for a crowd pleasing hearty Classic Mexican and Southwestern dish. You’ll agree that these is the best creamy chicken enchilada recipe you’ll ever find.
This recipe was first published October 2009 and has been updated in October 2020.
What You Can Expect From This Recipe
This Southwestern-style Mexican dish is inspired by my recipe for my New Mexican Red Chile Sauce , a foundational recipe traditional in Southwestern cooking. However, this sauce is more tomato forward than a pure red chile sauce. And becomes irresistibly creamy by adding Mexican Crema.
I’ve always said, if someone makes enchiladas for you that means they love you. Enchiladas using rolled corn tortillas are always a labor of love. This is not a quick meal to prepare, but it’s an easy meal to prepare. Just allow some time.
Can you ever go wrong with Southwestern-Mexican Food? It’s perfect weather for a hearty Mexican casserole in the form of this baked creamy red sauce chicken enchiladas casserole. Your hungry family will love this creamy version of a classic.
This recipe comes with impressive credentials as it’s an adaptation of a Rick Bayless recipe. His expertise lies in the fact that he has spent a few years living in Mexico and brings us fresh, delicious creations inspired by authentic Mexican cuisine.
Along with it’s pedigree, this recipe has everything you want in an enchilada casserole:
Table of contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Roasted Chile Peppers Chile peppers are a staple in New Mexican Cuisine. And more than likely they’re roasted to bring a hint of smoky flavor and that “just right” spicy heat. Use any combination of chile peppers that you like. Jalapeno, Poblano, Anaheim, Hatch or Mirasol.
- Mexican Crema A creamy tangy Mexican condiment that’s thicker and richer than American Sour Cream. It’s higher in fat so it doesn’t curdle as easy which makes it a perfect choice for stirring into hot soups and creamy sauces, like this tomato cream sauce for this recipe. It puts the “creamy” into this chicken enchilada recipe.
- Fresh Tomatoes When in season, sweet juicy fresh tomatoes will take this recipe over the top.
- Chicken Breast Roasted to perfection, juicy, tender and shredded, chicken breast makes this a healthier option when making enchiladas.
- White Cheese Enchiladas would be enchiladas without that ooey-gooey melty cheese factor. For this recipe we’re using a white melting cheese.
Pro Tip: Purchase good quality cheese and grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese in bags includes additives to keep it from clumping, which will also compromise the melting factor. Grating cheese from a block of cheese will result in a creamier and more consistent melting experience. Plus, it’s less expensive.
Ingredient Swaps
- Canned Tomatoes: If fresh tomatoes are not in season, please don’t turn to those sad hot-house tomatoes that we find in our markets during the winter. Canned tomatoes make a good choice. San Marzano tomatoes are an excellent choice. No need to drain them, and no need to roast them with the peppers.
Step by Step Instructions, Let’s Get Started
- Step 1: Cook The Chicken Generously brush three boneless skinless chicken breast halves with olive oil and roast for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Once cooked, cool the chicken and using your hands or two forks to shred. Set aside.
- Step 2: This is also a good time to grate the cheese.
- Step 3: Make The Creamy Red Chile Sauce: Place about 15 medium sized tomatoes and 3-4 chile peppers on a baking sheet. Broil in oven about 5 inches from heat for five minutes. When you start to see charred spots, turn the tomatoes and peppers over and broil another 5 minutes.
- Step 4: Puree the Red Chile Sauce: Place tomatoes and peppers along with the juices from the baking sheet into a food processor and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender.
- Step 5: Cook the Onions: In a Dutch oven saute one chopped onion in olive oil until tender, about 7 minutes.
- Step 6: Turn up heat to medium high and add pureed tomato/chili mixture to onion. Add chicken broth. Partially cover and simmer for 15 minutes. When done, the texture of the sauce should be soupy. If the sauce is too thick add a little more broth. Stir in ½ Cup of Mexican crema, set aside and keep warm. You’re ready to prep the corn tortillas to make this creamy chicken enchilada recipe.
- Step 7: Prepare the corn tortillas: An easy way to heat corn tortillas to make them pliable to roll, is to spray them with oil and bake them. The oil creates a slight barrier which will help them soak up a little bit of the sauce when you dip them. But not too much to make them soggy. On a baking sheet, place 12 oiled corn tortillas. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with a towel to keep warm.
- Step 8: Roll the enchiladas: Spoon ½ of the tomato cream sauce into a casserole baking pan. Working fast, so tortillas don’t cool, place shredded chicken inside a warm tortilla and roll.
- Step 9 : Start placing enchiladas seam side down into the sauce. Use your imagination on spacing the enchiladas to fit. Spoon the remaining sauce over the chicken enchiladas.
- Step 10 : Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly and cheese just starts to brown.
Garnish Ideas for Chicken Enchiladas
- Fresh onion, chopped or in rings is a customary topping for any authentic Mexican Enchilada.
- Chopped cilantro.
- We love and rings of sliced fresh jalapeno peppers, or try pickled jalapeno peppers.
- Guacamole or chopped fresh avocados.
Tips For Making Red Sauce Chicken Enchiladas
- Traditional Enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. You simply can’t take a corn tortilla out of the package and use it without first making it pliable. You can warm them by gently heating them in the microwave, or stovetop using a Comal. You can also use a sheet pan and heat them in the oven, as I’ve illustrated above.
- This recipe is a great way to use leftover chicken or even turkey. You can even purchase a rotisserie chicken and shred the meat.
- This creamy red sauce is also a great choice to use with shredded beef, like my recipe for Beef Machaca
- Experiment with cheeses. Not all cheeses are good for melting. For this recipe choose Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Muenster. A good quality Mexican melting cheese is a great choice. Choose Chihuahua, Quesadilla, or Asadero. All can be found in well stocked produce section. Try my new favorite, Sargento Fiesta Pepper Jack. It’s got a nice heat to it.
Questions You May Have
Please Don’t. A flour tortilla rolled with any type of filling is a burrito not an enchilada. Flour tortillas are thicker and will soak up too much of the sauce called for in this recipe. You’ll be left with a very dry casserole.
Once peppers are roasted, place them in a plastic bag. No need to seal the bag. Let them steam for about 5 minutes. Remove the peppers from the bag and slide most of the skins off with your hands. DO NOT run chiles under water to remove skin. You’re washing away that smoky flavor. I like to leave some little patches of skin on for the flavor.
I’m not a fan of make ahead chicken enchiladas. If you assemble and refrigerate the casserole the night before, the corn tortillas will become mushy. I advise to bake this very soon after preparing, as a mushy corn tortilla will break your heart.
Storage
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator covered with aluminum foil. Gently reheat in a 250 degree oven, or individual servings in the microwave. Enchiladas will keep in the refrigerator up to four days.
- This chicken enchilada recipe will freeze well. Cover any leftovers first with plastic wrap and then top with aluminum foil. Three months is a good rule of thumb for freezing any casserole. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then gently reheat in a 250 degree oven.
Creamy Red Sauce Chicken Enchiladas
I hope you give this Rick Bayless Chicken Enchiladas recipe a try, and if you do, please give the recipe a star rating and scroll down a leave a comment about your experience with the recipe. I love hearing from my readers.
Explore More Southwestern Enchilada Recipes
And if you love Mexican food, don’t miss my Mexican Southwest Category. It’s chock full of ole’ goodness. And if you enjoy New Mexico Red Chile flavors, you won’t want to miss this recipe for Carne Adovada, one of new Mexico’s most celebrated dishes.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
And, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for more delicious recipes and cooking tips. Make it a delicious day … every day.
Creamy Red Chile Sauce Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 3-4 whole green chiles poblano, jalapenos, Hatch or Mirasol or a mixture.
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth plus a little extra if needed
- ½ cup Mexican Crema or creme fraiche or heavy whipping cream
- 3 pounds fresh tomatoes or 2-28 ounce cans good quality whole tomatoes, drained
- 1 ½ Tablespoon vegetable oil Or lard. Plus a little for brushing or spraying the tortillas
- 2 cups coarsley shredded chicken breast grilled, roasted, or rotisserie
- ⅔ cup Mexican Cheese Shredded. Monterey Jack, Chihuahua, quesadilla, asadero
- 12 corn tortillas
- 6 slices yellow onion separated into rings for garnish
- Fresh Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°.
- For fresh tomatoes: Roast the tomatoes and chiles in the oven on a baking sheet 4 inches below a hot broiler. Turning to roast all sides until they show dark spots. Remove from oven and cool. Working over the same baking sheet, remove skins and cores from the tomatoes and remove skins from the peppers.
- Place roasted peppers and tomatoes in a food processor and blend to a smooth puree.
- If using canned tomatoes: No need to roast canned tomatoes. Once the chiles are roasted, place canned tomatoes and roasted peppers into a food processor and blend to a smooth puree.
- Cook The Onions: In a 4-5 quart Dutch oven, heat the oil (or lard, or bacon fat) over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 5-7 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: Raise the heat to medium-high, and stir in the tomato/pepper puree. Cook, stirring, until darker in color and thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken broth, partially cover and simmer 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about ½ teaspoon. The sauce should be a slightly soupy consistency-not as thick as spaghetti sauce. If it is too thick, stir in a little additional broth. Stir the Mexican crema into the sauce. Keep warm over low heat.
- Season the Chicken: Put the chicken in a bowl and stir ½ cup of the sauce mixture into it. Taste and season with additional salt if you think it needs it.
- Soften the Corn Tortillas: Lay the tortillas out on a baking sheet (2 sheets if you have them, for more even heating), and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.
- Build the Enchiladas: Smear about half of the sauce over the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish.
- Working quickly so the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, (don't over-fill) then line them all up in the baking dishes. Douse evenly with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the cheese.
- Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 15 minutes.
- Garnish with onion rings, slices of jalapeno pepper and cilantro sprigs. These are best served piping hot from the oven.
Notes
Nutrition
Creamy Red Sauce Chicken Enchilada Recipe … It’s Whats for Dinner
