Chicken Enchiladas with Tomato Cream Sauce is our all time favorite enchilada recipe. These enchiladas are made by roasting fresh tomatoes and chile peppers and then baked bubbly topped with tomato cream sauce.
This recipe has been updated and improved on September 20, 2019
October 11, 2009: Today we’re cooking indoors, using our indoor voices, because its 19 DEGREES in Denver. I didn’t know traditional fall colors of gold, rust, and yellow would also include white. Yes, a dusting of snow covers my beautiful summer, now dead, flowers.
They’ve even cancelled the Rockies Playoff Game tonight because of inclement weather. We’ve gone from Summer, one week of Fall and smack dab into Winter. I doubt Alaska has even dipped below 20 degrees yet this year. Puff the Magic Weber didn’t even have time to frolic in the Autumn mist, he’s all icy.
Good Mexican Restaurants in Denver Metro
Before we get started, I’d like to climb on my soapbox and talk a little about Mexican Food. I’ve yet to find a really good Mexican Restaurant in Denver. One that serves some authentic fresh fare. Actually I’ve yet to find a good Tex-Mex restaurant in our city.
We’ve got plenty of those Americanized Mexican food joints. You know those places that bring you a huge plate of steaming greasy glop that’s covered in two cups of a greasy melted yellow cheese. Not a fan.
With that said, I am a fan of Rick Bayless and the recipes that he brings us. He has spent many years living in Mexico and brings to us his fresh, delicious creations inspired by authentic Mexican cuisine. The following recipe is adapted from a recipe of his. His recipe for Chicken Enchiladas with Tomato Cream Sauce has become on of our favorites.
On Making Enchiladas, No Soggy Enchiladas
I’ve always said, that if someone makes enchiladas for you, it means they love you. The process can be tedious but the flavor outcome, incredible. Who can resist a savory sauce and lots of cheese.
So, pour yourself a glass of wine and let’s get started. I’ve made these chicken enchiladas according to instructions, using fresh tomatoes and fresh chile peppers. Please keep in mind, you can make this recipe using good quality canned tomatoes, San Marzano is my choice.
One of the reasons that making enchiladas can be a tedious task is that the corn tortillas need to be conditioned so they don’t turn out soggy or mushy. Soggy enchiladas break my heart.
First of all, we all know that you can’t just take a corn tortilla out of the package from the store and wrap some chicken in it to make a taco. You’ve got to soften that tortilla by warming it up or fry it to make it crisp. The same applies to making enchiladas.
The soft corn tortillas need to be quickly fried. Only then can they be rolled into enchiladas. Quick frying creates a barrier on the surface of the tortilla which allows the tortilla to soak up a little of the sauce, but not enough to disintegrate it. This quick fry also adds that flavor to the corn tortilla that you love with that hint of caramelization.
In this recipe, Rick Bayless achieves this barrier by spraying the tortillas with oil and baking them. Seems to work like a charm.
First, let’s make the tomato cream sauce.
- Place about 15 medium sized tomatoes and 3 chile peppers on a baking sheet.
- Broil in oven about 5 inches from heat for five minutes.
- I used two Jalapeno and one Anaheim pepper. I also like 2 Poblano Peppers for this recipe and one jalapeno for a little kick of heat
- I would suggest when in season, use fresh tomatoes. You can also use canned tomatoes, which don’t need to be roasted, but you still need to roast the peppers.
- When you start to see charred spots, turn the tomatoes and peppers over and broil another 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool.
- Working over the same baking sheet, remove skins and cores from the tomatoes and remove skins from the peppers.
- Remove veins and seeds from the jalapeno if you want to lessen the heat factor.
Place tomatoes and peppers along with the juices from the baking sheet into a food processor and puree.
In a Dutch oven saute one chopped onion in olive oil until tender, about 7 minutes. Lard or bacon fat is even better here.
- 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, texture should be soupy. If the sauce is too thick add a little more broth.
- Add 1/2 C. cream, set aside and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, coat three boneless, skinless chicken breast halves in olive oil and roast for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Cool and shred the meat. Set aside.
- Grate two cups of Monterey Jack cheese. Muenster or Pepper Jack works well here also.
On a baking sheet, place 12 oiled corn tortillas. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with a towel to keep warm.
Spoon 1/2 of the tomato cream sauce into a baking pan. Working fast, so tortillas don’t cool, place shredded chicken inside a warm tortilla and roll.
Start placing enchiladas seam side down into the sauce.
Spoon the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle with Monterey Jack Cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly and cheese just starts to brown.
- You’ve got yourself some creamy chicken enchiladas with a beautiful tomato cream sauce.
To serve, place Enchiladas on a plate, garnish with onion rings and cilantro.
Recipe for Chicken Enchiladas with Tomato Cream Sauce
I hope you give this cheesy chicken enchilada recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite chicken enchilada recipe, let me know I’d love to give it a try.
More Enchilada Recipes
- Ground Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce
- Beer Braised Pulled Pork Enchilada Verde
- Cheesy Chilly Truck Stock Enchiladas
- New Mexico Stacked Enchiladas
And if you love Mexican food, don’t miss my Mexican Southwest Category. It’s chock full of ole’ goodness. And you’ll find the most popular recipe of all time on my site, Hatch Green Chili, Colorado Style.
These seriously are the best chicken enchiladas ever. And it’s all due to a very special (and easy) homemade tomato cream sauce that will knock your socks off.
- 3 whole green chiles I like 2 poblano and 1 jalapeno
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth plus a little extra if needed
- 1/2 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 1/2 Tablespoon vegetable oil Or lard. Plus a little for brushing or spraying the tortillas
- 2 cups coarsley shredded chicken breast grilled, roasted, or rotisserie
- 2/3 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
For fresh tomatoes: Roast the tomatoes and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until they're darkly roasted.
If using canned tomatoes: In a small dry skillet, roast the chiles over medium heat, turning regularly, until they're soft and splotchy-black, about 5 minutes. Place in a blender or food processor along with the drained canned tomatoes. Blend to a smooth puree. I like to roast the poblano peppers over my stovetop gas flame.
In a 4-5 quart Dutch oven, heat the oil or lard over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes.
Raise the heat to medium-high, and stir in the tomato puree. Cook, stirring, until darker in color and thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir in the broth, partially cover and simmer 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 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. Keep warm over low heat.
Stir the crema into the sauce. Put the chicken in a bowl and stir 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into it. Taste and season with additional salt if you think it needs it.
Heat the oven to 350°. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish.
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.
Working quickly so the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, 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 and cilantro sprigs. These are best served piping hot from the oven.
We paired this with a Borsao Ciranza. It has a cherry red color with touches of garnet and an elegant, deep ruby background. In the nose, we perceive its great intensity where fruity and varietal tones are combined perfectly with vanilla and smooth oak tannins. Intense in the mouth, fleshy and well-structured with an ample and pleasing aftertaste. (I didn’t write that, that comes directly from the web site – but yes “what they say”).
Bob says
October 11, 2009 at 9:56 pmI love enchiladas! Those look wicked good, love that sauce. The store I go to doesn’t carry any decent Mexican cheeses, I always use Jack. Pepper Jack is good for it, too.
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 1:04 amI agree, if used in moderation, Monterey Jack is just fine. Love Pepper Jack. That would have been great for this dish. Thanks for the visit to my blog. Look forward to getting to know you and your blog better.
Thanks Bob
Lea Ann
Velva says
October 11, 2009 at 10:04 pmI am so jealous of the cold weather that you are experiencing. I am still waiting for a break in this heat.
I love Rick Bayless, great authentic Mexican food. Your recipe looks fabulous. A good bottle of wine to enjoy with these enchiladas, just brings it to a new level. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Wandering Coyote says
October 11, 2009 at 10:46 pmOooooooh! Just…ooooooooooooh! Those enchiladas are amazing!
(I am too lazy to log out of WordPress and in to Blogger to have the link to ReTorte up here, but there’s only one WC out there…:))
burpexcuzme says
October 12, 2009 at 3:11 amoh dear. I like messy and greasy and gross foods. Esp if it involves cheese 😉
thus I heartily approve of these amazingly messy and cheesy chicken enchiladaS! 😀
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 11:33 amHa Ha! Everybody seems to like it, that’s why there’s a TexMex joint on every corner. (at least here in Denver there is)
Marla says
October 12, 2009 at 3:12 amWhat a fabulous recipe! I’ll have to try it one of these days.
DebinHawaii says
October 12, 2009 at 6:41 amThese are some gorgeous enchiladas–they look so fresh and delicious!
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella says
October 12, 2009 at 12:23 pmWe don’t get much Mexican food here so I’m just drooling at your photos! 😀 You must have had some very lucky dinner guests! 🙂
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 1:31 pmGet yourself a Rick Bayless Cookbook. He’s got fabulous recipes.
Thanks for stopping by
Jaden says
October 12, 2009 at 1:12 pm19 degrees!!?????/ woah baby, that’s freeeeezin! It was 95F yesterday in FL almost about died it was so damn hot.
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 2:07 pmYikes 95 degrees with your humidity doesn’t sound like much fun. You really do have a steamy kitchen!
Thanks for stopping by my blog
buffalo dick says
October 12, 2009 at 2:51 pmMexico is a pretty large country, with different cuisines- some not spicy at all.. That looked delicious!
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 3:25 pmYes, when I was reading about the origin of TexMex, that style of cooking originated from Northern Mexico “peasant food”
Interesting.
Thanks BD
My Year on the Grill says
October 12, 2009 at 5:51 pmi had the exact same opinion of Tex-Mex (and in fact plain ild Mex), til my neighbor moved in about a year ago. Amazing flavors. Nothing like the glop you described (and I had).
These look and sound amazing. GREAT recipe and very excellent instructions
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 7:38 pmI think I’m going to move to your street, you folks are so “culinary”.
Thanks YOG – always glad you stop by.
Lea Ann
Chris says
October 12, 2009 at 6:55 pmWow. Now the tomato cream sauce I just made yesterday sounds soooooo lame.
The enchiladas look mouth watering.
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 7:40 pmYeah right, I’m sure your tomato cream sauce was lame! You cook up some good stuff!!!
Thanks for stopping by
Kevin says
October 12, 2009 at 3:15 pmThose enchiladas look so good!
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 3:35 pmThanks Kevin. One of those “can’t stop eating” recipes. The cilantro and onions are very important as garnish.
Dave says
October 12, 2009 at 3:28 pmWow those look good! I like the idea of adding a little cream to the sauce. After reading one of Rick’s books I got a cast iron griddle so I can brown the veggies on the grill. we’ve got a dozen or so tomatoes sitting on the counter right now, so I’ll have to give this recipe a try soon.
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 3:36 pmI’m a huge Bayless fan. I’ll have to get cast iron griddle. Sounds like a “must have”.
Thanks for stopping by my blog
Dave says
October 12, 2009 at 3:46 pmGive this one a try:
Bayou Classic 7414 14" Round Cast Iron Reversible Griddle
I’ve had great luck with it and it works on a stove or grill.
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 4:16 pmPerfect. I’ve added it to my Christmas Wish list. Thanks for the suggestion.
Steph says
October 12, 2009 at 4:03 pmthose enchiladas look fantastic! The sauce sounds unbelievable. Can’t wait to try them
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 4:14 pmThanks Steph. And as always, thanks for stopping by.
Natashya says
October 12, 2009 at 4:52 pmLooks totally delicious! This is my favourite way to make sauce too, except I am too lazy to peel skins off of anything! 😉
For some reason we don’t seem to get corn tortillas up here.
ps. if you need to warm up – come to Canada! It only got down to 0 last night. (I think that’s 32 American.)
leaannbrown says
October 12, 2009 at 7:40 pmNO CORN tortillas???? I’ve never made my own, but I suppose it could be done. You might want to think about it. Just for a challenge. 🙂
Karine says
October 13, 2009 at 1:07 amAh snow! I hate it… and I am sorry for you because you already had some :(.
I love your enchiladas. What a great way to cook mexican!
leaannbrown says
October 13, 2009 at 11:50 amActually I love our big snow storms. It just seems too early for it to be this cold. Thanks for stopping by.
Karen says
October 13, 2009 at 3:27 amI have a confession to make. It’s a little embarassing, but we are all friends here, right?
I don’t like corn tortillas. I’m serious. But wait, it gets worse. You know the corn flour used in a ton of Mexican cooking from corn tortillas to tamales? Don’t care for it. It’s actually quite depressing. But I have made enchiladas with flour tortillas, and they are “ok”.
Maybe your recipe will save me. Maybe, just maybe, I can change “sniff”.
It really, really does sound yummy, btw 😀
leaannbrown says
October 13, 2009 at 4:42 pmWell, this is a first. I’ve never heard of anyone who didn’t like corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are good – they just have that “white thing” going on. I try to use corn more. The sauce is pretty mild and creamy, I doubt it would mask that hideous “corn” flavor. WAIT A MINUTE!!! And this comes from someone who claims their favorite ingredient is sweet corn???? Something doesn’t jive here. 🙂
Karen says
October 15, 2009 at 4:32 amI know! I just don’t get it! I think there may be somehting worng with me. I love polenta, I love grits. I even love corn tortilla chips. But Mexican corn flour products, not so much. And I’m sooooo not a picky eater. Maybe I just need some therapy… or a road trip to Mexico! 😀
anncoo says
October 13, 2009 at 12:58 amThis looks fabulous! My family will definitely love this. Thanks for sharing 🙂
leaannbrown says
October 13, 2009 at 11:53 amThanks!!! However, doesn’t even come anywhere near as outstanding as the things you create! Thanks for stopping by.
Joanne says
October 13, 2009 at 10:39 amI can’t believe it’s really that cold already! I am SO not looking forward to winter.
I am with you on the Tex-Mex front. The thought of it makes my stomach churn. I don’t think I could eat it anymore, actually, without feeling physically ill.
Rick Bayless’s food, on the other hand, is so fresh and delicious. Mexican at it’s best. I love this chicken enchilada recipe. The tomato cream sauce is the perfect addition.
leaannbrown says
October 13, 2009 at 11:59 amYea Joanne! Thanks for the reply. It even bothers me when people refer to those places by saying “Let’s go for Mexican”.
Chilebrowne says
October 13, 2009 at 6:50 pmThat was one pretty salad and yummy lookin enchiladas. Rick Bayliss is one of my food heroes. I have all his booka and someday will go to his restaurants.
You are going to have the winter to dream abou barbequing. I am pretty spoiled. My barbeque can be used all year long. The climate in the East Bay is moderate with no extreme weathor. The patio is covered if it rains.
leaannbrown says
October 13, 2009 at 8:50 pmI have four of his cookbooks. I need to inventory and place remaining ones that I don’t have on my Christmas List. I’ve not been to Chicago, but will make a trip someday for his restaurants.
My patio isn’t covered, but I do grill nearly year round. There’s just those icy days that I say “phooey on that”.
The salad was fantastic. I love fruits and greens with a great dressing.
Thanks for stopping by.
Linda says
October 13, 2009 at 10:31 pmHey there!
All this time and I never knew you had a blog…. it’s terrific! I will most definitely add you to my blogroll….
Linda from Cooking Tip of the Day
PS… don’t forget to emil me your contact name and address so I can have Country Bob send you your prize!
Shelly W says
October 14, 2009 at 11:16 pmLooks delicious! Tex-Mex food gives me a gut ache, too. I’m sure you can really taste the fresh ingredients in these enchiladas. I’m fan of Rick Bayless as well, especially after eating at Topolobampo in Chicago. I really need to get his cookbooks 🙂
leaannbrown says
October 15, 2009 at 1:14 amI only wish I could eat at his restaurants. Yes, his cookbooks are a must.
Thanks for stopping by. Lea Ann
Chili says
October 16, 2009 at 12:32 amOh man you did these Enchiladas right!
leaannbrown says
October 16, 2009 at 11:45 amThanks! And Thanks for stopping by
Vickie Hemphill says
October 17, 2009 at 12:52 amI LOVE this recipe – I can’t wait to give it try! When I make them I’m going to have to fight the urge to blog about it, though. 😛
leaannbrown says
October 17, 2009 at 1:35 amYou should give it a try, it’s delicious. And then please blog away. It’s a recipe that gives you good material.
Kathryn @ anotherfoodieblogger says
November 13, 2016 at 8:24 pmI know this is an old post of yours but I’m cracking up at the TexMex reference! You’re from Colorado, and we know how y’all feel about that state, LOL! 😉
Kathryn @ anotherfoodieblogger says
November 13, 2016 at 8:25 pmMeaning Texas… ha!