These shredded chicken enchiladas combine tender shredded chicken, rice, beans, cheese, and a sweet, zesty sauce all slow-cooked to ooey gooey perfection. Then stuffed inside flour tortillas that are topped with more sauce and cheese. If you’re looking for the perfect chicken enchiladas, you’ve found them!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Shredded Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
- Ingredients
- Flavor Variations
- How to Make Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
- Storage
- What to Serve with Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
- Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Try These Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
- More Delicious Enchilada Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Growing up in California, we were exposed to a world of cuisines. Literally, a world. In California, you’ll find Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Eastern European, and Mexican dishes and a lot of other delicious flavors. You’ll also find them fairly close to your house if you’re lucky!
Our mom loved foods of all kinds, but she was particularly fond of Mexican food. As a result, we tend to gravitate toward Mexican food, as well. We love tacos, burritos, nachos – pretty much anything you’ll find in Mexico – and we love to make as many of our favorites as we can.
One dish that makes an appearance on both of our tables quite often is this easy shredded chicken enchiladas recipe. It’s loaded with flavor, and it doesn’t take very long to make. We always love that!
Why You’ll Love This Shredded Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: You’ll find everything you need in your kitchen or at your local grocery store. Even the lime salsa cremosa is available at almost any store.
- Easy: The chicken is cooked in a slow cooker, and the rest of the recipe is just as easy!
- Flavorful: This recipe boasts a ton of deep complex flavor thanks to enchilada sauce, cilantro lime salsa cremosa, and bold seasonings.
- Feeds a Crowd: You can serve this for dinner for a couple nights or bring it to a party to feed an army of guests.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: Chicken breasts get incredibly tender and juicy in the slow cooker.
- Yellow Onion: Yellow onions add a naturally sweet and somewhat biting flavor to the dish.
- Jalapenos: Jalapenos add a spicy, vegetal flavor – a signature in Mexican dishes.
- Cilantro Lime Salsa Cremosa: Salsa cremosa adds a rich, creamy texture and deep flavor to the filling.
- White Rice and Ranch Beans: White rice and ranch beans add flavor and bulk to the enchiladas.
- Seasonings: A bold blend of seasonings adds flavor and heat.
- Red Enchilada Sauce: Red enchilada sauce adds the classic enchilada flavor we all love.
- Colby Jack Cheese: Colby Jack cheese makes these tortillas both ooey AND gooey.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Flavor Variations
- Chicken Breasts: You can make this filling with shredded beef or pork if you prefer. Chorizo also makes a great protein for the filling.
- Mild: Leave out the jalapenos and red pepper flakes for a mild version of this recipe.
- Extra Spicy: If you love a big kick of heat, leave the jalapeno seeds intact. That’s where most of the heat is.
- Colby Jack: Use your favorite bold cheese for this recipe. Sharp or mild cheddar, Taco blend, and Mexican blend all work well.
How to Make Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
For the Chicken
1: Add the diced onions, jalapenos, and chicken to the crock pot in that order.
2: Top with the seasonings and cilantro lime salsa and cook until the chicken is tender.
3: Add the white rice to the slow cooker about 30 minutes before the dish is finished.
4: Remove the chicken, shred while warm, and return it to the crock pot.
For the Enchiladas
1: Pour ¼ can of red enchilada sauce into the bottom of a prepared 9×13 baking dish. Add the remaining sauce to a large, shallow dish.
2: Combine the chicken mixture, ranch beans, and ½ can of red enchilada sauce in a large pan and cook until heated through.
3: Heat the flour tortillas on both sides in a large frying pan over medium heat.
4: Dip the tortillas in the enchilada sauce, then add the chicken mixture and cheese to the center of each one.
5: Roll up the tortillas and place them in the prepared baking dish.
6: Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese, cover, and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Enjoy!
Storage
Refrigerate these enchiladas for up to 3 days in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. Be aware however, that the longer they sit, the soggier the tortillas will get.
To reheat the enchiladas, bake them at 350 until heated through. You can also microwave individual enchiladas at 30-second intervals until heated through.
What to Serve with Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Top your enchiladas with sour cream, green onions, salsa, cilantro, or any of your other favorite toppings.
Serve these enchiladas with your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex sides like beef and jalapeno totopos, Spanish rice, or habanero salsa with chips. Finish off the meal with delicious churro pastry bites for an unexpected twist on a classic dessert.
Tips
- Only use flour tortillas for this recipe. Corn tortillas aren’t pliable enough and will break when you try to roll them up.
- It’s important to heat the tortillas before filling and rolling them to ensure they don’t rip.
- Shred your chicken as soon as it’s cooled enough to safely handle. Hot or warm meats shred far more easily than cool meats.
- Wash your hands and NEVER touch your face when working with hot peppers.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t have to use nonstick spray with a crock pot, but it does make things easier. Although crock pots are supposed to be nonstick, things still can and do, in fact, stick. This is especially true with dishes that aren’t swimming in liquid or have a lot of ingredients.
Check your rice for doneness about 25 minutes after adding it to the slow cooker. All slow cookers have slightly different temperatures. Check the rice early helps prevent overcooking it.
It’s perfectly safe! Slow cookers were designed to cook raw meat at low heat over a long period of time. The raw meat will cook very well, and the heat gets high enough to kill any bacteria that might have been lurking on it before you began cooking it.
Try These Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Whether it’s a Taco Tuesday or an upcoming potluck, these shredded chicken enchiladas are always a great choice. They’re easy to make, they’re delicious, and they use simple ingredients. You can’t beat a combination like that. Give these a try, and we guarantee you’ll make them a permanent addition to your dinnertime recipe rotation.
More Delicious Enchilada Recipes You’ll Enjoy
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Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 jalapenos, stem and seeds removed, diced
- 1 teaspoon Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 15.7 ounce Herdez Cilantro Lime Salsa Cremosa
- ½ cup white rice
- 2-15 ounce Ranch Style Beans
- 2-15 ounce red enchilada sauce
- 4+ cups Colby Jack cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8-10 flour Tortillas, burrito size
Instructions
- Spray a 6 or 8 quart crock pot with non-stick spray.
- Add diced onions and jalapenos first, followed by the chicken breasts.
- Sprinkle the seasonings over the chicken.
- Pour the lime salsa over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
- Add the rice in the last half hour of cooking.
- Shred chicken and make enchiladas.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour ¼ can of red enchilada sauce into the bottom of the dish. Set aside.
- Heat flour tortillas in a large frying pan over medium heat or over an open flame. Flip over so both sides are heated up.
- In a large pan, combine together chicken mixture, ranch beans, and ½ can of red enchilada sauce.
- Cook over medium heat until completely heated through.
- Pour remaining sauce from the first can into a shallow dish and coat tortillas on both sides before adding filling. Add more sauce as needed.
- Add chicken mixture and shredded cheese to the center of the tortillas.
- Roll up and place in the prepared baking dish.
- Top rolled enchiladas with remaining red sauce and cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, green onions, salsa, if desired.
- Serve with your favorite sides.
Notes
- Only use flour tortillas for this recipe. Corn tortillas aren’t pliable enough and will break when you try to roll them up.
- It’s important to heat the tortillas before filling and rolling them to ensure they don’t rip.
- Shred your chicken as soon as it’s cooled enough to safely handle. Hot or warm meats shred far more easily than cool meats.
- Wash your hands and NEVER touch your face when working with hot peppers.
