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Chicken Enchiladas with Real Homemade Red Sauce 🌮
Once you make enchiladas with a real homemade sauce, the canned stuff is hard to go back to. This red sauce starts with dried chiles and tomatoes and wraps tender chicken and melty cheese in deep, smoky flavor. It takes a little more love than opening a can, but it is the kind of cooking I find genuinely relaxing, and it makes a big batch that feeds the whole table with seconds. This is the one people always ask me how I made.
Ingredients
For the Enchilada Sauce
- 6 guajillo chile peppers deseeded
- 2 ancho chile peppers deseeded
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1/4 onion
- 5 garlic cloves whole
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
- 1 tbsp vegetable/corn/avocado oil
For Assembly
- 14 corn tortillas
- 2 cups cooked chicken rotisserie works great
- 1 cup vegetable/corn/avocado oil for frying
- 2 cups shredded cheese
Optional Toppings
- cilantro
- sour cream
- lettuce
- onions
- cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large pot, add guajillo peppers, ancho peppers, tomato, onion, and garlic. Fill with enough water to cover everything. Cover with a lid and boil on medium-high for about 15 minutes, until they start to soften. Do not discard the water!
- Once all the peppers have softened in water, add both peppers, tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin and chicken bouillon powder and about 1.5 cups of the water they boiled in to a blender. Blend until smooth. If needed, strain sauce with a colander to make it smoother.
- In a large frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Add blended enchilada sauce and cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until it starts to thicken.
- To a large frying pan, add 1 cup of oil on medium-high heat. Fry each tortilla on each side for about 5 seconds, to soften. Set on a paper towel to drain excess oil and set aside.
- Assemble enchiladas: Add about a cup of the enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Dip the softened tortillas into the sauce on both sides. Add filling — cooked chicken and cheese. Roll tightly, placing the fold side down on the baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and broil for 1-2 minutes for an extra golden top. Top as desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Tips for Making This Recipe
Toast and soak the dried chiles before blending; that quick step wakes up their flavor and gives the sauce its deep color.
Lightly fry the tortillas before filling so they hold up to the sauce instead of tearing or turning to mush.
Save a little sauce for the bottom of the dish so the enchiladas do not stick and the bottoms stay saucy.
Cover with foil for most of the bake, then uncover to let the cheese get bubbly and golden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make the enchilada sauce ahead of time?
What chicken should I use?
How do I keep enchiladas from getting soggy?
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Shop What I Used
A few recipe-appropriate kitchen tools that make this one easier:
- A blender for the homemade sauce
- A 9×13 baking dish
- Tongs for dipping and rolling the tortillas
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