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Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas. Quick-cooking ground chicken, seasoned up with smoky chipotle peppers and enchilada sauce, then topped with tortillas and cheese before oven baking. The most delicious smells, a bubbly sauce, and melty cheese await you as you pull this out of the oven. Serve topped with sweet-spicy pineapple salsa and a drizzle of lime crema. A yummy mix of saucy chicken, melted cheese, and fresh juicy salsa comes together easily. It’s a delicious twist on the combination of classic tacos and baked enchiladas that everyone will love!
With the fun Cinco de Mayo holiday coming up, I’m so excited to be sharing a handful of fun, fresh, and new Mexican-inspired recipes. I’ve been getting creative and having fun, and these enchiladas are one of the results.
They’ve been made multiple times around here since I first created the recipe. Everyone loved them, and I especially love how just how easy they are!
The details are quick
First, these are very much inspired by a Mexican chicken Tingo dish, but not traditional by any means. Since I really wanted this dish to be simple and quick, I choose to use ground chicken in place of cooking and shredding chicken breasts. Traditionally tinga tacos are made with a shredded meat like chicken or beef. But using ground chicken is a quick shortcut!
My other quick shortcut is to use a mix of canned chipotle chilies in adobo plus a can of red enchilada sauce. Tinga always has lots of chipotle in the recipe. But instead of using a tomato base of diced tomatoes, I like to swap red enchilada sauce to keep things easy. It’s always very delicious. But don’t skimp on the chipotles in adobo or the onion, both are essential.
Brown the chicken and onion together. Add oregano and cumin, then pour in the enchilada sauce and add the chipotles in adobo.
Simmer a few minutes, and that’s it. Just remove from the heat and top with either corn or flour tortillas (I like to use corn). Then top the tortillas with a blend of shredded Mexican cheeses, I use pepper jack and cheddar.
Bake until the sauce is bubbling up around the skillet and the cheese is melted.
What ends up happening is that the tortillas and cheese get a nice crispy, crunch around the edge of the skillet, which I find so delicious.
The salsa
To me, the salsa is very important. Pineapple mixed with jalapeños, lots of cilantro, lime, olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt. I love the mix of pineapple with the spicy jalapeño and cilantro. So yummy and refreshing atop such a cheesy dinner!
But that’s just me, I love a fruit-based salsa!
And lastly, if you want to make a little crema sauce, I like to mix Greek yogurt (or sour cream) with a squeeze of honey, lime zest, lime juice, and sea salt. It’s a nice cooling sauce that balances the spice.
Simple to throw together, and has a nice mix of texture and flavor. You get saucy, crispy, spicy, and sweet!
All the good stuff…hope you enjoy!
Looking for other Cinco de Mayo inspired recipes? Here are a few…
Cilantro Lime Salmon with Mango Salsa
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado
Lastly, if you make this Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 641 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped chipotle in adobo
- 6 corn or flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- avocado and Greek yogurt or sour cream, for serving
Pineapple Salsa
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded if desired, and chopped
- 2 cups diced pineapple
- 1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 juice of a lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the chicken and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add oregano and cumin, cook 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups enchilada sauce and the chipotle. Season with salt. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.3. Arrange the tortillas on top of the chicken. Pour over 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, then top with cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.4. To make the salsa. Combine everything in a bowl, season with salt. 5. Serve the enchiladas warm, topped with avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and plenty of salsa.
Need a little clarification. The recipe says to stir cilantro into the chicken mixture, but it doesn’t say how much cilantro. I see the 1 cup in the salsa recipe, but none in the main recipe. Hoping to make this for dinner tonight.
That’s because cilantro is something you measure with your heart.
Hi Wendi,
Sorry for the confusion, you will just top with cilantro, fixing the recipe!! I hope you love it!! xTieghan
I’m double checking that “fried oregano” is just a typo for dried oregano. If it’s not, can you let me know how it’s best to fry it?
Hi Allyson,
Sorry for any confusion, yes it is dried oregano. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xx
Loved this! We had this for dinner and had extra pineapple salsa…. Used day 2 on salmon. Amazing!!!! So delicious!!!
Hi Cheryl,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was a hit! Have a great weekend:) xx
I loved this. I used leftover roast chicken instead of ground chicken. I didn’t see in the ingredients list that cilantro was included in the enchiladas. I used one chipotle. The pineapple salsa was the perfect cooling ingredient and really made the dish. Thanks!
Hey Elaine,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Is shredded chicken okay to use instead of ground chicken?
Hi Lacey,
Sure, that would be just fine for you to use! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xx
Easy and delicious! I used what I had in the cupboard – canned chicken, enchilada sauce, and jarred diced chipotle peppers. This came together quickly and was a hit!
Hey Sam,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
What canned red enchilada sauce did she used ?
Hey Elizabeth,
I really like Frontera or Siete brand. Please let me know if you have any other questions!! xTieghan
Hi! What size skillet would you recommend for this recipe? Excited to try this!
Hey Catherine,
I like to use a 12 inch skillet. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Made this tonight for dinner and even the hubby loved it (he is not a fan of red enchilada sauce) I made the salsa a little early so it could marinate and that might have been my favorite part! Super easy and delicious dinner. I did add some cornstarch to the chicken while it was simmering with the enchilada sauce to thicken it up a bit
Hey Jordyn,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! ?xx
What is a good enchilada sauce to use?
Homemade is the way to go. Go online and use only reciped that say to “char” chili peppers. Takes time, but tastes devine
Hey Anita,
I really like Frontera or Siete brand. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
This looks delicious! What size tortillas would did you use?
Hey Molly,
For this recipe I used 6 inch tortillas. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe!! xTieghan
The recipe calls for fried oregano. So do you fry the oregano before adding it to the pan?
I think she meant fresh oregano – maybe a typo
Or ‘dried’ oregano!
I think dried is right, given the quality is only a tsp.
Yes, that’s correct:)
Lol! I think you’re right. Dried makes more sense, but when you follow the link she has for fried oregano it takes you to a package of fresh oregano! That threw me off! Let’s go with whatever you have on hand and adjust the quantity accordingly! Either way it sounds really good!
It’s dried oregano:) Thanks Barb!
I think it is either supposed to be fresh or dried but I’m not sure which one?
Sorry for the confusion Sona, it’s fresh:)
Hi Julie,
So sorry, that should say dried oregano! Thanks for pointing that out! I hope you love the recipe:) xTieghan
“Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.” How much cilantro do you add? Thanks.
Hi Judy,
Just a sprinkle of cilantro to your liking. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
How do you serve the enchiladas? Do you cut the finished dish like a pizza? Or are you able to separate the cheesy tortillas and then scoop the chicken mixture on to them?
Hey Dee,
I just get in there with a spoon and scoop from the bottom-up. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Looks delicious!…anything I can put onto in place of the cheese!?
My husband doesn’t eat it
Hey Bex,
I suppose I would just skip the cheese or use your favorite non-dairy cheese. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan