Next Post
Sweet Potato Kale Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
This was SO good! Didn’t make any modifications, except mixed some lime squeezes to the yogurt we put on top. So yum!! Thanks, Tieghan! Will be putting this into our easy-dinner rotation.
Hey April,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! ?Tieghan
Did you cook the tortillas before you put them in the pan?
Hey Laurie,
I like to put mine directly over the stove top flame for a few seconds, but totally not necessary:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
This recipe is super simple and delicious! I used rotisserie chicken and no chipotle, simply because I didn’t have it. I added diced green chiles and it turned out great! Next time I may add some kind of beans and maybe sweet potatoes! I love how simple this is!
Hey Lindsay,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed, we appreciate the feedback! xTieghan
Another easy dinner pulled together that tasted delicious! my 13 year old son: 8.5/10
Hey Karri,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xT
This recipe was sooo good!! Definitely adding to the list of regulars. I doubled the recipe since I was feeding two grown men and myself haha and it was plenty with a little leftover! The pineapple salsa is a perfect touch and the enchiladas have just the right amount of spice! Definitely recommend!
Oo I also used ground beef instead of chicken cause that’s what we had and it was delicious. Will have to try with the chicken next time!
Awesome!!
Hey Morgan,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xT
After a long day at work, I just love your easy skillet meals. I’ve made enchiladas for years. They can be so much work. No frying tortillas, and dipping in hot enchilada sauce (messy). This recipe was so delicious and easy! I bought a roast chicken, yesterday, and just chopped up pieces of chicken instead of using ground chicken. I also used more Chipotle (we like it HOT) and added a can of green chopped chilies. I didn’t have the ingredients, on hand, for the pineapple salsa (I had homemade salsa). Once again, I had rave reviews from the family. I’ve gotten use to saying, ” Tieghan strikes again”!
Hey Lisa,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! Thanks so much for your kind message:) xTieghan
Made this one last week, so delicious! Thank you. Xx
Thanks for trying the recipe, so glad to hear it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Can you make this on a Dutch oven
Hey Debra,
Sure, that will work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I made this tonight with ground turkey and homemade spicy enchilada sauce. I used maybe a cup and half to two cups enchilada sauce and I added frozen corn to help with the spiciness. It was excellent! This is a great base recipe to adapt with what you have on hand. And so good topped with the salsa/pineapple poblano guacamole from Aldi.
Hi Melissa,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! ?xxT
OMG…LOVE IT! Thank you so much….it was absolutely delicious….I didn’t have the chipotle adobe so I asked google what to substitute and I used paprika… it was beyond delish! My husband loved it and this will be our staple! We really love this dish. Thanks again 🙂
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for your comment and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and thanks for making it! xTieghan
We had some leftover bacon wrapped sausage jalapeños. I chopped them up and added them to the meat mixture! It was delicious!
Hey Annie,
Thanks so much for your comment and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and thanks for making it! xTieghan
I would agree tastes good but go less on liquid it was soupy for me.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback!!
This was soon good! I was looking forward to making it all week and it didn’t disappoint! Super easy and so delicious.
Hi Allie,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
This will be a staple at my house. I had no idea enchiladas could be made to be this easy!!! I am still in shock how easy they were. And not to mention delicious!! Although it says 1-2 Tablespoons of the chipotle with adobo. That would have killed us. I used 2 teaspoons, thankfully, and it was just enough spice for me and a little much for the kiddos.
Hey Catherine,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xT
We made this last night in our home and we all loved it. It did come out a little soupy, not sure if we should have drained chicken before adding enchilada sauce? We added avocado and some Fritos on top for a little extra crunch.
Hey Tricia,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! It how much liquid did you have from the chicken? If there was a lot then yes I would definitely drain it next time:) xTieghan