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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.
This is a perfect weeknight meal!
Hey Nicole,
Wonderful!!🎄 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xx
New to cooking and this turned out amazing. Even made my own tortilla by Tieghan’s recipe. 🙂
Hey Evgenia,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Hi Tiegan! This looks delicious. Could you sub with chicken breast?
Hey Ellery,
Totally, chicken breast will work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s tasty for you! xx
Made this late at night after a meeting so my husband would have something to take to work tomorrow . I made the mistake of topping with jalapeños- not seeded and didn’t read close enough and added a whole small can of adobo peppers. Was very adobo heavy but balanced by adding extra cheese and eating with extra sour cream. Was still very spicy- I know if I had done it right it would have been better but even with the mistakes it’s very good!
Hey Meghan,
Happy Wednesday!!👻 I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed:)
Hello! We absolutely love this recipe and now want to make it for a friend who just had a baby. Do you have a suggestion to make it less spicy? And reheat instructions?
Thanks in advance!!
Hey Shelby,
So glad to hear you have been enjoying this recipe!! I would just use regular diced tomatoes rather than fire roasted and reduce the chipotle peppers in adobo. I would just give them the baking instructions to finish the recipe! I hope this helps! xT
Hi! I don’t see diced tomatoes in this recipe! Am I missing something!?
Hey Elizabeth,
There are no diced tomatoes in this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Delicious!!! Only comment is make sure you use the small sized tortillas, I used the larger ones that you would use for a quesadilla and it was quite bready. Still so delicious and easy tho with all of the flavors! Definitely making again with the correct sized tortillas. 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
This was amazing! My daughter who eats five things, asked for seconds. You are so talented!. Thank you
Hi Yana,
Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it:) Thanks for your kind message! xTieghan
This was a hit and we definitely be adding it to the rotation!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
How would you make it so you can freeze it?
Hi Emily,
Just make up through the middle of step 3 until the point of baking. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Would you recommend thawing before baking? Or baking from frozen?
Hey Leah,
You could really do either:) If you don’t thaw just allow for a long baking time! xx
Yummy and so easy! Didn’t have chipotle in adobo so I added some smoked paprika instead. Will make this again!
Hi Christina,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out:)
Hi there! Any suggestions for making this in a 9×13 instead of a skillet? Specifically proportions of ingredients?
Hi Katie,
You should be just fine following the recipe as written:) I hope you love the dish, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Super easy and delicious weeknight meal! I cut the onions and made the pineapple salsa while baby was napping. When it was time to cook dinner, all I had to do was cook the chicken and clean the skillet – leading to a low stress evening for this mom.
Hey Kristi,
Amazing!! I am so glad this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best weekend! ☀️xx
I absolutely love this dish and how easy it is to make it more or less spicy depending on the crowd you are feeding. The first time I made this I was cooking for my parents who tend to avoid most spicy things so I deseeded our jalapenos and used smoked paprika instead of the chipotles. Even without the heat it was full of flavor and delicious. If you’re thinking about skipping on the pineapple salsa DON’T! The kick of acid and sweetness pairs so good with all the sauce and cheese. I did end up draining some of the liquid off before adding the tortillas and cheese. The skillet I have is larger, but not nearly as big as the one used in the pictures and videos and I think that’s why some people are talking about how saucy the dish is.
Hey Kirstin,
Thanks so much for your comment and sharing your feedback! I am glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Super easy and tasty! I didn’t make the salsa and I slightly modified by using 1 lb of chopped chicken breast for the ground chicken. Because I used the HBH Enchilada Sauce I didn’t add more chipotles. Came out great! Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Hi Teresa,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for sharing your feedback and making this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Happy 4th of July!??
Super good and easy. Made with the pineapple salsa, pretty spicy! Easy to make. I may add beans next time as my batch was a little saucy. I think it was the low carb tortillas I used. I would def make again!
Hey Ash,
Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xxT