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Skillet Creamy Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas. Chicken seasoned with smoky chipotle peppers, enchilada sauce, and cream are mixed together to create a creamy, saucy chicken enchilada. Top with tortillas and cheese before oven-baking. The most delicious smells await you as you pull this out of the oven. Serve topped with slices of avocado, lime juice, and fresh cilantro. That touch of cream makes all the difference – a delicious twist on classic enchiladas!
Thursday night Mexican food – yum! Even though I’ve been sharing a lot of Asian-inspired/influenced recipes lately, I’ve still been cooking plenty of Mexican dishes too! Tacos are always on rotation, and we all love my tortilla soup.
But I don’t share all of the recipes I create; only the ones that taste so delicious—and this saucy skillet dish tastes so delicious!
It was a dish I didn’t think I would share, but when it turned out to be not only simple but yummy, too, I knew it was something I needed to recreate for the site.
Sometimes, my very best dishes are the ones I create without much thought, and usually on busy nights.
A little of this and a little of that is the secret to some of the best recipes!
I wanted to make enchiladas, but I didn’t want to go through all the effort of rolling the chicken up in tortillas and then snuggling them in enchilada sauce. Instead, I skipped the rolling all together and layered everything in a skillet, then baked!
The sauce was creamy, the chicken was perfect, and the tortillas and cheese on top really made this so delish. As you can guess, my family loves this recipe.
These are the details
Step 1: cook the chicken
This really is so straightforward. In an oven-safe skillet mix chopped onions with chicken breasts. Then season the chicken with smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Next, add some chipotle chiles in adobo; I use at least three chiles, but make sure to use them to your taste. You don’t want the sauce to be too spicy or not spicy enough!
Pour over a can of diced green chiles and red enchilada sauce. Simmer the chicken in the sauce until it is fully cooked and shreds easily.
Step 2: shred the chicken
Using two forks, shred the chicken directly in the sauce. This takes a bit of time, so I either keep the skillet on LOW heat or turn the heat off altogether.
Step 3: mix in the cream
Place the skillet back over medium heat and add a cup of cream. You can also use whole milk, but for a perfectly creamy sauce, I recommend using cream. Canned coconut milk also works well.
Simmer a few minutes to thicken the sauce, then mix in some fresh cilantro.
Step 4: top, bake, and serve
Snuggle a few tortillas on top of the saucy chicken, then add some cheese and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts.
You can serve this topped with fresh slices of avocado, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, and fresh cilantro. Green onions and limes are great too!
Nothing fancy to it, but of course, delicious!
Looking for other Mexican-inspired recipes? Here are a few…
Cilantro Lime Salmon with Mango Salsa
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado
Lastly, if you make this Skillet Creamy Chipotle Chicken 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!
Skillet Creamy Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 432 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped chipotle in adobo
- 1 can (12 ounce) red enchilada sauce
- 1 can (4 ounce) diced green chilies
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 6 corn or flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- limes, avocado, and yogurt, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine the chicken, onion, paprika, and garlic powder, then season with salt. Add the chipotle and diced green chiles. Pour over the enchilada sauce, plus 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. 3. Shred the chicken in the sauce using two forks. Add the cream and yogurt (if using). Continue cooking over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. 4. Arrange the tortillas on top of the chicken. Top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted.5. Serve the enchiladas warm, topped with fresh lime juice, avocado, Greek yogurt, and cilantro.
Flavor was great but do not recommend as a young family dish. Way too spicy for young kids. Also it was very soupy. Felt like I could cut the liquid in half.
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry it was too spicy! xx
Loved this dish!! I made this recipe last evening and it is packed with so much flavor. My husband said it tasted like restaurant-quality food. I can’t wait to make this recipe again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Thanks so much Elizabeth!! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed! Have a great week! xT
The flavor of this dish was wonderful and I’ll definitely make it again. It was really soupy so next time I will add more chicken and less liquid. Otherwise, it’s a keeper!
Hey Lynne,
I appreciate you trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so glad it was tasty for you! xT
I made this with ground beef and added a bell pepper and a zucchini for more veggies. I didn’t add the water and only added about 1/3 cup of low fat milk based on other comments. It was soo good!!! My husband and I both loved!! It was super spicy just as a warning but we both love spice so it wasn’t an issue for us.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Monday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT
What kind of cream would you use in this recipe?
Hey Sharon,
I used heavy cream in this recipe! Let me know if you give this a try, I hope you love it! xT
This was easy to make and delicious!! Will be making this again!
Love to hear this, Gina!! Thanks so much for trying this dish and your comment! Have a great weekend! xT
So easy and yummy! I added corn because we had some in the cabinet. To make it even faster next time, I might put the chicken in the crockpot.
Thanks so much Emily!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
Great flavor! Like other readers it was soupy w/out the addition of water. Not sure if that’s product of needing to simmer on low longer or have it sit with cream addition longer.
Hey Laura,
Happy Friday!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it and your comment:) I would let it simmer linger next time! xT
I wish I’d come to the comments first. This was enchilada soup. Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty. I’m glad I made a side of rice, so that I could serve this recipe over it. If I was making this again, I would definitely omit the water altogether, and only add 1/2 cup cream. Maybe even only 8-10 oz of enchilada sauce. I would also do traditional rolled enchiladas, because the tortillas are just mush and it’s impossible to cut in to servings.
Hi Heather,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear it was so liquidy for you. Let me know if you make any changes that work better next time! xx
This was a very creative way of making enchiladas, and it was delicious! I deviated from the directions a bit, sauteeing the onions in oliveoil before putting everything else in the pan, and based on several comments about it being “soupy,” omitted the water and used only a half cup of cream. The hardest part was trying to figure out how many liquid ounces of enchilada sauce to use, since from what I can find here, it comes only in 10 oz and 19 oz (net weight) cans. After much calculation, I settled on 10 liquid ounces, which it turns out was perfect. Anther one that I’ll be making again!
Hey Helen,
I appreciate you making this dish and sharing your comment! I’m so glad it turned out nicely for you:) Thanks for the notes on the liquid! xT
Followed the recipe, I used coconut cream. It turned out perfect and was absolutely delicious. To make it a little less spicy for the kids, you could easily leave out the chipotle. I will for sure make this again!
Thanks so much Melessa!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! xT
When you write “cream and yogurt if using” how much yogurt? Thank you
Hey there,
You can use 1/4 cup of yogurt. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
You should update this in the recipe card. I had to come to the comments to find out. 🥰
These Enchiladas are great. A very quick meal. Follow the recipe for great results. This dish only served 4 at my house, not 6.
Hey Hilary,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this dish and your comment, so glad to hear your family enjoyed this! xT
I love all your recipes….but this is now one of my very favorites!!! I made it exactly as called for but added 3 extra tortillas. And I used chicken tenders so I left them chunked in good bite-sized pieces. I used 3 chipotle’s which was spicy but the cream toned it down perfectly. Best part was I had all the ingredients on hand. Way easier than traditional enchiladas & so much better! Thanks for another great one.
Yay!! Thanks so much Susan:) I am thrilled to hear that this dish was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xT
I made the recipe as written using whole milk. The result had the consistency of a soup so I cooked it down for another 40 minutes but it did no thicken enough. We ate it with tortilla chips as more of a dip than an entree. The flavor was delicious. If I make it again, I would add a cup of rice to take up more of the liquid.
Hi Angela,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear it was so liquidy for you! xx
The flavor was great but it was so soupy. (Liquid) Next time I would use less liquid. I even left out the 1/2 c of water. I did use green enchilada sauce instead of red. And I used coconut milk and dairy free cheese
Hi Kimm,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry it turned out soupy for you! I have never worked with dairy free cheese so maybe that contributed a bit? Let me know if you make it another try:) xT