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Say hi, to your new favorite skillet chicken dinner.
The tinga enchilada skillet…with lots of cheese…and a fried egg, because that’s how I do it over here. A little over the top, but I mean, not really, considering this meal is relatively healthy and on the table in under an hour. Yes, in under one hour and you can be eating this for dinner. cool. cool.
So can I tell you a little back story here for a second?
This recipe almost didn’t make it to the blog. To be completely up front, I really struggled with this recipe. Not so much the flavors, but more the texture and look of the recipe. The dish came to be in three stages…
Stage one: chicken tinga enchiladas with pickled jalapeños and slaw, using flour tortillas.
This first round was good, so delicious, but there was a problem. I used flour tortillas and the tinga style sauce just turned them to mush. So well the flavor was spot on, the texture was off, and the recipe needed to be fixed.
Stage two: same as stage one, but minus the slaw (because I didn’t feel it was needed) and this time using corn tortillas.
This second stage was also good and was definitely worthy of posting, but I just could not get the photos right. They looked dry, overcooked, just not worthy of how delish the recipe was. SO I scratched it, almost giving up on the recipe entirely. BUT then something amazing happened. That night as I was cleaning everything up, I had a ton of leftover fried eggs, like a ton. I was trying to get the perfect, but yet not too perfect, looking fried egg for these Moroccan fried eggs (weekend brunch anyone?!). I ended up frying a grand total of twelve freshly laid chicken eggs. Yes twelve, and honestly, it might have been more, but I’m too embarrassed to admit that. Got to get that perfect looking egg, you know? Yeah right…can you say perfectionist or what? <–that’s me.
Anyway, I had a ton of fried eggs leftover and I just could not bear to throw them out. I mean, they were beautiful with their brightly colored orange/yellow yolks, and their whiter than white egg whites (I LOVE that I can get my eggs fresh from right outside my door…literally). I just could not throw them out. SO, I saw the enchiladas sitting there on the counter and within seconds, the eggs were on top. Perfect compliment to this dish…eggs on enchiladas with lots of cheese? YUM.
I ended up sending that batch of enchiladas up to my parents that night and the response I got was so unexpected. They LOVED the enchiladas. Loved them so much. They said the sauce was what made the dish amazing, but the eggs definitely added something awesome too.
The only flaw…the tortillas. Everyone was in agreement that the tortillas were just soaking up too much of that awesome sauce. SO then…
Stage three: skillet chicken tinga enchiladas…plus a fried egg.
With stage three, I just got smart. I ditched the multiple pans and the entire rolling process. I just threw everything into one skillet and called it a day. I did this partly because I was semi tired of making and rolling enchiladas, but also because it’s just the best way to make this recipe. The sauce and the chicken all get cooked up in one skillet, which takes about twenty to thirty minutes to come together. I used boneless, skinless chicken tenders for quick cooking time, but breasts would work as well, just cut them into smaller chunks. The secret to the sauce is a decent amount of chipotle chile peppers. This dish is spicy, but not overly so, and the bay leaves really help to tame the dish down a bit. If you’re not a huge fan of spicy, just reduce the amount of chipotle peppers to one.
Once the sauce is complete, simply layer a few corn tortillas right over the sauce, then top with cheese and bake. The tortillas get crisp, the sauce stays saucy, and the cheese gets gooey and melty.
SO simple, quick and easy, but so delish.
Oh and then, while the dish is baking, fry up a few eggs for topping. They’re not a must, but then…when are adding eggs ever not a good idea? Eggs make everything that much better.
These tinga enchiladas are perfect for just about any night of the week, but I’m feeling like tonight might just be a great night for a cheesy meal? <–trust me, your Thursday night is in need of some skillet enchiladas guys.
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Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
SKILLET enchiladas for the win.
These enchiladas were a hit, and the eggs just topped it off. I used my immersion blender and smoothed out the sauce, cooked it down a bit. Seemed to be too spicy for the children so next time I’ll cut down on the chipotle peppers. Missed the tomatillos but don’t think we missed them in the dish. Next time will try to remember them to see what we missed!
Hey there,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
Made this tonight & it was amazing. The enchiladas were wonderful, but the egg definitely was a great add. I used a little more chicken & didn’t skimp on the adobe peppers, but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks!
Hey Rebecca,
Happy Monday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
This wasn’t terrible but did not go over well.
Hi there,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xT
Delicious, quick and easy weeknight meal. A few things that I discovered making this recipe
-I found it quicker and easier to roast the tomatillos in the oven rather than on the stovetop.
-I had enough sauce to use more than 1 lb of chicken. Probably ended up using more like 2lbs, which is great because we had plenty of leftovers
-I used the wand blender to smooth the sauce some before adding the chicken. We prefer a little less chunky.
Hi Amy,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xTieghan
My kids loved this one. Hubby and I liked it, too, but the kids gobbled it up like it was nothing! I made a second batch for the freezer. I just left out the tortillas, cheese, and cilantro and put it in a freezable baking pan. I figure I’ll just defrost it, add the missing toppings, and bake per the original instructions.
Hey J,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback!! Love to hear that it was a winner:) xxT
Your “skillet enchiladas for the win” , that’s for sure !
Thank you Tieghan for creating this dish …you continue to amaze me !
A quick question …is it best to use the Mexican beer instead of the broth ? There was too liquid in the sauce even after baking …hmm ?
Thanks !
Hey Kathleen,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!! I had the same results with both the beer and the broth. Was there anything you adjusted? ☀️xxT
We found it to be a bit liquidy, too. After it sat a bit, that helped. But, I think you could easily cook the sauce longer to thicken it up or pull back on the broth to reduce the liquidy-ness. We’ve run into this a handful of times with recipes calling for canned goods… some brands are mostly liquid rather than the intended produce. We once compared our local store brand of black beans to a brand name and the amount of beans vs. liquid was insane! We got almost twice as many beans from the brand name, despite the can size/weight being identical.
I made this for dinner this evening. I tweaked it slightly, using green enchilada sauce and corn tortilla chips. My husband said it’s better than any Mexican dish he’s had in Colorado Springs. Love love love your passion for food. Thank you Tieghan!
Hi Kristina,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! ?xxT
Excellent!!! Thanks for this great recipe! ??????
Hey Karin,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Have the best week:) xx
Have to tell you, Tieghan, we LOVE this recipe! It’s been in the regular rotation for some time. I add a poblano pepper, and boil the sauce down quite a bit. Wonderful! Thank you for this one!!!
Hi Ashley,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
We loved this dish! I did add some ground cumin and ground coriander to add a bit of depth. I would totally make it again!
Thank you Sharise! xTieghan
I have made this recipe twice now and it’s always a huge hit! The flavor is incredible and I put the whole can of chipotle peppers in it, we love spicy food!
I love that! Thank you so much Pamela! xTieghan
I think my husband is back for his third helping (maybe 4th) – So delicious! I might have gone back once or twice as well:)
That is so amazing! I am so glad you both loved this recipe Peggy! Thank you! xTieghan
Super easy! Even better if you put all the sauce and meat (I’ve used both chicken and stew beef) in the crockpot all day, and then transfer to the skillet with the tortillas and cheese on top! That way the meat is guaranteed to be tender and “shreddable”. In the summer, we put that iron skillet right on the grill-no need to heat up the house. Delish!
Thank you so much Beth! xTieghan
This recipe was AMAZING. and so different from our “normal” week night dinners. Easy clean up too which is a bonus. First HBH recipe and have 2 more planned for this week! Appreciate your thoughtful and innovative recipes, can’t wait to try more!
Thank you so much Jaclyn! xTieghan