Freezer-Friendly – Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas – Freezer Recipe

Freezer Friendly Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas are the delicious weeknight meal you can prepare in advance for fast and delicious meals everyone loves! You can customize these enchiladas with your favourite fillings and toppings! We’re also sharing how to make your own enchilada sauce, it’s easier than you might think!

This recipe is perfect for those busy back to school times when everyone is adjusting to getting back to routine and for celebrating National Chicken Month here in Canada. To also help celebrate there’s also a $5000 contest! Say what?! See details after the recipe!

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Disclaimer: We re compensated for this recipe but as always we love bringing you delicious meals to try and all opinions are always 100% our own.

These cheesy chicken enchiladas are not only fabulous for freezing but you can fill them with your favourite vegetables and more.

How to Make Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Healthier

If you want to make them even healthier, add more veggies and healthy toppings. Although our favourite toppings for these cheesy chicken enchiladas are not only tasty but healthy like fresh cilantro, avocado and even bell peppers. 

Can You Freeze Enchiladas

Another reason I love this cheesy chicken enchiladas recipe (besides it being freezer friendly), it is super quick to put together. You can have it ready and on the table in under an hour. You can even use leftover chicken if you want for this recipe!

Re-warming your frozen chicken enchiladas

Freeze in an airtight container or vacuum seal (gentle seal). To rewarm if you want them soft rewarm in the microwave if you want them crispier rewarm in the oven. I have even warmed them up in an air fryer for a crispy version as well. 

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Freezer Enchiladas Are a Time Saving Meal

While we love the homemade enchilada sauce and it’s quick to put together we’ve all been there when we’ve had a long day and not enough time to get it all together. There’s nothing wrong with saving some time and using canned enchilada sauce, we have and trust me, it still tastes great! If the chicken you buy at the grocery store doesn’t have the Raised by a Canadian Farmer logo (see below make sure to ask them to carry it. It is the only chicken we buy and when you find out why you’ll want to make sure that your store carries it too!

Why do we only buy chicken with the Raised by a Canadian Farmer logo?

We only buy chicken with this logo on it as I know we’re getting quality chicken and helping families like our own as many of these farms are family-owned and operated.

Here are just a few of the other reasons to only buy chicken that has been raised by a Canadian farmer.

• Chicken raised by Canadian farmers is strictly monitored and audited by a third party. Canadian chicken farmers adhere to a strict mandatory On-Farm Food Safety Program.
• Canadian chicken farmers are committed to sustainability through innovation, by preserving the health of the land, providing value to Canada’s economy, and making affordable food for Canadians.
• Chicken that has been raised by a Canadian farmer supports the Canadian economy

Now, who is ready to find out how to make this easy peasy freezer-friendly cheesy chicken enchiladas recipe? Let’s get to it shall we and make you all hungry!

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Yield: 8

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

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My family and I (even my picky eater) love these freezer friendly chicken enchiladas. They are quick to make and you can customize them with your favourite fillings and toppings!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

Enchilada Sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Pepper to taste

Chicken Enchiladas

• 3 large chicken breasts
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1 small can diced green chiles (optional)
• 1 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 8 large flour (or corn) tortillas
• 3 cups of shredded Mexican blended cheese (or your favourite ie: Monterey Jack, cheddar etc..)
• Optional enchilada fillings – bell peppers, corn, diced tomatoes
• Optional toppings: fresh cilantro, avocado, sour cream, guacamole, chopped onions, green onions, jalapeno or serrano peppers

Instructions

Enchilada Sauce (or you can use a can of enchilada sauce if you are short on time)

1. Heat oil in a small pan over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk over the heat for one minute. Whisk in all of the seasonings only. Slowly add chicken stock and continue to gently whisk, eliminating any lumps. Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.
2. If you’re not using the sauce immediately refrigerate for 2-3 days.

Chicken Enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 200°C | 400°F. If making your own enchilada sauce prepare it, otherwise skip to step 2.
2. In a large skillet/pan heat oil (canola or avocado oil work nicely) on medium-high heat. Place all 3 chicken breasts in pan and sprinkle cumin and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste on to the chicken breasts
3. Sear chicken on each side.
4. Add enchilada sauce reserving 1/2 cup - *see notes for freezing
5. Add black beans and green chiles (and any other fillings you may want such as corn etc..)
6. Sauté the mixture until the chicken is cooked. Remove chicken and shred it, add back to the sauce. *You can also dice the chicken instead of cooking it whole and shredding afterwards. I shredded the chicken.
7. Cover your casserole dish with non-stick spray or grease.
8. To assemble the enchiladas, have your tortillas, remaining enchilada sauce, chicken mixture, and cheese all on hand.
9. Add a generous spoonful of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla in a line.
10. Add shredded cheese on top and then roll up tightly but gently the tortilla. I placed them seam side up but you can do either way.
11. Once you have all enchiladas in your casserole dish evenly top with more cheese and remaining enchilada sauce.
12. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven), until the enchiladas are warmed through, the cheese is melted and gooey and the tortillas are slightly crispy and golden brown on the outside.
13. Garnish enchiladas with your favourite toppings and serve warm.

Notes

*If you'd like to freeze a batch I recommend using about a 1/4 less enchilada sauce with the chicken. While it freezes nicely either way I found I liked it better with less sauce when freezing it and then adding more when warming it up later.

This recipe does make 8 large enchiladas, they are so filling. I can only eat one at a time. My photo of the casserole dish only shows 5 as my larger casserole dish recently was chipped, boo. I cooked the additional enchiladas in a baking pan so yes this recipe really does make 8.

Remember you can "stuff" your chicken enchiladas with whatever you want such as corn, diced tomatoes, onions etc.. A few family members are not big on onions so I don't use a lot of them.

You can also top with your favourite toppings, my hubby who is an onion lover loves diced red onions on his. My daughter and don't but we love the sour cream, avocado and cilantro, yum.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 enchilada
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 483Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 1202mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 7gSugar: 6gProtein: 32g

Please note that we can not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information. They are a best guess calculation.

Don’t forget to PIN this recipe for later!

CONTEST TIME!

Remember that contest I mentioned? Yes the $5,000 one?! How exciting is that?! Chicken Farmers of Canada is giving away this amazing prize starting today and going until October 6, 2019! Do you want to enter? Of course, Canadian residents only. Go here to the Canadian Chicken Farmers website to enter.So have we made you hungry? Do you now have a weeknight meal in your arsenal for those nights you just need something quick, tasty and easy to make? Make sure to check out our other recipes for more tasty ideas like our Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad with Chicken! We also have some delicious desserts and everything in between!

What are some of your favourite toppings?

I will leave you with one more photo of these yummy cheesy chicken enchiladas. If you try this recipe let us know how you liked and even how you might have changed it. What would you top your chicken enchiladas with?!

Make sure to follow Chicken Farmers of Canada:

Facebook: Canadian Chicken, Twitter: @ChickenFarmers, Instagram: @ChickenDotCA; Pinterest:ChickenDotCA.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Chicken Farmers of Canada campaign managed by SJ Consulting. The opinions on this blog are my own.