Our Easy Chicken or Beef Enchiladas: The Sauce-and-Cheese Trick We Love
Some dinners don’t need a complicated recipe to make everyone happy. In our house, enchiladas are one of those meals that feel hearty, comforting, and worth the little bit of effort it takes to put them together.
We keep things simple. We use fresh rotisserie chicken when we want an easy shortcut, or ground beef when that’s what sounds good. We make Spanish rice separately, grab a can of red enchilada sauce, and build each enchilada with meat, rice, and cheddar cheese.
But the part I wouldn’t skip? Dipping the flour tortillas in enchilada sauce before filling them, then covering the finished enchiladas with even more sauce and plenty of cheese.
It’s not fancy, and it doesn’t require making everything from scratch. It just works for us.
Our Easy Enchilada Recipe
Prep time: Approximately 20 minutes, depending on your filling
Cook time: About 30 minutes
Oven temperature: 350°F
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Flour tortillas
- 1 fresh rotisserie chicken, picked up the day you plan to make the enchiladas, or ground beef
- Spanish rice, prepared separately
- Shredded cheddar cheese for the filling
- 1 can or more of red Old El Paso enchilada sauce, as needed to coat the tortillas and cover the finished enchiladas
- 1 bag (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese for the topping
- 4–8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese for the topping
You’ll also need a baking dish.
The amount of sauce, filling, and cheese you need will depend on how many enchiladas you make and the size of your baking dish. We use enough sauce to cover the enchiladas completely and don’t skimp on the cheese.
How to Make Them
1. Prepare the filling.
If you’re using rotisserie chicken, remove the meat from the chicken and shred or chop it into bite-sized pieces.
If you’re using ground beef, brown it in a skillet and drain the grease. We don’t add extra seasoning because the enchilada sauce and Spanish rice bring plenty of flavor.
Prepare the Spanish rice separately according to its package directions or your usual method.
2. Get your assembly station ready.
Set out your flour tortillas, prepared meat, Spanish rice, cheddar cheese, and a plate with some of the red enchilada sauce poured onto it. Have your baking dish ready, too.
This makes assembly easier because you can fill and roll each tortilla without stopping to gather ingredients.
3. Dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce.
Take a flour tortilla and dip it into the sauce on the plate, coating it before adding the filling.
This is one of our favorite steps because the sauce gets onto the tortilla before everything is rolled together.
4. Fill and roll the enchiladas.
Add some meat, Spanish rice, and cheddar cheese to the tortilla. Wrap it up and place it seam-side down in your baking dish.
Repeat with the remaining tortillas until you’ve filled the dish.
5. Cover everything with more sauce and cheese.
Pour more red enchilada sauce over the assembled enchiladas until they’re completely covered.
Sprinkle the top with the 8-ounce bag of shredded cheddar cheese, followed by approximately 4–8 ounces of mozzarella.
This is not the time to be shy with the cheese. The combination of cheddar and mozzarella gives the top a delicious, cheesy finish.
6. Bake uncovered.
Place the baking dish in a preheated 350°F oven and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas are crispy.
Keep an eye on them toward the end, since ovens and baking dishes can affect how quickly the edges brown.
7. Serve and enjoy.
Serve the enchiladas warm. Since the Spanish rice is already inside, you’ve got a hearty meal in every tortilla.
Yield: 6–8 enchiladas
Prep time: About 20 minutes
Cook time: About 30 minutes
Oven temperature: 350°F
Why We Keep This Recipe Simple
You could make enchilada sauce from scratch, season the meat with a long list of spices, and spend extra time preparing every component.
But we don’t find that necessary for this version.
A fresh rotisserie chicken makes dinner easier on a busy day. Ground beef works just as well when that’s what we have planned. The rice and sauce contribute plenty of flavor, and the cheese brings everything together.
It’s a good reminder that cooking a satisfying meal doesn’t mean every ingredient has to be homemade.
Sometimes the shortcut is worth taking.
The Little Technique That Makes a Difference
The sauce does double duty in this recipe.
First, we dip each flour tortilla in enchilada sauce before adding the filling. Then, after the enchiladas are rolled and arranged in the baking dish, we pour on more sauce until they’re covered completely.
The cheese goes on last: cheddar, followed by mozzarella.
That combination is what makes these enchiladas our kind of comfort food. They’re saucy, cheesy, filling, and easy enough to make without turning dinner into an all-day project.
And baking them uncovered gives the edges a chance to crisp up, which is one of our favorite parts.
Make It Your Own
This recipe is flexible enough to work with what you have.
Use rotisserie chicken when you want to save time, or brown some ground beef if that’s what you prefer. Adjust the number of tortillas to suit your family, and use enough sauce and cheese to cover the dish the way you like it.
You don’t need a complicated recipe with perfectly measured amounts for every ingredient. Start with a simple method, pay attention to what your family enjoys, and make it your own.
The Worth It Test
★★★★★ Absolutely worth it.
These enchiladas earn their place in our dinner rotation because they’re comforting, adaptable, and straightforward to prepare.
The rotisserie chicken shortcut saves time. Ground beef is easy to prepare. The sauce and rice add plenty of flavor without extra seasoning, and the cheddar-mozzarella topping makes the whole dish feel generous and satisfying.
It’s not about doing everything from scratch. It’s about knowing which parts matter to you and making a good meal without making dinner harder than it needs to be.
And that’s what makes it worth the making.