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Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

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  • Author: Jill Levenhagen
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 20 Enchiladas

Description

These chipotle chicken enchiladas have a spicy kick and creamy shredded chicken filling! This recipe starts with a big pot of veggies and peppers that purees into a sauce that you can’t buy in a can!


Ingredients

Units Scale
INGREDIENTS for Chipotle Flavor Base1 lb. tomatoes1 jalapeno pepper1 serrano pepper1 red bell pepper2 medium onions3 cloves garlic2 chipotle peppers from can1 T. adobe sauce from chipotle can1 t. dried oregano1 t. ground cumin1/4 t. ground cloves1 t. salt1 T. cider vinegarINGREDIENTS for Enchilada Filling4 cups Chipotle Flavor Base8 oz. cream cheese1 can red enchilada sauce1 medium onion4 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast1 t. lime juice1 cup shredded cheddarINGREDIENTS to roll and top Enchiladas6” Flour TortillasReserved mixture of Flavor Base, Cream Cheese and Enchilada SauceShredded Pepper Jack Cheese

Instructions

Rough chop all the vegetables and put them in a large Dutch oven. Add the spices and turn the burner on medium high until it starts boiling. Stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Towards the end of cook time, cut up an onion in small slivers (like you would for Chinese stirfry). Sauté onions in oil until translucent, but I like to crisp them up a bit for flavor!

Puree mixture with an immersion blender.

If you plan to freeze some for later, remove that part before the next step.

Add cream cheese, stir and let it melt.

When cream cheese is all melted, remove 1 cup of mixture to a separate bowl. Add ¾ cup red enchilada sauce to this and reserve for later.

Now add the onions to the Chipotle mixture. Also add in chicken, lime juice, and cheddar cheese. Simmer at medium for 15 minutes just to reduce the sauce.

At this point, you can refrigerate the enchilada mixture to make them later if you want.

Using whatever size baking dish you need for the amount you are making, spray with cooking oil and cover the bottom of the pan with a thin coat of the Flavor Base mixed with Cream Cheese and Enchilada Sauce that you set aside earlier.

Use about ¼ cup of Chicken mix for each tortilla. Roll up and place seam down in the baking dish. When finished, cover enchiladas with the rest of the reserve sauce, then top with pepper jack cheese.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.


Notes

Flavor Base can be made ahead and frozen, or make just half the recipe and freeze half the flavor base for next time. Tip: You won’t use all the chipotle peppers in the can, so freeze them individually in ice cube trays to use to make Chipotle Mayo…or for the next round of Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas! If you don’t use all the filling for tonight’s dinner, keep it in the fridge to make enchiladas for lunch. I use it up to 4 days after making it!

Prep Ahead: Everything can be prepped ahead. I make the flavor base and then the filling, earlier in the day, refrigerate, and pull out the filling and roll the enchiladas for dinner time!