30 Minute Stovetop Chicken Enchiladas

I’m continuing my streak of posting only fast and/or easy dinner recipes, and this is one of my favorites! All you need is a handful of basic ingredients and thirty minutes to make these 30 minute stovetop chicken enchiladas.

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I love this recipe because it’s so quick to put together, but it feels like you are treating yourself to something special on a random Tuesday night! There are several steps so I don’t feel I can call this “easy” per se. But! The steps are pretty straightforward. Just cook the chicken in the skillet, take it out, chop it and mix it with the other filling ingredients.

Then assemble the enchiladas right inside the same pan you cooked the chicken in. Add the enchilada sauce and cheese, cover the pan and simmer on low until everything is heated through and bubbly. Dinner is done in 30 minutes!

30 Minute Stovetop Chicken Enchiladas Ingredients:

The ingredients here are super basic: chicken tenders, plus a bit of oil to cook the chicken, shredded Mexican cheese blend, a can of black beans, corn tortillas, canned enchilada sauce, and some seasonings (chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper). Of course, you can top them with any other ingredients you want: chopped cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc.

Some ingredient notes: I recommend chicken tenders because they cook really quickly. But, if you don’t have chicken tenders on hand, just use regular chicken breasts and cut them into quarters beforehand so they cook faster. No problem!

And about the cheese – usually I’m a big advocate for grating your own cheese rather than buying pre-shredded cheese, which has added ingredients to keep the cheese from clumping together. This can make cheese sauces (like in mac and cheese) grainy. However, in this recipe I don’t think it matters as much because you are just melting the cheese on top and inside the enchiladas, not incorporating it into a smooth sauce. But, if you like grating by hand that is perfectly good! I just like to save some time where I can, and buying pre-shredded cheese helps a lot here.

The Key to 30 Minute Dinners: Working Ahead

The key to getting these enchiladas on the table in 30 minutes flat is using pockets of downtime to prep the next steps. This principle can be used for many other quick cooking recipes too. Here, you have a bit of time while the chicken cooks in the skillet. There’s no need to do anything to the chicken during that time except keep an eye on it. So, use that time to open your can of beans and drain and rinse them.

Then, when the chicken is cooking on the other side, you can prep your tortillas and open your cans of enchilada sauce. Getting these little steps done when you have a spare moment really helps speed the recipe along!

A Few More Tips:

Here are a few other tips that should help you out when making this recipe:

1. Make sure to thoroughly heat your corn tortillas before trying to roll them up. They should be floppy! If they aren’t, they will crack when you try to roll them or when you put them into the pan. This is ok of course (it will still taste amazing!) but it won’t look quite as nice.
2. Use a pan that’s the right diameter and has a tight-fitting lid. I used my favorite Lodge 3.6 Quart Cast Iron Casserole Pan. I absolutely love this pan and have used it for this Rosemary Brown Butter Skillet recipe and this Maple Butter Glazed Squash and Apples recipe. This skillet has a diameter of 12 inches. So anything close to 12 inches should work.
3. While heating the enchiladas up and waiting for the cheese to melt, resist the urge to keep opening the lid! This will let the steam escape and it will take way longer to melt the cheese.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, if you make it please leave a rating and comment below!

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