If you want to open your fridge and find food that is already made. I think you would be pretty happy to see chicken enchiladas waiting for you. These enchiladas are full of flavour, they are easy to take to work and they are freezable. Not a meal prep dish you want to skip.
Whether you decide to meal prep this recipe or not, I promise you that you’ll love this dish. I also served these enchiladas with an amazing black bean salsa, just to have a bit of freshness on the side.
How to make Enchilada Sauce
Now, the sauce couldn’t be easier, put all of your enchilada sauce ingredients into a pot.
Mix the ingredients together, bring the sauce to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Until you achieve a lovely thick, rich sauce.
This sauce is one of the most, if not the most important aspect of this dish.
How to Prepare the Chicken
So this is a fantastic way to prepare chicken breasts quickly and I have found this method to be very useful over the years. The key is to flatten the chicken breast so that it only takes a few minutes of grilling or pan frying on each side in order to cook it.
First, put a sheet of baking paper over a board or a clean flat surface area (enough baking paper for the chicken breasts to fit on). Then, place the chicken on the baking paper.
Put another sheet of baking paper over the chicken.
Now you just need to bash the chicken in the thickest areas until you have an evenly flat chicken breast, about 1 inch in thickness. You don’t need to bash too hard but just firmly enough so that the chicken slowly flattens. I like to use a tenderiser or a wooden rolling pin.
The chicken breasts should look like the following.
The Construction
Once the sauce is done and you’ve cooked the chicken, it’s time to construct and cook the enchiladas. Fill each tortilla with some chicken, some red onions and some of your sauce, making sure that there is plenty of your sauce and cheese left over. Then, add some coriander.
Next, neatly roll up each tortilla.
Now put some of your sauce at the bottom of a deep baking tray, just enough to lightly coat the surface. Then place your rolled tortillas neatly in the baking tray.
Spoon the rest of your sauce evenly over the tortillas, then evenly sprinkle over the rest of your cheese.
Finally, cook the enchiladas for 15 – 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees F).
Replacements for the Chicken
Minced Beef – Beef is also a very common meat used for enchiladas. And since minced beef is very easy to work with and prepare, it’s a fantastic substitute for chicken.
Pulled Pork – If you want to go the extra mile, you can make your own pulled pork to put in your enchiladas. I have a Smokey and Spicy Pulled Pork recipe if you want to check it out.
Black Beans – In my experience, black beans are such an amazing stable for dishes like this! And it’s the perfect alternative if you want to make you’re enchiladas vegetarian.
Other Meal Prep Dishes
Here are some other fantastic meal prep dishes!
Soba Noodle Bowl with Peanut Sauce Meal Prep
Berry, Toasted Oat and Honey Yoghurt Parfait
Thai Green Chicken Curry Meal Prep
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Thank you so much for the time you spent on this post! Enjoy the recipe.
Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Meal Prep
Ingredients
Enchilada Sauce:
- 800 g of tinned crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup of vegetable stock
- 1½ teaspoons of ground coriander
- 1½ teaspoons of ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons of paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- ½ tablespoon of dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon of chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
Meal Prep Enchiladas:
- 750 g chicken breasts
- 1 medium - large red onion peeled and sliced
- 2-3 tablespoons of light oil (such as vegetable oil, canola oil or grapeseed oil)
- 2½ cups of grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Black Bean Salsa:
- 250 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 400 g of black beans drained and rinsed
- 5-10 g of coriander roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
Enchilada Sauce:
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Put all of your ingredients for the enchilada sauce into a medium sized pot. Then bring the sauce to a boil.
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Once the sauce is boiling, turn the heat down low and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened.
Meal Prep Enchiladas:
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Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees F)
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Put a sheet of baking paper over a board, enough to put all of your chicken breasts on.
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Put the chicken breasts on the paper, making sure they are spaced out evenly. Then, place another sheet of baking paper on top of the chicken breasts.
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Use a meat tenderiser (the flat side) or a wooden rolling pin to lightly bash the chicken breasts to flatten them out. Bash them to about an inch in thickness.
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Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and then pre-heat a large frying pan over high flame for about 1-2 minutes.
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Add your oil, then gently add your chicken breasts. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes on each side.
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Turn the heat off and then transfer the chicken onto a chopping board. Then dice the chicken into inch thick chunks.
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Lay out your tortillas, place the diced chicken in the middle of tortilla in a linear form. Put a small amount of sauce over the chicken (making sure you have plenty left), then add your red onions and, 40-50% of your cheese and then add 1-2 sprigs of coriander on each tortilla.
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Roll up the tortillas, by folding up the sides, and then roll up the tortillas through the middle. (if you don't understand this instruction, look at the video in the post)
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Ladle and spread some more enchilada sauce on the bottom of a deep baking tray (making sure you have enough for the topping). Place your rolled up tortilla inside the tray neatly, spoon and spread the rest of your sauce on top of the tortillas evenly and finally, sprinkle the remaining of your cheese on top evenly.
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Bake the enchiladas for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted beautifully on top.
Black bean salsa:
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Mix the black beans, cherry tomatoes and coriander together in a bowl. Then season with salt and pepper.
Assembly:
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Store your enchiladas in 4 containers and then evenly add your salsa in each container. OR just serve them on a plate if you're not making these for meal prep.
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Store away/serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
- Don't forget to skim the sauce if need be. Meaning if there is a lot of foam or fat floating on top of the sauce, use a spoon to skim it off and discard it.
- When flattening the chicken, don't bash it too hard, you're just looking to get an even thickness, not put a hole in the chicken and wreck it.
- Be mindful when adding the sauce in your tortillas. If you add too much, you won't have enough for the next steps of the recipe.
- When you roll the enchiladas, make sure the filling is firmly sealed inside. And that the tortillas aren't rolled in a loose fashion.
- You can put the grill of the oven on and cook the enchiladas for another minute or 2 if you don't feel the cheese has browned enough on top, but keep an eye on it.
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