These Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas are another great example that you don’t have to compromise flavor or texture when making a dish gluten free that is usually made with wheat. Mission brand makes wonder gluten free tortillas in many sizes and varieties. I use the soft white corn variety for this recipe, but feel free to try any of the others as well.
What makes these enchiladas amazing is how many layers of goodness are packed into one roll of a tortilla. You have the melted cheese, the spice from the enchilada sauce, then the moist chicken, fresh cilantro, sweetness from the sauteed onion, a pop of corn and the soft bite of the tortilla. If you want to turn up the heat, feel free to add some chopped chipotles in adobo or chipotle powder. Top them with a dollop of sour cream to cool them down. There isn’t anything not to like about these Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas!
Preventing Tortilla Breakage
The most important thing to know about making these enchiladas is that you need to warm up the tortillas before you try to fill and roll them. My method is to wrap the stack of tortillas in a damp paper towel. Then I microwave them for about 1 minute. This will keep them from breaking when you roll them. Keep them wrapped in the damp paper towel until you are ready to fill them. I do this when we make tacos too.
The Process
Once you have your filling mixed together, I like to set up a work station to keep things moving along. I keep my baking dish with enchilada sauce lining the bottom, my bowl of filling and the warm tortillas wrapped in paper towels all close together. Then I start an assembly line. Put the filling onto the tortilla and roll it tightly. Place it seam side down into the dish. Continue until all of the filling and tortillas are used. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese and bake. This is a fairly quick and easy process, believe it or not.
Some great sides to go along with these enchiladas to check out: Coconut Lime Shrimp Ceviche, Fully Loaded Guacamole, Easy Guacamole, Tostones, and Fresh Fiesta Dip. Check out my Coconut Tres Leche Cake to finish off the meal. That is some serious yumminess!
Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken I use Costco's packaged skinned & boned rotisserie meat
- ¾ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ¾ cup corn kernels fresh, canned or thawed frozen
- 1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
- 1 28 oz can red enchilada sauce divided
- 1 16 oz bag shredded Mexican cheese blend divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 16-18 gluten free corn tortillas I use Mission brand soft white corn tortillas
- chopped chipotles in adobo or chipotle powder *optional
- sour cream and extra cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook onions until lightly browned.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked onions, chicken, cilantro, corn, chiles, 1 cup enchilada sauce, ½ of the cheese, garlic, onion powder and chopped chipotles or chipotle powder if desired.
- Wrap your stack of tortillas in a large damp paper towel or damp clean kitchen towel. Microwave the tortillas for 60-90 seconds. Just enough to warm them up. The damp towel helps to steam them and keep them from breaking when you fill and roll them.
- Create an assembly area with your bowl of chicken mixture, a large (9x13) casserole dish and your wrapped stack of tortillas.
- Pour ½ of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish. Now fill each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling, rolling it closed and placing it seam side down in the casserole dish until all of the mixture and tortillas are used.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas, then sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly on top. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned and it is heated through. Serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro.