Are you among the statistics of cooks who prefer to spend an average of 27 minutes to get dinner on the table? True confessions, I count myself in that group, at least several nights a week. My personal challenge is to produce something that tastes like I poured much more time into it than I did. So when I develop an easy dinner recipe my goal is to use only enough ingredients to make it worthy of eating and few enough to not be intimidating. If I’ve only used one pan in the cooking process, I consider it a home run.
So here you go. Everything that makes enchiladas taste good without the time it takes to make a sauce, roll tortillas and bake them. Using ground chicken rather than cutting a breast or thigh, saves time and packs more flavor from the spices, garlic and onion entangled in it during the cooking process. Canned beans, tomatoes and opting to use pre-grated cheese all cut cooking time. Chopped fresh cilantro and a smidge of fresh sliced jalapeno pepper add to the flavor perfection in this super easy recipe.
A smattering of crunch shredded iceberg lettuce, a spoonful of sour cream and a few avocado slices and you’re ready to entertain friends.
All by its lonesome you’ll have a hard time not eating it with your fork straight out of the pan!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken breast or thigh
- 1 cup thinly sliced onion (1/2 medium size)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (about 2 large cloves)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup chopped seeded fresh jalapeno (about 1 large size)
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained
- 1 cup grated pepper jack (or regular monterey jack) cheese
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 4 corn tortillas
- ½ cup grated pepper jack (or regular monterey jack) cheese
- Optional:
- shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
- Sour cream
- Sliced avocado
- In a medium size skillet that has a lid, heat olive oil over medium heat; add chicken and cook and stir until halfway done, about 3 to 5 minutes, breaking chicken clumps into small pieces, then add onion and garlic and cook and stir until chicken is cooked and onions and garlic are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in salt, chili powder, cumin and oregano and cook and stir to release flavors, about 30 seconds. Add jalapeno, tomato sauce and pinto beans; bring to a simmer and cook over low heat 5 minutes.
- While this is cooking, heat another skillet skillet over medium heat and cook both sides of tortillas just until softened and light brown, about 15 seconds for each side.
- Stir 1 cup cheese and cilantro into chicken mixture. Taste and add additional salt, if desired. Lay tortillas over, slightly overlapping, to cover the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheese. Cover with the lid and cook 5 to 10 minutes to blend flavors and melt cheese. Remove from heat and allow sitting a few minutes before cutting into wedges.
- Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream and avocado if desired.
Love this Linda
Thank you Christina! I hope your family enjoys it.
This looks fabulous- and I have been craving enchiladas so perfect timing!!!
It is so easy too!
I can’t wait to try this ! Looks delicious !
Thank you Karen!
Made this recipe tonight for my family!! Everyone loved it! Delicious!
Thank you Perri! I hope it finds it s way into your regular meal rotation.
Great recipe! I made it tonight and it was a hit. I addded black olives (my husband loves them) with the beans and topped each serving with an egg (my son loves eggs on everything). Thank you, I’m happy to have a new addition to the rotation.
OOh I like your additions! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the recipe.
I made this tonight and it was a big hit! Thank you!
It is fun to her from you Wendy – thank you for letting me know the recipe was a success and you enjoyed it!
Perfect weeknight meal! So easy but flavorful!
Yay! Uncle Brad loves it too and he is a tough customer. Ha! Thank you for commenting. XO
I made this last week and loved it! So easy and delicious. This is going in my regular rotation!
I have heard from many followers this recipe is a regular go-to for how easy it is to make and it tastes great. I love that you are enjoying it too. Keeping commenting when you make and like recipes! XO