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Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas. Quick-cooking ground chicken, seasoned up with smoky chipotle peppers and enchilada sauce, then topped with tortillas and cheese before oven baking. The most delicious smells, a bubbly sauce, and melty cheese await you as you pull this out of the oven. Serve topped with sweet-spicy pineapple salsa and a drizzle of lime crema. A yummy mix of saucy chicken, melted cheese, and fresh juicy salsa comes together easily. It’s a delicious twist on the combination of classic tacos and baked enchiladas that everyone will love!
With the fun Cinco de Mayo holiday coming up, I’m so excited to be sharing a handful of fun, fresh, and new Mexican-inspired recipes. I’ve been getting creative and having fun, and these enchiladas are one of the results.
They’ve been made multiple times around here since I first created the recipe. Everyone loved them, and I especially love how just how easy they are!
The details are quick
First, these are very much inspired by a Mexican chicken Tingo dish, but not traditional by any means. Since I really wanted this dish to be simple and quick, I choose to use ground chicken in place of cooking and shredding chicken breasts. Traditionally tinga tacos are made with a shredded meat like chicken or beef. But using ground chicken is a quick shortcut!
My other quick shortcut is to use a mix of canned chipotle chilies in adobo plus a can of red enchilada sauce. Tinga always has lots of chipotle in the recipe. But instead of using a tomato base of diced tomatoes, I like to swap red enchilada sauce to keep things easy. It’s always very delicious. But don’t skimp on the chipotles in adobo or the onion, both are essential.
Brown the chicken and onion together. Add oregano and cumin, then pour in the enchilada sauce and add the chipotles in adobo.
Simmer a few minutes, and that’s it. Just remove from the heat and top with either corn or flour tortillas (I like to use corn). Then top the tortillas with a blend of shredded Mexican cheeses, I use pepper jack and cheddar.
Bake until the sauce is bubbling up around the skillet and the cheese is melted.
What ends up happening is that the tortillas and cheese get a nice crispy, crunch around the edge of the skillet, which I find so delicious.
The salsa
To me, the salsa is very important. Pineapple mixed with jalapeños, lots of cilantro, lime, olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt. I love the mix of pineapple with the spicy jalapeño and cilantro. So yummy and refreshing atop such a cheesy dinner!
But that’s just me, I love a fruit-based salsa!
And lastly, if you want to make a little crema sauce, I like to mix Greek yogurt (or sour cream) with a squeeze of honey, lime zest, lime juice, and sea salt. It’s a nice cooling sauce that balances the spice.
Simple to throw together, and has a nice mix of texture and flavor. You get saucy, crispy, spicy, and sweet!
All the good stuff…hope you enjoy!
Looking for other Cinco de Mayo inspired recipes? Here are a few…
Cilantro Lime Salmon with Mango Salsa
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado
Lastly, if you make this Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 641 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped chipotle in adobo
- 6 corn or flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- avocado and Greek yogurt or sour cream, for serving
Pineapple Salsa
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded if desired, and chopped
- 2 cups diced pineapple
- 1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 juice of a lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the chicken and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add oregano and cumin, cook 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups enchilada sauce and the chipotle. Season with salt. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.3. Arrange the tortillas on top of the chicken. Pour over 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, then top with cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.4. To make the salsa. Combine everything in a bowl, season with salt. 5. Serve the enchiladas warm, topped with avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and plenty of salsa.
I used ground Turkey instead of chicken, was great. Can’t use anything with seeds, just used chipotle, sauce, so good!
Thanks again for sharing what worked well for you:) xx
So yummy, quick, and easy
Thanks so much, Donna!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! xT
I made these enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo and I liked them but they were a little too spicy for me. Should I not add the chipotle in adobo to cut the heat or is the heat coming from something else? Otherwise, I think they were great and I would make them again but with less heat.
Thanks so much, Jo Ellen:) I’m so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! The chipotles in adobo definitely add some spice! xT
This recipe should be renamed chili. So much liquid, and I followed recipe to the letter. Good flavor but not anything like a taco or enchilada. Needed more tortillas layered in. I don’t have a gas stove which seems to make a difference. I’ve made many of your recipes and this is the first one I didn’t enjoy.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
Hey Tiegan, long time fan of your recipes, first time commenter! I can’t waittt to try this one.
It did come up under freezer friendly meals. How would you suggest freezing this? I assume the tortillas would go a bit soggy if you froze them? Keen to hear your advice xx
I’ve been guilty of enjoying several of your recipes and have failed to comment on your recipes-sorry! I do have to share that this recipe was delicious and quick. It’s a great base recipe to use for improvising other dinners. Tonight we had some leftover bbq chicken so I cut that up to use in place of the ground meat, added a can of black beans and chopped zucchini to the mix. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much Nancy, you’re so sweet! xT
Made this tonight. So much yummy. I made a small adjustment. I used rotisserie chicken instead of ground chicken. Will definitely be keeping this in my rotation. Thank you!
I made the Pineapple Salsa as a side for the Street Corn Enchiladas. It was the perfect compliment and a perfect way to use up my cilantro that was ready to bolt.
So glad you loved this recipe! xT
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit in my house. Its mango season in India so we subbed in mango for pineapple in the salsa and it was soooo good. Also added in some chopped green chilies as we like things spicy. It was super easy and everyone loved it.
Hey there,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend!! xT
An absolute Cinco de Mayo hit. My husband said Save This Recipe. So, so good!!
Hey Andrea,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend!! xT
I was looking for a way to use my 3 small cans of enchilada sauces for a dinner with my teen stepsons. It turned out great ! Perfect easy and quick week night dinner before soccer practice. Made it with ground beef.
Hey Virginie,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it:)
I was fully planning on making the recipe as written but got lazy. I made the meat filling and then basically used it like sloppy joes but called them Messy Jose’s since they have a Mexican flare to them. Everyone loved them so I call that a win!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Monday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
Could you use ground turkey instead? And what size tortillas did you use? Thanks!
Hi Alexis,
Sure, ground turkey will work well for you and I used the small 6 inch tortillas. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Never made enchiladas like this until 2 weeks ago, but was pleasantly surprised. The taste profile was absolutely delicious as well. Easy, and simple. I also didn’t use ground chicken, but chicken breasts instead and pulled it apart (shredded) on the pan while it cooked.
Hey Christine,
Happy Wednesday!! I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a hit:)