barbecue chicken enchiladas

by jenna on March 24, 2011

Hi ELR readers!

I’m Jessica from How Sweet It Is and I’m thrilled to be sharing a delicious recipe with you today.

See, enchiladas are a staple in our house.

They are one of the first meals that I ever cooked for my husband (long before he became my husband), and I consider them to be… ammunition, if you will. If I need the dishes washed? I make enchiladas. If I want the bathrooms cleaned? Enchiladas are in the oven. Need someone to run to the store? Enchiladas.

He asks me to make enchiladas at least two or three times a month and the dish doesn’t look like it’s gettin’ old anytime soon. While we absolutely adore traditional enchiladas (Mexican is my favorite cuisine), recently I decided to spice things up and make a twist on our beloved enchiladas. Enter barbeque sauce and caramelized onions.

Second only to the famous enchiladas, barbeque chicken and caramelized onions rank obviously high on the list of things we love to eat. The wheels started turning one day and I thought, “what if I combined enchiladas and barbeque? Could it even be done?”

I’ll answer that for you in three words: sweet, spicy and cheesy. Obviously I had to attempt.

I made a barbeque enchilada sauce by mixing traditional enchilada sauce with our favorite barbeque sauce, and swapped the usual pepper and onion mix with sweet slices of caramelized onions. Finished off with some sharp cheddar cheese, they took enchiladas to an entirely new level.

And do you know what would make a fabulous dish? Jenna’s Cuban black beans. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Now who’s coming over for dinner?

BBQ Chicken Enchiladas

Print this recipe!

makes 8 enchiladas

8 large tortillas (my favorite are whole wheat La Tortilla Factory!)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 28-ounce can of red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (or more depending on your desired taste)

1 medium onion, sliced

1 tablespoon BBQ seasoning (I use McCormick’s brand)

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on low-medium heat. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt, and let caramelize until soft and golden – about 10 minutes. While onions are cooking, pour enchilada sauce into a bowl and whisk in your favorite BBQ sauce until combined. Taste and decide if you’d like to add more BBQ sauce.

Add shredded chicken to onions with BBQ seasoning and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly until combined. Pour in about 1/2 cup of enchilada/BBQ sauce mixture, and add 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup colby cheese. Stir until mixture comes together and turn off heat.

Pour a drizzle of enchilada/BBQ sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Take each tortilla and fill it with about ½ cup of chicken mixture. Roll each up and set it in the baking dish. Dump remaining enchilada/BBQ sauce on top of tortillas and add remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tagged as: guest blogging

{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }

Heather (Heather's Dish) March 24, 2011 at 5:04 am

thank goodness i’m invited over for dinner…saves me the step of inviting myself

Claire @ Live and Love to Eat March 24, 2011 at 5:09 am

I’m vegetarian and my family is not, so I usually make two versions of my enchiladas – one with tofu and one with meat. This will be a great variation for next time, thanks!

Hannah (Culture Connoisseur) March 24, 2011 at 5:30 am

Wow, these look great. My kitchen can’t keep up with all these great ideas. I tried the cuban black beans on Monday and they were totally worth the 2 hours it took to make them. This would go great with them. Next up in my kitchen stadium…Enchiladas!!

Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat March 24, 2011 at 5:30 am

Sounds great Jess! I love home-made Mexican food, and caramelized onions… let’s just say you’ve got me hooked!

Jessica March 24, 2011 at 5:32 am

My husband loooooves enchilladas too I have to try these new ones though! Here’s my recipe that I always use, these are pretty amazing and super easy if you cook the chicken in the crockpot!
http://stylishstealthyandhealthy.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-hungry-valentine-chicken-enchiladas.html

Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin March 24, 2011 at 5:35 am

Great recipe Jessica! I looooooove enchiladas! My favorite kind are black bean. Yum!

Charise March 24, 2011 at 5:54 am

We’re also big fans of both enchiladas and BBQ chicken – this sounds to me like of course it works, just like BBQ chicken pizza!

Christie {Nourishing Eats} March 24, 2011 at 6:01 am

Yum, reminds me a bit of bbq chicken pizza that I used to love to make and might be making again very soon

Lucy @ The Sweet Touch March 24, 2011 at 6:02 am

I LOVE Mexican food! This dish looks like it would be great for a busy week night or for having friends over when you don’t want to spend the whole night in the kitchen.

Ok, now I’m heading over to your blog to see what shenanigans you’ve been up to over there!

Nadine March 24, 2011 at 6:06 am

It’s 9:05AM, and I can’t wait to get home to make these for dinner. They look that good!

Holly @ The Runny Egg March 24, 2011 at 6:18 am

Jessica these look delicious!

Estela @ Weekly Bite March 24, 2011 at 6:20 am

Great recipe Jessica

You know I love my enchiladas

Jen March 24, 2011 at 6:26 am

Yum! My family and boyfriend are big fans of barbecue chicken pizza. I’m sure they would love this! I’m getting tired of making my Mexican lasagna for them, so this is definitely a Mexican(ish) recipe I should bookmark! Thanks!

Leah @ Beyer Beware March 24, 2011 at 6:31 am

Sounds and looks amazing! Can’t wait to try them!

Jenny March 24, 2011 at 6:38 am

Enchiladas are divine. Everything about mexican is divine, so wrong yet so right.

Amy March 24, 2011 at 6:39 am

These look amazing

Sarah @ The Pajama Chef March 24, 2011 at 6:47 am

i love the twist on mexican. i loveeeee mexican but husband sometimes gets sick of it (what???) so this might satisfy us both thanks!

Jen @ keepitsimplefoods March 24, 2011 at 6:59 am

Gorgeous dish! How is it that your enchiladas stay so neat and pretty? Mine always turn out messy, not good for photos. Would love a tip or two!

amyjogo March 25, 2011 at 4:01 am: Make sure that you buy the freshest corn tortillas you can find. When you bed the package, you don’t want to see crumbs shaking around. When you’re ready to make the enchilada, let your torts come to room temp so they are pliable. Also, you can dip each one in hot oil before rolling. When I say dip, I mean dip…don’t let them sit. I know it’s not healthy so that’s why I say you try to let them warm to room temp first. Good luck!

Reply

megan @ whatmegansmaking March 24, 2011 at 7:09 am

These looks awesome! Beautiful pictures of something that is traditionall so messy

d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo March 24, 2011 at 7:17 am

ah, 2 of my favorite blogs coming together – I love it. These look tasty but my waistline says no…

Amanda @ Martinis At Six March 24, 2011 at 7:51 am

Hi Jessica! Thanks for sharing this recipe. These look so delicious, I love shaking up traditional meals Do you think they would freeze well? I usually just cook for myself and love having things in the freezer for nights when I really don’t feel like doing any work.

Jessica @ How Sweet March 24, 2011 at 3:05 pm: I’d freeze them without the sauce over top, then once you heat them, add the sauce and cheese!

Reply

Angharad March 24, 2011 at 8:04 am

I am practically knocking on your door

Ruth March 24, 2011 at 8:15 am

Ooooh! These look fantastic. I agree with Jenny (above) ‘so wrong, yet so right’!!

Moni'sMeals March 24, 2011 at 8:27 am

Only because your pictures take us in! So yummy.

Clare @ Fitting It All In March 24, 2011 at 8:30 am

My boyfriend would DIE for these! I love the BBQ and carmelized onions, and that I could easily use black beans to make mine vegetarian!

Mabelle @ Dance, Love, Dine March 24, 2011 at 8:37 am

this looks sooooo good. Good idea for a weekend treat. I love mexican food!

Mary (What's Cookin' with Mary) March 24, 2011 at 8:42 am

It’s def the same in our house Jessica. We both LOVE Mexican food and ench’s are one of our favorite things to eat. I love to buy a rotisserie chicken and have that on hand incase B gets an intense craving… and that happens a lot! SO, when I make them I always make a little extra so I can freeze a lunch portion for him for a day the following week(s). He loooooves when I whip out a freshly frozen portion as a a suprise ‘treat’ lunch.

kate March 24, 2011 at 8:43 am

Love me some enchiladas! I do not make them nearly enough!

Justeen @ Blissful Baking March 24, 2011 at 9:04 am

I love Mexican food too – can’t get enough of it! I’m definitely going to make these enchiladas soon!!

Natalia - a side of simple March 24, 2011 at 9:15 am

So this is how I’m going to get my brothers and dad to help me move out of my apartment and maintain my car….

Lisa March 24, 2011 at 9:28 am

This looks delicious. I love making enchiladas. I’ve never thought of making them “bbq”…I guess I never thought the two flavors went well together. I have to reconsider that now….

Amanda March 24, 2011 at 9:30 am

These look seriously delicious! I will have to make these very soon!

Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope March 24, 2011 at 9:41 am

Awesome guest post and what a great recipe! I’ve never tried maing my own enchiladas, but this certainly has me wanting to!

Kaethe March 24, 2011 at 9:55 am

yay, i love how sweet!!

Robyn {Planet Byn} March 24, 2011 at 10:44 am

i feel like enchiladas are just so versatile – last week i made buffalo chicken enchiladas – stuffed corn tortillas with shredded buffalo chicken, topped with taco sauce, grated pepper jack and cilantro. amazing!

gia March 24, 2011 at 11:08 am

I wonder if you could add frozen spinach inside to add veg. I bet that would be good! And maybe mixed with ricotta! Love the idea of bbq sauce, will definetely try this!!!!!! And I’ve never even made enchiladas before.

ashley March 24, 2011 at 11:14 am