These gluten free chicken enchiladas are extra-delicious and topped with a delicious homemade gluten-free enchilada sauce!
Hi, friends! Today I’ve cooked up something extra-delicious for dinner: soft corn tortillas covered in melted cheese and stuffed with tender strips of chicken and a mouthwatering tomato and chili sauce.
This is my family’s new comfort food. In fact, this past week we enjoyed enchiladas several days in a row for dinner, but there is actually a looong story behind that.
The enchilada adventures started when I visited my local supermarket last week. I am so grateful for a supermarket that recognizes gluten-free diets and goes out of its way to keep my favorite gluten-free products in stock.
Are Enchiladas Gluten Free?
As I was browsing in the gluten-free section, I noticed a new product that I had never seen before: soft corn tortillas by Mission Foods. My family loves tacos but we usually only eat the hard shells, and I thought a soft tortilla would make a nice change.
However, once I returned home, I realized that these corn tortillas were destined for greater things. John suggested enchiladas. Shredded chicken in a savory sauce rolled up in tortillas and baked in a casserole dish until piping hot and ready to serve.
Doesn’t that sound like the perfect dish for a cold, wintry evening?
Not all corn tortillas are created equal, however.
The Mission Tortillas say gluten-free on the package, but not certified gluten-free. Their gluten free statement says that their corn based products are produced in lines totally dedicated for corn based products. You can read their statement here.
The enchiladas came out wonderfully with the Mission Tortillas, but I decided to see if I could find certified gluten free corn tortillas as well for those of us worried about cross-contamination. More about cross-contamination here.
Enter Rudi’s. Dairy-free, nut-free, and certified gluten-free. (I also found out that Udi’s makes a certified gluten-free corn tortilla, but Rudi’s was the only one I could locate in my supermarket).
So after having enjoyed enchiladas for dinner and then lunch the next day, I decided to make the recipe again with Rudi’s to see if they would turn out as beautifully as the Mission Tortillas had done. And I’m pleased to report that they passed my family’s taste test with flying colors.
Pro tip
I recommend warming each tortilla in a little oil in a skillet. It will enhance their flavor and make them easier to roll.
Homemade enchilada sauce
Having the best tasting corn tortillas is definitely an important part of this dish, but I think it’s the wonderful flavor of the sauce that made my family keep coming back for seconds and not minding one bit when I said we were having enchiladas again for dinner. Onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, and cilantro combine to make the perfect zesty sauce.
Writing this post and looking at these photos is making me crave enchiladas again. 😊 And they’re so easy to make that I really am tempted to serve them up for dinner a third time.
Just spoon the chicken and sauce onto each tortilla. Top with cheese and tightly roll. Place the enchiladas in a baking dish, top with more cheese and sauce, pop in the oven for twenty minutes, and serve with sour cream. Enjoy!
Want more easy one-pan meals?
If you enjoy this recipe, you might also enjoy my ebook One-Pan Meals that has many more easy and delicious recipes for you to try using just one pan so you won’t have to spend hours cleaning dishes.
More fun recipes
Gluten Free Classic Italian Lasagna – Here’s your step by step guide to make amazing classic three-cheese Italian lasagna casserole with intensely flavored sauce, just the right balance of cheeses, chunky beef, sweet Italian sausage, and gluten free pasta.
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Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie With Cauliflower Crust – These individual pot pies will be the best chicken pot pie you’ve ever eaten!
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Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 package tortillas
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts
- 2 cups gluten free chicken broth
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 onion diced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Bragg's red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Prepare chicken and sauce: Place chicken in a dutch oven. Add 2 cups of gf chicken broth. Then add just enough water to cover. Bring to a low boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat so that the poaching liquid barely bubbles. Cover and cook until the meat releases clear juices when pierced with a fork, about 12 minutes. Remove the meat from the stock and let it stand until it is cool enough to handle. Then shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and sauté onion seasoned with chili powder, cumin and salt for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, and cilantro, stir, cover and simmer for 15 more minutes. Then toss shredded chicken with 1 1/2 cups of the sauce in a mixing bowl.
- Assemble: Spoon a generous amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet. One at a time, cook the corn tortillas on low to soften them, about 30 seconds on each side. Lay the first hot tortilla in the baking dish. Spoon shredded chicken and sauce mixture down the center. Top with cheese and tightly roll. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Finally, top with remainder of sauce and shredded cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy.
Notes
- For this recipe, I show you how to make poached chicken breast. You could also go with shredded rotisserie chicken to save time.
- This sauce recipe has a mild flavor. You could also sprinkle in diced green chiles or jalapeño peppers if you want an extra spicy kick.
- Top your enchiladas with shredded lettuce, squeeze of lime juice, sour cream or guacamole or hot sauce if you like.
- Serve with zucchini and corn sauté, and a cup of easy homemade minestrone soup.
- Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
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Joan Harrington says
Hi Barbara,
These look really good! I am definately gonna give this a try 🙂 Gluten free is the best! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Barbara says
You’re welcome. Enjoy.
Anmol Rawat says
That looks so delicious. :p I want to eat that right away 😀
Barbara says
Definitely delicious. I’ll be making this again and again.
Julia @ Swirls and Spice says
These enchiladas look so delicious! I’m craving them now.
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
Your enchiladas look fantastic! And I love that you were able to make them gluten free! Sent lots of foodie love your way, and they’re on my Facebook page now. 🙂
Raia says
Sounds delicious! 🙂 Thanks for sharing it at Savoring Saturdays!
Kebba Buckley Button says
Barbara, these sound great! Although I am an experienced chef, I appreciated your hints on the different tortilla brands and handling them. I have been sad to see the regular corn tortillas now contain proprionic acid; calcium or sodium proprionate are preservatives used in baked goods, and those products put me to sleep; (small poisons?). So it’s great to know Udi’s and Rudi’s are on the job.
Barbara says
Oh, thanks Kebba. It’s amazing how those ingredients can effect us.
Barb says
I made these lat night…awesome! I used a jar of our home canned tomatoes that already had minced onion, garlic & jalapeno in it…WOW! Simple and oh, so tasty! I will be making this again and again. (I use corn tortillas because they have way less carbs than flour and for me, doesn’t raise my blood sugar the way flour does.) Thank you!
Barbara says
Wow Barb, you made my day! I’m so glad that you liked them. Thanks so much for coming back and telling me. And thanks for the stars. 💕
Jordan says
These looked good, but were a big disappointment, and I think the problem was one ingredient. The red wine vinegar was a real miss, it ended up overpowering the dish even though I used less than the tablespoon recommended by this recipe. I would recommend cutting the red wine vinegar entirely as it fits an Italian flavor profile more than the savory Mexican flavors you want with enchiladas.
Barbara says
Hi Jordan,
So sorry you didn’t care for the red wine vinegar. By all means, leave out the vinegar next time. Thanks for sharing. 😊
Carolyn says
Do you have any suggestions for enchiladas with other sauces, in addtion to the gluten I am also allegic to tomatos.
Barbara Bianchi says
Excellent question, Carolyn.
If you can tolerate dairy, I have a delicious cream sauce in my pot pie recipe that would work nicely here:
• For filling Season bite size pieces of chicken with salt. Then simmer in chicken stock in a saucepan for ten minutes.Remove the meat from the stock and let it stand until it is cool enough to handle. Then shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
• Add two tablespoons of the butter to the same saucepan. Add 1/4 cup of gluten free flour and whisk continuously for about one minute to make a roux for your cream sauce.
• Remove from the heat and add 1 cup of stock back in and whisk until smooth.
• Then whisk in the 3/4 cup of milk. Turn the stove back on and bring mixture to a simmer. Continue whisking as the sauce thickens for another minute.
• Add chicken back in along with 1 tablespoon of sherry (optional), 1/8 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, dash of pepper and dash of nutmeg. Set aside.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Add 3 diced carrots and 1/2 of a diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir into chicken mixture.
Then assemble your enchiladas according to this recipe.
I haven’t made these enchiladas with this sauce, but I think it would be good. Please let me know how you like it. 🙂