A Cinco de Mayo Recipe That’ll Disappear Before the First Margarita Is Poured

By Gen!

This enchilada recipe is easy to prepare! Most of the cook time can be spent doing something else thanks to the handy crock pot. Once the chicken is cooked, all you need to do is shred the chicken and assemble the enchiladas.

What You’ll Need

Corn Tortillas I use corn tortillas here, but you can also use flour tortillas or even whole wheat tortillas.
Chicken Breast is great here, but chicken thighs work equally well.
Enchilada Sauce I recommend the Mission brand hot enchilada sauce, but feel free to use mild enchilada sauce or a different brand of your choosing. You can also make homemade enchilada sauce.
Green Chilis You can use chopped, canned green chilis or make your own roasted jalapenos to add to this dish.
Fresh Limes Lime juice is another good option here.
Shredded Cheese I like to use a Mexican cheese blend here, but any melting cheese will work well. You could use just cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack, or other cheese you have on hand.
Spices Here I call for cumin, chili powder, coriander, and oregano. These are not essential to the dish and you can use just the canned enchilada sauce, but I love the flavor they add.
Kosher Salt I use the brand Diamond Crystal. This salt is shaped into flakes rather than concentrated grains, so it is easier to adjust the salt in a recipe without oversalting.
Olive Oil You can also use grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or canola oil to give a quick fry to your corn tortillas so they don’t crack when you are rolling the enchiladas.

The labeled ingredients for chicken slow cooker enchiladas are shown on a white marble counter.

Optional Toppings

Sour Cream
Cilantro
Green Onions/Scallions
Avocado or Guacamole
Black Olives

How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas

Step One To make enchiladas, place the chicken and sauce, green chilis, and spices in the base of the slow cooker. You’ll want to use only one of the cans of sauce here and reserve the rest for later.

Two chicken breasts are placed in the base of a slow cooker.

Enchilada sauce is added to the chicken and chilis.

Step Two Cook the chicken. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or cook on low to 6 to 8 hours.

Cooked chicken in enchilada sauce is shown in the slow cooker.

Step Three Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks. Return the chicken mixture to the enchilada sauce.

Shredded chicken sits on a white cutting board.

Shredded chicken is added back to the crockpot.

Step Four Meanwhile, fry your tortillas on both sides for about 30 seconds.

A fried corn tortilla sits on a white cutting board.

Step Five Take a bit of the chicken mixture and a little of the sauce and roll it in a tortilla. Place the tortilla back in the bottom of the slow cooker.

One chicken enchilada is added back to the crockpot.

The rolled enchiladas are added back to the slow cooker.

Step Six Once all of the enchiladas have been assembled, cover them with the remaining enchilada sauce and the cup of cheese. Return the lid to the slow cooker and heat on high for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.