25 Minute Green Enchilada Skillet

This 25 minute Green Enchilada Skillet is delicious and makes for a great last minute dinner idea on a busy weekday or lazy weekend.

RECIPE INDEX

• About this recipe
• Alternatives
• Planet friendly points
• Recipe steps explained 
• More fun recipes to try
• Expiration & Storage

ABOUT THIS 25 Minute Green Enchilada Skillet

I came up with this recipe to make the enchilada skillet even easier. I would try to make this dinner with an actual enchilada sauce; however it always seemed to add that extra little 10-15 minutes I didn’t want to put into making dinner. With that said this recipe is a dump and go type. Basically you just add all the ingredients into the pan, of course, in the order described in the steps below. Once it’s cooked, you pop it in the oven and while it’s cooking, you can either chop your toppings get dishes, done or do something else while you wait. It’s the perfectdelicious and easy dinner recipe on a busy night or even a lazy weekend night.

ALTERNATIVES 

Sour cream.

If you don’t have sour cream or you would like a healthier alternative, you can use greek yogurt. It still adds a nice tang, but it will be a little bit more mild than the traditional sour cream flavor.

Mozzarella.

This enchilada skillet tastes delicious with cheddar cheese as well. Sometimes I’ll even go half and half. Half mozzarella and half cheddar to mix it up!

Rotisserie chicken.

If you don’t have rotisserie chicken, you can use 1 pound of ground chicken. You just want to cook it in the pan while your onions and spices sear and also before you put any other ingredients in to make sure it gets cooked thoroughly. You can also boil chicken breast or thighs in a pot with water. The texture and flavors turn out to be fairly similar and also allow you to easily shred the chicken. If you choose to boil chicken, you’ll still want to keep an eye on it, of course, but it does allow you to get a few tasks done around the house as opposed to needing your full attention. Just make sure the inner temperature of the chicken gets to 165 F before you remove it from the pot usually takes around 30 to 45 minutes boiling them on medium to medium-high.

PLANET FRIENDLY POINTS

This is a scrap friendly recipe. You can easily add optional scrap and left over veggies into this skillet for extra nutrition and flavor. This also is a great way to prevent waste. Some options that would taste delicious are tomatoes, zucchinis, broccoli, pre steamed sweet potatoes and peppers. Just add these veggies right after the onions get their translucent sear stage. If you’re adding sweet potatoes: wash, dice, then place in a microwave safe bowl with water. You’ll want to fill it about half way. Cover with a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 4-6 minutes until soft. No veggies are hitting the trash here! 

RECIPE STEPS EXPLAINED

1 Set oven to 475

2 Get out a large oven safe pan. Turn your stove heat to medium-medium low. Cast irons are great for this. I’ve had really good luck with The Lodge brand. As far as non cast iron oven-safe pans I use The Rock brand of pans and they’ve been really great. Oven safe but don’t heat up as intensely as cast iron which I prefer. Makes me feel like I have more control over the heat. Cast irons are classic and have a strong heat retention. Since they’re made of iron you’ll receive traces of iron as you cook which is great if you’re looking to boost your iron

3 Allow pan to heat up while you dice your onion.

4 Add 2-3 tablespoons olive or avocado oil to your pan. Add your diced onion to the pan, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin.

• 1/2 onion
• 4 garlic cloves minced 
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper 
• 1 teaspoon cumin

5 Open all 3 4oz cans chiles while your onion and spices start cooking. Stir intermittently. Add your green chiles once they’re open. Also open both cans of black beans. If you don’t have pre shredded cheese, now is a good time to shred it.

6 Once onions are translucent and spices are fragrant, add 3/4 cup chicken broth and both cans of beans. Turn up heat to medium so you get a nice simmer going. Allow pan ingredients to simmer stirring occasionally for about 5 mins or till broth has cooked down about a 1/4in

7 Shred the 2 cups of rotisserie chicken while your broth cooks down. Add it as you shred it. 2 cups should equal to about 2 chicken breasts or all dark meat pieces (thighs, drumsticks, wings). Feel free to mix and match which parts of the rotisserie chicken you use.

8 Once broth is cooked down and you’ve finished shredding your chicken, cut the heat and remove pan from burner

9 Mix in 3/4 cup cheese, tortillas, and 1/4 sour cream 

10 Top with the rest of your shredded cheese, 1 cup

11 Place in oven for 10 mins or till cheese is browned

12 While the skillet is in the oven, prep your toppings and finely sliced/shredded lettuce. Other optional toppings: diced avocado, guac, chopped cilantro, sour cream

13 When you remove the pan from the oven your cheese should be nice and bubbly brown.

14 Top with shredded lettuce and any other toppings you prepped.

PREP TIPS

No prep warnings in this recipe. If you’re swapping your rotisserie chicken out for boiled chicken, you’ll wanna plan ahead to make sure the chicken is done before you start cooking or before you need to add it to your skillet in step 8.

COMPATIBLE RECIPES

Try these pink tacos for a colorful dinner night 

If you need more last minute dinner ideas, try these Easy Asian Lettuce Wraps!

If you’re looking to spice up this enchilada skillet, try my Chipotle Chive Aioli recipe!

My Chive Cream Cheese Sauce would also taste amazing on this. Especially if you added those sweet potatoes I mentioned in the planet friendly points section!

This 10 Minute Guac recipe also makes for a great topping option… Add chips for the full experience!

EXPIRATION & STORAGE

Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze in an oven safe container for up to 2 months.