Chunks of roasted chicken, sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, gooey cheese, and sweet onions combine in BBQ Chicken Enchiladas. Served sliced on a plate or scooped up with tortilla chips, the whole family cheers when these enchiladas are on the table.
I made these BBQ Chicken Enchiladas for the first time about five years ago. A craving for saucy Barbecue Chicken hit and I didn’t have any potatoes in the house to make my go-to easy dinner, BBQ Chicken Potatoes. My oldest son had asked earlier that day if we could make these Cheesy Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas again.
This recipe was the result of those two cravings meeting in the middle and using the ingredients on hand in my house at the time. I laughed as we were eating because I impressed my whole family that night with the way I used what was on hand.
Trust me when I say that we’ve had some far less successful “throw the meal together with what’s on hand” kind of dinners. We all wound up really enjoying this meal.
I’ve made BBQ Chicken Enchiladas countless times since that first dinner. From the spicy sauce to the sweet onions and the tender chicken pieces covered in cheese, everything about these enchiladas makes me grin.
Tips For Making Enchiladas
Kitchen Tip: I use this knife and this baking pan to make this recipe.
COOK’S NOTE: I typically use a homemade barbecue sauce or Sweet Baby Ray’s to make this recipe. One reader messaged to tell me that the sauce she used was way too strong for this dish. Take care that the barbecue sauce you use when making this won’t be too strong if you get a really saucy bite.
BBQ Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 3 cups leftover BBQ chicken about 3 breasts or 4 thighs chopped into 1/2” pieces
- 1/2 cup caramelized onions chopped small, or 1 large onion sautéed until translucent and lightly browned
- 1 1/2 cups favorite sweet and spicy barbeque sauce I used this homemade sauce
- 1 1/2 cups red or green chile enchilada sauce I used green chile sauce
- 16 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded, about 3-4 cups total
- 6-8 white corn tortillas flour tortillas would work as well, sliced into wedges as pictured below.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the enchilada sauce and the barbecue sauce and set aside. In the bottom of a 9x13 dish, place about ¼ cup of the sauce and then layer with tortillas. I like to slice my tortillas into triangles, because it makes it much simpler to layer into the dish. It also prevents getting big bites of just the tortillas.
- Layer about half of the chicken over the tortillas and top with a couple tablespoons of the onions. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the cheese and layer again with tortillas. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the tortillas, just enough to flavor and coat them. Repeat the layers again with the chicken, onions, cheese and tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the layers are almost bubbling. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes or so until the dish is bubbling and the smells are filing the kitchen. Let rest at least 10-15 minutes before serving. You can serve it immediately, but it will firm up a good bit after resting. Enjoy!
Nutrition
{originally published 6/7/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/19/18}
Becki's Whole Life says
Sounds delish. I bet that the sweet spicy flavor of the BBQ sauce makes a nice replacement for enchilada sauce. Yum!
Tricia @ saving room for dessert says
Mary you did it again! This looks scrumptious! I have chicken enchiladas on the list to make soon too. I found a recipe for homemade enchilada sauce to try but really like this BBQ sauce idea. Very nice!
Jenn says
Oh wow, that looks soooo good. I would love to have a big plate of that right now… I don't care that it's only 5:30 in the morning!
Sue/the view from great island says
I'm in love! This is kind of like an enchilada lasagna, and I love it because I always have trouble rolling my tortillas for enchiladas, they crack and fall apart on me. I also like this because it gives me another option for using homemade tortillas, which you inspired me to make. They are too small to roll, but would be perfect for this.
Erica says
This sounds really good! What a great idea to use leftover chicken!
[email protected] says
that looks delicious! I just made a ton of onion jam…guess what I'm making this weekend?
Blond Duck says
Note to self: Make bbq chicken. And enchiladas.
Marjie says
There's never so much as a scrap of BBQ chicken left over here. Not even when I cook a pound per person.
Nizz says
The last picture really makes my mouth water! Delicious looking piece of tastefullness!!
Carrie Burrill says
THIS is my kind of dinner! Looks mouth watering…
Words Of Deliciousness says
Sounds delicious, full of flavor.
Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover says
Look absolutely tempting and delicious!
Chris says
Ummm yeah, I want that RIGHT NOW!!!! I will be making this.
Marry Jane says
I love to eat caramelized onion with literally anything! Now that we have BBQ chicken with it, it’s just amazing!!
Clbitt says
Looked up a recipe to use my leftover bbq chicken and tried this one since I had all of the ingredient on hand. I was very pleased with how easy it was and delicious!
Mary Younkin says
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the enchiladas!
Kaitlyn Slater says
I’m trying it with a bit of pepper jack cheese as well! Wish me luck!
Mary Younkin says
You’re going to love it, Kaitlyn!
Jules says
I don’t know what I did wrong but we could not eat this. The BBQ sauce was so strong, it overpowered the dish! I would probably cut the bbq sauce down quite a bit.
Mary Younkin says
Oh man, Jules, that’s such a bummer! I’m guessing the BBQ sauce really was too strong for the dish. Do you recall which sauce you used? I’ve only ever tried this with a homemade sauce or Sweet Baby Ray’s. I’ll make a note of that in the recipe. Sorry about that!
Sharyn Campbell says
I had a couple of cups of leftover BBQ sauce that was perfect for this recipe. I used 1.25 lb cooked chicken and shredded it myself (boiled the chicken with bouillon). I served the enchiladas with Rice-a-Roni Mexican rice. It’s just me and my husband, so what are your thoughts on freezing some leftovers, and do you have any advice on reheating? Thank you for this recipe; it was a creative way for me to use up BBQ sauce, and I had never made enchiladas before.
Mary Younkin says
I typically freeze leftover enchiladas in individual containers and thaw in the refrigerator prior to reheating in the microwave, Sharyn.