If you’re looking for a delicious and budget-friendly dinner that your whole family will love, these homemade chicken enchiladas are a must-try. They’re full of flavor, easy to make, and perfect for batch cooking or freezer meal prep. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or stocking your freezer for busy weeknights, this recipe will save you time, money, and stress.
Benefits Batch Cooking and Freezer Meals
A great way to simplify mealtime is by embracing batch cooking. Batch cooking is making larger portions of your favorite meals so you can enjoy them later. They usually go into the freezer as freezer meals which are a game-changer for busy families and anyone trying to eat healthier at home.
By spending a little bit of extra time one day, you’ll have homemade meals ready to go on a week night when you’re too tired to cook and save a lot of time overall. Chicken enchiladas freeze beautifully, keeping their flavor and texture even after reheating. You can freeze them in large glass containers to bake in the oven for a full meal or smaller sizes such as individual enchiladas for an easy lunch. I store the individually wrapped enchiladas in a freezer safe bag like a Stasher Bag or a gallon sized freezer bags.
Save Money by Cooking at Home
Cooking at home is one of the simplest ways to stretch your grocery budget. Takeout and prepackaged meals might seem convenient, but they cost significantly more per serving than homemade options. Our grocery budget is $135/person per month and we are able to stick to our budget by shopping for ingredients that can be made into a variety of meals. These chicken enchiladas are one way to enjoy these ingredients but you could make other variations like fajitas or stuffed peppers.
When you make these chicken enchiladas from scratch, you control the ingredients. Buying chicken in bulk and using pantry staples like beans or rice to stretch out the servings helps to save money. Shredding your own cheese can make this meal even more affordable and did you know you can store shredded cheese in a glass jar and it will stay fresh for weeks? Learn more about that tip in this blog.
I keep track of the meals that we are eating in my Grocery Planner. This allows me to remember what my family enjoys during different seasons so I have inspiration for what I want to make for dinner. I also track my grocery budget and keep my shopping lists in the same planner. There are pages for weekly meal plans and your grocery shopping list. It’s convenient to have everything in the same place and I keep these planners to refer back to.
Keeping Produce Fresh
This recipe contains fresh peppers and onions. Peppers should be washed when you bring them home from the store and they can last for about a month in the refrigerator. You can see the full directions for how I keep peppers fresh in this video.
Onions should be stored in the pantry away from potatoes. They can actually last an entire year, from harvest season to harvest season, if you get them when they are fresh. Taking a minute to feel the onions before you buy them to make sure they are not soft or mushy helps to ensure your onions last as long as possible. You can store cut onions in the fridge in a glass jar with a metal lid for about a week. This is especially helpful if you need some for a recipe but don’t need to use it all. It helps to reduce food waste.
If you want more tips for washing and storing produce or reducing waste, be sure to check out my Zero Waste Produce Guide. It is available in a hard cover book or downloadable eBook in The Cross Legacy shop.
Easy Freezer Meal Ideas
Whether you’re just getting started with batch cooking, trying to cut down on fast food, or looking for easy freezer meals, these chicken enchiladas are a great place to start. Taco meat is another item that I always batch cook and make several pounds of ground beef at a time. You can also use souper cubes to freeze portions of an already cooked meal such as chili, pasta, or soup.
I also freeze entire lasagnas to bake at a later date. Doing the prep work once and putting extra serving sizes in the freezer saves you time in the long run. If you do this on a regular basis you can take the stress out of dinner time because you'll have some of your favorite meal in the freezer ready to go. Once you learn this skill, you’ll see how easy it is to enjoy home-cooked meals that take less time and money.
Make Chicken Enchiladas With Me
Watch the entire process of making chicken enchiladas.
Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs chicken breast (4 large chicken breasts)
- 1 28oz. can enchiladas sauce or Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- 1 4oz. can green chilis
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 18 tortillas, soft taco size
Instructions:
- Cook chicken in instant pot for 15-20 minutes depending on size and if it is frozen or thawed
- Once it is fully cooked, shred chicken and place it in a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In the large bowl, add ½ cup enchilada sauce, green chilis, peppers, onions, beans and about half of your cheese to the chicken
- Mix well
- Spread a few spoonfuls of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
- On a plate, pour enchilada sauce to use to cover the tortillas
- For each tortilla, cover both sides in enchilada sauce from the plate and then spoon in the chicken mixture
- Roll up the tortilla and place it in the dish.
- Continue this process until all of the mixture is used, if you are making some to freeze, place them in a glass container that has a lid and it can be placed in the freezer. Individual enchiladas can also be wrapped in parchment paper and frozen to enjoy later.
- Once the dish is full, top the enchiladas with the remaining cheese and enchilada sauce
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes
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