041 / 75 · Chicken, Turkey and Fish Suppers
Chicken Enchilada-Style Hotdish
One 9×13 in (23×33 cm) dish, at least 3.5 qt/3.3 L;6 main-dish portions · Active 30 min · Total 1 hr 35 min
Print recipe · PDFCorn tortillas are layered with cooked chicken, black beans and a thick spiced tomato sauce instead of rolled individually. This is an original enchilada-style hotdish with a measured sauce allowance for every tortilla layer. Roasted pepper and scallion join the filling, and a modest cheddar finish leaves the sauce visible around the edges.
Measure the sauce after it simmers
Passata and stock are reduced briefly with garlic and spices, then measured. Bring the final sauce to the stated amount with a little of the listed water if necessary. This gives each tortilla layer enough moisture without asking the cook to guess how far a saucepan reduced. The sauce should coat a spoon rather than run like broth. Plain corn tortillas are the specified layer; thick flour wraps or crisp tortilla chips behave differently and need a different plan.
Quartering makes the corners easy
Cut twelve small tortillas into quarters and think of them as three groups of sixteen pieces. Overlap one group across each layer, with gaps only where sauce can reach through. You do not need perfect geometric coverage. Half the filling goes between the first two layers and the rest between the second and third. The upper tortillas receive a full sauce coating before cheese. Exposed dry corners can become hard before the middle is hot, which is why the first oven stage is covered.
A useful adaptation with a clear starting ingredient
The chicken begins fully cooked and safely chilled, shredded into short pieces. Black beans and roasted pepper are also ready cooked; drain them so they do not dilute the measured sauce. The result is a practical layered home bake rather than a claim to represent every regional enchilada. Keep the chicken’s original storage date when saving portions, and label the milk and corn-tortilla ingredients at a shared table. Six squares are main portions with tortillas already providing starch, so a second serving of rice is outside this recipe rather than hidden in its illustration.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (15 ml)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (6 g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin (4 g)
- 1 teaspoon mild smoked paprika (2 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cups plain tomato passata (750 ml)
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock (120 ml)
- Up to 1/4 cup water (60 ml), only to adjust finished sauce to 750 ml
- 1 lb fully cooked plain chicken, safely chilled and short-shredded (450 g)
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (8 1/2 oz/240 g drained)
- 1 cup water- or brine-packed roasted red pepper, drained and chopped (150 g)
- 3 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced (40 g)
- 12 small plain corn tortillas, about 6 in/15 cm across (300 g total)
- 3 1/2 oz cheddar, grated (100 g)
Set out
Oven, 9×13 in (23×33 cm) baking dish, at least 3.5 qt/3.3 L, Medium saucepan, Measuring jug, Large bowl, Knife and board, Rimmed baking sheet, Suitable foil, Food thermometer
Allergens
Milk; check corn tortillas for wheat cross-contact and stock/chicken labels for other allergens. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat oven to 400°F (205°C). Put the dish on a rimmed sheet. Heat oil in the saucepan over medium-low heat and stir garlic, cumin, paprika and oregano 30 seconds. Add passata and stock and simmer 10–15 minutes until sauce coats a spoon. Measure the sauce. If more than 750 ml remains, return it to the pan and simmer a little longer; if slightly less, use a little of the listed water to make exactly 750 ml sauce.
- Mix chicken, beans, drained roasted pepper and scallion in the bowl. Cut tortillas into quarters, making 48 pieces, and divide into three groups of 16.
- Spread 100 ml sauce across the dish base. Overlap one group of 16 tortilla quarters, add half the filling and 200 ml sauce. Repeat with another 16 tortilla quarters, remaining filling and 200 ml sauce. Add final 16 quarters, cover with remaining 250 ml sauce and scatter cheddar.
- Cover with suitable foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10–15 minutes more until the center and several other points reach 165°F (74°C). Shield the surface again if it colors before the middle is hot.
- Rest 5 minutes, then cut into six portions.
Three tortilla groups keep the layers balanced
Set the groups aside before opening the oven. Counting the quarters once is easier than discovering most of the tortillas went into the bottom layer.
A useful detail
The 95-minute total allows sauce preparation and volume adjustment, measured layering, up to 40 minutes baking and rest. Sauce allocation is 100+200+200+250 ml. The chicken is already cooked; cooking it from raw is an additional separate stage to 165°F (74°C).
Another way
- Use 450 g plain fully cooked turkey instead of chicken, retaining its original refrigerated deadline and the same layered method.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C), at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 3 days of the chicken’s original cooking or opening, or an earlier ingredient deadline. Reheat to 165°F (74°C). Freeze promptly cooled portions for up to 1 month for quality only within the original safe window; thaw in the refrigerator.