Air Fryer Chicken Enchiladas

These Air Fryer Enchiladas are so good and so easy to make for your family. Quick and easy Mexican food for Taco Tuesday! Grab your rotisserie chicken and flour tortillas and whip up these easy chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight. Get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes!

These Air Fryer Enchiladas are bursting with flavor. The air fryer gives them a little crunch on the outside and they’re really tender and gooey with cheese on the inside.

These chicken enchiladas are covered in a spicy-sweet sauce that just melts in your mouth. These are definitely one of the favorites files!

You are going to love that there are flexible options on how to make these customized to your liking. 

🐔Why This Recipe Works

Leftover Chicken | Go right ahead and use your leftover chicken in your fridge or freezer. You can use the Burrito Bowl Chicken or this amazing Instant Pot Shredded Chicken straight from the freezer.

Quick Prep | Here you will find these are so fast to whip up since you are working with pre-cooked chicken. Easy to assemble and bake.

Meal Prep | Make extra and use it to meal prep for a dinner or lunches for work like we show you how in Meal Prep 101. You will love eating these for lunch at your desk during the week.

Affordable | If you are sticking to a food budget, then this is a dish you should add to the menu plan for a nice affordable dinner the whole family can enjoy.

30 Minute Dinner | Need dinner fast? Whip up this dish from start to finish in under 30 minutes! Great for those busy weeknights when you don’t feel like spending much time in the kitchen. The air fryer gives these enchiladas a nice crisp tortilla texture in a fraction of the time cooking in the oven.

Cinco de Mayo | These are great to whip up for Cinco de Mayo night with a big margarita! Don’t forget the chips and salsa.

🍽️  Ingredients

The ingredients in this recipe are pretty simple and straightforward. There isn’t anything that is hard to work with either, so it helps these enchiladas come together in a breeze. Let’s talk about the main ingredients a little bit:

Rotisserie Chicken – Without a doubt, the star of the show is the cooked rotisserie chicken. Buying pre-cooked chicken will save you loads of work and time. Simply remove the meat from the bones and start using it. We make our own Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken for so many dishes because it’s absolutely delicious and easy to make. 

Soft Flour Tortillas – I know there are many recipes that call for corn shells. We simply prefer the flavor of flour shells. The combination of the sauce with the chicken and flour tortillas is undoubtedly one of my favorite things ever. 

Enchilada Sauce – I prefer a mild enchilada sauce, especially if I am feeding people and don’t know their tolerance for spicy flavors. The mild heat is subtle and perfect for our taste buds and can easily be adjusted if needed. 

🍴Instructions

These are some of the most delicious enchiladas I have ever sunk my teeth into. And the best part is that using rotisserie chicken makes them come together so quick. Let’s take a look at how simple they are to make:

Step One: Remove the cooked rotisserie chicken from the bones and put the meat in a bowl. Then, chop up the onion. 

Step Two: Heat the enchilada sauce in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add in the brown sugar and bring it to a boil. Once the sauce boils, turn off the stove.

Add the flour tortillas to a plate. Drizzle a little bit of the enchilada sauce on the insides of the tortilla shells. Sprinkle on some chicken, add onion, cheese, and a little bit more sauce and then fold the enchiladas. 

Step Three: Line the air fryer basket/tray with aluminum foil. Add the folded enchiladas, placing them in the center of the basket and working your way toward the edges as you add in more enchiladas.

Make sure to put the enchiladas folded side down and try to prevent any filling from spilling out. 

Step Four: After you have all the enchiladas in the air fryer, add more sauce on top of them. Sprinkle with more cheese.

Then turn on the air fryer to 350 degrees and cook for 15 minutes. 

Step Five: After removing them from the air fryer, top with green onions, sour cream, salsa, green onions, or any of your other favorite enchilada toppings. Enjoy!

Note: If you have a smaller air fryer, it’s possible you will need to work in batches.

⏲️ Meal Prep Instructions

You’ll love these air fryer rotisserie chicken enchiladas when it comes to meal prepping. There are several steps to save you even more time later. Take a look:

Chop Onions – When you get home from the market, chop up the onions and put them in a plastic or glass storage container. Keep them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the enchiladas.

I go crazy a bit and measure them out in its own container so when it’s time to cook, I can pull them out and they pre-measured and are ready to go. 

Prepare The Chicken – Take the chicken off of the bones and put it in a bowl in the fridge. Then, grab it and go when you are ready to cook. 

Make The Sauce – You can actually heat up the sauce and the brown sugar ahead of time. Let it come to a boil, so the sugar and sauce combine properly.

Then, allow it to cool down all the way and put in a bowl in the fridge. Make sure to keep a tight-fitting lid on it. 

These steps will make it even easier to assemble the enchiladas right before you are ready to cook. We make this meal for crazy busy weeknights when I don’t have much time to cook. 

🍲 Freezer Friendly Instructions

This is one of my favorite freezer-friendly foods. It is so easy to store and provides wonderful lunch and dinner options at your fingertips anytime you want them. 

To freeze, cook them as directed. After they cool, wrap each enchilada individually in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Put them into an airtight container with a lid. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Make sure to double check the Freezer Tips and Storage Times Chart to always verify how long to keep food in the freezer.

Take one out as needed and warm them up on a plate with a paper towel on top. They heat quickly.

Sometimes the flour tortillas do get a little bit soggy. You can reheat them in the air fryer or in your oven to prevent that.

🥘 Expert Tips

• Corn Tortillas – If you prefer the texture and flavor of traditional enchiladas, switch out the flour shells for corn. Yellow or white corn shells are both good. 
• Rolling Enchiladas – Don’t overstuff your enchiladas with filling or you will struggle to keep them rolled. Place the seam side down to prevent unrolling.
• Chicken Breasts – Using rotisserie chicken is a great way to go, but if you don’t have any, you can always use chicken breasts. Grill them or bake. When I am meal prepping, I will prepare a bunch of chicken in my slow cooker to use in various meals. It’s a game-changer. Alternatively, make batches of Air Fryer Meal Prep Chicken to use for these enchiladas. Pull a pack out from the freezer to make these anytime you are ready for a quick meal.
• Hot Enchilada Sauce – Adding some heat is super easy! Just use a hot or medium sauce that you enjoy. 
• Prevent Getting Soggy – If you freeze your enchiladas you might reach for corn tortillas as they freeze better without being too soggy in texture.

📌 Variations

I will share a handful of ideas to add some variations to these homemade enchiladas. They are all pretty good if you ask me. 🙂

• Ground Beef – Brown up some ground beef and use it instead of chicken. 
• Green Chiles – Add some diced green chiles to the chicken and onion mixture. You could even add the chiles to the sauce if you wanted to. 
• Cheddar Cheese – Either add some cheddar cheese in addition to the Colby Jack or swap it completely. 
• Jalapeños – Dice up some fresh or pickled peppers and add them to the chicken. These are so good and give you some more spicy goodness. 

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