After-Practice Recipe

Post-Practice Chicken Enchilada Skillet

Post-practice chicken enchilada skillet skips the rolling entirely: the corn tortillas go in as strips and soften in the sauce in about five minutes.

IngredientsTimingStoragetortillas
Comic-book style illustration of hungry kids coming home from practice to a fast hot dinner for Post-Practice Chicken Enchilada Skillet.

Nobody rolls enchiladas on a school night.

Two cups of red enchilada sauce, three cups of shredded chicken, and a drained can of black beans into a skillet over medium. Eight corn tortillas cut into strips go in and soften in around five minutes.

Cheese over the top, lid on, three minutes until it melts into the sauce. Sour cream and cilantro off the heat. It tastes like the pan somebody's aunt makes and took a quarter of the time.

Ingredients

The recipe serves 4. Plan on 12 minutes to finish (plus earlier prep).

  • 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 2 cups red enchilada sauce
  • 8 corn tortillas, cut in strips
  • 1.5 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

How to Make It

  • Add the enchilada sauce, chicken, and black beans to a skillet over medium.
  • Stir in the tortilla strips and simmer 5 minutes until they soften and the sauce is hot.
  • Sprinkle the cheese over the top, cover, and cook 3 minutes until it melts.
  • Take it off the heat and dollop with sour cream and cilantro.

Do the Slow Part Early

Shred the chicken before practice so the skillet comes together in one pan.

  • Cook and shred the chicken in the morning, or use a rotisserie bird
  • Cut the tortillas into strips ahead
  • Open and drain the beans early

Store and Reheat

It reheats like a casserole; cover it so the tortillas stay soft, not rubbery.

  • Microwave 2 to 3 minutes, covered, stirring once
  • Or reheat in a covered skillet over low with a splash of sauce
  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge
  • Serve with: Mexican rice, sliced avocado, lime wedges

Make it fit tonight

Small changes that make this one fit your night

Cut the tortillas early

Stack and slice all eight at four so the night is one pan and a lid.

Salsa verde instead

Green sauce runs milder for the kid who calls the red one spicy.

Keep the lid on to reheat

Uncovered, those tortilla strips go rubbery; covered, they stay soft.

A pouch of Mexican rice

Ninety seconds in the microwave stretches this skillet to five people.

More sauce on day two

The strips keep drinking, so add a few tablespoons before reheating.

Plan the next step

Plan a week of easy wins

Use the planner to slot quick skillet dinners like this into the nights you have no patience left.

Plan a week of easy wins