Two pans of baked rotisserie chicken enchiladas with bubbling sharp cheddar, red enchilada sauce, and fresh scallions — Made and photographed in Matty's kitchen

Recipe 003 · Comfort Food

Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladaswith Sharp Cheddar & Spiced Red Sauce

A generous pan of saucy, cheese-topped enchiladas filled with seasoned rotisserie chicken, buttery sweet onions, garlic, cilantro, and scallions.

Prep: 35 min + chill
Cook: 30 min
Serves: 10–12

Star ingredientRotisserie Chicken

One Costco chicken or two smaller grocery-store chickens makes two generous pans

Make it

Remove the meat from the rotisserie chicken and shred it into a very large mixing bowl.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the garlic for the final minute, then add everything to the chicken.
Pour one full can of enchilada sauce into the chicken mixture. Add the cumin, chipotle powder, cayenne, cilantro, and half of the scallions. Stir until evenly combined, then taste and adjust the salt, pepper, and heat.
Cover and refrigerate the filling for 2 to 3 hours so the flavors come together.
Heat the oven to 375°F. Spoon enough of the second can of enchilada sauce into the bottom of two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes to coat them and prevent sticking.
Place a generous line of filling down the center of each tortilla, add a little sharp cheddar, roll tightly, and arrange seam-side down in the prepared dishes. Continue until the pans are full.
Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the rolls, making sure the exposed tortilla edges get some sauce. Cover generously with the remaining sharp cheddar.
Cover the pans with foil and bake for 25 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove the foil and broil for 2 to 4 minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is deeply golden in spots.
Let the enchiladas rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Scatter with the remaining scallions and extra cilantro before serving.

The finishing touch

That 10-to-15-minute rest matters: the filling settles, the sauce thickens slightly, and every enchilada lifts from the pan more cleanly. Serve with sour cream or hot sauce if you like.

Two pans of rolled rotisserie chicken enchiladas topped with red sauce and sharp cheddar before baking — Ready for the oven: sauced, rolled, and covered with sharp cheddar.

Vegetarian variation

Make it vegetarian

Omit the chicken and replace it with a hearty mix of black beans, fresh corn, and sweet red peppers. All of the sauce, cheese, herbs, and seasonings stay the same.

Use instead of chicken

2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from about 3 to 4 ears
2 sweet red peppers, finely diced

How to adapt it

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until the onions are softened.
Add the diced red peppers and fresh corn to the softened onions. Season with the cumin, chipotle, and cayenne, then continue sautéing until the vegetables are tender and lightly caramelized. Add the garlic, cilantro, and scallions during the final minute.
Transfer the entire sautéed vegetable, herb, and spice mixture to a separate large bowl. Fold in the black beans, about half of the sharp cheddar, and the first full can of enchilada sauce, stirring until evenly combined.
Cover and refrigerate the vegetarian filling for 2 to 3 hours so the flavors come together. Then fill and roll the tortillas, place them seam-side down over sauce, top with the remaining enchilada sauce and cheddar, and bake, broil, rest, and garnish exactly as directed for the chicken enchiladas.