25 | January | 2013 | Hungry Hannah

I’ve always loved Mexican dishes like tacos and burritos, but enchiladas are a bit newer to me. I tried my first enchilada a few years ago at a Mexican restaurant back home called Sam Diego’s and was in heaven. Smothered in cheese and enchilada sauce, what’s not to love?

Recently I made enchiladas from scratch for the first time and realized how easy they are to make. The recipe I used called for a green enchilada sauce, but this time I decided I wanted a more traditional red sauce. I adore chipotle peppers in adobo sauce so I based my recipe around that. They are smoky, spicy, and sweet. I quickly learned to remove the seeds from the peppers after failing to do so once and practically crying by the time my meal was finished – way too spicy for me!

These Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas are filled with shredded chicken, black beans, and avocado, then covered in a spicy chipotle enchilada sauce and finished off with cheddar cheese. This meal is filling and surprisingly good for you. I recommend removing the seeds from the chipotle peppers, unless you like things extra spicy. The sauce is moderately spicy even without the seeds.

First we’ll make the chipotle enchilada sauce:

Chipotle Enchilada Sauce:
makes about 1.5 cups

1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed and diced + 2 tsp adobo sauce*
3 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp flour

*If you’re sensitive to spicy things, use only 1 pepper and taste the sauce as you go along.

Directions:

In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over low-medium heat. Add diced onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add red pepper and garlic and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes until soft and golden brown.
After peppers and onions have cooled slightly, add to food processor along with all remaining enchilada sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.

To remove the seeds from the chipotle peppers, cut the top of the pepper off and then slice down the side. Use your knife to carefully scrape out the seeds.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

This is what it will look like when it’s done (though slightly less orange, darn those fluorescent lights..)

Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas
makes 4 enchiladas

Ingredients:

2 – 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup prepared chipotle enchilada sauce (see below for recipe)
4 8-inchwhole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1 avocado, diced
1 cup reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided in half

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a medium mixing bowl, toss shredded chicken with 1/3 cup of prepared chipotle enchilada sauce to coat. Arrange chicken on tortillas, about 1/2 cup of chicken per tortilla.
To each tortilla, add 1/4 cup diced avocado, 2 Tbsp black beans and about 2 Tbsp of cheese. Wrap up each tortilla tightly and place in a lightly greased 8 x 8″ baking dish.
Pour remaining 2/3 cup enchilada sauce over tortillas, along with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Serve with chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.