Mini Enchiladas make for an easy family dinner any night of the week! Made by combining a filling with juicy chicken a ton of corn and black beans these mini chicken enchiladas are packed with flavor. Quick, easy and delicious you will find yourself creating a delicious Mexican dinner from the comfort of home.
Recipes like the Chicken And Rice Tray Bake, Baked Chicken Drumsticks And Rice, Grilled Chicken Alfredo and the Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken give us a variety of ways to cook chicken with different flavor combinations.
The Beef And Bean Enchiladas, Pulled Pork Enchiladas and Tuna Enchiladas are another Mexican recipes that are easy to whip up any night of the week.
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🤍 Mini Enchiladas
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the chicken enchiladas recipe in the points below:
- Simple ingredients: everything needed to make the recipe is easy to get from your local grocery store. We use cooked chicken which saves time and store bought sauce for convenience.
- Taste and texture: the addition of black beans and corn kernels along with the juicy chicken and melty cheese gives us a wide array of tastes and textures within the dish.
- Weeknight friendly: some nights you need dinner on the table STAT. This is one of those recipes that is super easy to whip up for a quick dinner on weeknights. It needs only 10 minutes of prep and then it is into the oven.
🥗 Mini Enchiladas Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the mini enchiladas recipe calls for:
- Salt and pepper.
- Paprika.
- Onion powder.
- Garlic powder.
- Red onion.
- Corn kernels.
- Cheddar cheese.
- Black beans.
- Soft tortillas: you will find small flour tortillas in the International foods section of the supermarket. They are about ½ the size of regular size soft tortillas.
- Enchilada sauce: I like to use red enchilada sauce. It is ready to go and can be kept in the pantry for a last minute meal idea. A jar of store-bought enchilada sauce keeps things easy!
- Cooked chicken: you can cook your own chicken then remove the skin and shred or use a rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken or store bought shredded chicken for convenience.
🌮 Chicken And Corn Enchilada Topping
Then we also have the ingredients that we use to top the enchiladas. These can be seen in the photo below.
- Coriander: us Aussies call it coriander. But it is more commonly known as cilantro throughout the world. It is a fresh herb that pairs exceptionally well with Mexican food.
- Greek yogurt.
- Avocado.
- Pickled red onions.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post:
- Beans: in place of the black beans you can use red kidney beans, refried beans, mexe beans or pinto beans.
- Onion: you can use a white onion, yellow onion or pickled onions in place of the red onion.
- Chicken: if using a homemade roast chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken you can choose to omit the skin or use it in the recipe. If using it, I would still remove it in full and then shred it so that it mixes in well across the batch of the filling.
- Different style: you can use leftover ground chicken or ground turkey or cook chicken breasts and shred those.
- Other protein: want to use ground beef instead? Check the Beef And Bean Enchiladas for reference.
- Sauce: if you can get your hands on and want to use green enchilada sauce you can.
- Garnish: sliced green onions will work too if you want an alternative to the cilantro.
👩🍳 How to Make Mini Enchiladas
To make the mini enchiladas we start by dicing the onion. You will need a sharp knife and cutting board for this initial step.
🍳 Instructions
- Dice the onion (Photo 1)
- Gather the filling ingredients (Photo 2)
- Combine the filling (Photo 3)
- Add the seasoning (Photo 4)
After dicing the onion, gather the enchilada filling ingredients. Add the cooked chicken, diced onion, black beans and corn to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Next we season the filling. Sprinkle in the salt and black pepper, followed by the garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Then give the filling another stir to consistently mix in the seasoning.
- Stir to combine (Photo 5)
- Add the filling (Photo 6)
- Add some sauce to the baking dish (Photo 7)
- Transfer all rolled tortillas in (Photo 8)
Once the filling is combined we want to fill and roll our enchiladas. Use a clean dry chopping board and work one at a time. Place one of the mini corn tortillas onto the middle of the cutting board and then use an ice-cream scoop to add the filling. Gently roll and then repeat.
Next use cooking spray to grease a large baking dish with olive oil and add a tablespoon or 2 of the sauce and use a spatula to spread it out across the base of the dish.
Once done transfer all of the rolled enchiladas into the baking dish like you see in the photos above.
- Top with sauce (Photo 9)
- Load with remaining filling (Photo 10)
- Add cheese on top (Photo 11)
- Oven bake (Photo 12)
Once all of the rolled enchiladas are in the baking dish pour in the remaining sauce and spread it over the top.
Then take the leftover chicken mixture and spread it over the sauce like you seen in the photos above.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top and then place the baking dish into the preheated oven (middle shelf) and cook for 20 minutes.
🍽 Mini Enchilada Serving Suggestions
This that and your favorite toppings are what you can use to serve your mini enchiladas.
As shown in the topping photo earlier in the post I like to garnish the dish with finely chopped cilantro (coriander). From there we can dollop with Greek yogurt or sour cream as well as adding some pickled red onions and avocado to the plate.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Let the enchiladas cool for a about 5 minutes. Then use a silicon slotted turner to divide them and place them in pairs into a sealed, airtight container. They can then be placed in the fridge for 3 days. Leftover enchiladas need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
These enchiladas also freeze and reheat very well. So they are a great choice to meal prep if that is your thing. Simply let them cool a bit (5 minutes) then use a slotted turner to transfer pairs of the enchiladas into sealed airtight containers. These can then be tacked i the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
For refrigerated enchiladas transfer them to a plate, cover with cling wrap and microwave for 2-3 minutes until warmed through. For frozen enchiladas, let thaw then follow the step above to reheat them in the microwave, giving them an extra minute or so to ensure the filling has warmed up.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Baking dish: spray a little cooking oil over the base and sides of the baking dish will ensure that the enchiladas won't stick.
- Preheating the oven: as the chicken is already cooked this is a very quick to bring together recipe. For that reason I recommend preheating the oven at the start so that it will have reached the right temperature and be ready to go once you have brought the dish together.
- Sauce: we use a little of the enchilada sauce in the base of the baking dish before adding the enchiladas. This adds additional flavor as well as ensuring that the soft tortillas won't stick to the base of the baking dish.
- Fully loaded: one of my favorite things to do when making enchiladas it to spread the leftover filling ingredients over the top. Loading them up like this adds even more texture and is a visually fun and appealing way to serve them.
- Something different: if you want to make these as mini enchilada cups you can. Simply spray a regular 12 hole muffin tin with oil, then place a mini tortilla into each hole, fill with the chicken mixture, drizzle a little sauce and pinch of cheese on top and then oven bake. This is a great appetizer idea if you want to take that path.
- Love chicken dishes? Then you might also like the Thyme Roast Chicken, Chicken Pesto Linguine, Garlic Chicken Parmesan Pasta, Shrimp And Chicken Fried Rice or the Slow Cooker Chicken Spaghetti.
🤓 Mini Enchiladas FAQ's
Chicken, beans, corn, and onion is a great combination to fill enchiladas with.
No. Leave the enchiladas uncovered as they are cooking. Doing so allows the cheese to melt and the enchiladas to become a little crispy at either end.
Enchilada sauce goes on before cooking. Then a sauce like sour cream or Greek yogurt is commonly used to serve the enchiladas.
😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes
If dinner is your thing and getting it on the table night after night is something you enjoy thinking about and planning for then I have some more ideas for you! These recipes have a variety of proteins with different cooking methods and techniques.
- Quick and easy recipes: Pork Mince Stir Fry, Beef Yaki Udon, Pork Mince Fried Rice, Thai Minced Pork, Dumpling Noodle Soup, Pork Mince Noodles.
- Other proteins: Minced Beef Stir Fry, Crumbed Lamb Cutlets, Prawn Pesto Pasta, Greek Leg Of Lamb, Minced Beef Stir Fry.
- Rice options: Tuna And Rice Casserole, Tuna Fried Rice, Chicken And Rice Tray Bake,
- Pasta and noodle recipes: Garlic Spaghetti, Fettuccine Alfredo With Tuna, Fettuccine Alfredo With Scallops, Soy Sauce Noodles.
- Slow cooker recipes: Slow Cooker Coke Ribs, Slow Cooker French Onion Pork Chops, Slow Cooker Coke Ham, Beef Massaman Curry, Slow Cooker Yellow Curry, Pulled Lamb Shoulder.
It is time to get our mini enchiladas on my friend! You can also find all of my chicken recipes or dinner recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Mini Enchiladas
Ingredients
Mini Enchilada Filling
- 3 cups shredded chicken Note 1
- 1 large red onion skin peeled and diced
- 400 grams/14 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- 400 grams/14 oz corn kernels drained and rinsed
Enchilada seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt Note 3
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Enchiladas
- 12 mini tortillas Note 4
- 1 ½ cups enchilada sauce Note 5
- 1 cup cheddar cheese Note 6
To serve (optional)
- chopped cilantro, avocado, pickled red onions and Greek yogurt Note 7
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: preheat the oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Enchilada filling: add the cooked chicken, diced onion, black beans and corn to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Season: net sprinkle the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika into the bowl and stir to combine.
- Baking dish: spray a large baking dish with olive oil and then pour in a tablespoon of the enchilada sauce and use a spatula to spread this across the base of the dish.
- Fill and roll: working one mini soft tortilla at a time use an ice cream scoop to spoon the combined chicken mixture into the tortillas and then roll to close. As you roll each tortilla, place it into the base of the prepared baking dish. Then repeat for all 12 tortillas.
- Sauce and extra topping: next pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and spread this out to cover each one. Then transfer the leftover chicken filling over the top and spread this out to cover.
- Cheese: top the dish with the cheese.
- Oven bake: place the uncovered baking dish into the preheated oven on the middle shelf. Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes.
- Cooked: once the cook time is up and the cheese has melted with visible little brown bits across the top use a pair of oven mitts to remove the baking dish and and set it on a heatproof surface.
- To serve: garnish the enchiladas with the chopped cilantro. Plate and serve with pickled red onions, avocado and Greek yogurt.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Chicken: lots of options here. You can cook your own chicken then remove the skin and shred. You can use a store bought rotisserie chicken. Leftover chicken or deli chicken meat will work also. If you want to use the skin from a cooked chicken in the mix you can. Simply shred this along with the chicken. Cooked turkey will also work well as another white meat filling. If you have cooked your own chicken and seasoned the skin then you can reduce or omit the enchilada seasoning.
- Note 2 - Black beans: in place of the black beans you could use Mexe beans, red kidney beans or refried beans.
- Note 3 - Seasoning: if using plain shredded chicken, the seasoning is recommended. If using a homemade roast chook or rotisserie chicken and you want to shred the skin along with the chicken and add this in then you can reduce or omit the seasoning. If reducing I would do ½ teaspoon of the garlic and onion powders and ¼ teaspoon of the smoked paprika. Also reduce salt and pepper to just a touch.
- Note 4 - Soft tortillas: you will find 'mini tortillas' in the International foods section where the Mexican, Indian and Asian foods are. Mini tortillas are simply a mini version of regular tortillas. They are soft, fluffy and fun to use. If you want to use regular size tortillas for the recipe you can, in which case you will only need 8-10 of them.
- Note 5 - Enchilada sauce: I use one standard size enchilada sauce which is 375 grams. In Australian cups this equals about 1 ½ cups. You can use a little more or less as that won't affect the recipe too much.
- Note 6 - Cheese: cheese that you grate yourself is often softer and more cheesy ha if that is a thing. But for convenience store bought grated cheese will do the job just fine. You can use a plain 'cheddar cheese', 'colby cheese' or cheese blend which is often a combination of parmesan, pecorino romano and mozzarella. Lots of options here for the cheese as well.
- Note 7 - Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt or sour cream both work well.
Nutrition
Recipe published August 2025, updated in October 2025 as a reader - Monica😊(thank-you) pointed out the enchilada sauce was missing from the recipe card ingredients list.
Tara says
Came out great!
Adrianne Jamieson says
Thanks Tara for the feedback 😊.