Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas are the spicy, cheesy, satisfying dinner casserole you need in your life! Easy chicken enchiladas are spiked with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese in this fun twist on the original.

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Enchiladas are such a special dinner – the kind of meal that everyone always enjoys. I have always enjoyed making homemade chicken enchiladas, but until recently, I had not tried making them with a couple of special ingredients: wing sauce and bleu cheese! Let me just say, enchiladas and buffalo sauce are a match made in comfort-food heaven.

  • Super Easy: With only 20 minutes of active prep, these buffalo chicken enchiladas come together really easily!
  • Perfect for Game Day: I made these especially for my husband, Jorge, and he absolutely loved them. Served with cold beer, these meaty, cheesy enchiladas are the ultimate “man food!” Seriously, if your husband and family are anything like mine, this recipe will be an instant favorite. 
  • All That Flavor: This recipe is a combo of two awesome classic flavors: enchiladas and buffalo wings! And just like with any great dish, feel free to customize the level of heat to your own preference!

If you love this twist on the classic chicken enchilada, you’ll also love our cheese enchiladas, breakfast enchiladas, and cheesy vegetarian enchiladas!

From top left: Flour tortillas, shredded cheese, shredded chicken, green onions, red enchilada sauce, bleu cheese, cilantro, buffalo wing sauce, diced tomatoes with green chilies.

What You’ll Need

Let’s get into the delicious ingredients for this recipe! Honestly, one of my favorite things about making it is that there’s practically no chopping or slicing needed. Everything is easy to pull off the shelf or out of the fridge, and assemble. Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.

  • Chicken: Cooked, shredded chicken is the main ingredient for the enchilada filling. As mentioned before, any shredded chicken is fine, whether store-bought or homemade.
  • Enchilada Sauce: I love to use my favorite homemade red enchilada sauce here – I think it works better with the wing sauce than green enchilada sauce, but it’s up to you!
  • Diced Tomatoes: A can of diced tomatoes with green chilies adds so much flavor! Drain out the liquid well, to avoid making the enchiladas soggy.
  • Buffalo Sauce: You can use your favorite buffalo wing sauce here. I like Frank’s wing sauce (not hot sauce, which will be much spicier and not have that buffalo taste).
  • Green Onions: Chop these up and divide them in half. You’ll use half for the filling, and half for garnish.
  • Cheese: Shredded Mexican-blend cheese is my go-to, or you can shred your own favorite melting cheeses. Additionally, you’ll want some crumbled bleu cheese. Yum!
  • Tortillas: I used homemade flour tortillas, but you can substitute store bought or corn tortillas if you prefer.
  • Fresh Cilantro: Chopped fresh cilantro is the finishing touch. However, if you don’t like cilantro, that’s fine – you can use parsley, or just leave it out altogether. Your buffalo chicken enchiladas will still be amazing!

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

If you’ve ever made your own enchiladas, you are probably going to be very familiar with this process, but if not, no worries! It’s very easy to do, and actually kind of fun. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for detailed instructions.

  • Prep: Get your oven preheating to 350°F, and lightly spray your baking dish with cooking spray. I use a small-ish casserole dish, but you can also double the recipe and use a large one.
  • Buffalo-Enchilada Sauce: Mix together the enchilada sauce and a small amount of the buffalo sauce, in a medium-sized bowl. My family likes ours on the spicy side, so I use ⅓ cup buffalo sauce, but you can definitely use less or more depending on your taste.
  • Make the Filling: In a bigger mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken, diced tomatoes with green chilies, half of the green onions, and half a cup of the Mexican cheese. Pour in half a cup of your sauce, and mix it all together well to create the filling mixture.
  • Assemble: Spread half a cup of the sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish. Fill one tortilla at a time, using ⅙ of the filling mixture per tortilla. Roll up the enchiladas and place them in your baking dish, seam-side-down. Once all the enchiladas are rolled and placed in the dish, pour the rest of the sauce over them, and then top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
  • Bake: Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Take the enchiladas out of the oven, and sprinkle the crumbled bleu cheese, chopped cilantro, and remaining green onions on top.
  • Enjoy! 
Overhead shot of a white casserole dish with chicken enchiladas.

Easy Variations

In addition to making the recipe as written, there are tons of easy ways you can customize buffalo chicken enchiladas. Here are just a few of the tweaks and changes you can make: 

  • Turkey or Pork: If you have other leftovers you’d rather use, feel free! You can easily substitute shredded turkey or pulled pork in this dish. Yum!
  • Vegetarian: Steam and pat dry your favorite mild veggies (or grains) for this recipe, in place of the meat: squash, potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, rice… whatever you like!
  • Layered: You can also make enchiladas by layering the ingredients, instead of rolling – easy and quick.
  • Spicy: Substitute a spicy wing sauce in this recipe, or just add cayenne pepper to taste. 
A close-up of a cheesy casserole garnished with bleu cheese and chopped green onions.

How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Are you stumped when it comes to side dishes for your enchiladas? Well, they are kind of a one-dish meal, so honestly, you can get away without making any sides at all. However, if you’d like to add an extra dish or two to your menu, try one of these:

  • A Fresh Salad: Whether you set out a garden salad, iceberg wedge, or a big bowl of watermelon salad with feta and mint, crunchy raw produce is the perfect contrast to warm, cheesy, buffalo chicken enchiladas.
  • Corn on the Cob: Chicken and corn are a classic, family-pleasing combo. There are plenty of ways to make corn on the cob, but one of our favorites is in the air fryer! Try this easy air fryer corn on the cob, and see for yourself!
  • Arroz con Gandules: A Puerto Rican favorite, arroz con fandules is made with medium-grain rice and mild, nutty pigeon peas, spices with Sazon and sofrito. Yum! 
Close-up shot of an enchilada that has been cut in half on a small serving plate, to show the filling.

Storing and Reheating the Leftovers

The best part of making dinner is the leftovers! Here’s how to store and reheat them:

  • Store: Enchiladas will keep in the fridge for up to two days. Place them in an airtight container or zip-top bag, or just cover the baking dish with plastic wrap.
  • Reheat: To reheat, bake the enchiladas in a 350F oven until heated through. You can melt extra cheese on top if you like!
  • Freeze: To freeze leftover baked enchiladas, just cool them down and store in airtight containers, freezer bags, or just wrap in a couple of layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to three months. Reheat directly from frozen in a 350F oven. To freeze unbaked enchiladas, just assemble the casserole, and then wrap the whole thing in two layers of plastic wrap and one of foil. Freeze for up to three months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 20 – 30 minutes to the bake time.

FAQs

How do you avoid soggy enchiladas?

If you have trouble with your enchiladas turning out soggy, you can try lightly pan-frying the tortillas in a small amount of hot oil before rolling and frying. Another trick is to lightly coat the tortillas in sauce before rolling them up, and then discard the remaining sauce instead of pouring it over the casserole. This way, everything is saucy, but not soaked!

Should I use corn or flour tortillas for my chicken enchiladas?

This really depends on your taste – both work fine, but corn tortillas are sometimes preferred because they are sturdier. If you don’t mind (or prefer) soft enchiladas, then flour is just fine. If you would rather have a firmer, chewier texture, go with corn!

Baked enchiladas topped with bleu cheese and green onions.

More Spicy Dinner Ideas

A buffalo chicken enchilada on a small white plate with a fork.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Recipe
Yield: 4 – 6 Servings

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas are the spicy, cheesy, satisfying dinner casserole you need in your life! Easy chicken enchiladas are spiked with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese in this fun twist on the original.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds chicken breast, cooked and shredded
  • 1 14- ounce can red enchilada sauce
  • 1 10- ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
  • cup buffalo wing sauce, I used Frank’s
  • 4 green onions, divided in half
  • 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 6 8- inch flour tortillas, can substitute corn tortillas
  • cup crumbled bleu cheese
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray, and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together the enchilada sauce and the buffalo wing sauce. We use ⅓ cup because we like it spicy, but you can use less to make a mild version. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, toss together the shredded chicken, diced tomatoes with green chilies, half the green onions, and ½ cup Mexican-blend cheese. Slowly pour in ½ cup of the enchilada sauce mixture, and stir until combined.
  • Pour ½ cup of the enchilada sauce mixture into the prepared casserole dish, and spread it to the edges. Working with one tortilla at a time, fill with ⅙ of the chicken mixture. Roll up the tortilla, and place it seam-side-down in the dish. Once all the tortillas are filled and placed, pour the remaining sauce mixture over the enchiladas, and top with the remaining Mexican cheese.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Immediately after taking the enchiladas out of the oven, top with bleu cheese, cilantro, and the remaining onions. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 511kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 49g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 129mg, Sodium: 1594mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g

Categories:

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Related Posts

Comments

Welcome!

Jessica
I'm a trial & error, self taught, sugar addict who thankfully learned how to survive in the kitchen! I am also a wife, mama of 3.