Red Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Corn tortillas filled with seasoned chicken, smothered in authentic red enchilada sauce and melted cheese.
31 recipes using chicken — Tacos, enchiladas, mole and vibrant chilli-spiced dishes.
These 31 mexican chicken recipes are ready in about 95 minutes on average, with 220–720 kcal per serving, and 29% are rated easy enough for a weeknight. Every recipe includes exact ingredient quantities, step-by-step instructions and full nutrition per serving.
Mexican cooking is layered and vibrant — toasted chillies and charred aromatics built into salsas and slow-cooked dishes of real depth. When Mexican cooks work with chicken, they reach for dried chillies, cumin, lime, coriander, garlic and tomatillos, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are simmering, frying, boiling and marinating.
The world's most-cooked protein — mild, lean and endlessly adaptable to almost any spice profile or cooking method. In this collection it's most often cooked with garlic, dried oregano, corn tortillas, white onion, ground cumin and onion. The dishes here span mexican classics ready in as little as 25 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.
Reader favourite: Charred Citrus Chicken Mexican is the highest-rated dish in this collection at 4.9★ from 2,517 ratings.
Corn tortillas filled with seasoned chicken, smothered in authentic red enchilada sauce and melted cheese.
Sizzling strips of chilli-marinated chicken with colourful peppers and onions — served in warm flour tortillas with all the trimmings.
Mexico's most celebrated sauce — a deep, complex mole from Puebla with over 20 ingredients including multiple dried chillies, spices, tomatoes and dark chocolate.
Corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken, rolled and smothered in tangy tomatillo salsa verde, topped with crema, queso fresco and onion.
Mexico's most complex and revered sauce — a rich, deeply spiced chocolate mole with toasted chillies, chocolate and more than 20 ingredients, served over tender chicken.
Yucatán's fragrant lime soup — a clear chicken broth with shredded chicken, tomatoes, and charred aromatics, served with fried tortilla strips and lime wedges.
Classic Mexican tamales filled with chicken and tangy green tomatillo salsa, wrapped in corn masa dough and steamed in corn husks until tender.
A complex, slow-built mole from 24+ ingredients — chiles, chocolate, nuts, seeds and spices — served over poached chicken.
Shredded chicken in a smoky chipotle-tomato sauce with caramelised onions — Mexico's most beloved weeknight comfort dish.
Complex Mexican sauce with chocolate, chilies, and 20+ ingredients — deep, layered, festive.
Oaxaca's smoky, chocolate-and-chili mole with 30 ingredients — rich, dark, ceremonial.
Yucatecan fried-tortilla street snack — puffed masa discs topped with achiote chicken, pickled red onion, and avocado.
Yucatán's bright, fragrant chicken soup perfumed with the rare lima agria (bitter lime) and topped with crispy fried tortilla strips.
Fragrant Yucatecan soup with chicken, lime, tomato and crispy tortilla strips — a regional gem.
Crispy baked corn tortillas piled with refried beans, queso fresco, lettuce and salsa — fast and perfect.
Classic Tex-Mex fajitas with marinated skirt steak or chicken, charred bell peppers and onions, served sizzling hot in warm flour tortillas.
Mexico's most complex sauce: a deep, smoky mole from Puebla made with at least five types of dried chiles, dark chocolate, toasted nuts, spices and chicken, simmered for hours.
Oaxacan tamales wrapped in banana leaves with masa enriched with lard, filled with mole negro and chicken — richer, moister and more complex than corn-husk tamales.
Tender braised chicken in a rich, complex mole sauce of dried chiles, dark chocolate, nuts, and spices — Mexico's most celebrated festive dish.
Charred Citrus Chicken Mexican with toast, chile, corn sweetness and layered savor.
Oaxaca Chile Chicken Rice Bowl brings mexican flavor into a practical home recipe with chicken thighs, toasted chiles, corn, lime and cilantro, and a finish of cilantro.
Puebla Sesame Lime Stew turns mexican pantry flavors into a complete stew with chicken legs, toasted chiles, corn, lime and cilantro, and a fresh cilantro finish.
Sonora Green Herb Salad turns mexican pantry flavors into a complete salad with grilled chicken, toasted chiles, corn, lime and cilantro, and a fresh cilantro finish.
Mexican Market Lemon Herb Rice Bowl brings mexican flavor to a practical rice bowl built with chicken thighs, toasted chiles, corn, lime and cilantro, and a fresh cilantro finish.
Mexican Mountain Green Herb Salad brings mexican flavor to a practical salad built with grilled chicken, toasted chiles, corn, lime and cilantro, and a fresh cilantro finish.
Grilled chicken glazed with a sweet-tart tamarind and lime sauce, served over cilantro-lime rice.
A golden, achiote-tinted chicken soup deepened with slow-caramelized onions and fresh lime.
Chicken thighs roasted in a smoky chipotle-tomato sauce with onions, ready to shred into tacos or serve over rice.
A whole chicken marinated in garlic, lime, orange juice, and achiote, roasted until the skin turns deep golden and citrusy.
A baked spin on arroz con pollo, with warm spices, tomatoes, and bone-in chicken roasting right into the rice.
A festive bowl of green pozole with hominy and shredded chicken, topped with all the classic fresh garnishes.
Look for plump, pinkish flesh with no grey patches and a clean smell. Thighs stay juicier than breasts and forgive overcooking; bone-in, skin-on pieces deliver the most flavour.
Pat dry before searing for proper browning, and bring it to room temperature for 15 minutes so it cooks evenly. Marinades with acid or yoghurt tenderise lean breast meat.
Cook to an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F — the juices should run clear and there should be no pink at the bone.
A lean, high-protein choice: a skinless breast delivers roughly 31 g of protein per 100 g with very little saturated fat.
Most of these 31 Mexican chicken recipes are ready in around 95 minutes from start to finish. The quickest, Classic Bean and Cheese Tostadas, takes about 25 minutes, while the slower-cooked dishes run up to 270 minutes.
Across this collection they range from about 220 to 720 kcal per serving, averaging 460 kcal — Tamales Verdes is the lightest option at 220 kcal.
Chicken Fajitas is a great place to start — it's rated easy and comes together in about 40 minutes. 29% of the recipes here are beginner-friendly.
In these recipes, chicken is most often paired with garlic, dried oregano, corn tortillas, white onion, ground cumin and onion. Mexican kitchens also lean on dried chillies, cumin, lime, coriander, garlic and tomatillos.
Cook to an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F — the juices should run clear and there should be no pink at the bone.
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