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We love enchiladas around here. For years I’ve been making four main kinds: Poblano Chile Enchiladas, Crockpot Enchiladas, Cheese Enchiladas, and Beef Enchiladas. I’m a little particular about my tortillas. In my book, enchiladas are meant to be made from corn tortillas. I’m not a fan of flour tortillas getting all gummy in the sauce.
So there you have it.
A couple of years ago during a pantry challenge, I had a craving for enchiladas. We had cheese, corn tortillas, and chicken, but no sauce. I decided to make my own creamy sauce, adding a different type of enchilada to our repertoire.
I’ve since tested it a number of ways, varying the chile that goes in the sauce and the cheese that is used. I prefer finely chopped jalapenos or canned green chiles to roasted poblanos. The poblanos didn’t enhance the sauce. Pepper jack is perfect for offsetting the creaminess of the sauce. You can use regular monterey jack, but it doesn’t give quite the oomph.
If you’re not a fan of spicy, you can disregard all those comments. Ha! Feel free to experiment, using what you have. This recipe was, after all, born from a pantry challenge.
These enchiladas are a great way to use up leftover turkey from a holiday meal, but you can use cooked chicken or pork as well. You could even fill the enchiladas with rice and beans or just cheese. Whatever you like will work.
Creamy Turkey Enchiladas
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ onion (½ cup finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 jalapeno finely chopped or 7 ounce can chopped green chiles
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chile powder or ground chile
- salt
- black pepper
- 12 corn tortillas
- 8 oz pepper jack cheese (shredded)
- 2 cup turkey (cooked and cubed) cooked chicken can also be used
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9×13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken stock. Simmer until thick, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in jalapeno or chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
- Lay out the tortillas on a work surface. Divide the turkey and 1 ½ cups of cheese among the tortillas. Roll them up and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish.
- Pour the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the filling is hot and sauce and cheese are bubbly.
Charity L.
Can I make this in advance and freeze it?
How long will it be good frozen? How do I re-heat it?
I am making a large turkey breast tonight and am trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers!
Jessica Fisher
Sorry for the delay in answering your question. You might not need my answer now. Anyway, I chill enchiladas (unbaked), wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months. I bake from frozen so the tortillas don’t get too soggy. Add about 15 minutes to baking time and check for cold spots. Hope that helps.
Anna
This is a staple in our house! I have also done this with chicken and flour tortillas I needed to use up and it is also superb. It’s so versatile and the spices are spot on. Highly recommend!! Also, if you don’t have enough cream cheese (like me sometimes), I add sour cream.
Alicia @ Green Lifestyle Changes
Thanks for the recipe! We’ve always enjoyed my mother-in-laws turkey enchiladas which feature cans of cream of chicken soup, but we’re trying to eat healthier foods – and avoid BPAs. You make cooking your own sauce sound so easy we just might try it this year.
She also insists on deep frying the tortillas to soften them so they don’t crack when you roll them. How do you avoid that?
Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
I agree on softening the tortillas in hot oil. An alternative is to warm them in the microwave or the griddle. The tortilla will absorb more sauce that way since the oil acts as a barrier. If that doesn’t bother you, then go ahead and warm them until pliable. You might still get a little cracking. Alternatively, when I make enchiladas with homemade corn tortillas I never soften them in oil and it works out just fine. Those are more pliable when fresh.
Rebekah
In case it’s any help, I can get the same results as frying by spraying them with a bit of cooking spray on both sides and heating them in a 325 degree oven for about 5 minutes. It just takes a quick shot of spray on each side and the results are just as yummy as fried – really!