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Another amazing recipe from you! My husband and I LOVE your site, and have never had a bad meal from you. I absolutely LOVED using the rice cooker, I never utilize it but when I do I am always so happy with how my rice turns out, or quinoa/chicken mixture turns out. Thanks for another great tasting recipe!
Erica
Chicken, quinoa, cheese, black beans, spices! Tortillas, more cheese, sauce!
Eating, eating leftovers, eating moooore!
And that’s the short story of this recipe.
Okay, I know I’ve been on a roll with the recipe names lately 😁 but let me just take a second to assure you that you don’t have to identify with LAZY or GIRL to love this recipe.
But if you do happen to be a lazy girl, let’s cover a few things.
First of all, we are one in the same and I can feel you here on this blog in spirit. I say that I love to work hard, but that’s actually only true for about 1/10th of my life. What my inner LG really loves is super easy real food meals that are healthy enough to make me feel okay about skipping tonight’s workout in order to binge watching TV shows in my sweats on the couch. These are the things I love. Truly, madly, deeply. Fitspo much? I know you understand.
And secondly -> 🏆🏆🏆 with this recipe.
Let me be your fearless lazy girl leader for two seconds while I tell you that you can make this healthy + delicious enchilada filling all in one fell swoop – you will just dump everything in one big pot and you’ll be off and running to enchilada heaven. Sounds romantic, right? Secrets of the lazy girl club right here, friends.
Sauce Talk
I’ll give it to you straight – you can use homemade or you can use canned with this recipe.
I am not above canned enchilada sauce – I mean, what kind of LG would I be if I didn’t partake in that kind of convenience? I’m pretty sure we’ve got at least three cans in our pantry right now: pantry meaning small Ikea shelf down in the basement that holds miscellaneous food items. 🏆
BUT.
This homemade version is worth the (very minimal) effort, because it’s essentially a five minute blender enchilada / all purpose Mexican-flavor-inspired sauce that goes with everything. It’s super easy. It’s really good. It’s made with legit TOMATOES (most enchilada sauce recipes don’t have tomatoes – does that seem weird to anyone else?) and onions and jalapeños and spices, pureed into a smooth-but-not-too-smooth sauce that feels real because it IS real.
Oh, that? NBD – just a shot of the metal bowl of my rice cooker where I dumped everything in and stirred it all together.
Okay, I’m almost done here (lazy girl wants to get another coffee and eat it with another chocolate chip cookie because sometimes that’s what she eats for breakfast ☕️) but one more topic of conversation.
Crockpot vs. Rice Cooker
Yes – the crockpot works! 🎉 Put the same ingredients in the crockpot, maybe a little more liquid just to be safe, grease the sides so it doesn’t all stick, and cook on low while you’re at work all day. This can definitely work.
Just be warned – if you use the crockpot, the texture of the filling will not be normal. The quinoa gets heavy and sticky, which is sort of meh. Then again, the reality is that this filling is going inside a tortilla, getting covered with sauce, and baking until semi-smushy anyways, so it’s not like the regular people of the world are going to notice a huge difference.
As a better alternative, the rice cooker is fast and easy and it keeps the quinoa fluffy. It will all still be getting mixed with sauce and cheese and stuffed into a tortilla, sooo whether or not a person would notice the improved fluffiness is debatable. But I liked that it cooked super fast and maintained the original quinoa texture when I used the rice cooker, and that’s how I’d recommend doing it.
Do people even read this stuff? 😂
Just hurry up and get started with these chicken quinoa enchiladas. DINNER TONIGHT.
Lazy Girl Chicken Quinoa Enchiladas
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 large enchiladas 1x
Description
You won’t believe how easy this recipe is! Comfort food meets REAL food with healthy, simple ingredients. SO deliciously good!
Ingredients
For the Enchiladas
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 14 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- 4 cups enchilada sauce (use canned sauce OR see recipe below)
- 10 10-inch flour tortillas
For the Sauce (optional)
- 1 28 ounce can tomatoes (refilled once with water or broth)
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 3 tablespoons taco or Southwestern seasoning
- half an onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
Instructions
- If the chicken breasts are large, cut them in half or in fourths. Put the quinoa, broth, and chicken in a rice cooker. Select the “white rice” setting – when it’s done, just double check that the chicken is cooked through. You can shred it with two forks directly in the pot.
- If you’re making your own sauce, puree all the sauce ingredients in a blender. If you want, simmer the sauce for a while to bring out more flavor. But this is the lazy girl’s enchiladas, so…
- Pour about half of the sauce, half of the cheese, and the black beans directly into the rice cooker with the cooked quinoa and chicken – stir to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a scoop of the quinoa chicken filling in the center of a tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in a 9×13 baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas are filled.
- Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Serve!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: enchilada recipe, quinoa enchilada, chicken enchilada, easy enchilada
We love this recipe! I must have made it 5 times now. My kiddo (who apparently doesn’t like quinoa…) asks for it!
Thanks for sharing it 🙂
These are delicious, and I have made them a few times over the years, but, had not made them in a while. When I glanced over the recipe I realized that these are made in the rice cooker — that I sold in my last garage sale! I felt confident using my Instant Pot for rice and grains and felt I did not need two appliances.
The recipe turned out excellent in the IP, on the Rice setting. My IP sets the time for 10 minutes (that I cannot adjust), and I let it natural pressure release for 25 minutes.
This has become a staple in our house! Originally made for a sick family member, which it is great for, but it’s also just straight up delicious and easy AF. Thank you!
I LOVE enchiladas, but I’ve been very lazy about cooking for years. I love the title of this… lazy girl enchiladas! haha This is for me. 🙂 The recipe seems quite simple, I think I might be able to pull this off without burning down the kitchen. Just kidding… but really, the fact that I can make 10 enchiladas in one batch would be great. That means I could cook for 5 days worth of dinners in one night. Also, could someone tell me the serving size? It says the calories per serving, but I’m not certain if that’s for just 1 or 2 enchiladas? I don’t want to eat 2 of them for almost 1,000 calories! 😛 Thanks in advance.
Serving size is 1 enchilada. Enjoy!
Funny story, after making the chicken/quinoa in the rice cooker I was shredding and sampling and shredding and eating, that now when I need a quick meal idea I make that in the rice cooker with a vegetable side. Everyone loves it haha. Someday I should really make these enchiladas again if I can stop eating the filling straight out of the cooker…
Hi there just wondering could you use fresh tomatoes instead of canned? I just really don’t liked canned tomatoes. I hope it won’t change the taste?
What would the instant pot setting be to make this? I have done it in the crock pot before but I’m obsessed with my in IP and was hoping you would have the right settings and times 🙏
Very tasty recipe! I didn’t end up using all the sauce though, even when I simmered it for a while. I’ll try cutting the broth by half or entirely next time to concentrate the flavor more. Really tasty though!
If I use a crockpot how long do I cook it and at low?? Just throw the quinoa and raw chicken in together??
Can you use corn tortillas instead for people who have gluten intolerance?
Yep, that should work! 🙂
Will try this receipt today
Question: It says 364 cal per serving and it serves 10 large enchiladas. So ONE of these enchiladas has 364 calories??? Ain’t it a bit much for one enchilada? Sorry to bother you with this but I’m counting calories… and I really wanna try this dish.
Hi, Claudia! One enchilada is considered one serving. They are large enchilada, so one enchilada with some steamed veggies or a green salad could certainly be enough for a meal. If you are looking for ways to cut back on the calories, cut out some of the cheese and use a low-calorie tortilla. Enjoy!
Thanks for the great recipe!! I want to cook this for my bestfriend’s birthday! But I want to add more ingredients to be more delicious to taste, so what ingredients can you suggest? Hope that my bestfriend like it. Thank you very much :*
Hi, Charlene! I think some roasted peppers, onions, and corn would be yummy in these! You could also add some jalepenos or other spicy peppers if you want more heat.
I made the homemade sauce but it looks like it made an awful lot. Did you use all of the sauce or have leftovers?
There will definitely be leftovers. Keep the leftovers for another time, or another recipe! (check out https://pinchofyum.com/spicy-lentil-nachos-with-three-cheese-sauce The sauce also freezes great if you don’t plan to use it up soon.
I had Tried. It’s so testy and would like to thank for this dish.
thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for the great recipe!! I made these for dinner tonight. You can’t get much easier and not sacrifice yummy flavors! Truly, a great last minute meal! I did change a couple things. I used corn tortillas instead of flour. Also, I used the recipe for the enchilada sauce, but found it did not need two cans of water or broth. I think I added about 14 oz. The only other thing I would change is the amount of chicken. Next time I will increase it by about 8 oz.
So glad you liked it, Virginia!
The recipe asks for 4 cups of enchilada sauce, so making the enchilada sauce as above (1 – 28 ounce can tomatoes (refilled twice with water or broth)) to equal 56 oz of water resulted in enough leftover sauce to freeze for a second batch, which I will use in Spicy Lentil Nachos with Three Cheese Sauce (looks yummy).
I mixed 2 cups into the rice cooker, and the remaining 2 cups over the rolled tortillas. I found it very liquidy and difficult to roll the enchiladas, although they did turn out excellent. I have never made (or used canned) enchilada sauce. Is this very runny consistency correct?
Good question! Canned enchilada sauce is runny as well, so this consistency is correct. Glad they ended up turning out even after the messy prep!
I’m such a succker for Enchiladas… this sounds great. I do have a question, though. Based a 28 oz can refilled twice with water… we’re talking 84 oz so 10.5 cups? so this makes leftover sauce as well?
You will have leftover sauce. You could freeze it for another batch, or use it up on the lentil nachos Lindsay just posted! 🙂
Yay! This sounds totally delish! I have everything to make it except the flour tortillas…I currently have white corn ones….what do you think about using them??? This LG will do anything to keep from going to the store!
I think that would definitely work! Anything to avoid a trip to the store. 😉
Another amazing recipe from you! My husband and I LOVE your site, and have never had a bad meal from you. I absolutely LOVED using the rice cooker, I never utilize it but when I do I am always so happy with how my rice turns out, or quinoa/chicken mixture turns out. Thanks for another great tasting recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it, Erica!
I’m laying in bed at 11:30pm reading this and my mouth is literally WATERING. Saved as a PDF for next weeks’ grocery list! Thank you, thank you!!
iamkelskels.blogspot.com
Enjoy, Kelsey!
please excuse the carnivore in me, I bbq all the time, but could you please tell me what the heck is QUINOA?
ha! 🙂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa
You should my arms right now, both raised over my head like uhuh, total lazy girl right here. These enchiladas are the perfect weeknight dinner when I don’t even want to step foot in the kitchen.
Yes! A meal that almost just makes itself.
Me parecio estupenda tu receta y tu pagina. Felicitaciones
Gracias Enrique!
I am definitely a lazy girl cook and this recipe is a perfect fit for my weeknight energy level! Looks delish!!!
Thanks Whitney! My feelings exactly.