One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta

One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta takes your favorite enchilada recipe and turns it into a quick and easy pasta dish. Tender chicken, pasta, taco seasoning, enchilada sauce and cheese create a delicious meal the whole family will love! The leftovers are even better the next day!  

ONE POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA 

My love for enchiladas runs deep.

When I have to pick Mexican food it is a tie between enchiladas and crispy tacos.

Well that is if you don’t count chips and salsa as a meal?

Enchiladas usually win and my whole family agrees. 

For me I really think my love stems for that sauce.

A few months ago I shared this Homemade Blender Enchilada Sauce which is so easy and great to have on hand or put in the freezer for later.

If you like enchiladas you have to also try these Beef Enchilada Casserole, Easy Vegetarian Enchiladas, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Enchilada Soup, Chicken Enchilada Sliders and Beef Enchiladas. 

One of my favorite things about this One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta recipe is that it is an easy pasta dinner that cooks in one pot which means less clean-up. 

If your family is a fan of enchiladas you need to add this to the menu and it is great for busy weeknights. 

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN THIS ONE POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA?

PASTA: I used rotini noodles in this pasta dish. I tend to like the medium sized pasta in this recipe as it I think it holds the sauce well.  You can use a whole wheat pasta or gluten-free pasta if you want. 

GARLIC: The garlic helps flavor the enchilada pasta but you can leave it out if you don’t want to use it or use 1 tsp. garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic.

SWEET ONION: I added sweet onion for some additional flavor but once again you can leave that out and still get a great pasta. 

CHICKEN BREAST: I used two large chicken diced chicken breasts. I find I like the texture and how it cooks in the pasta. 

TACO SEASONING: The taco seasoning adds a depth of flavor to the dish. If you don’t have taco seasoning on hand you can make your own or you can skip it and just use enchilada sauce. 

CHICKEN BROTH: When making this pasta dish you need to add broth to help cook the pasta since it is a one pot meal. If you prefer to not cook everything together in one pot then you can cook the pasta separately and then add everything in when the pasta is done cooking. 

CHEESE: If you like cheesy enchiladas you can add the cheese to this dish. I used colby cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.  

HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS ENCHILADA PASTA?

SAUTE THE ONION & GARLIC: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the onion and cook for one minute.

Add the garlic and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft.

COOK THE CHICKEN: Add in the diced chicken and the taco seasoning and continue to sauté until the chicken is cooked through.

ADD THE ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS: Add in the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, and noodles and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente and the sauce is reduced by about half.

STIR IN CHEESE: Remove the pasta from the heat and stir in the 1 cup of colby jack cheese and let sit until melted.

GARNISH THE PASTA: Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, chopped green onion, red onion and cilantro.

Store the leftovers in an airtight container. The leftovers are even better the next day.

WAYS TO MODIFY THIS ONE-PAN ENCHILADA PASTA

CHEESE: If you want to add cheese to this dish you can swap colby and sharp cheddar for pepper jack, mozzarella or cotija cheese. 

VEGETABLES: This dish would be great with additional vegetables. Try adding bell pepper, mushrooms, spinach, corn, poblanos, red onion, green chiles, radish or tomatillos. 

SALSA: Another great way to take this dish to the next level is adding salsa to the enchilada sauce or serving the pasta dish with salsa. Some nice options are this Homemade Pico de Gallo, Homemade Salsa, Easy Homemade Salsa Verde or this Avocado Tomatillo Salsa. 

SPICES: If you want to amp up the spices try adding crushed red pepper, chipotle chili powder, cayenne red pepper, chili poweder, cumin or paprika. 

PROTEIN: You can leave the meat out of this dish or you can change up the protein to ground beef for a beef enchilada pasta, steak, shrimp, ground turkey, ground sausage, shredded rotisserie chicken or ground chicken. 

HEAT: If you want to add some extra heat or spice try adding serranos, jalapeños, hot sauce or habaneros. 

VEGETARIAN: To make this dish protein packed but vegetarian add refried beans, black beans, red beans, kidney beans or pinto beans. 

CREAMY: You can make this pasta creamy by adding cream cheese or tomato paste. 

WHAT GARNISHES WORK ON THIS CHEESY ENCHILADA PASTA RECIPE

There are a variety of garnishes you can use that work great in enchiladas: 

FRESH CILANTRO LEAVES

SOUR CREAM OR MEXICAN CREMA

SLICED JALAPENOS

LIME WEDGES

DICED AVOACDO OR GUACAMOLE

RADISHES

GREEN ONIONS

QUESO FRESCO OR COTIJA CHEESE

PICKLED RED ONIONS

CHOPPED MANGO OR PINEAPPLE

CHOPPED BLACK OLIVES

HOW DO YOU STORE LEFTOVERS

This enchilada pasta makes great leftovers. You can store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

HOW DO YOU REHEAT THIS PASTA

When you want to reheat this pasta you can either quickly reheat it in the oven, a skillet or microwave. 

OTHER ONE POT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

ONE POT MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN AND RICE

ONE POT MEDITERRANEAN SHRIMP PASTSA

30 MINUTE BALSAMIC CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

ONE POT CHICKPEA KALE PASTA

ONE POT FRENCH ONION GNOCCHI

ONE POT BROCCOLI SAUSAGE PASTA