Enchilada Stuffed Chicken Skillet (Inside-Out Chicken Enchiladas)

This ONE PAN ENCHILADA STUFFED CHICKEN SKILLET (Or Inside Out Chicken Enchiladas) are a family favorite! Chicken stuffed with rice, enchilada sauce, cream cheese, tomatoes, and more cheese. You’ve never had a meal this good!

This Enchilada Stuffed Chicken Skillet was one of those recipes that hit me late and night and made me wide awake. Does that make me a dork?? (YES). Let’s be honest, I always have Mexican food on the mind (CHEESE), but had never thought about stuffing a chicken breast with everything I love about enchiladas (RICE, CHEESE, CILANTRO, TOMATOES, ENCHILADA SAUCE), essentially making Inside-Out Chicken Enchiladas. A one pan meal that tastes like my favorite Mexican dish??! I sat up in bed, made a note on my phone, and then researched it first thing in the morning. I can’t find anything quite like this on the internet, which is very rare these days. I LOVE THIS RECIPE SO MUCH and I hope you do too! I guess I can thank my cheese-loving subconscious for coming up with it!!

So here’s what you do. You stuff large boneless skinless chicken breasts with a mixture of rice, cream cheese, Mexican blend cheese, cilantro, diced tomatoes, and enchilada sauce. You seal them with toothpicks just to keep all that good stuff inside, and then cook the chicken in a mixture of oil and more enchilada sauce in a large skillet. Once almost done, you pour more sauce over the chicken and top with as much cheese as possible, and bake to finish the chicken. YOU GUYS. It is SO good. The chicken is moist and tender, and when you cut into it…all that cheesy rice pours out. And it is…heaven.

I mean…look at what happens when you slice it. I CAN’T.

I hope you enjoy this cheesiness as much as I do. ENJOY!

Enchilada Stuffed Chicken Skillet (Inside-Out Chicken Enchiladas)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Author: Becky Hardin | The Cookie Rookie

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Ingredients

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 10 ounce can Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce, divided
• 2 cups cooked white rice still hot
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped (plus more for garnish)
• 4 ounces low fat cream cheese
• 1 ounce taco seasoning Click for Homemade Recipe!
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cherry tomatoes or pico de gallo
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together the hot cooked rice, cilantro, cream cheese, taco seasoning, 1 cup Mexican blend cheese, 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce, tomatoes, and onion. Stir until fully combined and the cream cheese is melted and incorporated (microwave a bit if necessary).
• Cut each chicken breast lengthwise, as deep as possible. You want as big of a pocket to stuff with the rice as you can get without cutting fully in half.
• Stuff each breast with 1/4 of the rice mixture, pushing the rice as much to the back of the pocket as you can. If you'd like, you can seal the breasts with toothpicks, but that is optional (and if you add them, be sure to remember they're there before eating!) If you don't seal them, some rice may come out while cooking, which is totally fine.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Add the chicken to the skillet and sear both sides for 5-6 minutes each.
• Remove from the heat and cover the chicken with the remaining enchilada sauce, and remaining 1 cup cheese.
• Bake the chicken uncovered in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through.
• If you sealed with toothpicks, remove before eating.
• Serve and enjoy!

This post has been sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions are 100% mine. Thank you SO much for supporting the brands that help support The Cookie Rookie!