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We just love this Mexican Chicken Skillet meal. This one-pan enchilada stuffed chicken breast is a family favorite! Chicken stuffed with rice, enchilada sauce, cream cheese, tomatoes, and more cheese. You’ve never had a meal this good!
What’s in this Mexican Chicken Skillet?
This Enchilada Stuffed Chicken Skillet was one of those recipes that hit me late and night. Let’s be honest, I always have Mexican food on my mind, even in the middle of the night. I had never thought about stuffing a chicken breast with everything I love about enchiladas (rice, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, enchilada sauce), so this seemed like a totally genius idea.
- Chicken: You’ll need large boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Thighs will not fit as much filling.
- Salt + Pepper: To season the chicken. I like to use about 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat.
- Cooked White Rice: Make sure it’s still hot!
- Cilantro: Adds fresh, herbaceous flavor. You can swap for parsley if you’re not a fan.
- Low-Fat Cream Cheese: You can use full-fat, but low-fat keeps this recipe healthier.
- Taco Seasoning: Adds classic Mexican flavor. You can use store-bought or homemade.
- Mexican Blend Cheese: A classic blend of cheeses for enchiladas. You can use Monterey jack, pepper jack, or mozzarella instead.
- Enchilada Sauce: I like Old El Paso red enchilada sauce, but any brand will do, or you can make your own enchilada sauce.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Add freshness to the filling.
- Red Onion: Gives the filling a nice bite.
- Olive Oil: Helps the chicken breasts to cook without burning. You can use avocado, canola, or vegetable oil instead.
Variations on Mexican Stuffed Chicken
There are a few ways to change up this recipe. You can swap the white rice for brown rice, cilantro lime rice, or Mexican rice. For a richer flavor, you can use full-fat cream cheese, or try swapping it out for sour cream.
You can swap the taco seasoning for fajita seasoning and the cheese for your favorite mix of cheeses, like Monterey jack, pepper jack, cheddar, or mozzarella. For a different flavor, you can use green or white enchilada sauce instead of red.
Trademark Note: In the spirit of transparency, I want to note that some of these ingredients are trademarked products. Old El Paso is a proprietary brand that I want to acknowledge and give credit to.
Using hot rice helps to melt the cream cheese and Mexican cheese, allowing the filling to coalesce better. If your rice is cold, either heat it in the microwave, or heat the stirred-together filling in the microwave.
Since you are cutting in half and stuffing with cheese, each side of chicken is relatively thin. This means each side will cook at a shorter time than you might be used to. We found each side took about 5-6 minutes to cook all the way through (zero pink) but it’s good to check your internal temperature.
Your chicken is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. On this Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe, be sure you are testing the temp of the actual meat, not the enchilada stuffing.
If you want to get ahead of things, you can stuff the chicken breasts up to a day ahead of time and keep them covered in the fridge.
How to Store and Reheat a Mexican Stuffed Chicken Breast
Store leftover enchilada stuffed chicken breasts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through.
How to Freeze Mexican Skillet Chicken
Freeze enchilada stuffed chicken breasts in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
What to Serve with a Cheesy Mexican Chicken Skillet
Serve up this enchilada stuffed chicken like they do at your favorite Mexican restaurant! Add some refried beans, this Mexican rice, and plenty of tortilla chips and salsa (I love tomatillo salsa).
Enchilada Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked white rice still hot
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
- 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese (½ brick)
- 1 ounce taco seasoning store-bought or homemade (1 packet)
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese divided
- 10 ounces Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce divided (1 can)
- ½ cup finely chopped cherry tomatoes or pico de gallo
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Set aside.4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- In a large bowl, stir the hot cooked rice, cilantro, cream cheese, taco seasoning, 1 cup Mexican blend cheese, 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce, tomatoes, and onion together until fully combined and the cream cheese is melted and incorporated (microwave a bit if necessary).2 cups cooked white rice, ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese, 1 ounce taco seasoning, 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, 10 ounces Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce, ½ cup finely chopped cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 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 ¼ 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 oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce and 1 tablespoon olive oil.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 to 165°F.
- If you sealed with toothpicks, remove before eating.
Becky’s Tips
- Use a sharp pairing knife to cut a pocket in the chicken. Be sure not to cut all the way through.
- Don’t be shy with the filling, but also don’t overstuff the filling into the chicken breast pocket.
- When seasoning the chicken, I usually use about one teaspoon of salt per pound of chicken.
- To check the doneness of the chicken, use an instant-read meat thermometer. When it reaches 165°F degrees you’re good to plate up!
- Garnish with parsley or cilantro for an extra pop of color.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
More Chicken Enchilada Recipes We Love
- Classic Chicken Enchiladas
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchilada Pie
- Chicken Enchilada Dip
- Chicken Enchilada Pasta Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
could you tell me how much is 1 oz. of taco seasoning? in Tablespoons or teaspoons? Thank you!
A tablespoon contains one-half ounce.
I’ve made this recipe twice and am about to make it for the 3rd time tonight. I cook for a family of 7(4 of them adult sons in their 20’s- so more like a family of 11!). I make 3 batches/triple recipe. This is a phenomenal dish! Sadly, I have a few in my household who are especially whimpy when it comes to flavor/heat, so I’m planning to make 2 batches per the recipe, and 1 batch leaving out the chili’s and pico de Gallo- hoping that will satisfy their bland palates! Thanks so much for this recipe. It’s every bit as good- if not better than our local Mexican restaurant.
Thanks for sharing, Tracy!!
The whole family enjoyed this recipe. And that says alot for my family!! Will be making this again! Thanks for sharing.
That’s awesome!!
This recipe is a definite keeper. Thank you so much Becky for all of your recipes. You sure do make my job of cooking every night a whole lot easier.
I tried this recipe last summer and thought it was so flavorful. I handed the recipe to a friend and forgot to print another one for my self. I’m back to get it again and try a few more of your skillet meals. Genius!
This was very good. I only strayed from the recipe in using regular cream cheese because Kroger was sold out of the generic fat free and the Philadelphia cost twice as much. (It turned out totally fine.) I’m horrible at stuffing chicken breasts so this ended up half stuffed, half topped chicken, lol, but we still loved it. Excellent flavor!
A recipe idea like this would keep me up at night too, I’d be dying to make them! This is a great idea and a meal I know my family would love.
Sounds & looks delicious! We love anything Mexican! But looking at your pictures, the chicken doesn’t look stuffed. I’m a visual learner, so I always look at the picture in recipes before I try them. Anyway, I will be trying this. Other than crockpot cooking (which is my fave) I like one-skillet meals. Thanks!
I love when a recipe gets me that excited! This chicken looks so saucy and delicious! I want!
My oh my! That sounds so damn good! Love chicken enchiladas, but have never made them like this. Awesome idea!