How Long To Bake Enchiladas At 350? Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Today, we will look at exactly how long to bake enchiladas at 350. This is a very important question because baking for the incorrect amount of time could lead to burnt, soggy, or dry enchiladas.
If you enjoyed this guide, you’ll also love my article on the 10 Best Mexican Soups.
Then, without further or do, let’s take a look at how long to bake enchiladas at 350.
What Are Enchiladas? And How Do You Make Enchiladas From Scratch?
Enchiladas are one of my favorite mainstream Mexican dishes. Essentially, this is a dish made with a delicious savory filling rolled in a corn tortilla. A couple of these filled tortillas are then placed in a baking dish, covered with a delicious sauce and often a ton of cheese.
Finally, your enchiladas can bake in an oven until the sauce and cheese become melty and sometimes charred.
Naturally, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different variations for this dish. It’s the same with dishes like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas.
Variables For Enchiladas
The biggest variables for this dish are the filling and the sauce used.
When it comes to the filling, a classic flavor profile to go for is anything meaty, rich, and heavily spiced. There are also a ton of different vegetarian filling options that still portray those flavors. You can use any meat, vegetables, and spice-base.
Then, when it comes to the sauce, your options are also somewhat versatile. Most people go for a chili-based sauce. Some great examples of these can be salsa Roja or moles.
Then, you can also create a simpler, but equally flavorful tomato-based sauce or a cheese-based sauce.
After your enchiladas are finished, you can garnish them with more cheese, sour cream, salsa, shredded lettuce, chili peppers, guacamole, or fresh herbs. Any garnish that goes onto a classic Mexican dish will work for enchiladas too.
So, now that you have a better understanding of what exactly enchiladas are, let’s look at how long to bake enchiladas at 350.
How Long To Bake Enchiladas At 350?
Now, baking enchiladas at 350 is, in my opinion, the ideal temperature.
It is hot enough to melt the cheese topping, but not so hot as to completely char it. It also doesn’t dry out the sauce or tortillas too much and is the perfect way to reheat the enchiladas too.
So, how long to bake enchiladas at 350? I’d recommend only leaving your enchiladas for 20 minutes. Remember, the timer starts once the oven is already hot.
If after 20 minutes you want your cheese and sauce to be uber charred, you can always set the oven on grill and leave it for another 5 minutes.
If you heat the enchiladas from cold, it will take slightly longer for them to heat. Anywhere between 20-25 minutes will probably suffice.
How Long To Bake Enchiladas At 400?
If you bake the enchiladas at a higher temperature, their baking time will be slightly shorter. At 400ºF (200ºC), you can expect them to be ready within 15 minutes.
Just keep in mind that sometimes, especially with ovens that have hot spots, the cheese may char too much while the inside isn’t completely warm.
FAQs On How Long To Bake Enchiladas At 350?
Should I cover enchiladas while they are baking?
This is up to you. I don’t bake my enchiladas with a cover, but many other people do. I believe it has to do mainly with your baking temperature. If you use 400ºF (200ºC), you should definitely cover them with foil. It will help prevent the cheese from burning while the inside is still cold. But again, 350ºF (180ºC) for 20 minutes is fine if you don’t cover them.
How do you prevent soggy enchiladas?
It is crucial that your tortillas are heated or fried before you add the filling. This helps create a barrier between the saucy filling and the dough. It will ultimately help prevent or delay soggy enchiladas.
Is it better to use flour or corn tortillas for enchiladas?
It’s entirely up to you. Many people prefer corn tortillas because of their flavor. However, flour tortillas often work better because they are more pliable. You can choose any that you’d like to.
More delicious Recipes
Uber Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas With Easy Homemade Sauce
Ingredients
For the chicken enchiladas
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into strips
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Fine salt, to taste
- 8 flour tortillas
- 3 cups Mexican-blend cheese, grated
For the enchilada sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp cake flour
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
For garnish
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 small red onion, diced
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Cook your chicken
- To start, prepare your chicken. Heat some olive oil in a medium frying pan. Then, season your chicken strips with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add your chicken pieces to the heated oil. Fry them for roughly 5-7 minutes per side. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165ºF (74ºC) when it's cooked. Alternatively, here are other ways to tell when chicken is cooked.
- Remove your chicken from the heat and set it aside to cool slightly.
- Once cooled a bit, you can shred the chicken completely. This is where you can play around with texture and how big you want the chicken pieces to be.
- Set the chicken aside when you're finished.
Make the enchilada sauce
- Next, make the enchilada sauce. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine well.
- Add the spices and dried herbs. Whisk the ingredients together well so you have a flavorful paste.
- Then, slowly whisk in the vegetable broth in a thin stream. Keep whisking to ensure no lumps form as the paste is thinned out.
- After all of the broth has been added, whisk in the tomato paste. Bring the enchilada sauce to a simmer and remove it from the heat.
- Allow it to cool for a while.
Assemble, bake, and serve your chicken enchiladas
- To assemble your enchiladas for baking, start by mixing together the shredded chicken with 1/3 cup enchilada sauce.
- Next, heat the flour tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then, flip them over and microwave the other side for another 30 seconds. They should be warm and pliable.
- Place one tortilla on a flat surface. Add a generous amount of filling and some grated cheese. Don't use all of the cheese for the filling. Reserve some for the topping.
- Once the tortilla is filled, roll it tightly and place it inside a baking dish, seam side facing downwards.
- Repeat until your entire baking dish is filled with stuffed tortillas.
- Then, add the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Top them with shredded cheese.
- Finally, bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes at 350ºF (180ºC).
- Once baked, serve them immediately with your fresh garnishes.
