Enchilada Pasta mixes delicious enchilada flavors with pasta’s heartiness, creating the BEST comfort food in just one skillet!
Enchilada Pasta is…
- Quick & Simple: Ready in under 30 minutes with just one skillet.
- Flavorful: A tasty combo of enchilada sauce, spices, and cheese.
- Comforting: Enchiladas meet pasta in the best possible way.
- Customizable: Make it mild or spicy to your preference.
- Pantry-Friendly: Uses ingredients you likely have on hand.
Enchilada Pasta Ingredients
- Diced tomatoes: Choose fire-roasted for extra flavor.
- Enchilada sauce: Mild, medium, or hot, based on preference.
- Shell pasta: This recipe is tested with medium-sized shells.
- Chicken broth: Or use water and chicken bouillon in a pinch.
- Taco seasoning: Homemade for the most flavor, or store-bought to save time.
- Black beans: Rinse well to reduce sodium.
- Corn: Fresh, frozen, or canned.
- Bell peppers: Use minis for more color, or 1 large pepper.
- Rotisserie chicken: A quick, flavorful protein; make sure it’s cut into small pieces.
- Cheddar cheese: Sharp or extra sharp for the most flavor.
Topping Ideas:
Our three favorites on Enchilada Pasta: sour cream, diced avocado, and cilantro.
- Sliced green onions
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced avocado or guacamole
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Sliced jalapeños for extra heat
- Quartered cherry tomatoes
- Lime wedges for squeezing
- Crushed tortilla chips (or strips) for crunch
- Sliced olives
How To Make Enchilada Pasta
- Combine & Heat: Mix diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce, pasta, chicken broth, and taco seasoning in a skillet; heat to boil.
- Add Veggies: Add black beans, corn, and bell peppers; boil again.
- Cook Pasta: Boil uncovered 5-9 minutes, stirring; remove when pasta is nearly done.
- Add Protein & Cheese: Stir in chicken; add cheese until melted.
- Serve: Dish up hot with your go-to toppings.
What To Serve With Enchilada Pasta
- Mexican Salad: This salad has all the right complementary flavors especially when its topped with a creamy cilantro dressing.
- Quinoa Corn Salad: A fun and flavorful side. This salad has one of my all-time favorite dressings!
- Chips and Salsa: For a great crunchy starter — or use the chips to dip into the pasta.
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes: The sweetness of these roasted potatoes really nicely contrasts the savoriness of the pasta.
Storage
Leftovers?
- Best Fresh: Enchilada Pasta is best right after it’s done cooking.
- Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Keep for up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge.
- Reheat: Warm on the stove with a bit of broth or water to regain sauciness.
More One Pot Recipes:
- Taco Spaghetti with melty cheddar cheese
- One Pot Burrito Bowls with chicken and rice!
- Penne Pasta with Sausage using Italian sausage
- Meatballs and Orzo made with one-ingredient “meatballs”
- One Pot Spaghetti with a rich meat sauce
Enchilada Pasta
Enchilada Pasta mixes delicious enchilada flavors with pasta's heartiness, creating the BEST comfort food in just one skillet!
Equipment
- 12-inch, 4.5-quart non-stick skillet (Note 1)
Ingredients
Add First
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes, not drained
- 10 oz mild red enchilada sauce (Note 2)
- 2 cups medium shells pasta
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 batch taco seasoning (Note 3)
Add Later
- 15.5 oz black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1-1/2 cups frozen corn (or 1 can, drained)
- 1 cup thinly sliced mini bell peppers (or 1 regular pepper, diced)
Finishing
- 1-1/2 cups rotisserie chicken, diced to small pieces
- 3/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese freshly grated (pack to measure)
- Optional toppings: cherry tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, fresh lime, fat-free sour cream, olives, guac or avocado
Instructions
- COMBINE: In a large skillet over high heat, combine the "add first" ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil.
- ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS: As soon as it boils, add the "add later" ingredients. Stir and bring back to a boil.
- COOK: Boil, uncovered, for 5-9 minutes, stirring every minute or so to keep pasta from catching. Cook until pasta is almost done, but a tiny bit firmer than you want, and is still saucy. Remove skillet from heat and stir for another minute or so to let the sauce reduce and pasta finish cooking.
- ADD CHICKEN & CHEESE: Stir through chicken. Add cheese, 1/4 cup at a time stirring gently until melted.
- ENJOY: Serve promptly adding any desired toppings to individual plates. We love a scoop of sour cream, squeeze of lime, diced avocado, and some green onions or cilantro. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Skillet: Here's the exact skillet I use and LOVE. Smaller skillets will take longer to cook.
Note 2: Heat levels vary by brand; a mild variety (we love Old El Paso) is recommended.
Note 3: For the most possible flavor, make your own (otherwise we recommend a good brand of Taco Seasoning (1 oz size) for the most flavor).
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon each paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 579kcal | Carbohydrates: 78.5g | Protein: 36.4g | Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 66.4mg | Sodium: 1992.1mg | Fiber: 13.3g | Sugar: 15.6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you include the nutrition break down please?
Hey Meghan, I just added the nutrition break down! 🙂
My son & I LOVED this dish, husband so, so. I would prefer to dirty another dish and boil the noodles separate. Would I remove the chicken stock/broth from the recipe then? Thanks so much for another great dish! Especially when I am waiting for my new oven & I can only use the top of my range
and a crockpot ; )
Made this tonight and my husband and I absolutely loved it! We used some chicken breasts he prepared on his pellet smoker and it was perfection! Will definitely be making again.
I’m so happy this was a hit! Thanks so much for the comment Kate 🙂
Loved it!! I did the canned chicken because i had it on hand, but I also added some leftover chicken from the night before and just chunked it up. It was so good that I thought I would take some to my sister who was recovering from surgery and she went crazy over it. Had to have the recipe. Fabulous! Thank you so much. Love the one-skillet thing!!
It’s a keeper!!
If you didn’t want to do canned, but still wanted it to be one pot, you could buy a rotisserie chicken! Looks delish! Can’t wait to try it.