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 brings all the bold, cheesy flavors you love—plus pasta! One skillet, pure comfort.
Equipment
- 12-inch, 4.5-quart skillet nonstick, see note 1
Ingredients
Add First
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes not drained
- 10 ounces mild red enchilada sauce see note 2
- 2 cups medium shells pasta
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 batch taco seasoning see note 3
Add Later
- 15.5 ounces black beans drained and 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 shredded, pack to measure
- Toppings as desired see note 4
Instructions
- In a large skillet over high heat, combine the “add first” ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil.
- As soon as it boils, add the “add later” ingredients. Stir and bring back to a boil.
- 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.
- Stir through chicken. Add cheese, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring gently until melted.
- Serve promptly, adding any desired toppings to individual plates. I love a scoop of sour cream, squeeze of lime, diced avocado, and some green onions or cilantro. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Note 1: 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 (I love Old El Paso) is recommended.
Note 3: For the most possible flavor, make your own (otherwise I 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.
Good idea, but please make your own Enchilada sauce. It is easier than you think and worth it. Freeze a batch is good too.
It is delicious with homemade enchilada sauce!
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.