Chicken enchiladas are an easy weeknight dinner recipe that takes under an hour to make. Kristina Wright

2026-01-20T16:26:12.113Z

• I tried the chicken enchilada recipe Jennifer Garner featured on her "Pretend Cooking Show."
• The recipe was straightforward and easy to make in under an hour.
• Although my son thought the leftovers were delicious, I’ll halve the recipe next time I make it.

I’ve watched enough episodes of Jennifer Garner’s "Pretend Cooking Show" to know that when she posts a recipe, I’ll want to make it. That rang true again when I saw an episode featuring chicken enchiladas.

Though the recipe is more like a casserole than traditional enchiladas, anything that can be made in under an hour is good enough for me.

Here’s how making it went.

To start, I poached the chicken breasts.

I seasoned the water to my liking. Kristina Wright

I started the recipe by putting three boneless, skinless chicken breasts into a pot with just enough cold water to cover them, and added a little salt and pepper.

I brought the water to a boil, then turned it down to a simmer.

Next, I diced the vegetables, grated the cheese, and shredded the chicken.

The chicken took about 15 minutes to cool while I chopped the vegetables. Kristina Wright

While the chicken was poaching, I diced the onion and celery.

Though the recipe only called for 1 cup of diced onions, the onion I used yielded about 1 ½ cups, and I decided to use all of it.

After about 15 minutes, the chicken breasts had reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and were ready to be shredded.

I set them aside to cool while I grated the Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheeses before shredding the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Then, I sautéed the vegetables in butter and added the chicken.

I combined the ingredients in one pot on the stove. Kristina Wright

I sautéed the diced onion and celery in butter until the onion turned translucent. Then, I added the shredded chicken to the pan and mixed everything together.

In a separate bowl, I combined the ingredients for the enchilada "sauce."

After I mixed the sauce, I spread a thin layer of it on the bottom of a casserole dish. Kristina Wright

While I let the onion, celery, and chicken warm through on the stove, I combined the cream of chicken soup, green chiles, and sour cream in a bowl.

Garner said she doesn’t use as much sour cream as the recipe calls for, but I really like sour cream, so I used the full amount.

The result was a pale green mixture that wasn’t terribly appetizing to look at, but sometimes, you just have to trust the process.

With my oven pre-heating to 350 degrees, I buttered a casserole dish and spread a thin layer of the sauce across the bottom.

Then it was time to fill the tortillas with the chicken and vegetables.

My casserole dish fits nine stuffed tortillas. Kristina Wright

I filled the flour tortillas with the chicken and vegetable mixture, rolled them, and put them seam-side down in the casserole dish.

The recipe calls for 12 tortillas, but my dish only fit nine, so that’s what I used. Depending on the size of your casserole dish and how generously you fill it, you may end up with eight to 10 tortillas.

I finished off the dish by topping the tortillas with the sauce and grated cheese before baking.

I topped the dish with grated cheese instead of sliced. Kristina Wright

I covered the stuffed tortillas with the remaining sauce and finished them with a coat of the grated cheeses.

In the recipe, Garner sliced the cheese, but I think grated cheese provides even more coverage.

I put the casserole dish in the oven for 30 minutes, until the cheese was bubbly and browned.

The finished product was delicious, but I’d make one change next time.

I’m excited to make this recipe again, just in a smaller portion. Kristina Wright

I served the enchiladas with rice, beans, tortilla chips, and salsa. The end result was a tasty, hearty meal that my family enjoyed.

Although my son said the microwave reheated leftovers were delicious, I think I’ll halve the recipe next time.

• Food

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