Go Back
2 Zucchini Enchiladas with a sprig of cilantro and sliced avocado in a bowl with a fork
Carrie Beyer

Zucchini Enchiladas

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

For red chile sauce
  • 5 tomatoes, lightly charred
  • 4 garlic cloves, lightly charred
  • 1/2 white onion, lightly charred
  • 5 dried and rehydrated ancho chiles
  • 2 dried and rehydrated guajillo chiles
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
For Enchiladas
  • 3 cups shredded boneless skinless chicken breasts roughly 3 chicken breasts
  • 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup shredded monterey jack or mexican blend cheese
  • 2 cups red chile enchilada sauce 1 1/2 cups for chicken mix, 1/2 cup split between top and bottom of enchiladas
  • 1/2 tsp each dried cumin, coriander, granulated garlic
  • 3-4 medium-large zucchini
Toppings
  • 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack or mexican blend cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
  • 2 ripe avocados

Equipment

  • Mandoline Slicer

Method
 

For red chile sauce
  1. Break open the dried chiles and remove the stems and seeds. Boil the chiles for 10-15 minutes to rehydrate and soften their skin.
  2. Meanwhile, using a grill-pan, cast iron skillet, BBQ grill or the broiler of your oven, lightly char the tomatoes, onion and garlic. Don't use any oil and you'll get a better char. (This step is really important since it develops more flavor).
  3. Place rehydrated chiles, charred tomatoes, onion and garlic in a high powered blender with the sour cream, salt and pepper. Once pureed, transfer to a skillet and bring the sauce to a low simmer. Add the heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve 1/2 cup of sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
For enchiladas
  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Add about 3 tbsp olive oil to an ovenproof skillet or baking dish and bake chicken for about 30 minutes or until internal temperature reads 165. Once cooled shred chicken into bite sized pieces with your fingers. Alternately you can use a slow cooker (if you've thought ahead) or instant pot to cook chicken according to directions on cooking device. Better yet buy a precooked rotisserie chicken and shred into bite sized pieces.
  3. To the enchilada sauce still in the skillet add shredded chicken, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced red onion, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, cream cheese, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly to combine.
  4. Thinly slice zucchini with a mandolin slicer. Remove stems and ends first and use the first 4-5 slices as a practice to get the desired thickness. Adjust the mandoline accordingly. You won't use the first few slices anyway since you want the thickest pieces from the middle of the zucchini. You're going for super thin slices, about 1/16 inch thick. You'll need about 50 good slices to make 16 enchiladas. Keep in mind the zucchini makes for small enchiladas so the serving size is 2 per person.
  5. Spread the zucchini slices out in a single layer between two pieces of paper towel on the counter or other large surface for assembly. Press down to remove excess moisture. This will ensure you don't have soggy enchiladas.
  6. Spread 1/4 cup of reserved red sauce evenly on the bottom of an oiled casserole dish.
  7. Assemble 16 enchiladas by taking 3 slices of zucchini and placing them so they're slightly overlapping (makes one enchilada). Do this to all the zucchini first, then assemble each enchilada with 1 heaping spoonful of filling in the middle of each set of 3 zucchini. Roll each one up and place in the casserole dish. Repeat until all zucchini and filling are gone.
  8. Top with remaining 1/4 cup red sauce spread evenly across all enchiladas and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese and sauce are bubbling and zucchini are tender but not soggy.
  9. Top with thinly sliced red onion, chopped cilantro, sliced avocado and sour cream if desired.