Enchilada Pasta (ONE Skillet!)

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An easy one skillet chicken enchilada pasta dish that comes together in less than thirty minutes. A meal the whole family will love! Recipe via chelseasmessyapron.com

Enchilada Pasta mixes delicious enchilada flavors with pasta’s heartiness, creating the BEST comfort food in just one skillet!

Enchilada Pasta in the skillet ready to be enjoyed.

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.

All the ingredients in this dish prepped out for easy assembly.

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

Pasta, liquid, seasonings, corn, beans, and pepper being added to a pot and it all being boiled for this enchilada pasta.

How To Make Enchilada Pasta

  1. Combine & Heat: Mix diced tomatoes, enchilada sauce, pasta, chicken broth, and taco seasoning in a skillet; heat to boil.
  2. Add Veggies: Add black beans, corn, and bell peppers; boil again.
  3. Cook Pasta: Boil uncovered 5-9 minutes, stirring; remove when pasta is nearly done.
  4. Add Protein & Cheese: Stir in chicken; add cheese until melted.
  5. Serve: Dish up hot with your go-to toppings.

Chicken being added into the pot along with cheese.

What To Serve With Enchilada Pasta

The enchilada pasta in the pot with a spoonful being scooped out.

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:

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Enchilada Pasta

5 from 6 votes
Enchilada Pasta mixes delicious enchilada flavors with pasta's heartiness, creating the BEST comfort food in just one skillet!
Print Recipe

Enchilada Pasta

5 from 6 votes
Enchilada Pasta mixes delicious enchilada flavors with pasta's heartiness, creating the BEST comfort food in just one skillet!
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Enchilada Pasta
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Chelsea Lords
Calories 579kcal
Cost $12.21

Equipment

  • 12-inch, 4.5-quart non-stick skillet (Note 1)

Ingredients

Add First

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 Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 579kcal | Carbohydrates: 78.5g | Protein: 36.4g | Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 66.4mg | Sodium: 1992.1mg | Fiber: 13.3g | Sugar: 15.6g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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44 Comments

  1. Love me a one pot dinner! I am the queen of mess making, so once in a while I need something that will tone down the messy gal in me. This looks fab….and, that cheese. Drool.

    1. Haha I think my kitchen after baking could rival the messiest kitchen out there! So I totally agree with you haha! Thanks Taylor 🙂

  2. Yum! This is amazing. And one skillet? Yes! So good. Love the customizability but I think I want it just the way it is here–your photos are gorgeous, Miss Chelsea! 🙂

    1. Thanks so much Erin! 🙂 Hope you are having a great Monday! (Oh and SO excited about your giveaway!)

  3. Love the sound of this meal! I can never ever ever get enough Mexican food – and this is such an awesome spin on pasta. And I am all for less clean-up – especially during the week!! Happy Monday lady!

    1. Same! The more Mexican food the better 🙂 thanks so much Ashley! Hope you are having a great start to your week as well 🙂

  4. one dish recipes are EVERYTHING, seriously life needs so much more of them. I’m going through a serious enchilada phase right now, so this just looks too good to pass up!

    1. Hahaha!! Agreed! I feel like I am always going through an enchilada phase 🙂 Hope you are having a good start to your week Christine!

  5. Enchiladas are one of my husband’s favorite dishes and requests them all the time. This one skillet pasta version looks amazing and love how much easier and less messy it is to make 🙂

  6. I share that obsession with quick, easy meals, and ones that don’t sacrifice on taste – this looks absolutely delicious!

  7. I am so in love with chicken enchiladas. They’re one of my favorite non-sweet foods. And so is pasta! So I’m basically in love with this. 🙂 Plus one-skillet meals are always wonderful! Wish I was having this for dinner tonight!

    1. Haha! Completely agree with you! Chicken enchiladas are definitely one of my favorites as well 🙂 Thanks Beth!

  8. I always love the colours you use in your posts Chelsea – so beautiful! I can definitely see myself eating this; I haven’t had enchiladas in years and the mix was pasta sounds heavenly!

  9. This was so good and so fast and easy to make–I made it last night with some leftover chicken and my family loved it!!!

  10. Pinning this as it’s pretty much a perfect meal in my eyes, I love everything about it! You are making me hungry girl!

  11. This was SO good! I really need to go grocery shopping, so I was trying to find a recipe that just uses what I already have on hand (which wasn’t much). I just happen to pretty much always have all of these ingredients. It came together so quickly and easily. I loved that I didn’t have to boil the pasta before hand, just through it all in and let it go.

    The flavor was fantastic, I loved the enchilada sauce and Rotel to give it a little bit of zip. The taco flavoring was a nice addition too. I will definitely be making this again…and again…and again. I might try and add some corn in next time, I think it would go along with the rest of the flavors nicely. Thanks for this delicious easy meal! 🙂

    1. Thank you so much for this comment Shelby! 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it and took the time to write this – it made my day! Have a great week!

  12. 5 stars
    I made this last night for dinner and it turned out amazing! It makes enough for 5 meals (lunch all week – score!) and I modified it a bit. I tried a semi-healthier version using baked chicken instead of canned, eliminated the cheese and tossed in Cilantro for a fun twist. At just under 300 calories (297!), 2 grams of fat, and packed with 21 grams of protein, this is the perfect lunch or dinner. Thank you so much for the recipe, I’ll be making this again!

  13. 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.

  14. 5 stars
    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!!

  15. 5 stars
    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.

  16. 5 stars
    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 ; )

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