These dairy free chicken enchiladas are my go-to cosy comfort food. With a chicken and vegetable filling, flour tortillas and a creamy homemade ‘cheese’ sauce, this will quickly become a weeknight dinner the whole family everyone will enjoy!
Enchiladas are my go-to comfort food. There is something so incredibly satisfying about the cheesy, creamy filling in a soft flour tortilla slathered with a tonne of sauce. I’ve shared the recipe for my vegan enchiladas on the site before, and I even have a different vegan enchilada recipe in my ebook. But for some reason I have never shared the version that I actually eat the most at home. Well until today!
My favourite enchilada filling is chicken. But it has to be soft and creamy and cheesy chicken. That’s right, I’ve said cheesy twice already in a recipe that is clearly labelled as dairy free. The secret is to use my delicious creamy cashew cheese sauce instead of any store bought cheese alternative (most of which still don’t melt and can have a weird acidic taste).
And while you’re not going to get the gooey texture of the cheese that you would if you were using the real deal, you still get so much delicious flavour and creaminess that you wont miss it.
If you or someone in your family doesn’t eat dairy, make these chicken enchiladas for them. I guarantee they will love it and be so happy to eat something this creamy and comforting again!
Key Ingredients
When reading through the recipe you may think the ingredient list is long, but you actually don’t need a lot. Plus there are a few shortcuts you can take to make this recipe even more weeknight friendly!
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cashews – maybe you’re sceptical about using cashews as our ‘cheese’ in this recipe, but let me tell you this is the key to this recipe! You want to make sure you’re using raw, unsalted cashews.
- Garlic – adds flavour to the sauce.
- Nutritional yeast – an essential ingredient in any dairy free pantry! This is going to add a savoury, cheesy flavour to the cashew cheese sauce.
- Chicken – for this recipe you’re wanting cooked, shredded chicken. I love using store-bought rotisserie chicken as they have so much flavour (and make this recipe super easy!) but you can also use leftover air fryer roast chicken instead, or use poached chicken breast.
- Onion – I don’t love a lot of onion in the filling, just enough to add a little extra flavour so 1 small brown onion or ½ of a larger one is perfect.
- Zucchini – for some reason, while I don’t usually like zucchini, I love it when grated and added to my enchilada filling! Just adds a little bit of texture and a nutritional boost but you can leave it out or use chopped spinach instead.
- Enchilada sauce – to keep this recipe weeknight friendly, feel free to use a store bought enchilada sauce, but if you have the time or would prefer to make it from scratch then use this recipe for homemade enchilada sauce.
- Flour tortillas – I prefer my enchiladas with regular flour tortillas but feel free to use corn tortillas if you want to make this gluten free.
Equipment and Tools
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- Vitamix Blender – I don’t recommend an expensive product lightly but if you use a blender a lot then this is one of the best investments you can make. Having a high speed blender means it will be able to handle anything you give it to create thick, smooth and creamy results in no time at all. Plus this particular model that I have is so easy to clean – I just love it.
Step-By-Step Instructions
There are a couple of steps involved when making enchiladas, but they are all pretty straightforward.
The first thing you need to do is make the cashew cheese sauce. To do this, I recommend first soaking the cashews in boiling water. I usually do it for around 30 minutes but depending on your blender you may want to soak them for a bit longer.
Once the cashews have soaked, drain them then add them to the blender with some fresh water, garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy – you should be able to rub it between your fingers and feel no graininess. My high powered blender does this in a few minutes but my older, less powerful blender took about double the time.
Once you have your cheese sauce, set it aside as we’ll need it soon. The next step is to prepare the filling. Really the only thing you need to cook is the diced onion as the chicken is already cooked and the zucchini will cook enough while it bakes but I find it easier to just mix everything up together in the saucepan after the onion is soft and translucent.
From here, you’re onto assembly. Spread ½ cup of enchilada sauce over the base of a large baking dish. I have used my favourite rectangular STAUB baking dish which is 10.5″ x 7.5″ or approx 20cm x 27cm.
Spoon the filling into the centre of each tortilla, roll tightly, and place seam-side down in the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. You’ll do 6 in total.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top, then drizzle over more cashew cheese sauce. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the tortillas start to brown.
From here, you can serve them as is, with a side of rice cooker Mexican rice, or just topped with sliced avocado, lime wedges, and fresh coriander.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave until hot, or warm the whole dish in a 180°C (350°F) oven for about 15–20 minutes.
These enchiladas also freeze well! Allow them to cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months.
To reheat, bake straight from frozen (covered) at 180°C (350°F) for 45–50 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10–15 minutes until hot and golden.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, corn tortillas work well! Just warm them slightly before rolling as they are more prone to cracking.
To make this recipe gluten free you’ll need to make two changes. Firstly, make sure to use gluten free corn tortillas, and secondly cook and shred your own chicken as unfortunately store-bought rotisserie chicken does contain gluten.
Yes, for an extra nutritional boost and to make it more filling, you can add a can of drained and rinsed black beans and reduce the amount of chicken to 1 ½ to 2 cups instead to keep the total volume of filling the same. This is a great budget-friendly option!
The spiciness is dependent on the enchilada sauce. The main store-bought sauce available is quite mild making this a great family-friendly recipe. If you prefer things a bit spicier, you can add chilli flakes or serve with hot sauce.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More dairy free comfort foods:
Dairy Free Creamy Chicken Soup
One Pot Spicy Sausage Pasta
Slow Cooked Curried Sausages
Cottage Pie
Dairy Free Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
Ingredients
Cashew cheese sauce:
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews soaked
- 1 cup water
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ¾ teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 ½ cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 large zucchini grated
- ½ cup enchilada sauce
- ½ cup cashew cheese sauce
To assemble:
- 6 flour tortillas
- 1 ½ cups enchilada sauce
- ⅓ cup cashew cheese
To serve:
- Avocado
- Lime
- coriander/cilantro
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes to soften, then drain.
- Add the soaked cashews, fresh water, garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy—you should be able to rub it between your fingers and feel no graininess. Set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 3–5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Add the shredded chicken, grated zucchini, enchilada sauce, and ½ cup of the cashew cheese sauce. Stir well to combine, then remove from heat.
- Spread ½ cup of enchilada sauce over the base of a large baking dish.
- Spoon the filling into the centre of each tortilla, roll tightly, and place seam-side down in the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Pour the remaining 1 cup of enchilada sauce over the top, then drizzle over the ⅓ cup of cashew cheese sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the tortillas are golden brown.
- Serve warm, topped with sliced avocado, lime wedges, and fresh coriander.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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