These Chicken Enchilada Bowls with Poblano Peppers and Corn made using a blend of four kinds of cheese, chicken thighs, Poblano Peppers, and corn tortillas are easy enough to make for dinner tonight but look festive enough to serve at a party.
My family loves my chicken enchiladas which are made with chicken thighs, corn tortillas, and lots of cheese, but rolled enchiladas covered in chili sauce aren't that pretty!
Making the corn tortilla bowls wasn't much more work than hand-rolling enchiladas, and they made for such a nice presentation. Each little bowl showed off the deep green Poblanos, the golden yellow corn, and the rich red chili sauce.
These enchilada bowls will be a perfect addition to any Fiesta or Cinco de Mayo celebration but they are easy enough to make for dinner tonight.
So, let's make some yummy enchilada bowls.
Ingredients
Corn Tortilla Bowls
- corn tortillas
Chicken in Enchilada Sauce
- vegetable oil
- shallot
- garlic
- chili powder
- ground coriander
- ground cumin
- table salt
- granulated sugar
- boneless skinless chicken thighs
- tomato sauce
Peppers and Corn
- shallot
- poblano pepper seeded and cut into ½ inch pieces
- garlic
- fresh or frozen corn
- kosher salt and black pepper
Toppings
- shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend
Supplies
8 ramekins
pastry brush
baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil
Instructions
Bake tortilla bowls.
- Wet 2 paper towels with water then ring out excess.
- Set 8 corn tortillas in between the two paper towels.
- Heat in the microwave on high for 30-45 seconds, just to soften the tortillas.
- Brush both sides of the corn tortillas with oil.
- Press into a bowl shape in the custard cups, crimping as needed.
- Bake for 6 minutes.
- Remove tortillas from custard cups.
- Turn them upside down on a baking sheet and bake for 2-4 more minutes until the bottoms are lightly brown.
- Remove and set them right side up on the pan.
Make enchilada sauce.
- Heat oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat just until shimmering.
- Add shallot and stir occasionally until light golden brown.
- Stir together garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar.
- Add to cooked shallots and stir constantly for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add chicken pieces and toss to coat.
- Let cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute, then pour in the tomato sauce.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 14 minutes, stirring as needed.
- Remove from heat and set aside until ready to assemble enchilada bowls.
Poblanos and Corn
- Heat oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add chopped poblano pepper and shallot and cook until peppers begin to blister and soften.
- Toss in garlic and corn and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Fill the tortilla cups:
- Then fill the tortilla cups with your chicken in enchilada sauce (recipe for homemade enchilada sauce in the recipe card below), corn, poblano peppers, and cheese.
- Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes.
Substitutions
You can get creative and fill these tortilla cups with your favorite ingredients.
You can swap out the chicken for beef or pork.
To make them spicy, add some jalapenos or ghost peppers. You can even add some cayenne pepper to the enchilada sauce if you really want to add some heat.
More Mexican Recipes
Party it up this Cinco de Mayo and check out some of these other recipes that are perfect for celebrating.
Recipe
This recipe was originally published on May 5, 2016.
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 20 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch long strips
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large shallot diced
- 1 poblano pepper seeded and cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 clove garlic
- ¾ cup fresh or frozen corn
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 ounces shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend
-
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
-
Spray 8 glass custard cups with non-stick spray.
-
Wet 2 paper towels with water then ring out excess.
-
Set 8 corn tortillas in between the two paper towels.
-
Heat in the microwave on high for 30-45 seconds, just to soften the tortillas.
-
Brush both sides of the corn tortillas with oil.
-
Press into a bowl shape in the custard cups, crimping as needed.
-
Bake for 6 minutes.
-
Remove tortillas from custard cups.
-
Turn them upside down on a baking sheet and bake for 2-4 more minutes until the bottoms are lightly brown.
-
Remove and set right side up on the baking pan.
-
Reduce oven to 350 degrees.
-
Heat oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat just until shimmering.
-
Add shallot and stir occasionally until light golden brown.
-
Stir together garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar.
-
Add to cooked shallots and stir constantly for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
-
Add chicken pieces and toss to coat.
-
Let cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute, then pour in the tomato sauce.
-
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 14 minutes, stirring as needed.
-
Remove from heat and set aside until ready to assemble enchilada bowls.
-
Heat oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat until shimmering.
-
Add chopped poblano pepper and shallot and cook until peppers begin to blister and soften.
-
Toss in garlic and corn and cook for 3 minutes.
-
Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
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Fill each corn tortilla bowl with about a tablespoon of cheese.
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Stir about ⅔ cup of the cheese into the chicken then equally divide it among the corn tortilla bowls.
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Sprinkle on Poblano pepper and corn mixture.
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Top with the remaining cheese.
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Bake for 8 minutes until heated through.
These enchilada bowls are best the day they are made. You can keep the leftover filling in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Fill the tortilla bowls just before serving.
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