I thought it was a challenge making lectin-free chili, but chicken enchiladas proved to be a tough contender. How does one make enchiladas without corn, corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, and the dish-defining green chili sauce?

It can be done. Fair warning, though: it’s a labor intensive process that requires at least an hour. The good news is you can cut down on the time considerably by purchasing pre-made grain free tortillas. You can also cook and shred the chicken and blend the homemade enchilada sauce ahead and store for meal day.

I, of course, did it all from scratch in 3 wonderfully messy hours with no kitchen appliance or dish unused. I made my 3-ingredient cassava flour tortillas, pressure cooked and shredded a 100% pastured chicken in the Instant Pot, blended my own special adobo sauce, sautéed and seasoned the veggies, and, at long last, filled and rolled the enchiladas and popped them in the oven.

Then I cleaned the kitchen (I had help).

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 Helpful Appliances for Making Enchiladas

Before you start flipping tortillas and concocting special sauces, there are some life-changing kitchen appliances that I recommend if you’re going to undertake this recipe from scratch.

Tortilla Press

Homemade tortillas can be a pain in the neck…er, arm…if you don’t have a sturdy press. Make homemade, grain-free tortillas in a fraction of the time with this sturdy cast-iron tortilla press, available on Amazon Prime. It’s the one I use and recommend for game-changing taco nights and weekend breakfast burritos.

Pressure Cooker

Pastured chicken, if you’re able to find it at all, usually comes whole. Pressure cooking a chicken takes half the time as roasting in a conventional oven. It’s possible to have chicken ready to eat in 45 minutes or less. The #1 selling pressure cooker also functions as a rice cooker, slow cooker, sauté pan, steamer, and warmer. Add 1 cup of water to the pot to pressure cook the chicken, and use the liquid afterward to make the adobo sauce.

Use coupon code LECTINFREEMAMA to get $10.00 off of $99.00 or more (+ free shipping) at the Instant Pot Online Store.

Blender

The homemade adobo sauce you’ll make to pour over the enchiladas is best made in a blender. This ensures a smooth, frothy sauce, infused with all the delicious spices. I really don’t have a recommendation–any ol’ blender that gets the job done will do.

Ingredients for Enchiladas

For a dish that only has three components–tortillas, filling, and sauce–it can be quite time-consuming to make from scratch. However, every single component can be made ahead, stored, and thrown together on meal day.

Tortillas

I used my 3-ingredient cassava flour tortilla recipe to make the 8 tortillas needed for the enchiladas. You can make these up to a week ahead of time, store them sealed on the counter, and reheat them between damp paper towels before filling them. If you don’t want to make your own, look for this brand at your grocery store with a good gluten free section.

Filling

The delicious, creamy enchilada filling is made from chicken, mushrooms, onions, and soft goat cheese. You can cook a whole chicken in the pressure cooker over the weekend (or when you have time), shred it, and store it for enchilada night. You don’t even need to heat it, because the sautéed onions, mushrooms, and oven bake time will do that for you!

Adobo Sauce

Here’s where I had to get creative, because the main ingredient in a traditional enchilada sauce is green chilies. Instead, I made an adobo sauce that would normally be used to preserve chilies. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare in the blender, and it adds a wonderfully spicy, tangy flavor to the entire dish. The sauce is thin, but the tortillas will soak up the liquid as they bake, producing soft, flavorful enchiladas you’ll need a fork and knife to eat!

The Recipe

PREP TIME 30 MINUTES     TOTAL TIME 45 MINUTES*     MAKES 8 ENCHILADAS

*Does not include cook time for chicken and homemade tortillas.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 8 ounces cooked pastured chicken, shredded
• 2 cups broth, divided
• sea salt and black pepper
• 8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon coconut aminos
• 1 teaspoon granular sweetener
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 8 cassava flour tortillas, warmed
• chopped fresh cilantro and hot sauce, for serving

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INSTRUCTIONS

HEAT the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, 6-8 minutes. Add the chicken, ½ cup broth, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until most the liquid is absorbed, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in half the goat cheese.

MEANWHILE, make the adobo sauce by pulsing the remaining broth, garlic, cider vinegar, coconut aminos, 2 teaspoons sea salt, sweetener, cumin, oregano, and paprika in a blender until very, very smooth, about 3 minutes.

POUR ½ cup of the adobo sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Using a ¼-cup as a scoop, roll up a dollop of mushroom mixture into each tortilla and place seam-side down in the pan. Once all the tortillas are placed side-by-side, pour the remaining adobo sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with the remaining goat cheese. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the goat cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and hot sauce.

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Printable Enchilada Recipe