Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Have you ever known a couple that you never would have thought of for each other but it turns out they’re absolutely perfect together? That’s basically how you’re going to feel about these enchiladas. Buffalo wings and Mexican? An unfamiliar combination to be sure, but both have spicy undertones and rich flavors that are often complemented by a cool, creamy contrast like blue cheese dressing or sour cream. When I first thought about making Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas I was just thinking of using straight Buffalo wing-type ingredients: wing sauce, celery, blue cheese, etc. Then I thought of adding some Mexican seasoning as well and the more I considered it, the more convinced I became that this could be a match made in Heaven. Luckily I was right. The chili powder and cumin give some nice depth of flavor to the heat from the wing sauce.

In my first attempt at these I went half and half on the wing sauce to tomato sauce ratio and it was delicious, but I had to guzzle milk afterward to cool the mouth-fire I’d ignited. I made them a second time using the ratio below and this is definitely my recommended ratio – not mouth-fires, but still a nice spicy kick. As stated in my ingredient footnote below, feel free to adjust based on your personal heat preferences.

I’m so happy that two of my favorite dishes can be married in such perfect flavor harmony. This is definitely a dish I’ll be making again and 2 enchiladas feel like a steal at 314 calories or 8 Weight Watchers Points+. Why decide between two cuisines when you can have the best of both worlds all rolled up in the same tortilla?

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
Source: Emily Bites Original

Ingredients:
4 oz Buffalo Wing sauce* (I used Frank’s Red Hot Brand Buffalo Wing Sauce)
12 oz canned tomato sauce*
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t chili powder
½ t ground cumin
¼ t sugar
2 t extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (My package had 4 breasts at 4 oz each)
3 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot 50% cheddar, but you can also use pre-shredded 2% cheddar)
¼ cup diced celery
6 Tablespoons light Blue cheese dressing, divided (I used Marie’s)
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas – they’re my favorite!)
2 scallions, sliced (green parts only)

*This is my recommended ratio, but you can adjust it to your taste. I first tried it with 8 oz tomato sauce and 8 oz wing sauce and it was really spicy (I still ate it but I needed to drink lots of milk after!). The ratio I posted above is milder than my first attempt but still gives you a nice hot kick in the aftertaste! If you think you’d like it hotter I encourage you to start with the ratio above and taste test while mixing so you can adjust the ratio to your liking. Between the tomato sauce and wing sauce you just want to make sure you end up with around 16 oz total. The points value does not change and any change to the nutrition information will be minimal.

Directions:
1.    Pre-heat the oven to 425. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2.    In a medium bowl, mix together the wing sauce, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar until thoroughly combined and set aside.
3.    In a large skillet or sauté pan, bring the oil to medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook for a couple minutes until they start to soften and become fragrant. Add the chicken breasts in a single layer and cook for 3 minutes on one side, flip them over, and then continue to cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Add the sauce mixture to the pan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through.
4.    Remove the lid from the pan and transfer each breast to a cutting board, shredding it using two forks. Transfer the shredded chicken to a large mixing bowl. Add ½ cup of the sauce from the pan to the chicken along with the shredded cheese, diced celery and a tablespoon of the blue cheese dressing. Mix everything in the bowl together until well combined.
5.    Microwave the tortillas for 30-60 seconds on high until warm and soft. Spread 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto a tortilla and tightly roll it up. Place the rolled tortilla seam side down in the prepared baking dish and repeat with the remaining tortillas. I fit them perfectly by placing 8 in a row and then placing two Spray the tops of the rolled tortillas with cooking spray above them, perpendicular to the others. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes until tortillas are slightly crispy.
6.    Reduce the heat to 400 (don’t forget!) and pour the remainder of the sauce evenly over the tops of the enchiladas. Place back in the oven for an additional 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle a half a tablespoon of blue cheese dressing over the top of each enchilada. Sprinkle the sliced scallions over the top of the entire dish and serve.

Yields 5 (2 enchilada) servings. WW P+: 8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per (2 enchilada) serving from myfitnesspal.com: 314 calories, 27 g carbs, 11 g fat, 30 g protein, 4 g fiber