These pumpkin enchiladas are flour tortillas stuffed with chicken and coated in a savory pumpkin sauce. The velvety pumpkin sauce is very unique and elevates the enchiladas into a fancy meal without any extra effort!
You probably didn’t know that you can use a can of pumpkin puree to make an amazing delicious homemade enchilada sauce! This dish always gets rave reviews. This enchiladas recipe is a great way to enjoy savory pumpkin along with roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup and roasted pumpkin.
This time of the year there are so many tempting pumpkin treats out there. That being said, the savory side of pumpkin often gets overlooked. While pumpkin does have some naturally sweet undertones, when you pair it with decidedly savory flavors like chili powder and garlic it turns into a totally different experience.
If you want more pumpkin dishes, try my favorite pumpkin desserts like pumpkin cheesecake bars, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, chocolate pumpkin cheesecake muffins and pumpkin dip.
Pumpkin Enchiladas Ingredients
When you make these pumpkin enchiladas you will need cooked, shredded chicken, pumpkin puree, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, seasoned salt, kosher salt, tortillas, Monterey jack cheese, a tomato, black olives and cilantro leaves.
How Do You Make Pumpkin Enchiladas?
The first step to make this pumpkin enchiladas recipe is to preheat your oven and prepare your baking dish with cooking spray. Next make the pumpkin sauce by placing pumpkin puree, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, kosher salt and water into a blender. Blend until smooth and pour a cup of the sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.
Next make the enchiladas by laying tortillas flat and placing chicken and shredded cheese into the tortillas. Roll the tortillas up and set them in your baking dish. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle on more cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and the enchiladas warm through. Add some sliced olives, chopped tomatoes and cilantro on top for a fresh flavor to complement the richness of the sauce and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Pumpkin Enchiladas
- Make sure you have smaller tortillas. You want ones that are 6 or 8 inches in diameter. They might be called soft taco or fajita size.
- This recipe calls for cooked chicken. You could use rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken or bake and shred some chicken thighs or chicken breasts.
- The pumpkin puree gives the enchilada sauce a smooth and creamy texture that you may not find with other enchilada sauces.
- You can use canned pumpkin puree or make your own pumpkin puree.
- I’ve written this recipe to serve 4 people, but it can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd.
- You can also make a big batch and freeze some for another day. The sauce and enchiladas can be frozen separately for up to 3 months. To bake, thaw the enchilada sauce and pour it over the frozen enchiladas. Bake according to recipe directions and add an additional 5-7 minutes to the cook time.
Quick Tip
You can use your choice of tortillas. I prefer flour but I’ve made this before with corn tortillas and that also works well.
Recipe FAQs
You can make enchiladas crispy and not soggy by pouring your enchilada sauce over the center of the pumpkin enchiladas leaving the sides bare. The portions without the sauce will bake up crispy.
Whether you use corn or flour tortillas for enchiladas largely comes down to personal choice. Pick whichever you like better. I tend to pick flour tortillas because it is easier to find flour tortillas that are a good size and flour tortillas absorb the delicious enchilada sauce well.
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Flavor VAriations
This pumpkin enchiladas recipe is fantastic; however, you can change the flavors to suit your own taste.
- Spicy: Add your favorite hot sauce to the enchilada sauce or chicken to bring the heat.
- Meat: You can make these enchiladas with cooked meats like ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, shredded beef or shredded turkey.
- Beans: Feel free to add pinto beans or black beans to your enchiladas. Make sure to drain and rinse your beans before using them.
- Toppings: Pick your favorite toppings like sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, sliced avocado, sliced jalapeno peppers and salsa.
- Cheese: I use Monterey Jack cheese but you could also use cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese or a Mexican cheese blend.
- Seasoning: Feel free to add seasonings to your chicken. You can add salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder or a little of my taco seasoning.
These enchiladas are great as is or make a complete meal with pinto beans and rice. So many enchilada sauces are made with tomatoes which are flavorful, but don’t provide much texture. This enchilada sauce uses pumpkin puree as a base which creates a smooth, velvety and creamy sauce. You may never want to make regular old enchiladas again!
More Mexican Food Recipes
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Chicken Enchilada Casserole
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tortillas I prefer flour but corn works fine too, 6 inch size
- 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 tomato seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a blender, puree pumpkin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt and kosher salt with 2 cups of water until smooth.
- Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish, spread to coat evenly.
- Lay the tortillas on a work surface. Spoon the chicken onto half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Sprinkle the tortillas evenly with 1 cup of cheese. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.
- Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese cheese. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Arrange the tomatoes, olives and cilantro on top and serve.
Notes
- You can use your choice of tortillas. I prefer flour but I’ve made this before with corn tortillas and that also works well.
- Make sure you have smaller tortillas. You want ones that are 6 or 8 inches in diameter. They might be called soft taco or fajita size.
- This recipe calls for cooked chicken. You could use rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken or bake and shred some chicken thighs or chicken breasts.
This was a nice change to the usual Chicken Enchiladas! We used pepper jack cheese, which added a nice kick! It seems weird to use pumpkin purée, but trust the recipe, it truly works and has a great flavor! We will be putting this meal into our regular fall rotation!
Great recipe outcome! Thank you for sharing this, and we’ll be making it again.
The difference in taste between the sauce before and after cooking was surprisingly different. Before cooking the sauce was bitter and sour, but after cooking it was earthy, nutty, sweet, and excellent. The house smelled amazing!
We modified two elements:
–Added some chicken stock to the puree so it thinned out and was spreadable/pourable. I don’t know if we just got a dense can of pumpkin, but it was like ricotta rather than an enchilada sauce, so we added 1/2c. of chicken stock.
–We tossed the cilantro, olives, tomatoes, and lime (plus a pinch of salt) together for the topping so each person could add what they wanted of it.
What an amazing flavor in this dish! We really enjoyed this recipe! Thanks
These enchiladas are fun and TASTY ! The pumpkin sauce is creamy and good.
I am so curious about that pumpkin enchiladas sauce! Mmmm.
I’ve been meaning to try Instacart! My mom used to make chicken enchiladas when I was kid. It’s definitely a family favorite. Love the addition of pumpkin… perfect for fall! 🙂
We love enchiladas! What a great idea to use pumpkin in the sauce!
I just love this fall twist on chicken enchiladas! 🙂 That pumpkin sauce sounds delicious.
I love seeing pumpkin in savory dishes. Looks so tasty.
Yes, please! Enchiladas are *always* welcome on my dinner table and yours look fabulous!
What a great twist on a traditional enchilada recipe. Would never have thought to add pumpkin flavors to Mexican. Perfect for a fall meal. #client
enchiladas are a favorite in my house, and I cannot wait to try them with pumpkin. what a delicious dish
What?! This is awesome and really creative! I LOVE enchiladas and bet that pumpkin sauce adds a nice, deep flavour.