Great flavors come together in one pan in this One Pan Enchilada Pasta. It’s got the Tex-Mex flavors that mom and dad love, while being mild enough for the kids. And there’s only one pan to clean when it’s done!

You can’t beat a good one pan dinner! For more favorites, try this Skillet Lasagna or this Skillet Chicken with Garlic and Herbs.

Skillet filled with enchilada pasta - an easy weeknight dinner.

One thing I’m totally into is easy weeknight dinner. You can never have too many recipes for dinnertime.

And one new obsession is this One Pan Enchilada Pasta. If you are a regular here, you’ll know that I’m a bit obsessed with one pan meals, and I’ve definitely made my fair share of them. But I’m back with another – this time with a bit of a Tex-Mex spin!

I will never turn away a good enchilada, and now, I will never turn away from this One Pan Enchilada Pasta. Even the kids ate it up, which is a miracle, considering how they have been eating lately.

And since you’ll save time doing dishes after it’s all done, you can spend that time looking up all of the movies you’ve missed and start making a list of where to start!!

Ingredients

Olive Oil: This is to cook the onion and garlic in. Feel free to swap in your favorite oil here.
Onion & Garlic: These are both for flavor.
Chicken: This recipe also uses one of my favorite kitchen time savers – cooked, shredded chicken. I’ve talked about it to death here, but it’s something that I almost always have on hand. Cook up a whole chicken and shred it. Or cook up some chicken breasts. Or even pick up a rotisserie chicken at the market on your way home. Once the meat is shredded, I portion it out and freeze it, and I can’t tell you how many times this has saved dinnertime.
Enchilada Sauce: Not only does this give the dish its enchilada flavor, but the pasta cooks in this and so the flavor is infused through the whole dish.
Chicken Broth: The pasta also cooks in the chicken broth, which gives the pasta tons of flavor.
Pasta: I used rigatoni, but most short cut pastas should work well. But I really loved the rigatoni.
Cheese: I like to use freshly grated cheese because it melts into the pasta so much better.
Toppings: You can get creative here, but I used tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.

How to Make Enchilada Pasta

1 – Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic at the last minute.

2 – Add in the chicken and stir it all to combine.

3 – Pour the enchilada sauce into the pan.

4 – Then add the chicken broth.

Combining ingredients for enchilada pasta.

5 – Add the pasta to the dish, bring it to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid.

6 – Remove the lid and let it continue to cook until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

7 – Add one cup of the cheese and stir it into the pasta.

8 – Top with the remaining cheese, and cover the dish until the cheese is melted. Serve topped with your favorite toppings.

One pan enchilada pasta in a blue skillet, topped with tomatoes and avocado.

Tips and Tricks

All of the liquid will not be absorbed. You want to have a sauce on the pasta.
If there is still a lot of liquid after the cook time, turn the heat up, and let it cook a few extra minutes uncovered.
You can sub out the chicken for ground beef or leftover beef barbacoa or chipotle shredded beef.
If you like it with a bit more spice, stir in some hot pepper sauce when you add the cheese.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. You can reheat it in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove. If you are heating it on the stove, you may need to add in some extra chicken broth.

Enchilada pasta on a plate, topped avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro.

More Tex-Mex Inspired Dinners

Southwest Chicken Salad
Shrimp Tostadas
Taco Skillet
Taco Pizza
Chicken Tamale Casserole
Chicken Chimichanga Recipe

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