Skip to main content
Main

Chicken Enchilada Bake

A baked casserole of diced chicken, Velveeta, pinto beans, olives, salsa, and cornmeal batter.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Olive and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Chicken Enchilada Bake

Oven400°F
Time30-35 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat oven to 400°F.

  2. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.

Make the layers

  1. In a large bowl combine chicken, cheese, beans, olives, salsa and chili powder; blend well.

  2. Spoon into greased baking dish; set aside.

  3. In a medium bowl beat egg.

  4. Stir in milk, corn meal and oil; blend well.

  5. Pour evenly over chicken mixture.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

  2. Serve with toppings as desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

748Calories
58 gProtein
33 gFat
59 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Pinto Bean1/2 cup (86g) canned122
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Olive1 large (4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Beans + corntop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,211 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Beans + olivetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,470 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  4. Beans + garlictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,935 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the batter and help it set into a firm, sliceable topping.
Self-rising corn meal mix
Forms the crumbly cornbread topping that rises and browns in the oven.
Velveeta
Melts into the filling, adding creaminess and a rich, cheesy texture.
Chicken
Provides the main protein and substance of the filling.
Milk
Adds moisture to the batter so the topping bakes tender rather than dry.
Vegetable oil
Adds fat that keeps the topping tender and helps it brown.

The step that matters

Bake until golden brown. The batter sits on top of a moist filling, so the cornbread topping can stay pale or gummy if underbaked. Baking until golden brown means the starch has set and the surface has browned, giving a firm, cooked top.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, beans, olive, milk, egg, corn):

  1. Cuminfits about as well
  2. Garlicthe original
  3. Rosemaryfits about as well
  4. Basilfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, beans, olive, milk, egg, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Chicken BrothChicken Broth257 recipesCorn FrittersCorn Fritters203 recipesChicken SoupChicken Soup156 recipesCreamed ChickenCreamed Chicken89 recipes