Chicken Chalupa is a marvelous, mouthwatering Tex-Mex dish that is just superb. There’s hardly another word to describe it! This recipe uses shredded chicken, cream of chicken soup, both cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, sour cream, olives, corn, green onions and diced green chilies. A little sprinkling of paprika on the top sets off the flavors wonderfully. I like rolling these in large-sized flour tortillas (like for burritos) rather than the really small ones. This fantastic main dish can be compared to chicken enchiladas, but there is no enchilada sauce in the recipe. It’s a whole lot of cheese and chicken!

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Years ago, when we lived in Massachusetts, Shirley Huffman invited our family to her house for dinner one night. She needed John’s advice on some bookkeeping matters for her Baptist association office, and my husband, John, had a lot of expertise in that area. She made this recipe, which was one her daughter had given to her. She also made beef enchiladas with a tomato/enchilada sauce, a luscious frozen cranberry/orange salad, dessert, rice, and a few other things. I thought her Chicken Chalupa was amazing. She generously shared the recipe, and about the only thing I do differently is add a can of corn.

This Chicken Chalupa recipes makes a LOT! I think I made 20 filled tortillas with just one batch, but since I was making this for an after New Year’s party, that worked out fine. You may have to cut the recipe unless you plan to make this for a lot of people as well. I’ve not had good success in freezing flour tortillas. When flour tortillas reconstitute from frozen to baked, the texture of the tortillas becomes gooey and slimy. Yikes!

Regardless, this is one fantastic recipe I’m sure you and your family will love if you like spicy, Tex-Mex foods. Chicken Chalupa is not overly spicy so it’s one most kids can enjoy as well. If you’re looking for a great tailgating recipe or menu idea for the Superbowl or other bowl games this recipe is great because it makes so much. I used two large 10×15″ glass pans to make it in. So give Chicken Chalupa a try. You will be glad you did!

When I initially posted this recipe in April 2014 it was just before I began taking pictures with my Canon camera. Even though this recipe has performed well with over 10k pins on Pinterest, I really wanted to get some better looking pictures that were more clear and less dark. I recently remade this dish for friends (July 2016). He had eye surgery, and because they have several family members living with them, I thought this large recipe would be great for a meal or two for their family. She told me they actually got three meals out of it (for 7-8 people!). They absolutely raved over Chicken Chalupa.

One clarification: this recipe is not exactly what most people would refer to as chalupa. But since that was the name of the recipe when I received it from Shirley, I’ve stuck with that title. Sorry if that upsets any looking for true chalupa recipes. As stated before, this recipe is more like Chicken Enchiladas, although I rolled the tortillas more like burritos for these pictures.

Chicken Chalupa is one fabulous Tex-Mex main dish. Yes, you will probably drool over these pictures.

One thing that makes this recipe so special is the cheese! It uses both cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.

I cut one in half so you could see the texture of the chalupa. These gooey Chicken Chalupas are heavenly!

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients, except I swapped out the small tortillas for large burrito size tortillas.

Bake chicken about 45 minutes at 350 or until done. I sprinkled it with salt and pepper first. Once cooked, allow meat to cool. Then cut down into bite sized pieces. Set meat aside.

In a large mixing bowl put cream of chicken soup, sour cream, diced green chilies, olives, corn, and green onions.

Add three-quarters of the cheeses and stir to combine. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the soup mixture and set aside for topping.

 To the remaining mixture add diced chicken and stir to combine.

Spread about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chicken mixture on each tortilla. (It works easier if you put the chicken mixture closer to the edge of the tortilla).

Roll up and turn sides in (like making burritos). Finish rolling tortillas and place in two greased 10×15″ glass baking dishes. 

Spread tortillas seam-side-down in prepared baking dishes.

Dollop the reserved 1 1/2 cups soup mixture over top of the enchiladas. Spread it between the two large casserole dishes.

Sprinkle with both cheeses.

Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and tortillas are heated through. (Don’t overcook or the tortillas will dry out). 

Garnish Chicken Chalupa with additional green onions if desired.

Doesn’t Chicken Chalupa look marvelous? Feel free to add more cheese if you like a lot.  This is wonderful for company. There’s plenty for everyone!

Here’s the recipe.

CHICKEN CHALUPA

(Recipe adapted from Shirley Huffman, Sudbury, MA, )

Chicken Chalupa has a wonderful smooth texture from the sour cream, cream of chicken soup and cheese with just enough bite from the diced green chilies to make everything interesting!

If you enjoy Tex-Mex dishes, you’ll rave over this one. It’s a great dish to make for company. I made the filling the day before and refrigerated it. Then I rolled the tortillas just before actually baking the recipe. It turned out terrific.

Yes, Chicken Chalupa is dripping with cheese! The paprika on top with the cheese adds a tasty, savory flavor to this delectable Tex-Mex dish.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Chicken Enchiladas

King Ranch Chicken

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas