This is an easy Enchiladas Verdes recipe that you are destined to fall in love with. Enchiladas Verdes is a mixture of chicken, a ready-made salsa verde, and a Mexican cheese blend. This mixture is then wrapped in flour tortillas and baked. After 30 minutes they are ready. Top your green chicken enchiladas with crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro.
I’ve adapted these enchiladas verdes from one of my family’s all-time favorites. That favorite chicken enchiladas recipe is another awesome recipe for you to try. Since we could eat Mexican almost every day of the week, it was time to make a new version to add to our menus.
These green chicken enchiladas were a hit! The salsa verde adds a unique chili taste that you don’t find in the standard picante salsa recipes.
What Makes This Recipe Easy
- Simple Ingredients. The green enchilada sauce and the shredded chicken are all ready to use. The shredded cheese blend is also ready for sprinkling.
- Can Be Made Ahead of Time. The enchiladas verdes can be assembled up to a day ahead of time, covered and refrigerated. When ready to eat, bake the enchiladas for 35 to 40 minutes or until warm. The extra cooking time is because they are colder after being refrigerated.
- Easy. Ready-made ingredients and a small amount of herbs and seasonings are all it takes. The straightforward assembly steps make this dish super easy.
- Salsa Verde. Tomatillo salsa is a tasty green sauce. It makes our verde enchiladas extra delicious. This mild Salsa Verde is one of my favorites. I love this Herdez Roasted Salsa Verde which is a medium spice roasted green sauce.
- Tomatillos are small round, tart peppers that have a slight citrus taste. They have a papery covering that when peeled yields these small bright green gems. Tomatillos are primarily used in Mexican food and are not an ingredient to be overlooked.
How To Make Easy Enchiladas Verdes
- Ready the shredded chicken. If you have refrigerated or frozen shredded chicken you are all set. Defrost your chicken either overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave. For making shredded chicken, check out the tips below.
- In a large skillet, sauté the garlic in oil until fragrant. Add in the chicken, herbs and spices. Stir until you have this flavorful filling for the enchiladas verdes. Once again, I suggest adding some mushroom powder. If you’ve tried some of my other recipes with mushroom powder, you will know how much umami this adds to a recipe.
- Next, combine the jar of salsa verde with the sour cream. Spread one-half cup of this creamy green sauce mixture over the bottom of the casserole dish. This will give the tortillas a tasty coating.
- To assemble the enchiladas verdes, lay the tortillas on a clean work surface. Down the middle of each tortilla, spoon a part of the chicken enchilada mixture. Then sprinkle the shredded cheese. Roll up the enchilada and place it seem side down in the baking dish.
- Spoon the remaining green sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese down the middle.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees until the top gets beautifully golden brown. All that delicious cheese will start to bubble. Let the dish sit for about 5 minutes outside the oven to make cutting and serving easier.
- Sprinkle crumbled cotija cheese and fresh cilantro on top of the enchiladas verdes. We also love to serve more sour cream alongside.
Tip: You can use flour or corn tortillas. Follow the instructions for how to warm tortillas. This helps keep them from cracking while you are rolling them up. Corn tortillas are great tasting and tend to make a sturdier enchilada. If you prefer the softer flour tortillas, they will work too.
How To Make Shredded Chicken
- Buy a rotisserie chicken at your grocery store. Rotisserie chickens typically weigh between 2-1/2 to 3 pounds. Remove the skin and bones. Using two forks, pull the chicken apart into smaller pieces. You will get about 3 cups of shredded chicken from your rotisserie chicken.
- You will have about 1 cup of leftover chicken to use in another dish. Store the leftover cooked chicken in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Leftover shredded or cubed chicken is fabulous in soups, sandwiches, and tacos!
- If you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you can make Instant Pot Whole Chicken. Shred the chicken and you will have it ready for the Enchiladas Verdes. How about that for easy homemade shredded chicken?
- You can use cooked chicken breasts if you prefer white meat only. You will need about two-thirds (.67) of a pound of breasts to make 2 cups of shredded chicken.
How Much Is in a Rotisserie Chicken
Storage
- Cooked enchiladas can be refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
- Enchiladas can be frozen in an air tight container for up to 6 months.
- For individual servings, wrap up individual enchiladas in freezer paper and freeze for up to 6 months.
Easy Enchiladas Verdes (Green Chicken Enchiladas)
An easy version of Enchiladas Verdes with chicken, a ready-made salsa verde, sour cream, cheese and cilantro is outstandingly delicious. Salsa verde is a delicious green tomatillo salsa made with garlic, onion and peppers.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground mushroom powder optional
- 1-1/2 cups salsa verde
- 3/4 cup sour cream more for serving, if desired
- 10 taco-size (6-inch diameter) flour or corn tortillas see tips
- 1-1/4 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend or a Mexican cheese blend
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese optional
- Fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray a 13-by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken, cumin, oregano, and mushroom powder (if using); cook, stirring, until combined and warmed though. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the salsa verde and sour cream until well blended. (Some tiny bits of sour cream may still be visible which is okay.) Spread about 1/2 cup salsa verde mixture over the bottom of the prepared baking dish until just covered. Set remaining sauce aside.
- Place a tortilla on a plate (or clean work surface). Spoon a slightly heaping 3 tbsp chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with 2 tbsp shredded cheese. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, chicken, and cheese.
- Spread the reserved sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cotija cheese.
- Serve garnished with cilantro, if using, and sour cream on the side.
Nutrition
Calories: 540kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 29gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 1313mgPotassium: 477mgFiber: 2gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1032IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 408mgIron: 4mg
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I made your enchilada verdes and it was so easy and so good.
Thanks for letting me know! I am so glad you liked them. They really are easy too.
I made these tonight and I am so glad I found your recipe. They were delicious and honestly I’m not a very good cook but my husband loved them too so I’m adding it to my recipe book. Also what kind of tortillas did you use? The corn tortillas I used unfortunately broke so mine didn’t end up as beautiful as your dish.
I heat the corn tortillas in the microwave on a microwavable plate 5 seconds at a time until they are pliable; you can experiment with one to find the total time needed and then heat two or three at a time after that. I try to press the filling in as tightly as possible when making filled tortillas for baking things such as enchiladas, leaving a little room at the exposed ends.
Found this recipe while looking for a way to use up an already-expired large can of salsa verde and a package of cotija that didn’t get used during the holidays; it’s a winner! I also enjoy adding a lot of roasted small pieces of veggies in addition to or in place of the chicken.
Now I’m just hungry thinking about it. Thank you.
What does the mushroom powder add?
The mushroom powder adds umami to the enchiladas verdes. Its flavor always takes a dish up a notch without overpowering it. It is not necessary in these enchiladas verdes but does make a subtle difference. I add mushroom powder to many dishes especially when seasoning meat.