Enchiladas Verdes: Green Chicken Enchiladas

This enchiladas verdes recipe is super easy to make. This satisfying dinner is made with salsa verde, shredded chicken, tortillas, and a creamy cheesy green sauce.

Green chicken enchiladas make a tasty, easy dinner recipe that everyone loves. Chicken Enchiladas are always welcome when you’re in the mood for Mexican Food!

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

Homemade Enchiladas make a satisfying and comforting meal. I love an enchilada recipe with red sauce. But there is something extra special about Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas.

The green chili sauce has a tangy, spicy salsa flavor. The tortillas filled with chicken, cheese, and fresh diced onions are baked in a homemade green enchilada sauce. 

Who doesn’t love a forkful of chicken, tortillas, and melty cheese? 

What you’ll need: 

Enchiladas Verdes is made with simple ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. I’ll share a few shortcuts for those busy weeknights when you need dinner to be even easier. 

• Chicken: 4 chicken breasts, seasoned and cooked, then shredded. If you’re short on time, the meat from a leftover rotisserie chicken is perfect in this recipe. 
• Salsa Verde OR Green Enchilada Sauce: I recommend making homemade salsa verde for this recipe. The flavor is unmatched by anything that you will buy in a can or jar. If time is of the essence, buy a high-quality green enchilada sauce.
• Diced green chiles: Diced green chiles are optional. I always have a few cans in my pantry, so I usually toss one into the filling of my enchiladas. 
• White onion: The addition of white onion to the filling adds freshness. 
• Monterey Jack cheese: Monterey jack cheese is smooth-melting, mildy flavored cheese that pairs beautifully with the tangy flavor of chili verde salsa. It’s best to buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself. It melts way better than pre-shredded cheese. (I had just had foot surgery when I made this recipe, and my husband picked up the pre-shredded stuff) 
• Cilantro: Fresh cilantro for color and flavor. Sprinkle it over the top after the enchilada bake.
• Sour cream: Sour cream is optional in this recipe. It adds a creamy consistency to the green sauce. If you decide to use it, mix in 1/2 cup of sour cream to the tomatillo sauce before using it. 
• Tortillas: 12 to 14—6 inch tortillas. You can use flour tortillas or corn tortillas for this recipe. 

To Make The Cooked Chicken

You can make cooked chicken in the oven, or in your instant pot. Leftover chicken is also fine to use when making enchiladas.

1. Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Season 4 chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and a little bit of taco seasoning. Try our homemade taco seasoning blend recipe. 
3. Preheat the oven to 425℉(218℃) and bake the chicken until the internal temperature is 165℉(74℃). 
4. Remove from the oven and let cool while you make the homemade enchilada sauce. 
5. After the chicken is cooked and mostly cooled, you can shred it using two forks. 
6. Add the shredded chicken to a large bowl and add the diced white onion, cheese, and diced green chiles, if desired. 

​Homemade Salsa Verde Recipe

Check out the full post for an in-depth tutorial on How to Make Salsa Verde. 

Salsa Verde is a simple salsa made with tomatillos, onions, garlic, peppers, and cilantro. Place the vegetables in salted water and bring to a boil. Boil until tender. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a food processor and blend until smooth. This salsa is fried in a heavy-bottomed skillet or pan on medium-high heat. This step concentrates the flavors and gives the ingredients a more sophisticated taste. 

Roasted tomatillo salsa is delicious in this recipe. After the vegetables are roasted, the cilantro is added, and then they can be processed in a food processor until smooth. 

Finish the salsa verde with salt and freshly squeezed lime juice. 

​What Tortillas Are Best?

Corn tortillas are traditionally used to make enchiladas. But flour tortillas are also used. You can decide which you like best.

My husband likes flour tortillas, and I prefer corn tortillas. I always make red enchiladas with corn tortillas, but can go either way with green enchiladas. 

Corn tortillas are firmer and hold their texture better during baking. The downside is that they can be dry, depending on which brand you buy, and if that’s the case, they need to be heated in a skillet with a little bit of oil to soften them before filling them. 

Flour tortillas are easier to work with but can be softer and absorb more enchilada sauce. This can sometimes result in enchiladas that seem mushy.

I’ve found that either choice makes delicious enchiladas. 

If you have the time, you can try your hand at making homemade tortillas. Give our homemade flour tortillas or homemade corn tortillas a try. 

How To Make Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉(177℃)
2. Combine the shredded chicken, 1 cup of salsa verde, 1/2 cup diced onion, and 2 cups of shredded Monterey jack cheese. 
3. Add one cup of salsa verde to the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. 
4. Add 1/3 cup of chicken filling to the center of each tortilla, roll them, and place the filled tortilla in the baking dish seam side down. 
5. Top the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with another 2 cups of shredded Monterey jack cheese. 
6. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 -15 minutes until the cheese is completely melted. 
7. Top with minced fresh cilantro and queso fresco or cotija cheese if desired. 

​Recipe Variations

Enchiladas are extremely versatile. You can mix up the ingredients depending on what you have on hand. 

• Seafood Enchiladas: The tomatillo salsa verde perfectly matches shrimp or crab. Swab out the chicken in this recipe and make a batch of seafood enchiladas. 
• Vegetarian Enchiladas: Black beans, roasted poblano chiles, and other veggies make a fantastic filling for enchiladas verdes. 

What To Serve With Enchiladas Verdes

• Mexican Rice
• Guacamole
• Pico de Gallo

How To Store Leftover Enchiladas