Prepare to make the most epic enchiladas on the face of the earth…Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
Just based on my actions the last few weeks, I think it’s safe to say my new life goal is to order enchiladas every single time I see them on a menu. I’ve just been on an enchilada kick. And it’s all been part of some recent research and development on what makes the absolute perfect enchilada – and THIS IS IT. Chicken Enchiladas Verdes are by definition perfect.
The enchilada sauce is tangy and savory and smoky and only slightly spicy. The enchiladas are loaded with rotisserie chicken plus some spices and are wrapped in a flour tortilla. Now let’s just stop for a hot second, this might be up for debate, the whole flour vs. corn tortilla situation, but I’ve tested these various ways and the flour wins every time. It rolls better. It doesn’t fall apart or crack when baking. And it’s just downright delicious. So there, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get back to the good stuff. Once the sauce is made, the enchiladas are stuffed, sprinkled with, not 1, but 2 kinds of cheese and baked, all that’s left is to top them with some slivered red onions, crema and some cilantro. In one word… perfection. Now go make these Enchiladas Verdes and come back and tell me if they in fact rocked your world!
Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ onion quartered
- 1 poblano chile halved
- 2 pounds tomatillos about 20 medium, husks removed, rinsed
- 2 serrano chiles chopped
- 3 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 cup homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Kosher salt
For the enchiladas
- ½ rotisserie chicken skin removed, meat shredded
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 8 6- inch flour tortillas
- 8 ounces shredded monterey jack cheese thinly shredded
- 2 ounces Cotija cheese finely grated for serving
- ½ cup crème fraîche
- 1 tablespoon milk or water
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- fresh cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle the olive oil over onion, poblano, and tomatillos on a baking sheet and roast until vegetables are soft and browned, 35–40 minutes. Let cool slightly before peeling the skin off the poblano. Transfer the mixture and any juices to a blender. Add serrano chiles, garlic, chicken stock, cilantro, and lime juice and purée until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, then season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Toss the chicken with the ground coriander, red pepper flakes, and ½ cup green sauce in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper .
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Working one at a time, fry tortilla, turning once, until just starting to brown and crisp, about 10 seconds per side. Transfer tortilla to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Dip both sides of each tortilla in green sauce just to coat, then transfer to a baking sheet. Spread 1 cup green sauce lengthwise down the center of a 13x9" baking dish. Working one at a time, spoon ¼ cup of the chicken mixture into the center of tortilla and fold one side over filling, then continue to roll enchilada up like a burrito. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish as you go, fitting them all in. Top with the remaining green sauce and then pile on the cheese. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is beginning to brown, 20–25 minutes.
- While the enchiladas are baking, combine the crème fraîche and milk and season with salt.
- Serve enchiladas topped with cheese, a drizzle of crema, sliced onion and cilantro.
Hi Gaby, these chicken enchiladas verde sound amazing! How many servings does this recipe feed? I can’t wait to try it out.
Thank you!
4-6!
I’ve been on an enchilada kick lately, too! I think I crave them more than tacos in the Winter. I love when the hot plate comes out with the enchiladas and all the fixings! I need to try making them at home ASAP!
Enchiladas are always a dinner favorite at our house!
Can I please just sit down with the whole tray? love that salsa verde….
Hi, how would these do with corn tortillas?!
This is my comfort food. Can’t wait to dig into these.
You must be reading my mind because I just made a salsa verde dish. It must continue!!! Yes, I’m so making
This looks like the best dinner EVERRRRR!!! So making it!
Need this for dinner!
My one question, most of the flour tortilla enchiladas I’ve had are very soggy. This doesn’t seem to be the case with yours. Could it be that the enchiladas I’ve had are over sauced?
totally a possibility!! try these and LMK what you think!
Hi Gaby!!! Okay, these were amazing! So amazing I forgot to take a picture before we stuffed our faces with them. I’ll be making these again for sure next week and will tag you with a picture.
My husband asked for seconds and said they were a ten! He’s not easily impressed so coming from him I know they were great!!
They weren’t soggy at all like I was thinking they would be. Thank you for all your time invested in making a great dish!!
Can you make these ahead of time and bake later? Or will it change the consistency of them? Want to make these tonight
making them and baking within a day will be fine!
Hey Gaby,
Looks amazing. Question: do you think you could freeze this in entirety or even as components? Like the rolled enchiladas and the sauce separately?
Thanks!
freeze it entirely for sure!
Hi! I am in the in the process of making these and was wondering if the bake temp to heat up the enchiladas remains at 425 F? Seems a bit high, Or is it more like 350?
it’s 425!! You’re just going to melt the cheese until it’s golden and then you’re good
If your oven runs hot, you can of course reduce the heat to 350 or 375!
Made these for dinner tonight and they were incredible!! Best green sauce EVER, and I am a sauce girl!! I served them with homemade beans made in the instant pot. I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!
Thank you for another epic recipe!!
MADE MY DAY!! XOXO
can you make these the day before and cook them the next day?
yes!
Gaby- at first my boyfriend and I were reluctant to make this sauce. We had never gone face to face with tomatillos before – what do they even look like!??!? But I gotta tell you – the sauce is the STAR of this dish. It is FANTASTIC. This dish is to DIE for and as soon as we finished our servings for dinner, we already couldn’t wait for leftovers. My boyfriend is already planning to make his next batch of your tomatillo salsa! Don’t even think about store-bought salsa verde!
omg this makes me SO HAPPY!!! love it xoxo
How long does the salsa keep for??
1 week in the fridge. Forever in the freezer
These sound amazing. I usually use corn tortillas instead of flour because I like them better even though they’re harder to work with.
You might be interested in my latest find – Don Pancho Golden Blend Tortillas. They’re a mixture of corn and flour – the best of both worlds. So far they’ve been hard to find but I love them for tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc.
Is the salsa spicy? If so, what would be the best way to make it less spicy for my kiddos?
not too spicy at all!! but leave out the serranos if you want and you’ll be golden xx
Made this today for friends, prepped everything yesterday and baked it today. Super delicious!! That tomatillo salsa is wonderful! Served this with cilantro rice, watermelon, chips and mango guacamole. It was a feast 🙂
Would you be able to give me a rough estimate of how many cups (or whatever) the shredded chicken should come out to? Looking forward to making this within the next few days!
about 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
These look wonderful & I can’t to try. If you freeze it, should you defrost first or just put in oven frozen? Also do you have a suggestion for a vegetarian option? I have a vegetarian granddaughter & would like to make half & half…if possible. Thanks for all your great ideas.
you could do refried beans instead of chicken in half to make veggie! and I could freeze it, then take it out and thaw for a few hours before baking
Fill them up w cheese! Cheese enchiladas are delish! Mozzarella will work. Or beans or cheee and corn! Pretty much whatever they like.
How many cups does the sauce make?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! If anyone ever says there is a better green enchilada sauce than this then they’re lying. So amazing!!! And the cojita cheese and sliced red onions just made the recipe that much better. I will literally use this recipe for the rest of my life.
We are making these for Cinco de Mayo! Super pumped to try these!!
Hi!
How spicy are these? Thinking of making for the family but my kids are very sensitive to spice.
Thanks!
Helen
not too spicy at all!
My picky son’s favorite! His request for his bday dinner. Thanks for this recipe:)
SO happy to hear it
If I don’t have access to tomatillos, how many oz or cups of jarred salsa verde would you substitute?
I’d say 2 cups to be safe!
Enchiladas are made with corn tortillas not flour
De nada
traditionally yes you are right! However I prefer flour for my enchiladas so to each their own 🙂
Looks Great! If I understand one of your replies, can I assemble it all in the morning so I can head off for a bike ride then then just bake it in the early evening? Making me !
Oops…it’s making me hungry!!!
yes you can do that!
These. Are. Amazing!!!
The sauce. Oh my…I almost bought a jar to save some time, so happy I didn’t! My husband said we should bottle the sauce.
These are an absolute must!
AMAZING! This was my first time making enchiladas and it was delicious. That sauce is on point and I saved a small bowl of it for chip dippin’.
This recipe is AHMAZING. I’ve made it 3 times now and it is a serious show stopper!
As much as zi would love to make the sauce, in a pinch would Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde work?
and green salsa would work!
Best green enchiladas you will ever make
Made this last night and it was amazing!!!! My husband and son loved. No one missed having meat! I made 2 substitutions- I had roasted butternut squash in the fridge so I mashed and used in place of sweet potato. I used aged cheddar in place of cheeses called for as it was what I had.
genius
The recipe is a go to for us. Easy, incredibly good. I always double the recipe for the sauce so I can whip up more.
So so so good. Make the immediately you will not be disappointed
Ok this was so delicious…and you are spot on…the flour tortillas make all the difference .
What type of onion do you recommend?
any kind! I do red or yellow
Please tell me, what is the green sauce?
the green sauce is in the recipe!
This is by far the best Chicken Enchiladas I have ever made. The sauce is to die for! And it doesn’t take very long to make it either. Who knew? Thanks for sharing. This is a keeper and my go to Enchilada recipe from now on.
These were amazing! But for some reason, the bottom of the enchiladas were soggy. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe!
So good … like… stupid good ! I can’t eat onions so I used shallots. Having an o in allergy makes eating Mexican out challenging. This was absolutely delish.!
Onion*
If you don’t want to go to the trouble of preparing the tomatillos, what can you use in place of them?
you can find canned ones!