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looking down at a glass casserole dish of baked green chicken enchiladas,
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Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce

There are chicken enchiladas, and then there are THESE Chicken Enchiladas. The secret to this recipe is having flavor in every layer: Tender, flavorful chicken, wrapped up in charred, buttery corn tortillas, and then smothered in a tangy Green Enchilada Sauce made with roasted peppers and tomatillos. And of course, the final layer of two kinds of cheese that is crisped to perfection under the broiler, the hallmark of the best casserole. This is my new favorite recipe! Serve these with Mexican Rice and Tejano Pinto Beans.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 15
Calories: 162kcal
Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

To serve:

Instructions

  • Make the sauce: Make authentic Green Enchilada Sauce (tap for the recipe) or use the cheater sauce recipe listed in the notes. Both sauces are SO good, my family could not pick a favorite. Add the sauce to a shallow bowl. (A frying pan or a pie plate work well.)
  • Cook the chicken*: Follow the instructions on my Chicken Tacos recipe. The recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 pounds raw chicken thighs. After you cook them, they will reduce to about 1 pound of cooked chicken, the perfect amount for these enchiladas. Shred and add to a bowl.
  • Add sauce to chicken. Add about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to the bowl of chicken and stir.
  • Prep the cheese: Shred 10 ounces of Oaxaca cheese.** Use a sharp knife to cut a block of Monterey Jack cheese into 3/4 inch cubes. (Or you can just shred it)
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Prepare the pan. Spray the edges of a 9x13 inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Get out a sheet of foil and spray one side of it with nonstick spray.
  • Prep the tortillas. If you have a gas stovetop, turn a burner on to high heat.*** Place one corn tortilla directly on the flame. Use tongs to flip it after about 10-20 seconds. Flip it back again after it starts to get blackened marks. Continue flipping as necessary until the tortilla is warm, pliable, and lightly charred. Place the tortilla in a tortilla warmer, or in a sealed ziplock bag (any tightly enclosed space where it can steam itself.) Continue with all 15 tortillas. I usually do multiple tortillas at a time on 2-3 burners. One of them will light on fire eventually; this is how I keep life wild over here.
  • Make an assembly line in this order: 1)warm tortillas 2)green sauce 3)chicken 4) Oaxaca cheese.
  • Assemble the enchiladas: Dip a tortilla directly in the enchilada sauce, flipping it to coat both sides. Place the soaked tortilla in the prepared casserole dish. Add about 2 tablespoons cooked chicken to the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle the chicken with about 1-2 tablespoons of Oaxaca cheese. Roll up the tortilla and place it seam-side-down in the corner of the pan. Continue with all the remaining tortillas until everything is gone. Use all the chicken and all of the Oaxaca.
  • Top with sauce. Once all the enchiladas have been assembled, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top.
    (If you made the homemade Green Enchilada Sauce, use all of the remaining sauce. If you made the cheater sauce recipe in the notes, there might be more sauce than you need. Only add enough sauce to go about halfway up the enchiladas.)
  • Top with cheese. Sprinkle the cubed Monterey Jack Cheese over the top of the enchiladas.
  • Cover the enchiladas with foil that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, you don't want to pull off all your cheese at the end!
  • Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
  • Broil. Turn the broiler on to high heat. Move the oven rack to the top position. Broil the enchiladas for 1-3 minutes, sticking around to watch! They can burn so fast! I love broiling casseroles to get those crispy brown spots on the cheese, but it's optional.
  • Let the finished enchiladas rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
  • Serve these enchiladas with all the fixins: Pico de gallo, cilantro, lime wedges, sour cream, and of course a side of Tejano Pinto Beans and Mexican Rice.
  • Storage: Store the enchiladas covered in the fridge. They will last 3-5 days just fine.
  • Freezing before baking: Prepare the enchiladas as directed in an aluminum pan, if you have one (that way you aren't holding one of your nice casserole dishes hostage in the freezer.) Seal well with plastic wrap (double wrap for sure) and foil. Enchiladas will be good for about 2-3 months in the freezer.
    To serve, let the container or dish sit out on the counter for 20 minutes. Remove the lid or plastic and foil, recover with foil, and put it in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 350 degrees. The cook time will be roughly twice that of normal since they're frozen. Cook them covered for 45-50 minutes and uncovered for another 15, broiling for 2 minutes at the end if you like them to get crispy around the edges like I do.

Notes

*Chicken: You can substitute 1 pound of shredded rotisserie chicken.
**Oaxaca Cheese: You can substitute this cheese with more Monterey Jack, or Mozzarella. 
***No gas stovetop? If you don't have a gas stovetop, use the microwave. Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a small bowl. Use your fingers to rub the oil all over both sides of a corn tortilla. It doesn't need to be drenched, but make sure both sides glisten with the sheen of oil.
Set the tortilla on a plate, and continue with the remaining tortillas. Cover the tortillas with a damp paper towel and microwave for one minute. You want them to be pliable enough that they don't crack when rolled. If they are still a bit stiff, keep heating in the microwave in 20 second increments until soft.
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HACK RECIPE FOR EASY GREEN ENCHILADA SAUCE:
I dearly love my authentic Green Enchilada Sauce recipe, the flavor is incredible. But it takes several steps to make, and enchiladas are already a bit of a process! Here is my hack recipe that is still super delicious and a lot easier to get done on a weeknight! My family loves both.
Ingredients:
  • 1 (15-ounce) tub of FRESH salsa verde, get this from the refrigerated section of your store. 
  • 2 (7-ounce*) cans fire roasted green chiles (hot or mild, up to you! I use mild)
  • half a bunch cilantro
  • 1 lime, juiced (at least 2 tablespoons)
  • 1 cup Mexican crema (OR heavy cream, OR sour cream)
  • 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
.
Instructions:
To a blender, add 15 ounces fresh salsa verde, 2 large cans* fire roasted green chiles, half a bunch of cilantro (stems removed), the juice from 1 lime, 1 cup Mexican Crema, 2 teaspoons chicken base, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Blend completely for at least 1 minute. Taste and adjust accordingly. If it is very thick, add water 2 tablespoons at a time until it is a pouring consistency. 
Use with the enchiladas as described in the recipe. You might have more sauce than you need. Save the remaining sauce and serve it as a dip with chips, as a dressing for a salad, as a finishing sauce for salmon or chicken or beef. It's so good!! 
*Green chiles come in 4 ounce cans OR 7 ounce cans. For this recipe, use FOUR 4-ounce cans, or TWO 7-ounce cans. 

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 104IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 0.5mg