Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

These savory Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas start with soft tortillas, loaded with a creamy, cheesy chicken mixture and topped with a green enchilada sauce. These cheesy chicken enchiladas are topped with your favorite enchilada toppings like fresh avocado, diced tomatoes, fresh herbs, or a diced red onion.

Pair this hearty meal with a light salad like this kale couscous salad or easy roasted veggie salad.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

This incredible enchilada recipe is from the stunning new publication: The Well Plated Cookbook. My good friend Erin, from WellPlated.com has poured her heart into this cookbook and it shows on every single page! The cookbook is gorgeous with over 130 lightened-up rapid-fire meals to add to your recipe rotation. Every single recipe has helpful and practical tips and explanations including healthful recipe ingredient swaps, ways to use leftovers, or spinoff flavor variations. I mean, really, it’s no surprise the book is already touting over 200 5-star reviews!

I don’t share cookbooks all that often unless I really love them, and we’ve already dog-eared half the book and made several recipes in this book… including these show-stopping Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with a homemade green chile sauce.

One of my favorite things about this book (besides this recipe, of course!) is how well Erin explains each recipe. They’re well-written and don’t leave out any of the important details — so whether you’re an experienced cook or a beginner, you’ll have success with her recipes.

Erin shares her favorite enchilada sauce to top these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with the promise of how simple it is (seriously, it is), and the following, “it tastes so deeply rewarding, it will ruin the canned stuff for you in the best possible way.” 

She couldn’t be more right– this green enchilada sauce is amazing — it’s the best possible way to top the enchiladas!

Green Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (9-10) small tomatillos, husked, scrubbed and left whole (See Quick Tip below).
• 2 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped into 1/4 to 1-inch pieces (~2 cups)
• 2 medium jalapeño peppers, seeds and membranes removed and chopped into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped into 1/4-1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, peels on and left whole
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup water

Instructions:

• Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 400-degrees F. For easy cleanup, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, onion and garlic in the center of the baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and then spread the veggies into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping and tossing halfway through the cooking time. The peppers and onion should be golden brown and soft, and tomatillos should be breaking down.
• Peel the garlic and discard the skins. Working in batches (if needed) transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender. Add in the cilantro and puree until smooth. Then add the cumin and water and blend again until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. If you’d like a thinner sauce, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. 

QUICK TIP

Erin’s tip: Look for tomatillos that are firm with tight husks. If the husks are darkened, spotty, or shriveled, the tomatillos are past their prime. To remove the husks, pinch them back and pull off from the green skin. Rinse the husked tomatillo under warm water and gently rub away the light, sticky film before roasting for this recipe.

Using leftover enchilada sauce

The sauce makes more than you’ll need for one batch of Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. I like to save the rest to make another batch (they’re perfect for the freezer!), but here are some other ways to use the leftovers:

• Drizzled over scrambled eggs
• Drizzled over rice and beans 
• In a breakfast casserole (Erin shares a Southwest Breakfast Casserole on page 32 of her book!)
• In this Crockpot Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup (a reader favorite!)
• Pour it over a pork shoulder roast and cook it in the slow cooker.
• Use in your favorite chilaquiles recipe.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas Tortillas

What chicken to use

For Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, the chicken can be prepared on the stovetop, slow cooker, or instant pot. Once the chicken is cooked, thinly slice or shred it for these enchiladas. 

To save some time (and since we’re already making the sauce from scratch!) I like to use already pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

We love the hot-and-ready rotisserie chickens at Costco®. They’re so good and have so much meat on them (plenty for these enchiladas with some leftover for this BBQ chicken sandwich recipe)! But, for the fastest possible prep time, I recommend buying rotisserie chicken meat that has already been pulled from the bones and shredded. I’ve seen pre-shredded rotisserie chicken at Costco, Smith’s® (Kroger), Trader Joe’s®, and Walmart®. Grocers recognize a valuable service when they see it!

Storing Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas 

Enchiladas: Place any leftovers in the fridge, covered tightly or stored in an airtight container, for up to 4 days or freeze (covered tightly in a freezer-safe container) for up to 3 months.

To reheat:

• Heat leftovers in a 350-degree F oven (from the fridge) or directly from the freezer (no need to thaw first). (The exception is if a glass dish is used — then you will want to thaw in the fridge because a cold glass dish could shatter if it’s placed directly into a hot oven).
• Cover the pan with foil and bake until heated through, about 20-30 minutes for leftover refrigerated enchiladas and about 45 minutes for frozen ones.
• Reheat leftovers in the microwave for speedier reheating.

Enchilada Sauce: Store any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

More delicious chicken dinners

• Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with pineapple!
• Chicken and Wild Rice with a cilantro-lime sauce
• Chicken Alfredo lightened-up!
• Saucy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Chicken Stroganoff over egg noodles

FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

5 from 2 votes

- Review this recipe

These savory Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas start with soft tortillas loaded up with a creamy, cheesy chicken mixture and topped with green enchilada sauce. These cheesy chicken enchiladas are topped with your favorite enchilada toppings like fresh avocado, diced tomatoes, fresh herbs, or a diced red onion.

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

5 from 2 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

These savory Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas start with soft tortillas loaded up with a creamy, cheesy chicken mixture and topped with green enchilada sauce. These cheesy chicken enchiladas are topped with your favorite enchilada toppings like fresh avocado, diced tomatoes, fresh herbs, or a diced red onion.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 4 servings (8 enchiladas)

Calories 679kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $6.24

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 medium red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (2 cups)
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1-1/2 cups)
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground chili powder
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 cups fat free or lite sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• ▢ 2 (4 oz. each) fire-roasted diced green chiles, drained
• ▢ 8 (8-inch) tortillas (we love TortillaLand)
• ▢ 2 cups Green Enchilada Sauce (we love homemade! See Note 1)
• ▢ Optional toppings: diced cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, diced avocados, diced red onion

US - Metric

USMetric

Instructions

• PREP: Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
• ONION AND PEPPERS: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the bell peppers and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the onion becomes translucent, 8 to 10 minutes.
• CHICKEN AND SPICES: To the skillet, add the chicken, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper. Stir to coat and then remove the skillet from the heat and let cool.
• CHEESE MIXTURE: In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the cheese, the sour cream, drained green chiles, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Once the chicken and veggie mixture has cooled to room temperature, add it to the bowl with the cheese mixture and stir with a large spoon until the chicken and vegetables are coated evenly with the cheese mixture.
• TORTILLAS: Prepare the tortillas according to package directions. Lay a tortilla on a work surface and soread one-eighth of the chicken and cheese mixture, leaving a bit of space on each end of the filling (you will use about a heaping 1/2 cup per enchilada.) Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can without the filling squishing out, and place in the prepared pan, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Pour 1 and 1/2 up to 2 cups of the green enchilada sauce evenly over the top (use more if you want a saucier enchilada; we like 1 and 1/2 cups best). Cover the pan with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.
• ADD CHEESE: Remove from the oven, uncover the pan, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, for an 5 additional minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with the desired toppings and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Recipe is from Erin over at WellPlated and featured in her stunning new cookbook -- The Well Plated Cookbook! Be sure to check out the book on Amazon and get your own copy to enjoy many more delicious recipes 🙂

Note 1: Here's how to make your own green enchilada sauce:

• 1 pound (9-10) small tomatillos, husked, scrubbed, and left whole
• 2 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped into 1/4 to 1-inch pieces (~2 cups)
• 2 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed and chopped into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, peels on and left whole
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup water

1. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 400-degrees F. For easy cleanup, line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, onion, and garlic in the center of the baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then spread the veggies into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping and tossing halfway through the cooking time. The peppers and onion should be golden brown and soft, and tomatillos should be breaking down.
2. Peel the garlic and discard the skins. Working in batches (if needed) transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender. Add in the cilantro and puree until smooth. Then add the cumin and water and blend again until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. If you like a thinner sauce, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 679kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.5g | Protein: 41.1g | Fat: 37.2g | Cholesterol: 128.3mg | Sodium: 1586.8mg | Fiber: 7.3g | Sugar: 13.6g | Iron: 2mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.