Green Chicken Enchiladas
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Salsa verde, green chiles, leftover rotisserie chicken and Monterey Jack cheese make for the best weeknight enchiladas ever!
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When I think of bomb Mexican food, I think of my favorite Mexican joint in LA.
Tacos Por Favor, also known as TPF. It’s located in a very tiny strip mall on the corner of Olympic Blvd and Bundy Drive, conveniently located next to a Coffee Bean.
So whenever I stop by this TPF, I order two things: a California burrito and green chicken enchiladas. I never deviate from this order. Never, ever, ever.
But now that we’ve moved to Chicago, I have had no choice but to come up with a TPF replacement.
And that’s these weeknight green chicken enchiladas.
It’s super simple and easy to assemble, and you get to repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken. Plus, when you combine the salsa verde, green chiles and Monterey Jack cheese, you’ll simply want to bathe in all of its glory.
So if you don’t have a TPF near you, you can now have your green chicken enchilada fix anytime, anywhere.
Oh, and the leftovers taste even better the next day.
tips and tricks for success
- Soften the tortillas. Warm the tortillas first so they are easier to roll. Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds. You can also fry the tortillas, in batches, in a little bit of oil (about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil) until crispy but pliable.
- Do not overstuff. Size matters! Overstuffing may sound like a good idea since the filling is the best part, but this can result in ripped tortilla and overspill.
- Avoid a soggy bottom. Nobody likes soggy enchiladas! Be sure to pour the sauce on top, adding the filled enchiladas to the pan first.
what to serve with enchiladas
Tools For This Recipe
9 x 13 baking dish
Green Chicken Enchiladas: Frequently Asked Questions
Both green enchilada sauce and salsa verde are made with tomatillos and green chilies but green enchilada sauce is cooked and typically served hot while salsa verde uses raw ingredients and is served cold (or at room temperature).
We love this IP rotisserie chicken and this 6-ingredient lemon herb rotisserie chicken.
Absolutely! You can use corn or flour, it really just depends on personal preference. Corn tortillas are traditionally used for enchiladas as they maintain their structure a little more (less cracking and tearing when rolled) but either option will work great here.
Sweet potato, mushrooms, zucchini and cauliflower are all great options.
We love Monterey Jack but Cheddar, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack and Mexican blend can also be used.
Add your filled enchiladas to the bottom of the pan first, then pour the sauce on top to prevent them from soaking too much sauce (hence, soggy enchiladas).
Yes! Enchiladas is a great dish to make ahead of time and assembled the night before, letting it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to baking.
Green Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 4 cups coarsely shredded rotisserie chicken
- 2 cups salsa verde, divided
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 8-inch flour tortillas, warmed
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano and cumin until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in green chiles.
- In a large bowl, combine green chile mixture, chicken, 1/3 cup salsa verde and cilantro. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- To assemble the enchiladas, lay tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/2-3/4 cups of the chicken mixture in the center. Roll the tortilla and place seam side down onto prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Top with remaining salsa verde and remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese.
- Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 35-40 minutes.
- Serve immediately, topped with dollops of sour cream.
Did you make this recipe?
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can these be made the night before?
I would say yes. If you cooked them the night before and reheated them in the oven that taste as delicious as the day you cooked them. We had leftovers reheated and they tasted as good.
Thanks for that recipe. It was delicious. I toned down the chili as we’re British. Lollol
Excellent! Made exactly as written. 🙂
These were absolutely delicious! I used only half the chicken and half the green chili mixture (only used 1 can of green chili’s, personal preference). Froze other half to make these again. Glad I found this recipe.
These came out soo good. I added a can of corn and a can of black beans to the filling, plus extra cheese cause tou always need extra cheese. I will definitely make again!
Delicious!! Changes – used chicken thighs cooked in airfryer, corn tortillas and 1/2 Serrano pepper
Damn Delicious – GREEN CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Love this recipe! We cooked ours in the Traeger smoker turned out Delicious and takes it to the next Level!
Absolutely wonderful!!!great mix of flavors I used a little extra cheese (4-41/2 cups) and also added 1 cup habanero and pepper Jack mix of shredded cheese.
The bomb! I always take my own ride, so I skipped the precooking of the onions and used oil softened corn tortillas and added the seasoning straight to the bowl with the chicken with a hint of chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. I also used Mexican cheese, medium cheddar and mozerella both inside and on top. I finished it off with sour cream and pico de gallo! Two thumbs up from the hubby and I may now have a tough choice between beef vs chicken which was never a problem before. Very easy recipe and wonderful use for those $5 Costco chickens. Thank you for sharing!
I was wanting to make green enchiladas but couldn’t figure out what to add to the filling other than chicken. You had the perfect solution. Thank you!
I’ve made this a few times and is a keeper for sure. Went right by the recipe and turns out sooo good.
Flour tortillas are the best for this keeper I think. Thanks for sharing!
It soooo good! If you’re not a very seasoned cook I would at least double the prep time.
This was really good! I didn’t have any canned chiles so I diced some fresh jalapeno, but other than that I kept to the recipe. Definitely a keeper.
I’ve made this multiple times and it’s one of my husbands top favorite dinners. It is sooooo good and really easy. I’ve found that I can actually half the shredded chicken and have the perfect amount for 8 tortillas. Whenever I do all 4 cups I have a ton left over. I keep all other measurements the same though. And of course I just top the cheese by eyeball because… it’s cheese, you can never have too much. Lol
Love it!
Wonderful! I’ve made enchiladas before but never the green chili chicken ones. Made this for several friends and everyone raved. I admit I added a little extra cheese, but who’s counting calories? Thanks.
These came together so easily. I used a tomatillo salsa verde that I didn’t really care for in this recipe. What brand salsa verde do you use?
This will be a definite keeper. It was damn delicious!
Herdez salsa Verde
Making your own is super simple and honestly the best. I use half of a white onion, 3 garlice cloves, pablano pepper, 2 Jalapenos, half of a serano (take seeds out if you don’t like it super hot), about 8-10 medium sized tomatillos, a handful of cilantro, the juice from half a lime, salt and pepper.
You place all the veggies coated in olive oil under the broiler for 5-8 minutes until they get a little scorched. Throw everything in the blender when done add cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper then blend. Super easy and tastes amazing.
Excellent! Great ingredients, easy to make, and outstanding flavor. This is already a family favorite.
This recipe is a keeper. It is so flavorful and hits all the Mexican food notes. I followed the recipe exactly. Super easy to put together. I covered with foil as the cheese was getting too brown.
As usual your recipe is delicious. This is definitely my go-to site for dinner inspiration. I’ve made this several times. I like to add sour cream to the chicken mixture, but that’s just a personal preference. The recipe is really perfect. I’ve also used this recipe and subbed carnitas from Aldi’s instead of chicken, which is also delicious. I’d highly recommend if you haven’t tried it.
What a delicious recipe–so easy to prepare and a husband-pleaser. His immediate comment was “this one’s a keeper”. I halved the recipe, since there’s just the two of us, and had enough to make a second meal. We did use up all the Salsa Verde and will open another jar when I re-heat the leftovers for the second serving. It did not indicate in the instructions whether or not to drain the chilis–I did, but I don’t think there’s enough liquid in those small cans to make a difference in the outcome. I placed a dish of sour cream on the table to dip as much as we wanted when eating the dish. The sour cream is a nice finishing touch for blending the flavors.
This is a great way to use up that last part of that inexpensive $5 Costco rotisserie chicken! And, yes, truly “Damn Delicious”! Thanks for a “keeper”.
I was looking for a green enchilada recipe with chicken, since I was getting tired of red sauce with beef, and Oh. Emm. Gee. these did NOT disappoint! The spices and seasonings are absolutely perfect. I used corn tortillas instead of flour, but dang these enchiladas are so yummy! Thanks for sharing!