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.
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These are delicious. Do you think they could be frozen (would like to make some freezer meals for some friends who are new parents). And if so, would you freeze before or after cooking?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I haven’t made these yet but my friend has and said they are amazing! I’m not used to enchiladas with flour tortillas and was wondering if I substituted corn tortillas, is there anything I should do differently? Thanks!
Corn tortillas would be a great substitute!
This is the second time I’ve made these and my mom who normally doesn’t like things out of her meat and potato mid-western palate, absolutely loved them! I used leftover chicken brest and omitted the green chili’s since mom can’t handle heat. I used canned green enchilada sauce and all of the other ingredients and topped with fresh tomatoes and avocados with a squeeze of lime juice. Fabulous, easy and quick to make. I’m trying to resist going for a 3rd helping…..you read that right! Thanks for the recipe, will defiantly make these again and again.
Have you tried corn tortillas?
I actually haven’t!
I made it twice!!! First for my hubby and then to his family. Let me said you girls that was a really hit. They will don’ leave me in peace
We love hearing that, PaOla!
These were soooooo fantastic!!! I usually follow the recipe exactly, but my favorite salsa brand, a fresh salsa that’s sold in the produce section, doesn’t offer a verde salsa. So I just used regular red salsa… still yummy of course!
Awesome!
These were absolutely amazing! How much calories are these?
That’s awesome! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
So I didn’t have any chicken on hand, but I DID have Chunga’s IP Carnitas leftovers that I substituted. OMG! Delish! Defintely making this again!!!
That sounds delicious!
I made these last night. BEST. ENCHILADAS. EVER!!! Thank you!!
Great, Amy! Thanks 🙂
2, 4 ounce cans of diced green chiles?
Which ones exactly, there are serranos, jalapenos, I’m trying to make this lol
The can will say “diced green chiles”. Hatch, Ortega, and La Victoria are the most common brands I see at the grocery store.
Can you check the print button for the recipe? I love printing your recipes but this one just returns a blank page. Thank you!
Thank you for letting us know, Brin! We’re working on fixing it at the moment. Thank you so much for your patience.
This was amazing!!! Definitely a keeper!
While I haven’t moved to Chicago, San Diego has had the coldest February for 60 years, and March isn’t starting out much better. I saw this recipe and thought – this will make my cold and rainy life better today – and it DID! This recipe is AMAZING. It has so much flavor and is so comforting, but also was fast to put together and I already had almost everything I needed to make the recipe. I used El Pato Verde Sauce and my husband said we need to make this for an upcoming party. Thanks for the delicious recipe Chungah! Stay warm in the windy city!
It’s been unusually cold in Southern California, that’s for sure! This is a perfect cold weather recipe!
When I had half a rotisserie chicken in my refrigerator and was wondering what to do with it, this was an inspired choice! I increased the garlic a bit, and added a little salt and chili powder (a very little). It was a huge hit – and good enough to serve to company.
Thank you, Chungah!
Awesome!
Making these tonight. How did you warm you tortillas? Over an open flame? I’m always trying new ways. The char makes them look extra yummy!
The microwave is the quickest, easiest option in my opinion! 🙂
These look delicious. If you need a good Mexican food place in Chicago, check out Chava’s Tacos in the Ukrainian village area. It has the best steak tacos!
Mm, this looks absolutely incredible!
I will make this for my family very soon!
Great!
Green chicken enchiladas are my favorite – these look perfect!
They are!
Hello, this dish is in the oven now and smells great! I am curious as to what brand of green enchilada sauce do you use?
I used Herdez. 🙂
These look amazing! What brand of tortillas do you use? They look delicious and better than the ones I typically see at the grocery store.
I used Mission. 🙂
Amazing!! I love how you cooked the enchiladas in that amazing salsa verde! (:
The best part? The leftovers for lunch. Gonna make it easier on Monday to go to work! Delicious, thanks for the recipe