Enchiladas Verdes

If you love the flavors of Mexican cuisine and are looking for a taco Tuesday alternative, enchiladas verdes just might become your new go-to. In this recipe, you wrap cooked chicken in corn tortillas and slather them with a bright, tangy homemade sauce. A layer of cheese and a few minutes in the oven, and you’ve got a hearty meal!

I love to make a batch of salsa verde enchiladas at the beginning of the week and serve them with different toppings and sides throughout the week to keep things interesting. Double the recipe for a great dish to take to a potluck.

What’s the difference between green enchilada sauce and salsa verde?

Green enchilada sauce and salsa verde have almost identical ingredients, including tomatillos, garlic, onion and cilantro, but the two sauces are slightly different. Salsa verde requires cooked tomatillos, but the rest of the ingredients are often raw and the finished mixture is typically a bit chunky. It is usually served as a garnish or a dip.

Enchilada sauce cooks together similar ingredients and then purees the mixture until smooth. It’s used to coat the baking pan, poured atop stuffed tortillas and cooked a second time. That said, you can absolutely use salsa verde, aka tomatillo salsa, to make enchiladas.

Enchiladas Verdes Ingredients

• Tomatillos: Related to tomatoes, tomatillos are usually green (but sometimes purple) and grow inside a beautiful papery husk. Their refreshingly acidic flavor makes them an excellent ingredient for sauces. If you peek inside the husks, tomatillos should be firm and brightly colored, and the papery coverings themselves shouldn’t be withered or moldy.
• Onion: A yellow or white onion is best here, as the color will not interfere with the green of the sauce.
• Serrano pepper: Spicier than their jalapeno cousins, serrano peppers are thin, green and have a real bite. If you aren’t into heat, Anaheim or poblanos are types of peppers that will give you a gentler flavor without giving up the spice altogether.
• Garlic: Whole, peeled garlic cloves give the sauce some zing. If you’re a garlic lover, use more.
• Cilantro: Cilantro is widely used in Mexican cuisine for its refreshing, verdant flavor and is essential to verde sauce. If you think cilantro tastes like soap, these cheese enchiladas with red sauce might be more your speed.
• Seasonings: You need only salt and ground cumin to let the tomatillos and cilantro shine.
• Chicken: This salsa verde enchiladas recipe uses already-cooked chicken, making it quick and easy enough for a weeknight dinner. You can use your own chicken leftovers or buy cooked chicken from the store. The recipe calls for breast meat, but if you prefer dark meat, which tends to be more moist and flavorful, don’t hesitate to use it.
• Monterey Jack cheese: A mild cheese that’s great for melting, Monterey Jack is common in Tex-Mex and Mexican dishes, although it isn’t a Mexican cheese. If your store sells the more traditional queso Oaxaca cheese, you could use that instead.
• Corn tortillas: You can make corn tortillas from scratch and stash them in your freezer to use whenever you need them, but chicken enchiladas verdes are also great made with store-bought tortillas.
• Garnishes: Try topping your salsa verde chicken enchiladas with avocado cubes, dollops of sour cream and additional cilantro.

Directions

Step 1: Make the sauce

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Place the tomatillos, onion and serrano pepper in a stock pot and barely cover with water.

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Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are slightly soft. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the remaining liquid. Set aside to cool slightly.

Editor’s Tip: You’ll lose some nutrients by simmering the veggies and pouring out the water. Instead, you can use a little less water, stir the veggies occasionally as they cook and then keep them on the heat until only 1/2 cup of liquid remains.

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Transfer the vegetables and liquid to a high-powered blender. Add the garlic, cilantro and salt, and puree until smooth.

Step 2: Roll up the enchiladas

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Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, 1 cup cheese, onion, cumin and 1/2 cup verde sauce.

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Spread 1 cup verde sauce over the bottom of a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Place 2 tablespoons chicken mixture off-center on each tortilla.

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Roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in the prepared pan.

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Top the rolled tortillas with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese.

Step 3: Bake and serve

Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until the enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is melted. When serving, top with avocado, sour cream and cilantro if desired.

TASTE OF HOME

Enchiladas Verdes Variations

• Make the sauce rojas (red): If you can’t find tomatillos or don’t prefer them, no worries. Try this sweet and spicy red enchilada sauce instead.
• Try another protein: This recipe is super flexible, and you can use pretty much any protein you like instead of the chicken. Roasted turkey, pulled pork, black or pinto beans, or some Mexican beef taste great.
• Load ’em up: Expand your garnish offerings to include toppings such as scallions, black olives, or fresh or pickled onions. You can also serve your favorite easy guacamole instead of avocado cubes. Don’t forget to offer some lime wedges on the side.

How to Store Enchiladas Verdes

Store cooled enchiladas verdes in an airtight food storage container in the fridge for up to three days. The tortillas may get soggier the longer they are stored.

Can you freeze enchiladas verdes?

Salsa verde chicken enchiladas are a pretty good candidate for the deep freeze. You could bake them in a foil pan, cover them with storage wrap and foil, and freeze the whole thing. Or, you could make packets of enchiladas in zippered bags, squeeze out the air and freeze them. Thaw enchiladas overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

How do you reheat enchiladas verdes?

Reheat enchiladas verdes in a 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until warmed through.

Enchiladas Verdes Tips

TASTE OF HOME

Should you warm the tortillas for enchilada verde?

It’s a great idea to toast tortillas lightly on both sides before rolling up your enchilada filling. Warm tortillas are more pliable than cold ones, and toasting helps prevent them from absorbing too much salsa and getting soggy.

What can you serve with enchiladas verdes?

This is such a versatile dish and is great paired with Mexican side dishes. I like to serve chicken enchiladas verde alongside corn and black bean salad or Instant Pot black beans and a big bowl of honey lime coleslaw. If you’re doing apps, try offering Mexican shrimp cocktail or shrimp avocado salad. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with tres leches cake.