Green Chicken Enchiladas are a delicious zesty family favorite!
This amazing easy recipe is also called “Chicken Enchiladas Casserole”
These step-by-step instructions are a great way to make flavor-packed Green Chicken Enchiladas, this means you’ll have dinner on the table in no time. Add a side dish of Spanish Rice and a refreshing Paloma for a complete Mexican food meal.
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Jump to RecipeIngredients for Green Chicken Enchiladas
- Shredded Chicken – follow our quick step by step instructions on Making shredded chicken, we like to start with chicken breast.
- Corn Tortillas – we use a 7-inch size
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – we like sharp cheddar for its tangy flavor
- Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese – or spice it up with pepper jack cheese
- Fresh Cilantro – not a fan? skip it or substitute flat-leaf parsley
- Chicken Broth
- Our homemade Salsa Verde – packed with herbs and spices this sauce gives these traditional enchiladas their signature color and flavor
How to make Green Chicken Enchiladas with homemade Salsa Verde
We made our Chicken enchiladas a simple recipe with limited ingredients. Follow this step-by-step for deliciously spicy salsa verde chicken enchiladas.
First Step
- Preheat oven to 350˚degrees F.
- Prepare our Salsa Verde Recipe and make Shredded Chicken. Set aside. Both of these steps can be done the day before and refrigerated until ready to use.
- Combine filling ingredients: Add shredded chicken, 1/2 of the cheddar cheese, 1/2 of the Monterey Jack cheese, and 1/2 of the chopped cilantro, to a medium mixing bowl and toss together. Set aside.
Second Step
- In a medium skillet add 1 cup of the salsa verde recipe with the chicken broth and mix to combine. Warm salsa over low heat, then turn off heat before dipping tortillas.
- Warm the tortillas by wrapping in a damp towel or damp paper towel and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave until they are soft, pliable, and easy to roll.
- Dip each tortilla into the warm green salsa mixture until coated on each side.
- Pour a light layer of salsa to coat the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish – about 2 Tablespoons.
- For each tortilla add 3-4 Tablespoons of chicken mixture.
- Gently roll each tortilla up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- FYI: a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish will hold 8 rolled tortillas.
- Pour the homemade enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar and Jack cheeses.
Final Step – Baking
- Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven at 350˚F for 30 minutes. (See bullet point below for less browning). Now for the best part, since the chicken has been already cooked the enchiladas just need to be baked until all the filling ingredients and remaining cheese become wonderfully bubbly and gooey!
- If you prefer your enchiladas not as brown on the top and prefer them more bubbly and gooey, then cover them with foil for the first 10-15 minutes of baking and then uncover them for the last 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro.
- Let rest for about 10 minutes, and serve. We also like to serve our enchiladas topped with a bit of pico de gallo and a dollop of sour cream.
What is the difference between Salsa Verde and Green Enchilada sauce?
Let’s clear up the difference between salsa and sauce. Salsa is the Spanish term for “sauce”. It has also come to mean the same thing in English. So, verde sauce is the same as salsa verde.
The difference between a traditional red enchilada sauce and a salsa verde sauce is that salsa verde is made and served raw and red sauce is cooked.
Salsa verde is blended together and served uncooked, and it is only cooked when added to a cooked recipe such as this enchilada recipe.
Traditional red enchilada sauce is cooked and includes a liquid, such as water or broth. Both styles have delicious flavors and make the most fabulous enchiladas.
Mildly spicy Salsa Verde is the perfect dipping sauce
Is green enchilada sauce hotter than a red sauce?
The main difference between the two sauces is simply the ingredients. Red sauce is made from red chilis or chili powders. Green, or verde, sauce is made from green chilis, tomatillos, and jalapenos. Green sauces have a higher heat range or tend to be the “hot sauce” of the two.
In our Green Chicken Enchiladas recipe the heat and the spice come from the salsa verde.
How to store enchiladas before, and after, you bake them:
Refrigerator:
One of the best parts of making homemade enchiladas is they can be made the day before, refrigerated, and baked the next day.
Baked enchiladas can be refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days in an airtight container and gently rewarmed in the oven or microwave.
Freezer:
You can freeze the prepared enchiladas uncooked to bake at a later time. Fully cool and place in a sealed container before freezing. You can also freeze cooked and cooled enchiladas to rewarm later.
Here are a few traditional Mexican dish recipes we love
We are crazy for Mexican-based dishes and here are some of our faves!
- Spanish Rice – the perfect side dish!
- Chicken Tortilla Soup – also uses shredded chicken!
- Chili Verde Recipe – slow-cooked tender pieces of pork and a zesty green sauce
- Chili Colorado Recipe – mildly fiery beef chunk in dark red sauce
- Carne Asada Recipe – an easy marinated and quickly grilled beef dinner
- Pork Carnitas Recipe – herbs and citrus give this shredded pork its big flavor
- Grab a cool Paloma cocktail or a sweet Spicy Mango Margarita to complete your dinner!
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Green Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
- 1 9" x 13" baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cup cooked chicken breasts, shredded
- 8 Corn tortillas 7-inch round
- 2 cups Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 2 cups Jack Cheese shredded
- 2 ½ cups Salsa Verde sauce
- ½ cup Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Cilantro leaves, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Prepare salsa verde and shredded chicken. Set aside. (see links below for both recipes)These can be prepared the day before and refrigerated until ready to use.
- Add filling ingredients to a medium-sized bowl: shredded chicken, 1/2 of the cheddar cheese, 1/2 of the Monterey Jack cheese, and 1/2 of the chopped Cilantro. Toss together and set aside.
- In a medium skillet add one cup of the salsa verde with the chicken broth and mix together. Heat on low.
- Warm the tortillas by wrapping in a damp towel and heating for 30 seconds in the microwave until they are soft, pliable, and easy to roll. Coat the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with 2 Tablespoons of salsa verde.
- For each tortilla add about 3-4 Tablespoons of chicken/cheese filling.Gently roll each tortilla up and place seam side down in the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Baking dish will hold 8 finished tortillas. Pour remaining salsa verde over the prepared enchiladas, and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar and Jack cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, at 350℉ for 30 minutes. If you would like your enchiladas to not brown as much you can cover them with foil for the first 15 minutes and then uncover them for the last 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.
Notes
- Our easy Salsa Verde recipe
- Check out How to Make and Shred Chicken
- FYI: A 9″x 13″ pan will hold 8 rolled tortillas
- Baked enchiladas can be refrigerated for up to 3 to 4 days in a sealed container and gently rewarmed in the oven or microwave.
- You can freeze the prepared enchiladas uncooked to bake at a later time. Fully cool and place in a sealed container before freezing.
- You can also freeze a pan of cooked and cooled enchiladas to rewarm later.
Kathleen
These flavor packed green chicken enchiladas are going to be big hit in my house.
Mahy
Well, let’s just say that my only problem is that I can’t stop eating these enchiladas.. They are THAT tasty!
Cyndy
Oh yea, same with us!
Ava M
These green enchiladas were a fiesta in my mouth! The tangy verde sauce was the star. So flavorful!
Nikki
So simple and family friendly! Thanks for sharing!
Anjali
These enchiladas were super flavorful and easy to make! And the chicken was so tender as a filling – totally delicious!