Your new favorite weeknight dinner! This recipe for green chicken enchiladas is creamy, cheesy and incredibly easy. Blanketed in a zesty green enchilada sauce, this recipe combines salsa verde, shredded chicken, sour cream, melted cheese and a kick from spicy jalapenos.
There is just something delicious about a cozy, comforting meal like enchiladas. This recipe was inspired by my obsession with finding easy weeknight dinners. As my life has gotten busier over the years, I’ve needed to add easier and easier meals into my rotation.
This pairs well with Avocado Corn Salad or Cinnamon Chili Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
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📋 Ingredients you’ll need
The ingredients list here is small, just twelve ingredients, including salt and olive oil, with very minimal prep. This is why I’d qualify this as a perfect weeknight option.
- Shredded chicken is what we’re using for the filling. Whether you have leftover chicken on hand, or make a batch of homemade shredded chicken or opt for the convenience of a store-bought rotisserie chicken, it’s the heart of this dish.
- Infuse richness and flavor by sauteeing onion and garlic in olive oil. This is enhanced with an easy spice and herb combination of cumin and oregano. This flavorful blend will be folded into the shredded chicken filling.
- Cilantro is a favorite herb of mine and I love the burst of freshness that it brings to the filling.
- The green enchilada sauce is made up of salsa verde and sour cream. Both ingredients are used in the filling and the mixture that is poured over top of the enchiladas before baking.
- Shredded cheese tops the dish, adding a layer of gooey, cheesy perfection. I’ll use whatever I have on hand, it’s often either cheddar or Monterey jack cheese.
- I use 10-inch flour tortillas in this recipe as I find they hold up well to the salsa verde sauce and are a little easier to work with.
🔪 Step by step instructions
This recipe is really simple to make, let’s go!
Preheat oven to 350F and pour ¼ cup of the salsa verde on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Distribute evenly with a spoon or spatula.
Heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-5 minutes until onion is soft and translucent. Add cumin, garlic and oregano. Cook for another minute until very fragrant. The mixture will appear dry.
In a medium bowl, stir onion mixture into ½ cup each of salsa verde, sour cream and shredded cheese and the cilantro.
Stir ¼ cup of sour cream to the remaining salsa verde and set aside for topping enchiladas.
Stir shredded chicken into the filling mixture.
Add ⅓ cup of filling to the bottom of a tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in prepared dish. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.
Pour the remaining mixture of salsa verde and sour cream over top of the rolled enchiladas.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Hint: If you want your cheese to brown, you can place it under the broiler for 2 minutes before serving.
✏️ Substitutions
- Sour cream: I wouldn’t substitute the sour cream completely, but you could swap in half of the amount of a high-fat, thick Greek yogurt. You could also swap in a little bit of cream cheese in the filling mixture for an extra creamy filling.
- Cheese: I love Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese here because they are both cheeses that melt beautifully. You could also use Colby jack, Pepper Jack or a Mexican blend.
- Flour tortillas: Enchiladas are traditionally made with corn tortillas, I use flour as I find them a bit easier to work with and easier to find. You can absolutely use corn tortillas if that is your preference, I’d recommend frying them in oil for about 10 seconds a side before filling and rolling.
- Cilantro: If you have an aversion to this herb, you can simply leave it out! You could also swap in fresh parsley if you still want a herbaceous note.
📖 Variations
There are so many ways you can swap up these enchiladas!
- Spicy: Make sure you taste your salsa verde before adapting the spice in the recipe. The salsa verde I use has quite a bit of heat to it! But there are a number of ways to amp up the heat in this recipe. Add a minced jalapeno when you saute the onions. Or add some chili flakes with the cumin. You could also add your favorite green hot sauce to the salsa verde (avoid red hot sauce as it will turn everything brown!).
- Veggie loaded: You can saute some sliced bell peppers to the onions (this will give the enchiladas a bit of a fajita vibe). You could also add corn (either fresh from an ear of corn or drained from a can).
- Beans: Add your favorite beans to the filling, I like to use either black beans or white navy beans or white kidney beans.
See this recipe for oven baked beef fajitas on my website if you’re looking to use up some bell peppers.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to eat, reheat in microwave or covered in the oven until heated through.
💭 Cooking tips
I often find enchiladas can be a little on the soggy side. If you have extra time, I love this tip from Bon Appetit about frying the tortillas in oil before coating in the enchilada sauce.
This recipe was originally published on March 17, 2018 and updated on November 30, 2023.
Green Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 455 mL / 15oz jar of salsa verde, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¾ cup sour cream, divided
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar or Monterey Jack
- 8 7-inch flour tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and pour ¼ cup of salsa verde into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Spread it evenly using a spoon or spatula.
- In a small frying pan over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add chopped onions and cook for 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add cumin, minced garlic, and oregano. Cook for an additional minute until fragrant. The mixture may appear dry.
- In a medium bowl, combine the sautéed onion mixture with ½ cup each of salsa verde, sour cream, shredded cheese, and the chopped cilantro. Stir the shredded chicken into the filling mixture until well combined.
- Stir the remaining sour cream into the remaining salsa verde and set it aside for topping the enchiladas later.
- Spoon about ⅓ cup of the filling onto the center of a tortilla, roll it up, and place it seam-side down in the prepared casserole dish. Repeat the process with the remaining filling and tortillas.
- Pour the reserved salsa verde and sour cream mixture over the rolled enchiladas. Sprinkle additional shredded cheese on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Notes
- If your salsa verde is mild, you can make these spicier. Add a minced jalapeno and cook with the onions, and add ¼ to ½ tsp of chili flakes when adding the cumin.
- You can use corn tortillas instead of flour, simply heat them in hot oil for 10 seconds a side before rolling and filling.
Judy Embleton 
Louisa Clements 
Alisanne 
Marci 
priyankadave
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