Green Chicken Enchiladas
These green chicken enchiladas start with a delicious homemade salsa verde (green sauce) that blends tomatillos, serrano peppers, and other herbs and spices. You can make the sauce ahead to freeze or refrigerate, or you can enjoy it separately as a dip with tortilla chips. Use store-bought shredded chicken to whip up this enchilada recipe in minutes during the week.
Ingredients
Green Sauce (salsa verde)
- 6-8 tomatillos
- 1-2 serrano peppers
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 sprigs cilantro (more for garnish)
- 1/4 medium white onion (diced)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Chicken Enchiladas
- 10 corn tortillas
- 1/2 pound cooked chicken (shredded, may use rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (vegetable, canola, or olive oil)
Instructions
Green enchilada sauce (salsa verde)
- Remove the outer husks from the tomatillos. Rinse the tomatillos and serrano peppers well.
- Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a pot. Then add the tomatillos and serranos. Boil the tomatillos and peppers on medium heat, uncovered, until tender (about 10 minutes). The skins of the tomatillos and peppers should turn from bright green to dark green.
- Remove the pot from the stove and drain most of the water, reserving some to dilute the sauce later if necessary. Remove the stems of the serrano peppers and place the tomatillos and serranos in a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth.
- Add the onion and garlic and pulse slightly.
- Add the cilantro and pulse just until combined. Add salt and pulse once more. You can adjust the salt to taste.
- Place the sauce in a shallow dish while you assemble the enchiladas. Reserve some sauce to pour on top after all the enchiladas are made.
Chicken enchiladas
- Heat a skillet with 1-2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat to coat the pan.
- While the skillet is heating, warm the chicken pieces if needed.
- Using tongs, place a tortilla in the heated skillet for 1-2 seconds on each side until heated.
- Dip the tortilla in green enchilada sauce on both sides. (See notes below for another option for larger batches of enchiladas.)
- Transfer the tortilla to a plate and add cheese and shredded chicken to fill ¼ of the tortilla. Then roll it up. You can place the enchiladas (seam-side down) in a casserole dish in the oven on low heat (200°F) to keep them warm if necessary.
- Continue until all tortillas are used. Then, place the enchiladas back in the skillet (seam-side down) to heat once more. You can also broil the enchiladas for a few minutes in the oven instead. Add more sauce and remaining cheese or cilantro to the enchiladas before serving, if desired.
Notes
Shredded Chicken Options
For shredded chicken, you can either boil chicken parts and debone the chicken or buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.Large-Batch Enchiladas
For a larger batch of enchiladas, warm the tortillas in oil as directed and fill them with chicken and cheese without adding the green sauce. Place the rolled enchiladas in a baking dish and cover with sauce before heating in an oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until hot. You can also use this method to prepare the enchiladas the day before and store them in the refrigerator to reheat later.Freezing the Green Enchilada Sauce
You can make the green sauce (salsa verde) ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. You can also freeze the sauce for up to six months. Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
