Creamy, tangy, and filling, these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are an awesome comforting weeknight dinner. Whether you cook a couple of chicken breasts up quickly in a skillet, or use pre-cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken or canned chicken breast, this recipe comes together easily. I smothered these chicken enchiladas with a really quick homemade green chile sauce that only takes about 10 minutes to make, and has a LOT more flavor than store bought canned enchilada sauce, so try not to skip it if you can!
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Chicken Options
I cooked up a couple of chicken breasts in a skillet for these enchiladas (instructions included in the recipe below), but you can take a short cut by using rotisserie chicken or canned chicken breast, if you want to make this recipe even easier. You’ll need about 2 cups of chopped cooked and cooled chicken for the enchilada filling.
Can I Add More Vegetables?
Yes, you can add more vegetables to the enchilada filling, if you’d like. Since you’ll be adding more volume, I suggest either making more enchiladas (maybe 16 enchiladas) or reducing the meat by half to make up for the added vegetables. Vegetables that would go good in these green chile chicken enchiladas include: zucchini (sautéed first to remove moisture), spinach (chopped and sautéed or frozen, thawed), or frozen corn (thawed).
I also suggest making some homemade Pico de Gallo to spoon over top for some added color and flavor!
What to Serve with Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
There are so many great side dishes that would go with these enchiladas. Try one of the following:
Are These Enchiladas Spicy?
I would consider these enchiladas “medium” spicy. I used pepper jack cheese, which has spicy peppers, as well as a little cayenne pepper in the filling. If your canned green chiles (used to make the enchilada sauce) are spicy as well, your enchiladas will be more on the spicy side.
If you want to make these enchiladas mild, simply swap out the pepper jack cheese for Monterey Jack, skip the cayenne pepper in the filling, and make sure you use mild canned green chiles.
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Servings 6 2 enchiladas eachIngredients
Enchiladas
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas ($0.68)
- 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast* ($6.43)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.22)
- 8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded and divided ($1.69)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
- 2 4oz. cans diced green chiles ($1.58)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- heat a large skillet over medium-high. Once hot, toast the tortillas for 30-60 seconds on each side, or until browned on the edges (no oil needed). Stack the toasted tortillas on a plate and cover with foil or an upside down bowl to keep them from drying out.
- Turn the heat under the skillet down to medium, add the cooking oil, and swirl to coat the surface. Add the chicken breast and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through (165ºF internal temperature). Transfer the chicken breast to a clean cutting board to cool.
- While the chicken is cooking, begin the green chile enchilada sauce. Add both cans of diced green chiles (with liquid) to a blender and purée until smooth.
- Add the cooking oil, flour, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small sauce pot. Stir and cook over medium, allowing the mixture to come up to a bubble. Once bubbling, continue to cook and stir for 1 minute.
- Carefully add the water and puréed green chiles to the sauce pot and whisk to combine. Allow the sauce to come back up to a simmer, stirring often. Once simmering, turn off the heat, and season with salt (about ½ tsp). Set the sauce aside.
- Begin preheating the oven to 350ºF. Add the sour cream, half of the shredded pepper jack, sliced green onions, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne and salt to a large bowl. Finely dice the chicken, then add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. Stir until everything is well combined.
- Begin assembling the enchiladas. Add about ¼ cup of the prepared filling to the center of each tortilla and then roll it closed. Place the filled tortillas in a casserole dish, seam side down.
- Pour the prepared green chile enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, then top with the remaining shredded pepper jack cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. Serve hot.
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Equipment
- Small Blender
- Nonstick Fry Pans
- Color Cutting Boards
- Chef’s Knife
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Green Chile Enchiladas – Step by Step Photos
Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Once hot, add the tortillas and toast on each side for 30-60 seconds or until browned (no oil needed). Place the toasted tortillas on a plate and cover with foil or an upside down bowl to keep them from drying out.
Turn the heat under the skillet down to medium. Add ½ Tbsp cooking oil to the hot skillet and swirl to coat. Add two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side or until cooked through (165ºF internal temperature). Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean cutting board to cool.
While the chicken is cooking, begin the green chile enchilada sauce. Purée two 4oz. cans of diced green chiles (with the liquid from the can) in a blender.
Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil, 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp onion powder to a sauce pot. Cook and stir over medium until it begins to bubble. Once bubbling, continue to cook and stir for one minute.
Add 1 cup water and the puréed green chiles. Whisk to combine, then allow it to come back up to a simmer (stirring frequently). Once simmering it will thicken slightly. Season with salt (about ½ tsp), then set the sauce aside.
Finely chop the cooked chicken.
Begin preheating the oven to 350ºF. Add ½ cup sour cream, 4oz. shredded pepper jack (1 cup), 2 sliced green onions, ½ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp cumin, ¼ tsp salt, and the chopped chicken to a bowl. Stir to combine.
Begin assembling the chicken enchiladas. Add about ¼ cup of filling to each toasted tortilla, then roll closed. Place the filled tortillas in a casserole dish, seam side down.
Pour the prepared green chile enchilada sauce over the enchiladas.
Top with the remaining 4oz. (1 cup) shredded pepper jack cheese.
Bake the enchiladas in the preheated 350ºF oven for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. (I garnished with chopped cilantro, but it’s not really needed for flavor).
Serve hot! Side dish recommendations in the blog post above the recipe! :)
Can I prep these and keep them in the fridge for a day prior to cooking?
That should work fine!
This is the first and only enchilada recipe I’ve ever made, and I’ve made it many times. The green chile sauce is what makes it amazing.
Can I freeze the whole pan of enchiladas after baking and cooling—reheat from frozen?
Yes, you can! I’d recommend baking at 350F for 20-30 minutes to reheat from frozen!
I’ll let you know. Making them now
Best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever made! Thanks so much for sharing ☺️
My 22 year old and I liked it. My 13 year old said it was too spicy.
These were great, even the littles ate it up. The food just needed a little extra salt at the end but nothing a shaker can’t fix lol
This was fantastic. Only change I made was to use greek yogurt instead of sour cream since that’s what we have. I can’t wait to eat leftovers tomorrow for lunch.
These were super good!
Delicious!! My husband and I made these tonight and both agreed they are some of the very best enchiladas we’ve had yet. We did make two changes to the recipe. Instead of chicken we used pre cooked shredded pork carnitas, and habanero jack for a spicier cheese. Made the rest of the recipe exactly as written. So tasty, and very easy for the two of us to pull together. Served with sour cream and hot sauce.