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!
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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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! :)
This recipe was super creamy and delicious, and a new favorite in my household! I served it with some refried beans and seasoned rice, and added a bit of cayenne to the sauce and it turned out great!
Excellent enchiladas! I had trouble blending the green chilies since it was a small amount for the size of my blender, so I added the cup of water to blend together, problem solved! I will probably try the other commenters suggestion of adding an extra can of chilies and a little more water to make more sauce because it really is that good! More would not be a bad thing 😉
I used this green enchilada sauce in place of the red when making sweet potato and black bean enchiladas (my vegetarian riff on your sweet potato and chorizo enchiladas). Result was delicious! Only change I made was adding a handful of cilantro to the sauce since I had some on hand.
Absolutely delicious flavors and I will add this into my rotation. We love enchiladas in our house, and this was a nice change up from the various red sauces and even a tomatillo-based green sauce. My only criticism was that there wasn’t quite enough sauce – it’s the highlight of the dish and the tortillas basically absorbed it all. Next time I will make 50% more sauce (three cans of chiles + 1.5 cup liquid). My only variation from the recipe was using broth instead of water because I had some left over. I don’t know how much of a difference it made, but the sauce was delicious so I will probably do it again.
Simple and delicious
I fixed this for dinner last night and it was very good! I already had everything I needed, including cooked chicken so it was quick and easy to come together. It was great to make the chili sauce with ingredients I had in my pantry. The only substitution I made was using chicken broth that needed to be used in place of the water. Also fixed your cumin lime slaw and mango slices on the side for a great dinner. My husband had requested enchiladas and said this was a “keeper”! He’s eating the leftovers for lunch. Your recipes never disappoint Beth. Thanks so much!
Ummm….tasty as usual in recipes from you. The only thing I did different was use fresh jalapenos – the rest was your recipe – everybody I served it to was happy as well.
glassy~
Looks so good. That would be approx. 3 cups of diced chicken?
These were delicious and easy to make. I did not have pepper jack cheese, so had to use an Italian cheese blend of shredded cheese that I had. Am going to buy some pepper jack to have for next time. I will definitely make these again!
These are sooo delicious, Beth!
Thank you for this amazing recipe ☺️Zz
Hi Beth! This looks amazing! Any thoughts about how one might best substitute pressed tofu or another veggie protein for vegetarian guests? Would it be completely insane to consider substituting cooked white beans? Thanks!
We have a few awesome vegetarian enchilada recipes. My two favorites are Spinach White Bean Enchiladas with Pepper Jack Sauce and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
I will be using this for my post Thanksgiving leftover make overs for sure and sub in the cooked turkey. I always make some form of enchiladas with leftover turkey and this will be perfect!
This reminds me of my food tour in New Mexico. And since enchiladas are always on the menu here, these will be happening soon!
Could you use flour tortillas for this?
Most definitely!
I’ll be making these for dinner today, as I already have all the ingredients in my pantry. Perfect!!
Btw, Beth–will we ever see a classic pancake recipe from you? :) I’ve been looking around, but could never find it. You’re the only American food blogger I trust and I’d love to see pancakes from you!
Cheers from Poland!