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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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! :)
Hi. This looks so good. Do you think this would work, if I made it, and froze the whole dish. I’d like to take it on vacation with me.
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried freezing this one so I don’t know for sure, but sour cream doesn’t always freeze so well so it might be risky.
Would you be concerned that flour tortillas would get too soggy?
They will definitely absorb some of the liquid and get soft, so I guess it just depends on whether or not that bothers you. I actually don’t mind it, it’s just like if you order a wet burrito or something, but I think it’s definitely a personal preference sort of thing. :)
This recipe is a keeper! I’ve made this recipe numerous times I like to add roasted cauliflower with taco seasoning, roasted corn (from Trader Joe’s), and black beans to bump it up. I did make too much filling for this Cinco de Mayo and am wondering if freezing the filling would keep well?
Usually, things with sour cream don’t freeze all that well because it tends to break down, but I haven’t actually tried it with this one to know for sure.
Just made these last night (and eating the leftovers as I write this), they were delicious!
Only had room for 8 on my pan so I had a little enchilada filling leftover and after a taste, I think it would make a fantastic chilled wrap on its own, maybe even with the enchilada sauce as dressing.
Do you think these would freeze well? I’m wondering how the filling would hold up since it has sour cream in it.
I’d have to try it to know for sure, but another issue you might run into is the tortillas splitting.
I had to use jalapeno havarti cheese (Aldi) as a substitute the second time I made this. My hubby liked it so much better, that he asked me to use it all the time. For the record, my son and I loved this the first time, which is why it was even made a second time. Sooooo good.
WOW. As a native Texan, I can honestly say these enchiladas are incredible. I happened to have some salsa verde chicken leftover (literally just chicken cooked in salsa verde in the Instant Pot, then shredded), so I wanted a recipe to compliment it, and this was a winner. Made as instructed otherwise, and paired with the warm corn and avocado salad. We couldn’t stop eating both.
Made this with some slight alternations. Not sure what the weight of my chix breast was but I used only one out of a pack totaling 2.3 lbs, and used some frozen spinach I was trying to get rid of the sub the rest. I mixed half the spinach into the enchilada puree along with some chipotle peppers in adobo. This filling resulted in about 17 enchiladas, a perfect fit for a 9 X 13. Wonderfully good, the chipotle peppers lent so much flavor to the sauce I didn’t even need a topping.
These were fantastic! I’ve made your black bean enchiladas many times, and this was a bit more of a decadent treat. I took your suggestions and added zucchini and corn to my filling, along with yellow onion. I think all three of those worked really well in this. I used soy curls as my vegan chicken alternative, and I added the dry spices in the recipe as well as some poultry seasoning, chili powder, and smoked paprika as I pan seared them in some vegan butter, since I really wanted the curls to have a good flavor. I used store bought vegan substitutions for the sour cream and shredded cheese, and added an extra squeeze of lime juice for more tang. I made a double batch of the green chile sauce, since I read some comments suggesting that, but I think I would have been totally fine with just the amount in the recipe because I have quite a lot left over. I’m sure I’ll find a good use for it, it’s a great sauce. My husband loved this dish and we actually polished the whole thing off in one day. 10/10 will make again.
So delicious!! My husband announced that it was a keeper, and then we fought over the leftovers. Definitely going to make again! :)
I have made these twice now and my entire family loves them. My husband said they are the best enchiladas he has ever had. They are very filling. I made two little adjustments. Instead of water I used bone broth and I cooked the chicken in the crockpot so it is tender and pulls apart easily. We had these with your Quick seasoned black bean recipe which is also great. I just drained and rinsed the beans and used a cup of bone broth in the beans. Previously I was using a canned green chile enchilada sauce that costs way more than this and with this I know what is in my sauce. Thank you so much for the delicious recipes.
WHOA DOGGIES!! We used your Lime Crema recipe in place of the sour cream and all socks in this house are currently knocked off!
These were really good! In an effort to make this vegan, we replaced chicken with white beans and spinach and replaced the cheese and sour cream with vegan alternatives, but the star of this dish is definitely still the homemade enchilada sauce. I followed others’ suggestions to increase the amount of enchilada sauce (about 1.5x the amount) and that was the right move as it really packs the flavor for the dish. Thanks for another great recipe!
I plan on trying a vegan version of this as well, but with shredded tofu! I really appreciate all of Beth’s vegan and veggie recipes, but even most traditional recipes on this site can be made vegan easily. Can’t wait to try it.
I love enchiladas and was super excited to see this recipe! I used shredded queso quesadilla (it’s actually cheaper per oz at Walmart than Aldi’s block cheese), and added some crushed red pepper to mimic pepperjack.
I used a meat tenderizer to pound the chicken breast down to get maximum flavor with my cast iron, and patted them dry/sprinkled them with some extra spices beforehand.
My little ninja shake blender blended the green chilis easily, but I wish I would have poured the cup of water in there after to get all the remnants out. I should have read the comments!
Lastly, I used an individual nonfat Greek yogurt container (they’re 50 cents at Walmart) because I didn’t want to have sour cream leftovers. Will make again. 🤤
Made this last week and found it delicious and filling using most of the meet from a rotisserie chicken. Between cutting that chick off the bone and toasting all of the tortillas I felt that there were a lot of moving parts and ingredients. That will likely get better as I make this recipe again. I’ll also probably cut the chick with beans and/or sweet potatoes or other stuff to spread it out and lighten things up. Still, knowing how to make enchiladas is a great skill and seems like it would lend itself to endless variations. Thank you!