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These creamy Poblano Enchiladas can be made with chicken or roasted cauliflower (or both). Flavorful and tangy with a subtle, lovely heat, they are filled with corn, cilantro, lime zest, coriander and cumin and bathed in the most flavorful poblano sauce.
Poblano Enchiladas with CAULIFLOWER! | Video
How to roast Poblano Peppers!
- On the Stovetop: If you have a gas stovetop, place directly over a medium-low flame, turning often, for about 5 minutes until blistered and blackened. The easiest, fastest way.
- Broiled In the oven: turning until they blister, about 10- 15 minutes. If you don’t have a broil setting, you can still roast in a very hot oven, but it will take a little longer for the skins to blister.
How to make Roasted Poblano EnchiladaS
Step one: Make the creamy poblano sauce using roasted poblanos or canned chilies.
If making this with chicken, use leftover rotisserie chicken, baked chicken breast, shredded chicken, or even this chicken carnitas recipe.
For this recipe, I used 8-inch tortillas that were flour.
Roll them up and place seam side down in a greased 9×13 baking dish.
Cover with the remaining poblano sauce and the remaining cheese.
What to serve with Poblano Enchiladas:
- Mexican Slaw with Cilantro and Lime
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Refried Beans! | Instant Pot or Stove Top
- Guacamole
- Fermented Hot Sauce!
Creamy Poblano Enchiladas
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 8 enchiladas 1x
- Category: Main, vegetarian
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican,
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Ingredients
Filling ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken – see notes (or sub 3 cups roasted cauliflower – see notes)
- 1 cup corn – fresh or frozen, or sub spinach, sauteed bell pepper, sautéed mushroom or onion
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 scallions, sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
Poblano Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 large fresh poblano chili roasted, peeled and finely chopped (use half) or sub-4-ounce can green chilies (use half)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 shallot, chopped (or half an onion, finely diced)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock (or veggie broth)
- 3/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Enchilada Ingredients:
- 8 x 8-inch flour tortillas
- 2 1/2 cups queso fresco cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Make the Filling: Prepare chicken (or cauliflower/spinach) see notes, and place in a bowl. Add corn. Mix with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, scallions, fresh cilantro and lime zest. Set aside.
- Roast the poblano (or use canned green chilies) directly over a gas flame on the stove or grill (or place on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler) turning regularly, until the skins have blackened and blistered. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool. Under running water rub off the blackened skin, carefully tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem and rinse all the seeds away. Dice finely. (If pressed for time, you can skip this step entirely by substituting 1 small can of green chiles-don’t use jalapeños)
- Make the Poblano Sauce: In a medium pot, over medium heat oil or butter, and saute shallot until golden and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add the flour, and toast, stirring 2 minutes on med-low heat. Whisk in the broth a little at a time, bring to a simmer, and once thickened turn off the heat. Let cool 5 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, and whisk until smooth. If using canned chilies, add ½ of the can now, along with coriander, salt and pepper. Save the remaining chilies and add to the filling. Alternatively, if using the poblano, add a cautious 1/3 of the diced poblanos to start, tasting for heat. (Most are mild, but some, very occasionally are hot!) Then, according to your heat tolerance, add the remaining poblanos to taste. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Add some to the filling if you want.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Warm the tortillas to make them pliable (over a gas flame on the stovetop, in the microwave covered for a few seconds, or warmed in the oven) and wrap in a kitchen towel.
- Assemble: Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan. Create an assembly line with warm tortillas, filling, cheese and sauce. Add 3 tablespoons of cheese to the center of each tortilla, 2 tablespoons of sauce, and 1/2 cup of filling and roll them up. Place them seam-side down in the pan. Pour the remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Place in 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes, uncovered until golden and edges are crispy.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and scallions.
Notes
Use leftover rotisserie chicken, or make this simple baked chicken and shred, or this Chicken Carnitas recipe.
If subbing cauliflower/spinach: Preheat oven to 425 F. Chop one head of cauliflower into very small bite-size pieces, toss with olive oil to coat, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander and toss to coat well. Roast on a parchment-lined sheet pan until tender, and edges are slightly crispy. Wilt Spinach: Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, saute 1/2 cup diced onion until tender, add 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach and stir or toss until spinach is just barely wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the cauliflower and spinach in a bowl, mix in cilantro, scallions and lime zest. Add corn if you like, and taste for salt and pepper, adjusting. Use this to stuff the enchiladas.
If making ahead, either bake and reheat, or assemble ahead, leaving the sauce off the top until baking time.
Cotija cheese, a Mexican style cheese is much saltier than queso fresco, so make sure to use queso fresco, not cotija….the packages look similar, but there is a big difference.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: one enchilada - chicken and cheese
- Calories: 309
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 1591 mg
- Fat: 9.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 22.9 g
- Cholesterol: 35.6 mg
Keywords: best chicken enchiladas, cauliflower enchiladas, Creamy chicken enchiladas, white chicken enchiladas, chicken enchiladas with green chilies, cauliflower enchiladas
Has anyone tried freezing the the prepped enchiladas? I was thinking of prepping in smaller foil pans (Personal sized) and freezing. Any input greatly appreciated!
I think they would freeze well!
This was terrific, but mine needed more sauce. I was glad I added a bit more broth (the water that I steamed the chicken breast in) to the yoghurt, but it could have still used some more. Maybe I shouldn’t have drained the canned mild chilis? I just did the layered casserole, too, with corn tortillas, and I combined the chicken with the spinach and a bit of corn, so the filling was quite beautiful. I’ll be making this again for sure! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks Janet! Glad you enjoyed this. I wonder, did you add sauce inside the layers, could that have made it short?
I made these with both fillings, and we loved them. Creamy enchiladas, a little different from the usual. Thanks for another keeper.
★★★★★
Great to hear Laura!
This recipe sounds fabulous! I eat gluten free, so I suppose this could work with corn tortillas, right? I am going to try to make them tomorrow. Thanks for all your amazing and healthy recipes!!
★★
Yes, corn tortillas would be just fine. 🙂
Reporting back – HUGE SUCCESS. Yes, Greek yogurt works great. I went with both chicken and cauliflower. I marinated the chopped chicken first in lime zest & juice, half the spices & salt, and a clove of garlic. I took MadisonHomeCook’s advice and added the juice of half a lime to the sauce. The cheese I used was cheddar – because this makes the whole thing reminiscent of a recipe my mom made when I was kid (only this one is way better). Completely delicious. Thanks so much, Sylvia!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Carrie Lynn! Appreciate your notes-helpful!
If I could give this 4.5 stars, I would. This was healthy and delicious and my husband and teenage son also liked it. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I feel the sauce needs some more pizzazz. My poblano was mildly spicy but I added lime juice, cumin and a pinch of adobo spice to the sauce. I used an immersion blender in the sauce and cooked off some of the liquid before adding sour cream, which made the finished sauce nice creamy. If I’d had cilantro, I would have added a bunch- like 1/2c – 1 cup of cilantro blended into sauce. Even so, it was tasty and satisfying. Also, I used mozzarella cheese, which I could not really taste. I think the saltier Cotija option or the goat cheese that other reviewers used would have been more flavorful. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thanks!
★★★★
Thanks for the feedback!
Hi, wondering if the sour cream could be replaced with plain Greek-style yogurt?
I’m worried it would get grainy?
This recipe is so flavorful and adaptable! We used our homegrown poblanos, fresh corn and great refrigerated corn tortillas from our grocer. We made a half batch of chicken and a half batch of cauliflower. Both were so very good. Thank you for your excellent recipes – and for your time in perfecting them!
★★★★★
Love it Cindy, so fresh! So glad you are enjoying.
Lovely dish. The enchiladas were surprisingly delicate and seasoned perfectly. I did roast the poblano chili and used fresh corn. Corn tortillas were wonderful with the chicken and corn filling. Would increase sauce amount next time. Thank you for the recipe
★★★★★
Thanks Lynne- glad you enjoyed this!
Just made these for lunch…used cauliflower and spinach. They turned out perfect and looked just like yours…yeah! We felt they still needed some hot sauce or salsa…but loved them. You’re really improving my cooking and I truly appreciate that. Also, I love all your personal comments and glimpses into your world. I consider you part of my world now and look forward to your emails.
thanks, Inanna! Appreciate this!
woweee that poblano sauce is *chefs kiss*… my husband ate four of these and immediately wanted me to make a second batch because he loved them so much! another winner, thank you sylvia.
★★★★★
Thanks Nicole! Glad you both liked it!
So delicious and quick….love the sauce-used greek yogurt and it worked great…used pulled pork from previous dinner, sweet potato, corn and goat cheese. Thank you for the good base recipe…saved me tonight:)
★★★★★
Yes! love the improvising Melissa!
I did this recipe and we all loved it. I discovered your blog through my daughter and have tried a few so far and we are just in love with everything we tried. We are trying to eat less meat/poultry and i feel I will be able to slowly transition to more of a plant base diet.
Love it Christine! So happy you are enjoying the blog!