Flavorful Green Enchiladas (Enchiladas Verde) made with your choice of tender chicken or black beans in a flavorful green enchilada sauce. Video.
This Green Enchilada recipe (aka Enchiladas Verde) is one of my favorites! The green enchilada sauce is made from fresh tomatillos and poblano chili peppers, onion, garlic and Mexican spices. The filling is made with corn, cheese, and your choice of tender chicken or black beans. Easily vegetarian-adaptable!
Why You’ll Love Green Enchiladas!
- Their FLAVOR! The Green Enchilada Sauce is so delicious! Paired with the smokey, spicy, sweet flavors from the filling, they complement each other nicely- I love the combination!
- They can be made ahead! Or make it in stages -make the filling one day, make the Green Enchilada Sauce on another, and assemble the day of. And this is the perfect meal to freeze!
- They are adaptable! Make some with chicken or keep them vegetarian with black beans and corn! Make them vegan with vegan cheese.
- Great for repurposing chicken. Use leftover rotisserie chicken or roast chicken, or turkey, baked chicken or Instant Pot shredded chicken, Grilled chicken or smoked chicken. All you need is two cups of cooked chicken- breast or thighs.
What you’ll need
- Chicken or Blackbeans– 2 cups of cooked chicken breast or thigh or one can of black beans
- Poblano chili peppers (dark green chiles)
- Tomatillos
- Onion and Garlic
- Mexican Spices
- Cheese– queso fresco, Monterey Jack cheese or pepper jack cheese
- Olive oil
- Lime juice
- Cilantro
- Corn tortillas or flour tortillas
How to Make Green Enchiladas (instructions)
Step 1: Make the Green enchilada Sauce
Make the sauce: Roast or grill the poblanos peppers. It’s very easy to roast poblanos directly on a gas flame. Get them black on all sides turning with tongs (the blackened skin will all be removed).
Tip: If you don’t have a gas burner, you can roast in your oven or place on a hot grill. You can also just dice them and simply saute them in a little oil until tender to save time.)
After they are blackened, wrap them in foil for 5 minutes so they continue steaming. Rinse under cool water, rubbing the skins off with your fingers.
Blend up the Verde Sauce ingredients in a blender.
Some roasted poblanos will go in the flavorful Green Enchilada Sauce you see here, and some will go inside the enchiladas.
Step 2: Make the Filling.
Dice up the roasted Poblanos finely for the enchilada filling.
Chop or shred the cooked chicken.
Cut the fresh corn off the cobb.
In a pan, saute onion, fresh corn, garlic, and spices, then add the diced poblano chiles and the chicken (or sub a can of drained black beans.) Add a little of the green sauce.
Sprinkle with a good amount of cilantro.
Step 3: Assemeble the Green Enchiladas
Warm the corn tortillas so they are pliable. Warm them in the oven, grill over a gas flame, or in the microwave. Stack them up and wrap in a towel and have everything near you to begin filling the tortillas.
In a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish, place a little of the Verde Sauce, just enough to coat the bottom.
(You can also bake these in individual baking dishes like the opening photo- great for mixed households with both vegetarians and meat eaters. We often do this when it’s just the two of us, and I fill them especially full.)
Then begin filling the tortillas with the chicken mixture and a little cheese, making sure to go all the way to the edges of the tortillas.
Place seam side down in the sauce.
You may have more filling than you need for 8 enchiladas, so either spoon the remaining filling along the edges of the casserole dish, or make a few more enchiladas in another smaller dish, or save the filling and use later in tacos or quesadillas.
Lather with the remaining green sauce and little more cheese.
Step 4: Bake!
Bake uncovered in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melty.
Garnish with fresh cilantro, a dollop of sour cream ( or avocado) and hot sauce.
Storage and Make ahead
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enchiladas Verde can also be frozen for up to 3 months in the freezer baked, or unbaked. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking or reheating.
Green Chicken Enchiladas Serving Suggestions
Serve with any of the following:
- Mexican Slaw with Cilantro and Lime
- Cilantro Lime Rice (Mexican Rice)
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- Mexican Papaya Salad
More favorite enchilada recipes
On the homefront: we are halfway through our wedding catering season. Brian and I are still talking (mostly) – although we do seem to retreat into our own corners of the house often. As you know, because I’m sure I’ve said this a hundred times before – working together has its challenges.
As I sit here and write this quiet morning, he sits across from me on the couch, deeply involved in his reading, each in our own world. Yet my feet gently rest on his calf, and somehow it is enough. Our quiet mornings together are so healing, washing away the grit of the previous day.
Here, before the “busyness” of the day, I feel most deeply myself, most deeply connected, present and awake. My practice continues to be, how to carry this with me throughout the rest of the day. It is always a challenge. Sometimes I literally feel like two different people, this me, and “crazy, stressed” out me. I’m sure many of you can relate…
Ok. I hope you enjoy this chicken enchilada recipe and have a beautiful weekend!
xoxo
You may also like:
- Roasted Enchilada Sauce
- White Chicken Enchiladas (or Cauliflower!)
- 5 Minute Enchilada Sauce
- Farmers Market Veggie Enchiladas
- Chicken Enchiladas with Black Beans
- Enchilada Casserole with Sweet Potato, Corn and Black beans
- Roasted Butternut Enchiladas with Mole Sauce
- Enchilada Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Wath how toMake Enchiladas Verde |Video
Green Enchiladas (Enchiladas Verde)
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Main, vegetarian main,
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
A delicious recipe for Green Enchiladas with corn, chicken (or black beans) and flavorful Green Enchilada Sauce. Vegetarian and vegan adaptable!
Ingredients
- 3 large poblano chiles, divided –save half for the Enchilada Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 corn on the cob, shucked and kernels removed (or use 1 cup frozen )
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast or thighs – either grilled chicken, smoked chicken, baked chicken breast, shredded chicken or leftover rotisserie chicken, or sub 1 can black beans (drained) for vegetarians.
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces crumbled queso fresco cheese (or use shredded Mexican cheese blend or vegan cheese)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 8 x 6-inch corn/flour tortillas, toasted or grilled
Green Enchilada Sauce:
- 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed, washed and quartered (leave raw!)
- 1 cup diced white onion or two shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2–1 jalapeno (optional)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 tsp of sugar
- —–
- 1/2 cup cilantro- chopped
Garnishes: fresh cilantro, sour cream and hot sauce
Instructions
- Char all sides of the 3 poblano chilis over a gas burner or roast them in an oven. Once nicely charred, or tender, wrap in foil or paper bag and let steam for 10 minutes until softened.
- Make the filling: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat and add the onion. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes until tender, turn the heat down to medium and add garlic. Saute 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the corn, turn heat to medium-low and continue cooking 5 more minutes. Add diced chicken or black beans and season with salt, pepper and spices, sautéing until warmed through. Turn heat off.
- Remove poblano chilies from the foil and rinse under running water, rubbing the charred skin off with your fingers. Remove seeds and stem. Dice the chilies and add half to the filling, reserving the other half for the Green Enchilada Sauce. Add the cilantro to the filling and set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- Make the Green Enchilada Sauce: To a blender, add the remaining roasted poblano, raw tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeno, water, coriander, salt, pepper, olive oil, lime juice and sugar. Yes, the tomatillos are raw here! Blend until smooth. Pour into a medium pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 5-6 minutes. Turn heat off and stir in chopped cilantro. Mix 1/4 cup of this Green sauce to the filling.
- Toast the tortillas over a stovetop gas burner using tongs, or toast in the oven or over a grill, or in a microwave. You just want to warm up them so they become pliable, to prevent breaking while rolling. Wrap in a towel.
- Assemble enchiladas: In a large 9 x 13 greased baking dish, pour just enough Verde sauce to lightly coat the bottom. On a warm tortilla, place 2 -3 tablespoons cheese in a line down the center. Top with a ⅓ cup of filling. Roll tightly, placing it seam side down in the baking dish right on top of the sauce. Continue assembling the enchiladas until the baking dish is full. You should have 8 enchiladas.
- Surround the sides any remaining filling (Or save the filling for quesadillas or tacos!) Smother the tops with the remaining poblano sauce, sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until warmed through and cheese is melty.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro and hot sauce.
Notes
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the fridge. This can be made ahead and frozen.
Instead of charring the poblanos, you can dice them and saute them in a little oil- no peeling required.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: one chicken enchilada
- Calories: 333
- Sugar: 6.5 g
- Sodium: 577.7 mg
- Fat: 15.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.8 g
- Fiber: 4.3 g
- Protein: 24.4 g
- Cholesterol: 64.4 mg
What a great meal to start the year with. I made it a day before to serve after our snowshoeing outing. All the people loved it! Happy New Year! I plan to test many recipes from here in 2024. Thank you for such great inspiration!
Thanks Silvia- happy you are here!
we loved it! it is time consuming but the taste of the green sauce was amazing. And it is true it was a bit soggy on the bottom but my crew didnt mind. i think one can play with placement for that, that is what we doing tonight. Second time in a week. Recommend.
Thanks Cornelia- let me know if youdo anything different the second time. 🙂
we didnt space ’em so tight and there was def less sogginess at the top. My husband and older kids love it either way. Honestly, we love the recipe.
I made a few substitutions but this recipe has been one of the best Enchiladas I have ever made or eaten! Cons-It takes a lot of time making & it takes a lot of time cleaning up afterwards….but the recipe was so good that it was worth it!
Substitutions:
1-Roasted Hatch Green Chilies x-hot (I love hot, spicy food) for the Poblano’s.
2-I only used 1/2 of the Cilantro & Garlic.
3-I seasoned the cooked, diced chicken with salt & pepper then coated it in NM red Asado powder before sautéing for 2 minutes in olive oil & mixing it with the onion/garlic mixture.
4) I used Trader Joe’s frozen sweet white corn.
We’re so glad you enjoyed these Mel! Thanks for sharing your adaptions!
This recipe would be good if they recommended toasting the tortillas before covering in the sauce. The end result was tasty except the tortillas were completely soggy and gross.
Hi Matthew, glad you liked the flavor. We do instruct to toast the tortillas in Step 6, and also in the ingredient list, and show this being done in the post body. You must have missed it? Sorry about that. Try broiling to crisp them up a bit?
You mention that this can be made ahead and frozen.
Would you recommend freezing them before or after baking?
Thanks!
I bet you could go either way Cindy!
Me, too. So much flavor and this is one of my favorite recipes. . .
Thankas CherieD- glad you like this one!
Great addition to my Mexican dishes. I prefer to scrape the char from the peppers with a knife, rather than rinse them. I like a little of the char flavor in the mix!
I like that Joe- scraping instead of rinsing. Thanks for the tip. 😉
I made it this afternoon for dinner and it was delicious! I substituted the queso fresco for feta and instead of fresh tomatillos I used a tomatillo salsa as they are difficult to find in UK. I made them with beans instead of meat. It was so zingy and flavoursome, felt like a wholesome meal so well balanced with a bit all you need: some carbs, protein and lots of goodness from the veg. Thanks for yet another easy, healthy and super yummy recipe!
Awesome Maria- so happy you enjoyed this! Great idea with the tomatillo salsa!
I would not make this recipe again. I thought the flavor was good, but my enjoyment was overshadowed by the time and effort required to prepare it, and the mushy corn tortillas. I do not recommend attempting this during the work week or if hosting without attempting it first when you aren’t on a schedule and do not feel too closely tied to the integrity of the presentation. I love the recipes on this site and have made many successfully, but this one was too labor intensive and messy to justify an end result that fell well short of spectacular.
Sorry to hear this Dan. Yes, they do take a while. Did you bake it uncovered for 10 minutes? What do you think could have made these better?
Thanks for responding. I did bake uncovered. Maybe some things I would do differently or might suggest are prepping or assembling with another person and laying out everything prior to beginning. The recipe assumes that multiple aspects of preparation are happening at the same time and I couldn’t pull it off. I’m not the most efficient in the kitchen but I’m experienced and relatively skilled. Also, I really liked the verde sauce but I felt it lost some of its freshness and zest when baked, and perhaps its presence led to the soggy tortillas. I haven’t made enchiladas before so I do not know how important the order is, but how would it affect the depth and complexity of flavor if you baked the enchiladas as prescribed and then put the sauce on just prior to serving? Maybe it would solve the issue of soggy tortillas and better highlight what is a truly delicious sauce.
Dan, thanks for clarifying! There are several steps here and the recipe can also be made in stages. Make the sauce one day, the filling another. Assemble the day of, etc. You could certainly try leaving the sauce off the top if you like them crispy (I would brush with olive oil). Or use half the sauce and only down the middle so the edges stay crispy. Bake uncovered. Then add the rest when serving.
fwiw, I always quickly fry my tortillas in oil and then drain on paper towels first; otherwise they do tend to get soggy. Also see here: https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/effed-it-up-enchiladas
Thanks for the suggestion Matt!
Delicious recipe! It is missing the amount of garlic in the filling part of the recipe but I guessed and threw 3 cloves in and it was fantastic. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Thanks for pointing that out Morgan. I updated the recipe, all good now. 😉
I would use less onion in the sauce next time, add a jalapeño because these were kind of bland without the hot sauce addition.
Thanks for your feedback Noor- it has been a while since I’ve made them, so will revisit the recipe. 😉
Delicious! I roasted the tomatillos along with the plobano and jalapeño peppers. I subbed broth for water. Will definitely make this again!
Thank you for great recipe!
Great to hear Arnella!
Can I make the filling and the sauce a couple days ahead?
Yes, absolutely Arenella! you could even assemble ahead, the bake the day of (let it come to room temp first).
I’m making these for a large party – is it okay to make a double batch of the verde sauce ahead of time and freeze it?
Yes that would be fine!
These enchiladas were delicious. My enchiladas were not mushy at all, they were the perfect texture, although I did eye-ball the sauce rather than just pouring all of it on the enchiladas. The Verde sauce could not have been easier to make and so delicious. I did add 1/2 jalapeno to the blender – I will be using this recipe for other dishes. The recipe doesn’t say how much garlic to use in the chicken mix, so I only added one clove since there were 2 in the Verde sauce. My prep time was much longer than 45 minutes – it took a long time to remove the skin from the peppers and I wonder if it is better to use a paper bag versus foil to steam them — either way – these were terrific. Now here is the bonus, for me: I followed the filling recipe as written. I made certain I had 1-lb of chicken breast which I poached and shredded. While assembling, I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to fill the tortillas. I had so much filling left over, I surrounded the sides of the pan with some left over filling and still have at least 2-1/2 cups of filling to use. This is not a bad thing – because I’m using it to make an “Enchilada Verde” Soup. I’ll use what I have left of the Verde sauce along with the chicken/corn filing, chicken broth, carrots, etc. Why this happened, I do not know, but I love the fact that I’m getting two delicious meals out of one great recipe.
Thanks so much CherieDe!
Delicious! I prepared the enchiladas verde for guests. They are coming over for dinner again this week and asked that I make them again!
Hi – Do you think this sauce will be good for Chilaquiles? I love the taste of roasted Poblanos and have tasted Poblano Chilaquiles in the past. I’m just unsure if this sauce in particular would work. Any thoughts?
I think so!
oh my, this is so delicious! It does take some time but it is well worth it. I used black beans and am looking forward to trying it with chicken. The pablanos I got at the local hispanic store did not have much heat but it was good none the less. The sauce is soooo easy and very bright and flavorful. I don’t know if I did something wrong but the tortillas got kinda mushy and fell apart after they were baked, not that I cared very much since the favors were so good!! Thanks Sylvia for another great dinner! I made a dozen enchiladas and it served six of us with leftovers.
Sylvia thanks for a quick Mexican smoked recipe.
Loved this recipe!
These look delicious. Cant wait to try them.
Hey! I was just curious if you had any problems with your tortillas falling apart and turning to mush. This was really yummy but I almost feel like the sauce overpowered the rest, I would have made a bit less sauce…was just curious if you had any tips or maybe I did something wrong?? 🙂
Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Alexandra, Huh, that is strange….did you toast you tortillas first? What kind did you use…corn, flour or a blend?
These look fabulous. I can’t wait to try them.
Those poblanos look absolutely perfect, I love the flavor of cooking right on the flame!
Thanks, I enjoy it too!
I am literally drooling over these. I have always wanted to get a smoker. And this recipe could be a reason to get one.
I understand what you mean when it comes to working with your spouse. My husband (then- my boyfriend) and I used to work together and it was tough. It was hard to balance the work and home personalities. But it seems like you guys found a nice balance.
Hope you’ll get a chance to take a vacation (or a break) at the end of the wedding season. Cheers from the sunny Caribbean islands!
Thanks so much. I know, I think anyone who works with their spouse…understands…right? 😉 I hope you get a smoker…I love ours and have taken to smoking so many different things….yogurt, rye flour, salt, even butter! It has been so much fun!! Caribbean Islands…..ahhhh…sounds so dreamy.
This looks so delicious and vibrant and I love the little serving dish!
Thanks Millie, Yes, its nice using the smaller baking dish if cooking for one or two. 🙂