It’s so simple to make this chicken enchiladas recipe with salsa verde, chicken, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. The perfect quick and easy dinner. Jump to the Chicken Enchiladas Recipe or watch the quick video below to see how we make it.
Salsa verde is a green salsa made from tomatillos, garlic, onion and peppers. It’s absolutely delicious. You can usually find a few options to buy at the store, but if you can’t find it or if you’re up for a little extra work, make your own!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: If you love these enchiladas, you will love our Instant Pot salsa verde chicken. The chicken stays juicy, tender and tastes incredible. Serve this with rice, cooked grains or in tortillas. See the Instant Pot Chicken Recipe.
How to Make Our Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
These simple enchiladas are spicy, savory and cheesy. Our recipe below serves 3 to 4, but you can easily double or even triple it for a crowd.
Our recipe below calls for cooked shredded chicken. You could use store-bought rotisserie or even leftover chicken. We like making our own and especially love this shredded chicken recipe:
Here’s how we make a batch of tender, flavorful Shredded Chicken on the stove in less than 1 hour. We also share our tips for making shredded chicken in a slow cooker.
Now, for the sauce.
Making the Creamy Salsa Verde Enchilada Sauce
The sauce could not be simpler. Cook some garlic, stir in salsa verde then add sour cream and fresh cilantro. Just before assembling the enchiladas we stir in shredded chicken and some cheese.
Take a look at our Roasted Salsa Verde Recipe. It’s perfect served as a salsa with chips or add it to this enchilada recipe. We roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and hot peppers then puree. It’s divine.
Divide the chicken between 6 tortillas and roll up. Place them seam-side down into a baking dish then top with the reserved sauce and extra cheese. Bake the enchiladas in the oven until the cheese has melted and the sauce is nice and bubbly.
That’s it. We love this chicken enchilada recipe — it’s so easy! If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like our recipe for Shredded Beef Tacos, these Slow Cooker Chicken Meatballs, or our Salsa Verde Chicken Nachos!
Recipe updated, originally posted February 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne
Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
- PREP
Salsa verde is a green tomatillo salsa made with garlic, onion and peppers. You can make it yourself (see our homemade salsa verde recipe) or buy it from the store. There are some great options. Look for a salsa with medium heat.
You Will Need
1 teaspoon neutral flavored oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups (16 ounces) salsa verde, store-bought or try our roasted salsa verde recipe
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped, plus more for serving
2 cups shredded cooked chicken, see how we make shredded chicken here
1 cup shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack or Mexican cheese blend
6 (6-inch) flour tortillas
Directions
- Make Sauce
- Make Chicken Filling
- To Finish
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat then cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the salsa verde and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from the heat then stir in the sour cream and cilantro. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt, pepper or more sour cream if the sauce it too spicy.
Set aside about 1 cup of the sauce for assembling the enchiladas.
Stir the shredded chicken and half of the cheese into the sauce that has not been set aside.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and spread a little reserved sauce on the bottom.
Add about 1/3 cup of the chicken filling to the middle of each tortilla and roll into a cylinder. Repeat, lining up tortillas, seam-side down, tightly in the dish.
Spread the reserved sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer, until the cheese is melted. Serve with cilantro on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Meatless Version: Swap the chicken for vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, onion, and winter squash. Add them to the creamy sauce cooked, but still with some crunch since they will continue to cook in the oven.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Made this using grilled chicken fajita breast meat. Doubled the sour creme since I can’t handle too much spice. It was great! Fast and easy and was a complete crowd pleaser for young and old.
This is my second time making this recipe because my roommate kept requesting it. The first time, I left out the cilantro, and it was still great. However, the cilantro really takes it to the next level. Thanks so much for the recipe, it’s a real winner!
Joanne and Adam, Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. Would I double the verde chicken enchiladas if I wanted to use a 9×13 pan? Thanks!
Hi Cheryl, Doubling for a 9×13 pan will work nicely.
This was absolutely delicious! And super easy to put together. I used a store-bought verde salsa, rotisserie chicken meat, and added some chopped poblano peppers (sauteed before adding the garlic). I didn’t have any cilantro, so added a little dried oregano to the sauce instead. I’m sure the cilantro adds freshness, but there is plenty of flavor even without it. The only thing I would recommend is turning on the broiler at the very end to get the cheese on top a little brown and extra bubbly. It was quite a delicious dish on its own, though my husband and I really enjoyed it with green onions on top, and sliced avocado and refried beans on the side. Thanks for a terrific recipe idea!