Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
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.
Makes 4 Servings
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
Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 460 / Protein 33 g / Carbohydrate 31 g / Dietary Fiber 3 g / Total Sugars 7 g / Total Fat 23 g / Saturated Fat 11 g / Cholesterol 113 mg
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I made these in a ‘lasagna layer style’ – super easy and tastes great. Made with cilantro rice and street corn. Great dinner with leftovers that the kids ate!
Wow that is a great idea! Have been making this recipe for quite some time but never thought about doing something like that. Yum! Thanks for the great idea.
these were so good! very yummy, easy, and great leftovers too! thank you for a super recipe. i used Greek yogurt for the sour cream and it was perfect!
awesome and easy recipe! i used greek yogurt instead of sour cream and it was wonderful. thank you!!!
What a recipe! I am so glad I stumbled upon this great recipe, it definitely goes into my all time favorites. My husband kept saying, “what a great dinner” over and over. 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
This was a very easy recipe to follow. It went over nicely! Keep posting awesome recipes!
This was amazing!!! My entire family loved it! My daughter thought it was too spicy, but was odd coming from someone who eats flaming hot cheetos. But my picky 8 year old gobbled it up! Definitely adding this to the rotation.
Hi, quick question, it says serves 4 but there is only 6 tortillas which would make 3 servings of 2 enchiladas each. Is this recipe enough food for 4 adults?
Hi Ally, It is enough for four. We usually find everyone has one and then a bit of the remaining enchiladas.
This was a HUGE hit – I make it all the time and once when my teenage son’s friends came over. They loved it so much they made it for their families at home too! I used Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde (2 jars). YUM!
Love , Love this recipe! Made quite a few time and it’s a huge hit with my family. So easy!
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe. Everyone loved it the first time. I made and used your tomatilla salsa verde recipe. Which was great. My problem is I don’t have any fresh cilantro. As much as I don’t want to I’m going to have to use dried cilantro. How much should I use for the salsa and enchiladas?
Hi Judi, In general, 1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs.