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Our green chili chicken enchiladas are bursting with flavor and perfect for busy nights – plus, it’s freezer-friendly!
A family go-to!
Because of my heritage, I have learned how to make so many Mexican recipes – and this green chili chicken enchilada recipe is the FIRST Mexican dinner I learned to make.
Since then, it’s been made HUNDREDS of times (maybe more) and we’ve deemed enchiladas as a family favorite dinner!
The flavors of green chiles + loads of chicken and gooey cheese make this an absolutely irresistible Mexican dish. Serve it alongside our Homemade Spanish Rice for a complete Mexican feast!
WHY WE LOVE It:
- Done in a flash. A 20-minute prep time makes these perfect for a quick dinner and entertaining.
- Feeds the masses. Great for making for company because it’s easy to double (or even triple!)
- Freezer Friendly. This is our favorite recipe to store in the freezer for a rainy day!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken – Use canned chicken, Baked Chicken, rotisserie chicken, or even Shredded Chicken
- 2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese – or try a Mexican blend, grated marble Colby jack, or a cheddar cheese and pepper jack blend
- 1 (19-ounce) can of Las Palmas green chile enchilada sauce – or homemade Green Enchilada Sauce
- 1 cup sour cream – or plain yogurt
- 6-8 corn tortillas – We prefer corn tortillas since they are more traditional and add more flavor to the recipe, but you can swap the corn tortillas with similarly sized Flour Tortillas. (No need to dip flour tortillas in the sauce before rolling.)
- 1 (4½ ounce) can of chopped green chiles – For mild flavor use diced green bell peppers. For extra heat use diced jalapenos
- salt and black pepper – start with a little and add until the chicken is perfectly seasoned
- Toppings (optional) – Add olives, tomatoes, diced red onions, sliced jalapenos, fresh cilantro, salsa, chili peppers, black beans, or corn.
How to Make Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- FILLING. In a small bowl, combine 2 cups shredded chicken, 1 cup of cheese, 1 (4½-ounce) can green chiles, salt, and pepper.
- SAUCE. In a small skillet, bring 1 (19-ounce) can of enchilada sauce to a boil. Remove from heat.
- FILL. Dip each tortilla into the heated sauce for a few seconds to soften.
- Spoon ⅓ cup of chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons sour cream down the center for each tortilla (I usually put the sour cream in a sandwich bag and cut the bottom tip which makes it easier to squirt right down the center).
- Roll the tortilla and place seam-side down in 8×8 (or 9×9) inch baking dish.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour the remaining heated enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- BAKE. Bake the green chili chicken enchilada recipe uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve with favorite toppings like Pico de Gallo, Sweet Salsa Verde, Homemade Salsa, and Guacamole.
PRO TIP: Keep Tortillas from Cracking!
Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30-60 seconds to help keep them from cracking while rolling.
Complete The Meal
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Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- 2 cups Colby jack cheese, shredded
- 1 (19-ounce) can Las Palmas green chile enchilada sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 6-8 corn tortillas
- 1 (4½-ounce) can can chopped green chiles
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, combine shredded chicken, 1 cup of cheese, green chiles, salt, and pepper.
- In a small skillet, bring enchilada sauce to a boil. Remove from heat.
- Dip each tortilla into the heated sauce for a few seconds to soften.
- Spoon ⅓ cup of chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons sour cream down the center for each tortilla (I usually put the sour cream in a sandwich bag and cut the bottom tip which makes it easier to squirt right down the center).
- Roll the tortilla and place seam-side down in a 8×8 (or 9×9) inch baking dish.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour the remaining heated enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Avoid adding too much sour cream or enchilada sauce. You can always add more sauce after they have baked. Also, let the enchiladas cool for a few minutes before serving!
Make as instructed, cover them with foil or plastic wrap, and place them in the fridge for up to 24 hours in advance. Take the excess sauce and place it in an air-tight container. Pour on the sauce and add the cheese before cooking.
Allow the enchiladas to cool to room temperature and store smaller portions in airtight containers in the fridge. Enchiladas can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. When ready to eat, reheat them in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until heated through.
We LOVE to freeze these for up to several months! We suggest making them in a disposable pan. Cover tightly with foil and place in a freezer-safe bag. To cook, let the enchiladas thaw in the fridge overnight and cook for about 25 minutes.
Of course! Just double the ingredients and follow the same instructions.
Hi hope you are well
I live in the UK so we dont get this sauce , however would you be able to give me the ingrediants thats in the sauce so i can make it at home , i cant wait to make this dish but unfortunatly we dont get the La Palmas green chile Enchilada sauce if not how would i subsitute it
Thank you
I do not have one here, but you could always google it & I bet you can find what’s in it 🙂 I hope that helps & hope you find how to make it.
If you use cream of chicken soup large can, chicken broth to make it instead of water less used thicker the sauce, spices garlic salt, cumin powder, chili powder, ground oregano, onion powder, all to taste at least 1-2 teaspoon fulls except for oregano use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon of chili powder, lots of green chilies diced can 2-4 large diced or frozen fresh chilis from farm to taste for amout and for the heat if u like mild or hot chilis for more heat add jalipino chilis to taste and heat. Use boiled chicken shredded and also Monterey Jack cheese mixed with cheddar at least 1 lb each or more along with diced Onions. Dip tortillas in sauce to soften or soften in towel in microwave. Either roll or layer, sauce, tortillas, chicken, cheese and onions. Repeat until finished cheese on top. Bake 350 degrees until warmed bubbly and cheese melted at least 20-30 minutes serve with sour cream and salsa. Can roll or layer to make casserole double recipe will make 2 9×13 pans layer serves more than rolling does. Salt to taste
This sounds wonderful!
If I freeze this what is the best time/temp to re-heat?
I would freeze them before baking them, then just follow the instructions about baking. Hope that helps!
I’m wanting to make this later this week for freezer meals. Have you done that with this dish? If so how did it turn out? Did you adjust the cooking time or temperature?
This looks delicious!!!
I have not. I would freeze it, before cooking, then take out when you are ready to eat it & follow the recipe for baking. I hope you like them. Let me know what you think 🙂
I love this recipe, though I did make it my own, by adding cumin and Better than Bullion chicken base and I found low carb corn tortillas, both yellow and white. I also added cream cheese to the sauce which made it thicker. My whole family loved it and my very picky eater grandson who is 6 years old, even went back for seconds, (I don’t know if I’ve ever witnessed him doing that before). It was definitely a hit. Thank you so much for the recipe!
You are so welcome and your changes sound great! I’m glad you liked it!
My foster mom was from Jalisco- A great dish of hers was ‘Enhocadatas’
Soften corn tortillas in pan with oil oil.
set aside till a pile of tortillas are done.
In low sided baking dish, put light layer of olive oil or spray with oil .
Take a softened corn tortillia & smear sour cream on both sides. Fill tortilla with Cream corn, strips of monterey jack cheese + a tiny bit if chilies of your choice. Add good dollop of sour cream. Roll tortilla up. put in baking dish.
Repeat with all softened corn tortillas.
Spread sour cream all over top of gikked & rolked tortillas. Sprinkle monterey jack cheese onnyop & some chilies.
Bake 350° gor 20min & check.. may need 10more min. Delicious
Sounds yum! Thank you for sharing!!
I made these tonight. The flavor was great – better than good. But my tortillas just fell apart. It was more like a casserole than enchiiladas. What did I do wrong? Checked the recipe and used the correct amt of everything. Is it possible the amount of enchilada sauce is too much?
No, the tip is to flash fry them. You just do a quick little dip in the sauce. You don’t have to drench it, because then they may rip easier. They don’t even have to be all covered in sauce. I hope that helps. Also, have a good brand of tortillas 🙂 Good luck for next time!
Kristyn,
What is a good brand Of tortilla? Do you use white corn or yellow corn toRtillas? I made thEse toNight and WHen i tried dipping them fast they didn’t get soft enough to roll (maybe because i took thE sauce off the buRner but i did not LEt it cool really at all, just went straight from Burner to counter to dipping), so i dIpped them for about 5 secoNds. When we atE the toRtIllas were Of no discernible shape, just kind of a white corn paste. STill tasted good but i definiTely Lost the “enchilada” part. The soUr cream separated too? Any ideas? I used white corn guerrero tortillas.
I like the Kroger brand & I have used yellow & white corn tortillas. I am not sure why the sour cream separated. That’s a good question. I haven’t had that issue before.
So I don’t cook, I’m terrible! My question is how many chicken. Breasts is 3-4 cups? Can you use a rotisserie? I have a raw chicken breast issue, freaks me out. Thanks.
Yes, you can use a rotisserie! If you want to cook up chicken, I usually estimate that 1 cup=1 chicken breast. I hope that helps you and let me know if you try these 🙂 Thank you!
Rotisserie is the only way to go in my book! Such a time saver! I use one whole chicken for a 9X13 pan and get about 10-12 enchiladas. The extra flavor of the rotisserie adds a lot to this recipe.We LOVE these enchiladas! Thank you for sharing!!!
Thanks Amy!!
I’ve made these several times now. My husband would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Q- I’m being lazy tonight, How different would these be layered instead of rolled?
Haha!! I’m glad he likes them!! I haven’t tried layering them, but I bet they’d be good! Let me know how they turn out. Thank you!
A friend of mine made this and used canned breast meat chicken. It was delicious.
That’s a great option! I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know!
Cannot get the Las Palmas chicken receipt to print – wanted to try tomorrow
You may need to check your setting on your computer. They should all be printable. Is your printer connected to your computer?
If making ahead of time, should I go ahead and cover with sauce and cheese or so that before baking? It says to keep excess sauce in airtight container until storing but was wondering if you meant until cooking 🙂
Either way. Yes, I think that should have said before baking 🙂 but you can make the recipe as is — adding the sauce and cheese and store before baking. Or, you can wait and roll the enchiladas but pour the rest of the sauce and cheese right before baking. Personally, that’s my favorite way to do it if I’m making it beforehand, but either way works and tastes great!