Chicken enchiladas, especially these green chili chicken enchiladas, hold a special place in our hearts because they were the very first recipe we learned to make, and they’re a perfect example of how our Mexican heritage shines through in our cooking.
Since then, they’ve been made HUNDREDS of times (maybe more) and we’ve deemed enchiladas as a family favorite dinner! We make them almost weekly and love to whip them up for dinner guests making them one of our signature dishes!
The flavors of green chiles + loads of chicken and gooey cheese make them absolutely irresistible – it’s no wonder they’re ALWAYS a hit!
Serve them alongside our famous Mexican Rice and Canned Refried Beans for a complete Mexican feast!
Why you’ll love it + Why it works:
- Feeds the masses. Great for making for company because it’s easy to double (or even triple!)
- Freezer Friendly. Green chile chicken enchiladas are our favorite recipe to store in the freezer for a rainy day!
- Warm sauce softens tortillas. A quick dip prevents cracking and makes rolling easy.
- Sauce coverage keeps them tender. Baking covered in sauce prevents dry enchiladas and keeps them moist.
Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas Ingredients
- Shredded cooked chicken (2 cups): Tender protein that soaks up the tangy green sauce and keeps each enchilada hearty. Baked Chicken breast, rotisserie chicken, or even Shredded Chicken (canned chicken can be used but we do not prefer it).
- Shredded Colby Jack cheese, or Mexican blend cheese, divided (2 cups): Half melts inside for creamy pull, the rest finishes bubbly on top. Or Mexican blend, grated marble Colby jack, cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese and pepper jack cheese blends all work well.
- Chopped green chiles (1, 4-ounce can can): Mild heat and bright chile flavor that defines the dish. For a milder flavor use diced green bell peppers. For extra heat use diced jalapenos.
- Garlic salt and pepper (to taste): Quick, even seasoning that boosts savory notes.
- Las Palmas green chile enchilada sauce (1, 28-ounce can): Tangy, silky sauce for dipping tortillas and smothering the pan. Or make homemade Green Enchilada Sauce.
- Corn tortillas, 6 inch (8): Classic texture and flavor; dipping them in hot sauce keeps them pliable and prevents cracking. 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.)
- Sour cream (1 cup): Adds cool creaminess inside each roll for a luscious, balanced bite.
- toppings (optional) – olives, tomatoes, diced red onions, sliced jalapenos, fresh cilantro, salsa, chili peppers, black beans, or corn
How to Make Chicken Enchiladas
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
FILLING. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, 1 cup of cheese, green chiles, and salt and pepper to taste.
SAUCE. In a small skillet, bring the 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.
- Roll the tortilla and place seam-side down in 8×8-inch (or 9×9) 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. Let them cool a few minutes before serving. Serve with favorite toppings like Pico de Gallo, Sweet Salsa Verde, Homemade Salsa, and Guacamole.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30-60 seconds to help keep them from cracking while rolling.
- Be sure to dip the tortillas in the hot sauce so they can soften and won’t crack when rolled.
- Use about ⅓ cup filling per tortilla as written for even portions and tidy rolls.
- For easy application use sour cream in a squeeze bottle or put the sour cream in a sandwich bag and cut off the bottom tip.
- Arrange seam side down and snuggle rolls close so they do not unroll while baking.
- Freshly shredded cheese melts better than packaged cheese.
- Bake until the edges bubble and the top cheese melts with a few golden spots for best flavor.
Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese, or Mexican blend cheese, divided
- 1 (4-ounce) can can chopped green chiles
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (28-ounce) can Las Palmas green chile enchilada sauce
- 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine chicken, 1 cup cheese, chiles, salt, and pepper.
- In a small skillet, bring enchilada sauce to a boil, then lower temperature and bring to a simmer.
- Dip each tortilla into heated sauce for a few seconds to soften.
- Place a tortilla in a 9×11 inch baking dish and spoon ⅓ cup of chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons sour cream down the center. (NOTE: The squeeze sour cream works great.)
- Roll the tortilla and place seam-side down.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour enough sauce to cover the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
- Make sure to dip the tortillas in the sauce so they can soften and won’t crack when rolled.
- Freshly shredded cheese melts better than pre-shredded packaged cheese.
- For easy application use sour cream in a squeeze bottle or put the sour cream in a sandwich bag and cut off the bottom tip.
- To bake. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Pour on the extra sauce and add the cheese before baking according to the recipe directions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Make as instructed, cover them with plastic wrap, and place them in the fridge for up to 24 hours, or cover again with foil and freeze for 3-4 months. Take the excess sauce place it in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze it.
To bake. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Pour on the extra sauce and add the cheese before baking according to the recipe directions.
Store leftovers in an airtight container(s) in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for 3 months. Thaw if needed and reheat large portions in the oven and smaller portions in the microwave.
Complete The Meal
Side Dishes
Homemade Spanish Rice Recipe
45 mins
Easy Esquites Recipe
20 mins
Canned Refried Beans
10 mins
Mexican Street Corn Recipe
13 mins
More Enchiladas
Desserts
Cheesecake Chimichanga
30 mins
Churro Cheesecake Bars
40 mins
Mexican Wedding Cookies
1 hr 26 mins
Easy Tres Leches Cake
4 hrs 32 mins
Collections
This recipe was originally published June 2010.
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!