These Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas have the perfect combination of flavors. Shredded chicken, savory salsa verde, and Monterey Jack cheese is a delicious combination sure to become a clean-eating favorite.
Believe it or not, one of my most popular recipes on the blog is my Shredded Chicken Enchiladas recipe. It was one of the first-ever recipes I shared when I was just learning how to take photos and run a blog.
Fast forward 7 or 8 years, google "Shredded Chicken Enchiladas," and there's my recipe at the top of Google. Pretty crazy, right?
Back then, I used canned enchilada red sauce and quite a bit more cheese. But, with this green chile chicken enchiladas recipe, I wanted to make everything from scratch and make them a healthier, lighter version of a popular enchilada recipe.
Plus: salsa verde rocks.
I like anything salsa verde. A lot.
You may have noticed this from my recipe for 10 Minute Salsa Verde. <--- Perfection.
Or these Slow Cooker Green Chile Pork Tacos.
Or this Chile Verde.
Or this Crock Pot Enchilada Soup.
Seriously. I may be obsessed. But in a totally good way. Because anything with salsa verde cannot be bad.
My main goal with these green chile chicken enchiladas was to make them healthy. To do this, I used unprocessed, simple ingredients so I could avoid any extra, unnecessary fats, salts, and sugars. I also reduced the amount of cheese in this recipe a ton. While I don't consider cheese to be an unhealthy ingredient, it does contain a lot of saturated fat so we do want to limit its use.
Instead of using canned enchilada sauce, I use my 10 minute salsa verde recipe which is a great from-scratch enchilada sauce recipe. I hope you get a chance to make it for these enchiladas, but any salsa verde should do the trick.
A serving of these enchiladas, which I consider to be two enchiladas, contains just 417 calories and 34 grams of protein. That means you're getting a whole lotta protein in these enchiladas, so you'll be nice and full without consuming too many calories, too.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Cooked Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll keep for up to 4 days. To reheat, place the enchiladas in a baking dish in the oven and reheat on low. Baking is preferable to microwaving to maintain the shape and the consistency of the tortillas.
Yes, you can totally freeze your enchiladas. There are a few tricks, however, to freezing enchiladas to keep them from getting mushy when you reheat them. Here are my tips for how to freeze these green chile chicken enchiladas:
- Allow the enchiladas to fully cool before wrapping and placing in the freezer. If you freeze your food while it’s hot or warm, ice crystals can form on the surface, which will cause the tortillas to get mushy when reheating and before it's fully frozen.
- Wrap the individual enchilada servings in plastic freezer wrap, airtight. Then, place the the wrapped enchiladas into a freezer bag.
- Add any cheese to the top when reheating, not before freezing. If you know you're going to be freezing these enchiladas ahead of time, choose to add the cheese once you're reheating as cheese can deconstruct when frozen. Not a huge deal, though, since there isn't much cheese in this recipe.
- Freeze them as quickly as possible once cooled to prevent them from getting mushy.
- Bake to reheat, rather than microwave.
HOW TO MAKE GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS GLUTEN-FREE
My homemade corn tortillas are gluten-free. When you shop for the masa harina, make sure it is made only of corn. Other yummy options are:
Plain Greek yogurt is typically gluten-free. As for the Monterey Jack cheese, this dairy product does not contain gluten either (gluten comes from wheat). However, some grated cheese blends will contain gluten-type products to keep the cheese from sticking together. Check the packaging carefully, or buy hard cheese and grate it at home. Lastly, make my homemade salsa verde to be free of additives.
HOW TO MAKE GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS VEGAN AND DAIRY-FREE
To make the enchilada recipe vegan:
- The yogurt and the cheese in Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas can be replaced with plant-based products. Almond and cashew yogurt are excellent choices in place of the plain Greek yogurt.
- Sweet potato tortillas, chickpea tortillas, and spinach tortillas are tasty wraps for the enchiladas
- Use nutritional yeast as a substitute for the cheese. It works well and has a great texture for this dish.
To make the enchilada recipe dairy-free:
- Again, the nutritional yeast has a nutty, cheesy flavor that makes it the perfect choice as a replacement for cheese.
- Dairy-free products can be substituted for both the Greek yogurt and cheese.
HOW TO MAKE GREEN CHILE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS KETO AND PALEO
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are easily made keto by using the cauliflower tortillas in place of the corn or flour tortillas. The homemade salsa verde fits right in with the diet. The paleo diet will require the use of the cauliflower or the cassava flour tortillas. As well, you will have to use a low-fat cheese or the nutritional yeast as a replacement.
OTHER OPTIONS FOR TORTILLAS
Tortillas are yummy but do contain carbs. Flour tortillas these days have added ingredients to make them stay fresh on the grocery store shelves. Store-bought corn tortillas have fewer ingredients, making them a better option than the flour ones, but they often lack flavor and are dry and crumbly. You can make my clean-eating homemade corn tortillas as a better option. Or consider these alternatives:
- Almond flour tortillas
- Coconut flour tortillas
- Cassava flour tortillas
- Spinach tortillas
- Zucchini tortillas
- Cauliflower tortillas
- Sweet potato tortillas
Are Corn or Flour Tortillas Best For Enchiladas?
There are many ways to answer this, but my best answer is to choose whichever tortilla you prefer. I prefer corn tortillas for enchiladas because they hold up better and I prefer the flavor BUT flour tortillas are perfectly good, too. Some people complain that corn tortillas are too dry, while others complain that flour tortillas get too chewy in enchiladas. Ultimately, it's up to you and what makes you happy.
The issue I find with flour tortillas is they are more difficult to find with minimally processed ingredients. It's much easier to find corn tortillas at the store with just a few simple, unrefined ingredients, so that's a big plus for me. I usually wind up buying whole wheat/grain tortillas for my flour tortillas.
To keep my corn tortillas from getting too dry, I brush them with a little olive oil before they go in the oven so they don't dry out while baking. If you'd like to make your own corn tortillas, these ones are super duper extra special delish.
MORE ENCHILADAS RECIPES
Do you love Mexican food as much as I do? Add to your repertoire with these yummy recipes:
- Shredded Chicken Enchiladas
- Spicy Quinoa and Black Bean Enchiladas
- Ground Beef Enchiladas
- 10 Minute Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
For the Salsa Verde: (yield 4 cups)
- 4 cups salsa verde
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
For the Chicken:
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
For the Enchiladas:
- 10-12 7-inch corn tortillas
- 1 ⅓ cups jack cheese, shredded, divided
- ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ red onion, diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 9×13 baking dish with olive oil. Set aside.
- Combine the greek yogurt with my 10 minute salsa verde recipe in a kitchen blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Season with sea salt and pepper. Brown on both sides, cooking about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce, set aside and let both the chicken and the sauce cool.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken breasts by holding one fork steady and slowly scraping the other fork, prongs faced backwards, away from the other fork.
- Transfer the shredded chicken to a large bowl. Add 1 cup of the jack, the cilantro, and half the chile verde enchilada sauce (from the pan) to the shredded chicken. Stir to combine.
- Place filling in the center of the tortillas, roll then up gently, and then arrange in pan, seam-side down. You can lightly coat with olive oil to help keep them from cracking in the oven.
- Cover with remaining sauce and remaining cheese.
- Place into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until bubbly.
- Top with fresh cilantro and diced red onion.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I highly recommend and use regularly.
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