Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce (Chile Verde Enchiladas) feature remarkably tender chicken, delicious green sauce and plenty of melty cheese to make anyone swoon. If you love green enchiladas, this recipe is for you, as I have included all my tips and tricks for tailoring enchiladas to your preferences.
Calling all enchilada lovers!
We’ve all experienced the deliciousness of classic enchiladas with red sauce, but have you tried chile verde chicken enchiladas with green sauce?
In case you’re new to them, chicken enchiladas with green sauce are identical to traditional enchiladas except they call for green enchilada sauce or salsa verde instead of classic red enchilada sauce.
The result is that cheesy, saucy experience with mild sweet chili flavor.
I simply whip up a batch of my Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken or my Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken to make the best chicken enchiladas.
I have included instructions for pressure cooker, slow cooker, and stove top methods for making the shredded chicken, but you can also use 4 cups of leftover cooked chicken if you’d like.
While this recipe requires more time to prepare than the majority of my dinner recipes, the process itself is simple and the recipe can be made in several steps rather than all at once if you’d like.
One of the best parts about this easy recipe is the ingredients can be found at any grocery store and it is a great way to please the whole family.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients to make chicken enchiladas.
Ingredients for Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce:
For the Chicken: Chicken thighs (or chicken breasts or chicken tenders or a combination of thighs and breasts), green enchilada sauce, green chiles, salsa, and yellow onion. These ingredients combined make for flavorful, delicious shredded chicken.
You can use homemade salsa verde and homemade enchilada sauce, or stick with store-bought.
Ingredients for Enchiladas: Flour tortillas (use gluten-free flour tortillas if you’re gluten-free), grated Monterey jack cheese, and green salsa or green enchilada sauce.
For the green sauce, choose either canned green enchilada sauce or store-bought or homemade green salsa (salsa verde).
Salsa verde produces a little more liquid and contains some chunks, whereas green enchilada sauce is smoother and thicker. Select the sauce depending on which you like better.
Depending on how saucy you like your enchiladas, use 1 to 2 cups of enchilada sauce or salsa. I used one 15-ounce jar of green salsa and the enchiladas turned out very saucy and soft, which my family enjoys.
For less saucy enchiladas, use 1 cup of enchilada sauce or salsa.
Recipe Adaptations:
- For very cheesy enchiladas, use two cups of grated cheese, and for a thinner layer of cheese, use one cup.
- Make creamy chicken enchiladas by mixing 4 to 8 ounces of softened cream cheese in with the shredded chicken in a mixing bowl.
- If you aren’t a fan of green chilies, you can omit them from the shredded chicken.
- In the event you’d rather use yellow corn tortillas over flour tortillas, I recommend making stacked enchiladas kind of like enchilada lasagna with layers instead of rolling them, as corn tortillas don’t hold together as well as flour tortillas.
- Feel free to add 2 tablespoons of chili powder to the shredded chicken ingredients if you love the flavor.
- Use 4 cups of leftover rotisserie chicken instead of preparing the chicken yourself. If you go this route, pick up extra enchilada sauce or green salsa just in case the enchiladas need more liquid.
How to Make Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce:
Begin by preparing the shredded chicken for the enchiladas. To do so, pick your preferred cooking method – Instant Pot, Crock Pot, or Stove Top, and follow the instructions below.
Instant Pot Shredded Chile Verde Chicken:
Add all of the ingredients to your Instant Pot and give everything a big stir.
Secure the lid on the Instant Pot. Pressure cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant pot to naturally release for at least 10 minutes (ideally up to 1 hour if you have the time), then use the quick release valve to release any remaining pressure.
Use tongs to transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the chicken.
Transfer the shredded chicken back to the instant pot with the juices until you’re ready to use it.
Crock Pot Chile Verde Chicken:
Add all of the ingredients for the chicken to a slow cooker and stir until everything is well-combined. Secure the lid on the slow cooker and cook on High for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Use tongs to transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the chicken to desired consistency.
Transfer the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker with the juices until you’re ready to use it.
Stove Top Shredded Chicken:
Transfer the shredded chicken ingredients to a large thick-bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven and stir well until everything is combined.
Bring the chicken to a full boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for at least one hour or until the chicken is very tender. Depending on the cooking temperature of your stove top and the sizes of the chicken pieces you’re using, this could take longer than 1 hour.
Use tongs to transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the chicken to desired consistency.
Transfer the shredded chicken back to the stock pot until you’re ready to use it.
For spicy enchiladas, add 1 to 3 jalapeño peppers to the chicken.
Once your chicken is ready, you’re ready to make delicious salsa verde chicken enchiladas! Note that you can prepare the chicken up to 5 days ahead of time, as this recipe can be made in steps.
How to Make Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce:
When you’re ready to prepare the enchiladas, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transfer ½ cup of the liquid from the shredded chicken to the bottom of a large 13″ x 9″ casserole dish. Note: if you’re using leftover chicken that doesn’t contain sauce, use canned green enchilada sauce or salsa for this step or spray baking dish with cooking spray.
Dip both sides of a tortilla into the shredded chicken mixture so that the tortilla absorbs some of the green enchilada liquid. The purpose of this step is to soften up the tortillas and make the enchiladas nice and moist. If you prefer drier tortillas in your enchiladas, skip this step.
Measure a heaping ½ cup of shredded chicken into the center of each tortilla and wrap it tightly into a large taquito shape.
Repeat for the remaining tortillas and chicken until you have 8 enchiladas tightly packed into the casserole dish.
Evenly spread the green salsa over the enchiladas.
Sprinkle the cheese over top of the enchiladas. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the liquid surrounding the enchiladas is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown. If you’d like, sprinkle chopped green onions, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro on top of the casserole.
Serve chile verde chicken enchiladas with any additional side dishes, and enjoy!
Enchiladas pair nicely with Homemade Spanish Rice https://www.theroastedroot.net/homemade-spanish-rice-w-instant-pot-option/, Mexican rice, refried beans, or whole black beans are great serving options. Add any of your favorite toppings like a dollop of sour cream and guacamole on top.
To store enchiladas, wrap the casserole dish in plastic wrap or foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also store enchiladas in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
This green chile chicken enchiladas recipe is even better the next day! Allowing the enchiladas to sit overnight gives them time to soak up all the delicious juices from the salsa and allows the flavors to develop.
And that’s it! A simple enchilada recipe that is big on flavor and is perfect for serving friends and family.
If you love enchilada recipes, try out some of my other enchiladas!
More Enchilada Recipes:
- Carnitas Enchiladas
- Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchiladas
- Small Batch Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
- Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole
Green chicken enchiladas, here we go!
Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 to 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs*
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 (15-oz) can green enchilada sauce
- 1 cup green salsa or chicken broth
- 1 (4-oz) can diced green chilis**
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the Enchiladas:
- 1 to 2 cups green salsa or homemade salsa verde***
- 8 flour tortillas*
- 2 cups jack cheese grated****
- Fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
Prepare the Shredded Chicken:
- Begin by preparing the shredded chicken using your preferred cooking method. I provide Instant Pot instructions here but scroll up to get the crock pot or the stove top instructions.
- Add all of the ingredients to your Instant Pot and give everything a big stir.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot. Pressure cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant pot to naturally release for at least 10 minutes (ideally up to 1 hour if you have the time), then use the quick release valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Use tongs to transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the chicken.
- Transfer the shredded chicken back to the instant pot with the juices until you’re ready to use it.
Make the Enchiladas:
- When you’re ready to prepare the enchiladas, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Transfer ½ cup of the liquid from the shredded chicken to the bottom of a large 13″ x 9″ casserole dish. Note: if you’re using leftover chicken that doesn’t contain sauce, use canned green enchilada sauce or salsa for this step or spray baking dish with cooking spray.
- Dip both sides of a tortilla into the shredded chicken mixture so that the tortilla absorbs some of the green enchilada liquid. The purpose of this step is to soften up the tortillas and make the enchiladas nice and moist. If you prefer drier tortillas in your enchiladas, skip this step.
- Measure a heaping ½ cup of shredded chicken into the center of each tortilla and wrap it tightly into a large taquito shape.
- Repeat for the remaining tortillas and chicken until you have 8 enchiladas tightly packed into the casserole dish.
- Evenly spread the green salsa over the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle the cheese over top of the enchiladas. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the liquid surrounding the enchiladas is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown. If you’d like, sprinkle chopped green onions, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro on top of the casserole.
- Serve chile verde chicken enchiladas with any additional side dishes, and enjoy!
- Enchiladas pair nicely with Homemade Spanish Rice, Mexican rice, refried beans, or whole black beans are great serving options. Add any of your favorite toppings like a dollop of sour cream and guacamole on top.
Notes
Nutrition
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After assembling the enchiladas when you say to cover with the green salsa are you referring to all the juices left in the IP? That is what I did because it is so full of flavor. Or did you mean to open a jar of green salsa and pour over.
Hi Betsy! I cover the enchiladas with store-bought green salsa or enchilada sauce. As far as the juices in the Instant Pot go – I use them to dip the tortillas and whatever comes along with the chicken goes into the enchiladas as well. For me this meant there weren’t any juice leftover by the time I was done dipping tortillas and stuffing them with chicken. Hope all of that makes sense and that you enjoyed the enchiladas! xoxo
Thank you Julia for clarifying. They were a little loose with all the sauce left in the IP but still delicious.
I have a very similar recipe and I combined it with yours. This was amazing and the entire pan was gone. Thank you!!!
I love that! Cooking is always a blast when you can get creative with it 🙂 So thrilled your hybrid version worked out so well!