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Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

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In the mood for Mexican? These Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with homemade sauce will hit the spot!

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with homemade sauce

One Pan Dinner for the Win

I don’t care if you’re in college, a mom of 6, living alone or retired–One pan meals are always a life saver! Enchiladas will always have a warm place in my heart (and stomach) because it’s what my mother made best.  When I came home from volleyball practice and I smelled enchiladas in the oven I couldn’t help but to yell out “Yesssss!” and run over to my mother with the biggest smile on my face.  I hope these Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas make your kids just as happy!

Why will your Kids want to Eat this for Dinner?

These enchiladas consist mostly of cheese and chicken.  There’s no olives, nothing spicy, no strong strange flavors and no broccoli in sight! I sprinkled mine with cilantro on top but if you think that will make them think twice when picking up their fork, then leave it off!

Easy Dinner Recipe Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

A toma-what?

Tomatillos!  If you don’t know what they are, don’t fret! These magical little guys are at just about every grocery store (though sometimes they like to hide in the corner) and they are part of what makes a green salsa green! Do you know that magical Cafe Rio salad dressing? Yup, tomatillo dress! There’s only two things you need to know about these little guys… you need to take off the outer layer and then rinse them.  They’re sticky! I know it’s strange but we’re all a little weird on the inside, right?  Right.  Shopping Tip: When I’m at the store I’ll rip open that outer layer to make sure they’re green inside and not a pale-pale green.

Making Green Chili Enchilada sauce with tomatillos

Flour or Corn Tortillas?

You can pick your tortilla based on taste or you can pick based on a few other factors, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter too much.  So if your kids love flour, then go with that and don’t lose any sleep! But if you’re curious… flour tortillas usually have more calories, fat, carbs and sodium than corn tortillas.  Flour tortillas do have more protein but I still opt for the corn because the chicken in the enchiladas has plenty of protein.

How to Roll Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Pardon my finger nails, I promise they aren’t black!  They’re navy but somehow photographed black so I look a tad gothic.  I just wanted to show you how I roll my enchiladas!  I put some of the sauce on the bottom of the pan to keep them from sticking and I just pack in the rolls the best I can.  I always have a mini row at the end facing the other direction, but I don’t mind!  Once it’s covered in cheese it always looks delicious!

How to Make Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Look at that sauce go!

Making Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas at home

Cheese time.  Okay, some enchilada recipes call for 6 cups of cheese.  I think that’s way overboard but you get to do what you want! Use as much or as little as you and your family like–make it your own! Enjoy our Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas!

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with Mexican cheese

If your kids just can’t get enough Mexican food, try our Mexican Pizza!

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas your kids will love
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4.2 from 11 votes

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

In the mood for Mexican? These Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with homemade sauce will hit the spot!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 8 1-2 enchiladas
Calories: 332kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Chop up onion and garlic.  Place in a sauce pan over medium-low heat with olive oil and let tenderize while you prep.  Stir occasionally.
  • Add tomatillos (husked and washed), chicken broth, cilantro, oregano, cumin and salt to a blender or food processor and blend until somewhat smooth.  Set aside.
  • Cook your chicken with salt and pepper. You can boil it, cook it on the stove or if you’re in a real rush use a rotisserie chicken but you won’t need the entire chicken!
  • Once your chicken is starting to cook, your onions and garlic should be tender.  Add the blender ingredients and let simmer for 7-10 minutes.  (But don’t wash that blender yet!)
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Once your chicken is cooked, let rest for 5 minutes and then chop.
  • Remove enchilada sauce from heat and return to the blender. Blend again, but don’t seal the lid on because the steam from the heat can make the top blast off!  So use a dish towel to gently hold the lid partially off, the dish towel should keep you from getting burned from the steam too!
  • In a large bowl, combine chopped chicken, green chiles (optional), sour cream, and 1 1/2 cup of cheese.  Stir.
  • Pull out a 9X13 inch casserole dish (or you can use whatever you have on hand). I gave my pan a little spray of coconut oil for easy cleaning and I also poured about 1/3 of my enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan to keep everything from sticking as well.
  • Assemble: Take your tortillas one by one and fill with a scoop of your chicken mixture.  Roll and start again.  Continue until the pan is filled.  Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Use as much or as little cheese as desired.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until it’s heated through.  I usually wait for bubbling in the enchilada sauce!

Nutrition

Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 980mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g
Keyword : Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

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Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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7 Comments

My sauce looked a lot thinner than yours in the picture. I followed your recipe exactly. Should I just do less chicken broth? The enchiladas turned out soggy…

Interesting! Maybe my tomatillos just had a different consistency! You can always add less chicken broth is you want a thicker sauce, most people actually prefer a thin sauce!

How do you keep the corn tortillas from breaking when rolling up the chicken? Our corn tortillas always seem so dry.

Allison, try warming them up in the microwave for just a few seconds, with a damp paper towel on top. That can soften them up enough to roll.