One Pan Chili Verde Enchiladas with Chicken and Green Sauce

Gloriously creamy, cheesy and tomatillo bright, one pan chili verde enchiladas with chicken and green sauce are easy to love.

This Mexico City specialty features delicately seasoned shreds of chicken tidily rolled into savory tortillas, topped with cheese, and bathed in a tomatillo salsa verde sauce spiked with sour cream – each distinct component shining through in every bite.

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I fell in love with chicken enchiladas with green sauce eating at the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City.  Working on my own recipe, I want to do justice to each component of chicken enchiladas with a green sauce, but I also want to address some classic enchilada pitfalls. 

Making enchiladas is a project, with challenges along the way: tortillas crack, the filling pokes through the rolled tortillas (rolls) resulting in a collapsed, mushy mess.  This recipe is both streamlined and structurally sound. 

First we reach for a jarred tomatillo salsa and puree it with sour cream and a generous amount of cilantro to infuse creaminess and temper the tomatillo’s sharp acidity.

For a soft, easy-to-roll filling we poach a chicken breast. Poaching chicken breasts is so easy and quick.  5 – 7 minutes to poach followed by 5 minutes of resting so the meat is cool enough to shred. 

The art of assembly starts with a frying the tortillas so they are pliable and less prone to sogging out. 

To cut down on dishes we will bake the enchiladas in the same pan we used to fry the tortillas with just enough sauce to spread a base layer under the rolls and lightly coat the top. When we’re ready to serve, we reheat the sauce, coat the bottom of the bowl, placing the tortillas on top and finishing with garnishes.    So, this is my streamlined and structurally sound recipe to replicate a dish I love. 

For other enchilada recipes try my Skillet Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas – it uses one pan, as well!

Chili verde enchiladas ingredients

If you prefer milder heat, choose a jarred salsa that is labeled as a tomatillo salsa where the primary ingredient is tomatillos rather than a jar of salsa verde.  While both include tomatillos and green chilis, a tomatillo salsa’s first ingredient is tomatillos followed by green chilis. 

Here’s what you’ll need for this dish:

Chicken:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Garlic clove
• Bay leaf
• Table salt
• Black peppercorns

Green Sauce

• Jarred tomatillo salsa or for more heat use a salsa verde
• Mexican crema or sour cream - The key to one pan chicken enchiladas with chili verde green sauce luxurious sauce is Mexican crema, a salted, cultured cream used as a topping and ingredient in Mexican cooking.  Found in the dairy section of the grocery stores, but if you can’t find it use sour cream in it’s place.
• Sugar – this will help balance the acidity of the tomatillos
• Fresh cilantro

Enchiladas:

• Vegetable oil to fry the tortillas
• Corn or flour tortillas
• Dried Mexican oregano
• Garnishes such as cilantro, radishes and crumbled cojita cheese (this is Mexico’s parmesan cheese).

Note: see the recipe card below for quantities.

How to make one pan enchiladas

The creaminess is very important to this dish.  And that starts with creating a punchy, creamy sauce.  Typically spread on the serving plate and spooned generously over the top of the rolls, adding so much flavor with a handful of ingredients. 

First, reach for a jar of tomatillo salsa and puree with Mexican Crema (or you can use sour cream in a pinch)to infuse creaminess and temper the tomatillos sharp acidity. Adding a generous amount of cilantro brings a bright fresh flavor.

A soft, easy-to-roll filling

Many recipes call for poaching and then shredding a whole chicken. 

I opt for this preparation because small shreds are easy to roll, and poaching results in soft, tender meat that won’t poke through a tortilla. 

But when cooking for two, I am less enthusiastic about the hour plus time commitment of poaching a whole bird. 

Because of the rich dairy notes in the sauce, I didn’t feel the need to include fattier dark meat, so I swap in a boneless, skinless breast. 

The poaching time is cut down to 5-7 minutes. I found we only need 5 minutes of cooling before shredding the meat.

After shredding the meat, sprinkle with Mexican oregano and a few cracks of black pepper. Set aside until ready to roll.

Fried tortillas make sturdy enchiladas

Flash frying tortillas in hot oil for only a few seconds makes it pliable and resilient.  The hot oil warms the tortilla, making it pliable enough to roll around the filling and drives off some of its water. 

Removing water from the tortillas causes it to firm up, making the round nicely chewy.  And the oil is absorbed creating a water-resistant barrier helping to hold it together even after it’s covered with sauce.

The art of the assembly

After frying a stack of corn tortillas in oil, making them more pliable and less prone to being soggy, it’s time to assemble.

Most recipes present enchiladas as a casserole, snugging the enchiladas into a dish, covering them with sauce, and baking until hot.  While homey and appealing, it dirties more dishes, and typically takes about 20 to 25 minutes, to heat through.

I opted for a speedier way:  baking the enchiladas in the skillet – the same one used to fry the tortillas.  Using enough sauce to spread a base layer beneath the rolls and lightly coat them on top, reduces cook time to just over 10 minutes.

As the dish bakes, reheat the sauce to spoon over the rolls at the table. Prep a few garnishes like onion, cilantro, radish, and cotija cheese (the Mexican version of parmesan cheese).

Finishing Touches

When the dish is heated through, coat the bottom of a bowl with sauce. Place a couple of enchiladas on top, finishing with a flourish of garnishes. 

Slice each roll in half and reveal a neat cross section of tender shreds of chicken encircled by tortilla and swathed in luxurious sauce and cheese.

What to serve with chili verde enchiladas

These one pan chili verde enchiladas with chicken and green sauce are rich and best served with rice, beans and a simple salad tossed in my honey citrus champagne vinaigrette.

Make ahead

Poach and refrigerate the Chicken for up to 2 days. After blending the tomatillo salsa with the sour cream, cilantro and sugar it can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

While, the tortillas can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 3 hours.

Assembled enchiladas and remaining sauce can be refrigerated separately for up to 24 hours. Bake enchiladas in 400-degree oven until heated through, 15 to 18 minutes.

Related

Looking for other tacos, carnitas and enchilada recipes for two? Try these: