I didn’t realize it until I began writing this post, but these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas have been a constant, even milestone recipe in my life. They are inspired by my grammy’s legendary green chile sour cream chicken enchiladas, which I devoured growing up, and which Grammy still serves for Christmas night dinner (don’t argue with tradition). These enchiladas followed me across the ocean to France, where I cooked them for my host parents. They are one of the first meals I ever made for Ben, remain a regular in our recipe rotation, and were the first recipe I ever posted on my blog.
When I hit publish on that first recipe post, titled “Healthy Chicken Enchiladas,” I expected my grammy would see it and (hopefully) be pleased by my more wholesome version of her sour cream chicken enchiladas, even if she elected to stick with the original on Christmas night.
Little did I suspect that these easy green chile cheese enchiladas would turn out to be the recipe that would inspire me to publish another. Then another. A few days after I posted the recipe (along with a horrific photo taken with my flip phone), my high school pal Kathryn emailed to tell that she’d made my healthy chicken enchiladas and loved them. I was flabbergasted. Apparently if you post recipes online, people will actually cook them. Who knew?
That was the moment I fell in love with sharing recipes online.
About These Enchiladas
To date, Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are one of nearly 800 recipes I’ve posted here, but no matter how many new recipes I try, this pan of creamy, Mexican-inspired goodness will never lose its place in my heart.
Nostalgia-factor aside, these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are luscious, fully-flavored, and simple to make; I’d recommend them to anyone in the market for a satisfying meal. And aren’t we all?
These Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are easy enough for beginner cooks (they were one of the first recipes I ever cooked on my own) but taste so flavorful, even a chef as accomplished as my grammy makes them on a regular basis.
I’ve updated my grammy’s original green chile chicken enchilada casserole recipe to be healthy by swapping the sour cream for Greek yogurt and using whole wheat tortillas in place of white or corn.
They’re still creamy, saucy, and cheesy—everything a good-to-the-last-bite pan of chicken enchiladas can and should be.
From my hometown to France to my blog’s earliest days to today, these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas have been through the years and around the globe. Next stop: your dinner table!
More Enchilada Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Enchiladas
- Zucchini Enchiladas
- Vegan Enchiladas
- Butternut Squash Spinach Enchiladas
Recommended Tools to Make This Recipe
- Casserole Dish. The perfect size for making these enchiladas.
- Mixing Bowls. Ideal for prepping the filling.
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded (see cooking directions below if needed—or use storebought rotisserie chicken)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small red bell peppers (or yellow, or orange bell peppers), cored and diced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups reduced-fat shredded Monterey jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese, divided
- 1 1/2 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 cans diced green chiles (4-ounce cans) , drained
- 8 whole wheat flour tortillas (7-inch)
- 1 can green enchilada sauce (15 ounces)
- For serving: diced fresh tomato fresh cilantro, diced avocado, diced red onion, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9×13-inch casserole dish with baking spray and set aside.
- Cook and shred chicken, if necessary.*
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan on medium heat. Once the oil is warm, add the peppers and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the onions become translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- To the skillet, add the shredded chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper. Stir to coat evenly, then remove the skillet from the heat and let cool.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the cheese, Greek yogurt, green chilies, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Once the chicken and veggie mixture has cooled to nearly room temperature, add it to the bowl with the yogurt mixture and stir to coat evenly.
- To assemble the enchiladas, fill each tortilla with a slightly heaping 1/2 cup of the chicken-yogurt mixture. Roll closed and place in the prepared dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Pour the green enchilada sauce evenly over the top, cover the pan, then bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 5 additional minutes, until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with desired toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- *HOW TO COOK CHICKEN: Check out my ultimate guide on How to Cook Shredded Chicken. To cook the chicken in the Instant Pot, see this post for Instant Pot Chicken. For slow cooker instructions, see Crock Pot Shredded Chicken.
- TO STORE: Leftover green chile chicken enchiladas may be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Warm leftover enchiladas in a preheated 350-degree F oven until heated through in a covered baking dish. You may also microwave them in a covered container until steaming.
- TO FREEZE: Green chile chicken enchiladas are a great freezer meal. Baked enchiladas may be frozen and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating as directed above.
Nutrition
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These are so yummy! Everyone loved these, and I love that there is no condensed soup in this! Thank you!!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Hope! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Erin, I enjoy alot of your recipes, thank you for sharing them! I was wondering what the sodium content is per serving in this Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas recipe?
Hi Brenda! I stopped including sodium info because it can vary so much depending upon what products you used, and I found a lot of conflicting info online, so ultimately I didn’t feel comfortable publishing it because sometimes it wasn’t even in the ballpark. If you’d like to calculate it yourself, there are lots of free tools online (myfitnesspal.com is popular). I hope that helps!
Thank you, I did find it online…I ended up using kosher salt and just kept it to 1/2 teaspoon…ended up being very good.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi Erin: I love your blog, and this recipe has been a staple for our house for years!! Thank you so much for sharing. I was wondering, does this freeze well? I was thinking to freeze in the pan but without the enchilada sauce. I apologize if you’ve stated this elsewhere; I didn’t see it in the post.
Thank you very much in advance!!
I’m SO happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Sarah! This recipe does freeze well. I recommend cooking the recipe completely, then letting it cool before freezing. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating, covered, in the oven until hot. I’d use the same temperature, 350 degrees F, when you’re reheating.
Thank you, Erin!! I know it’s a bit late, but I’m trying the frozen method this week! :D
Hi Sarah! Hope you enjoy it!
Amazing! So simple to make and so good!
Hi Allison! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi!
A friend of mine made these and they were delicious!
I was just wondering if anyone ever used shrimp instead of chicken.
Hi Wendy! So glad you enjoyed them! Let me know if you experiment with shrimp!
I made these last night and they were a hit! But – the standout is the tomatillo sauce from your cookbook, which is not included on the blog? For those readers who do not yet have Erin’s cookbook, buy it and make these with the green enchilada sauce in the book. It’s really easy and tastes great. I live in TX and my husband and kids are native Texans and they loved it.
I forgot to buy canned green chilis, but I had half a leftover poblano chili from the tomatillo sauce and a can of Ro-tel (because, um, Texas), so I substituted those. Slightly different flavor, but still great.
Hi Zoe! Thank you so much for your support of the cookbook! Thank you for this kind review!
Yummy!!!! I substituted beef for the chicken when preparing the Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. Can you freeze the beef-yogurt mixture to use later? Also could you freeze leftover enchilada sauce?
Thanks,
Billy
Hi Billy! I have never tried freezing the beef-yogurt mixture, but I have frozen the enchilada sauce. You would freeze it up to 3 months then thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Hope this helps!
Everyone loved it, thank you!
Hi Marie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I forgot to buy the two cans of green chiles… what’s a good alternative?!
Hi Maggie, you could try salsa verde or jalapenos.
Was gifted this dish to heat up and serve at home by a friend. I was very surprised that you use flour tortillas. The flavor of the dish was outstanding, but the tortillas were mushy and made the dish really heavy. I suggest that corn tortillas be used to lighten it up.
BTW, these were made from your cookbook, which I gifted to my friend last Christmas.
Hi Pam! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!