Green chile chicken enchiladas! Technically, green chile, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa verde, chicken enchiladas! Lol! Delicious chicken enchiladas, for short! For several years now several of my followers have been asking me to share a chicken enchilada recipe with cream cheese. It took me a while, but finally, here it is. If you want another delicious chicken enchilada recipe check out my enchiladas suizas recipe.
Let’s jump right into the video!! This could be dinner tonight!
This post is going to be short and savory! Get to the point, so you can be preparing these for dinner tonight. The ingredients are simple and easily can be found at most grocery stores. Well, except for the homemade roasted salsa verde, but there are many brands out there. Of course, you can prepare your own using my recipe as a guideline.
I took some help from the market for this recipe!
Yes, I could have cooked my own chicken, but that rotisserie chicken is so tasty and convenient! Great find with that 16 oz bag of fire roasted green chile from New Mexico! Yes! I have another reserved in my freezer. Another brand I really enjoy is Los Altos jocoque, as well as their other crema and cheese varieties. This is not a sponsored post, lol! Anybody that knows me, knows that I always have homemade salsa available in my refrigerator.
Please remember that recipes are just a guideline. Get creative with the ingredients that you enjoy! I will never say my recipes are the best. But, I would never share a recipe that I did not enjoy. What would be the point of that? I truly enjoy sharing this journey with you all!
Let’s talk tortillas!
I am no expert at preparing tortillas, but I have learned so much these past 10 years of food blogging. What works for me may not work for you. Go with what works for you. That is all that matters. If you prefer a wooden tortilla press or cast iron over the metal one you see me using, that is perfectly fine. I do happen to love that press from Masienda and I do use the masa harina as well. I look at the press as an investment in my work. And the organic non GMO corn masa harina as an investment in myself. I am blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy them. My parents taught me that hard work pays off.
Let me explain. Even a seasoned cook like me messes up sometimes!
So, entonces! Lol! I know better not to get involved in a recipe when I am running out of daylight! When I prepare enchiladas, I always fry the tortillas lightly before filling and rolling them. It adds flavor, plus it makes the tortilla sturdier under all that sauce and cheese. The large pan I took a short cut. I brushed the tortillas with oil, covered them, then microwaved them for 1 minute. This works great to soften the tortillas for filling and rolling. But, for taquitos or flautas, not enchiladas. Because they were fresh tortillas, I should have let them cool overnight, then fried them for a better texture. They were still delicious but had more of a casserole texture and look than enchiladas! Smaller pan, I fried the tortillas. What a difference!
To broil or not to broil??
In this case, it could very well be the brand of cheese, but the broiled cheese became a little tough. I didn’t particularly like that. The smaller pan I did not broil, and the cheese was stringier just the way I like! If you are ok with an enchilada casserole and chewier cheese, it’s all good. Recipes are just a guideline. I do love the broiled cheese look though, lol! Didn’t stop me from eating them though, ha, ha, ha!
I can check this recipe off my bucket list now! I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did. It did have a bite from the salsa verde and green chiles. Adjust the heat by using a milder salsa and less green chile.
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
- Baking pan
- frying pan
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c roasted salsa verde, see link previously prepared, plus more for garnish
- 16 oz fire roasted green chile diced, store bought
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 15 oz Mexican style crema or Jocoque(Mexican style sour cream)
- Salt to taste
- 1 ½ lbs rotisserie chicken breast meat shredded
- 3 c Chihuahua Oaxaca or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 18 corn tortillas. The filling is good for 24 enchiladas
- Avocado or vegetable oil
- Garnish
- More Salsa Verde
- Extra Mexican Crema
- Thin sliced onion
- Lettuce shredded
- Thin sliced tomato
- Avocado slices
Instructions
- After shredding the chicken breast meat, cover it and set it aside. I purchased the large roasted chicken from Costco.
- In the blender jar add 1 ½ c salsa verde, 8 oz. of the green chile, 8 oz. cream cheese, 11 oz. of the Mexican crema or jocoque. Blend on med/low if you want to yield a coarse green chile looking sauce. If not, blend on high until smooth. Taste for salt.
- To the shredded chicken, add the remaining green chile, 3/4 tsp. of cumin and just 1 cup of the sauce from the blender. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Cover and reserve chilled until you are ready to use.
- In a large skillet, preheat 1 c of oil at medium heat for 3-5 minutes. While the oil preheats, place a large resin tortilla warmer nearby or you can cut a couple of sheets of foil paper.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- When oil is hot, fry 2-3 tortillas at the same time for 15 seconds per side. Gently shake off excess oil and place stacked in warmer or in between foil paper. Fry the rest of the tortillas and reserve warm.
- To the bottom of a 13X9 pan, pour in 1c of the sauce to the bottom of the pan. Spread it out to an even thin layer. My pan was occupied, so I used an oven safe skillet this day.
- When ready, fill softened tortillas with 3-4 tbsps of filling down the center of tortilla so it is compact and tight. Roll and seal as tightly as you can. Place the filled tortillas seam side down into the pan with the sauce. Repeat until done.
- Spoon on just enough reserved sauce to cover enchiladas. Top with cheese. I prepared 1 large pan and one smaller pan for 18 enchiladas, so distributed the cheese accordingly.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20-23 minutes. If you like to brown the top cheese layer a little more, place under the broiler for a few minutes. If not, serve enchiladas right away. I like to garnish with more salsa verde, crema and thin sliced onions. Serve with a simple fresh salad of lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado. Don’t forget your favorite rice on the side!
Notes
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