Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas (Colorado-Style)
Shredded chicken and melty Jack cheese rolled in tortillas, smothered in a 4-ingredient roasted green chile sauce — no canned soup, no shortcuts, just Colorado's easiest enchilada recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 4 oz cans roasted Hatch Chilies or use fresh roasted Pueblo, Hatch, Anaheim, or Poblano chilies - about 1 1/4 lbs., skins and seeds removed from all the chilies
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves minced
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chicken stock divided
- 8 to 10 corn or flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Monterey or Colby Jack cheese divided
- 2 ½ cups cooked chicken, shredded seasoned with your favorite herbs and spices or use store bought rotisserie chicken
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt or Avocado Crema
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F (200°C).
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Stir in the chiles, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of the chicken stock to the pan. Mix well and simmer until the stock reduces by about a third.
- Add the last cup of chicken stock to the pan and heat until warm. Set the sauce aside.
- Meanwhile, lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking dish or cover in foil to help with clean up later.
- While the sauce is simmering, shred the chicken into a bowl. Add 1 cup of the cheese and mix together.
- Dip the tortillas into the warmed chicken stock until pliable, working 2 to 3 at a time so they don't stick together, then lay them on your work surface.
- Add about 1/2 cup of the chicken and cheese mix down the center of each tortilla. Roll up around the filling and place seam side down in the baking dish.
- Pour the chile sauce over the enchiladas. Top with the reserved 1 cup of cheese. Don't worry about full coverage, exposed tortilla edges crisp up in the oven.
- Bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbling and brown, about 25 minutes, If you'd like extra browning, turn the oven to broil - watch carefully as not to burn.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Then serve with sour cream, Greek yogurt, or Avocado Crema.
- Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Notes
Make-ahead:
- Assemble through step 10 and refrigerate, covered, up to 24 hours before baking — add 5 minutes to the bake time if going in cold.
- Freezes well after baking; cool completely, cover tightly, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
- No fresh chiles on hand? Canned diced green chiles work — see FAQ for quantity.
- Leftovers keep in the fridge 3 to 4 days.
- Heidi's method — season thin-sliced chicken breast with salt, pepper, and one herb, then sear or grill until cooked through. Chop or shred for this recipe.
- Prep double the amount at once and use the extra through the week in salads, pasta, tacos, or sandwiches.
- Rotisserie or poached chicken both work fine as substitutes.
- Chicken breast is recommended over thighs — thighs run gamier and don't balance as well against the cheese — but this is also a good way to use up leftover cooked chicken, even a mix of dark and white meat, if that's what's on hand.
- Monterey or Colby Jack is the US-available option below.
- Heidi's actual version uses a 400g bag of a melty white cheese blend (including mozzarella) common in Portugal, since Monterey Jack and most Mexican cheese blends aren't available there.
- Any good melting white cheese blend works as a substitute.
