Enchiladas de Pollo en Salsa Verde
Who doesn’t love enchiladas? We certainly do! Try our recipe for authentic chicken enchiladas in homemade salsa verde.
Most enchiladas in Mexico are “no-bake” enchiladas and enchiladas are always made with corn tortillas. Typically, enchiladas are served warm not piping hot.
The interplay and balance of flavors are what make enchiladas so delicious. Each bite should have a bit of chicken, salsa verde, crema, ranchero cheese, and red onion.
The Ingredients
Everything you need to prepare chicken enchiladas with salsa verde: chicken breast, salsa verde, fresh corn tortillas, crema, red onion, and ranchero cheese.
Choosing Tortillas for Your Enchiladas
Authentic enchiladas are always made with corn tortillas. The best tortillas are prepared from ground corn, not corn flour although it is not always easy to friend the ones prepared with ground corn.
If you have a Mexican market or tortilleria in your town you may be able to get them. Try to find them. It’s worth it.
Follow These Steps for Amazing Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
1. The Salsa
For great enchiladas, you need a great salsa. Use our Salsa Verde Recipe (green salsa or green sauce). Prepare the salsa first. While the salsa is cooking, cook and shred the chicken breasts.
2. Cooking and Shredding the Chicken
Place the chicken breasts in a pot and just cover with water. Cook over low heat until the chicken breasts are just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Save the cooking liquid. It’s a great flavor booster for other dishes.
Allow the chicken to cool and then shred it by hand.
Time to Prepare the Enchiladas
3. Frying the Tortillas
An important step in preparing enchiladas is frying the corn tortillas. You fry them to make them pliable so that you can roll them. Frying also seals the tortilla so that it doesn’t absorb the salsa and become mushy.
In very hot oil, fry the tortillas individually for about 10 seconds per side. You don’t want them to get crispy because if they are crispy you won’t be able to roll them.
After frying the tortillas, place them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
4. Rolling Enchiladas – The Easy Way
The easiest and least messy way to roll enchiladas is to roll them on a baking sheet. Tip: Slide the rolled enchiladas against the lip of the baking tray which will keep them from unrolling.
To roll enchiladas start by placing a fried tortilla in the center of the tray.
Add about a tablespoon of shredded chicken to each tortilla. Don’t put too much chicken on each tortilla. Roll the enchilada firmly but not too tightly.
Try to roll the enchiladas as uniformly as possible. The more uniform they are the better the dish looks when you serve it. If you don’t like how your enchiladas turned out you can always open them up and re-roll them.
With a little practice, your enchiladas will come out perfectly even every time.
5. Plating and Serving
This dish is typically served warm not piping hot. (If you prefer them good-and-hot leave all of the rolled enchiladas on the baking tray and put the tray into your oven preheated to 350 degrees for 7 minutes.)
Place 4 rolled enchiladas on each serving plate.
Place them gently so that they don’t unroll.
Center them on the plate as best as you can.
Spoon the salsa verde down the center of the enchiladas.
Then spoon the Mexican cream, crema onto the enchiladas.
Sprinkle about ½″ ounce of crumbled ranchero cheese onto the enchiladas.
Garnish with 3 thinly sliced red onion rings.
6. Time to Eat – Provecho!
Looks delicious, don’t they? These are guaranteed to please!
Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces boneless chicken breast
- 4 cups salsa verde
- 16 corn tortillas
- ½ cup Mexican cream crema
- 3 ozs. ranchero cheese or queso fresco
- 1 small red onion
- 1 cup cooking oil
Instructions
- PREPARING THE SALSA
- Prepare the salsa verde according to this Salsa Verde Recipe.
- COOKING THE CHICKEN
- Place the chicken breasts in a pot and just cover with water. Cook over low heat until the chicken breasts are just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
- Allow the chicken to cool and then shred it by hand.
- FRYING THE TORTILLAS
- Preheat to very hot 2 cups of cooking oil.
- Fry the tortillas individually in the hot oil for about 10 seconds per side.
- Place fried tortillas on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil from the tortillas.
- ROLLING THE ENCHILADAS
- To roll enchiladas start by placing a fried tortilla in the center of a baking tray.
- Add 1 tbsp. of shredded chicken across the tortilla.
- With your fingers, roll the tortilla into a tight tube.
- Do this with all 16 tortillas.
- PLATING AND SERVING
- Place 4 enchiladas on each serving plate.
- Spoon ¾ to 1 cup of salsa verde down the center of the enchiladas.
- Then spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of Mexican cream across the enchiladas.
- Sprinkle the enchiladas with ½oz. to ¾oz. of crumbled ranchero cheese.
- Garnish with 3 thinly sliced red onion rings.
Notes
- You can substitute sour cream for the Mexican cream (crema) called for in the recipe.
- You can substitute white onion for the red onion.
- You can also prepare them with salsa roja instead of salsa verde.
Nutrition
More Enchilada Recipes
More Salsa Verde Recipes
Carolyn says
Can you make enchiladas ahead refrigerate then bring to room tem and heat in oven before serve?
Douglas Cullen says
You can make the enchiladas in advance and reheat them but they definitely taste better if you serve them right when you make them. Provecho!
Deanna Reed says
Want to try all of these recipes. They look so good.