Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

It's a good thing, as far as my waistline is concerned, that spring is here. I tend to eat rich, fattening foods in the fall and winter when the weather is cooler. In the spring and summer I find those dishes too heavy. Enchiladas, with all their cheesy goodness, have been one of my obsessions lately. While I love a good red sauce, I wanted to experiment. Enter this recipe for Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas.


Holy moly, were these good. I made the sauce and poached the chicken earlier in the week then diced the onion and grated the cheese in the morning before I left for work so all I had to do that night was assemble and bake. The smell coming from the oven was intoxicating.

My only issue was that the sauce recipe made way too much sauce for one pan of enchiladas. I only had 8 tortillas and had trouble fitting them all into the 9 x 13 dish so if I'd had 12, I would have made two pans and divided the sauce. Oh, and SP bought me a habanero pepper instead of a serrano, so I only used the jalapeno, which was plenty in terms of spice level!

Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
Slightly Modified from The Novice Chef

4 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups sour cream
16 oz jar Medium Salsa Verde
1 & 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
12 tortillas, small fajita size
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack
1/2 medium onion, diced

Preheat the oven to 350.

Melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute jalapeno until soft and then add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and let cook 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth until smooth and let cook until bubbly. Stir in the sour cream, salsa, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cilantro until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.

Spray/grease a 9×13 baking dish. Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add chicken, cheese, and chopped onion to the center of each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in the dish. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas, top with leftover cheese, and bake for 25 minutes or until top is brown and bubbling.