These super cheesy chicken enchiladas verdes require one bowl, one pan, and about 15 minutes of your time.
Chicken enchiladas are the kind of simple, basic, casual comfort food that requires so little time and energy, it's within reach whenever the craving strikes. Which, if you're anything like me, is about every other day.

I am an enchiladas super fan. I like them pretty much every way they come. But, we all have our favorites, and there are three enchiladas recipes that get made on the regular around here:
- Cheese Enchilada Casserole with the BEST Red Chili sauce I know how to make.
- Black Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce
- And these creamy, cheesy chicken enchiladas verdes.
At least one of these enchilada recipes gets made in our house every month. Often, more than that. They are the kind of crowd-pleasing recipes you can make for a large dinner party AND when you're cooking for just one or two. You can make them ahead of time, or on a whim. And, something that's super important to me, leftovers are delicious for days.
Ingredients Needed to Make this Recipe
- Cooked chicken, shredded or cut into bite-size pieces
- Ground cumin
- Sour cream
- Grated cheese. Good options include Mexican blend, Monterey jack, pepper jack, or Colby jack.
- Flour tortillas. If you really want to go above and beyond, try these super easy homemade flour tortillas which are about 1000% better than the prepared packaged variety.
- A jar of salsa verde. My preferred brand is Herdez. Or, make a batch of homemade salsa verde.
- Heavy cream. Stirring a bit of cream into salsa verde makes the most delicious creamy enchilada sauce!
The chicken can be leftover from something else you made earlier in the week or from a rotisserie chicken you picked up at your local supermarket. Because Simple Roast Chicken is also something I make all the time, that's usually what I use for these.
Roast chicken is delicious in these enchiladas, but you can seriously use pretty much any kind of cooked chicken in there, boiled, baked, grilled, roasted, fried, or even air-fried like this recipe for air fryer chicken breast. It's all good. Or, just pick up a rotisserie chicken.
I also want to mention that Homemade tortillas will ruin you forever for supermarket standard packaged flour tortillas. I say that in a cautionary kind of way, but also, I really, really hope you try them. Because making tortillas is easy (truly!), they are one of those things for which every bit of effort is rewarded 100 fold.
Substitute Pork Carnitas for the Chicken
These super easy Pork Carnitas are crispy on the outside, super flavorful, and fall-off-the-bone tender, and make also make an excellent filling for these enchiladas.
The recipe makes enough for for plenty of leftovers that you can use throughout the week or freeze for later, and includes instructions for making them in your slow cooker or instant pot. And, crisping the carnitas in the oven all at once instead of frying them in batches makes this recipe even easier.
So, when I happen to have some leftover carnitas on hand, I often make this casserole, using the carnitas in place of the chicken. SO. GOOD.
Step-by-Step Photos and Instructions
Making these chicken enchiladas is seriously easy. Simply stir together all the filling ingredients, roll the filling in flour tortillas, smother the enchiladas with creamy salsa verde and cheese, and bake. Easy peasy. And cheesy. 🙂
Add the grated cheese, cooked chicken, ground cumin, and sour cream to a large bowl.
Stir everything together. This is your chicken enchilada filling.
Pour the heavy cream into the salsa verde and stir.
Spread about a half of a cup of the creamy salsa verde into the bottom of a baking dish.
Fill the flour tortillas with the chicken enchilada filling.
Roll the enchiladas up and place them in the baking dish.
Top the enchiladas with the creamy salsa verde and more shredded cheese.
Cover and bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
Enchiladas Verdes is a Great Camping Recipe
In May of 2020 my husband and I embraced our nomadic travel loving natures and moved into a 400 square foot 5th wheel RV. For the most part, having a substantially smaller kitchen has not changed the way I cook or bake at all, with one exception.
When we are boondocking (camping off the grid) or parked in a location without hookups, I tend to cook meals that require very few dishes. This allows me to conserve water, something that's important when you're trying to make a limited supply last as long as possible.
Happily, this recipe for chicken enchiladas verdes totally fits the bill, requiring just one bowl and one baking dish. Even better, it can easily be doubled (bake in a 9 x 13 pan) for those times when we are parked next to friends and want to share.
Questions about boondocking? Check out this article with frequently asked questions about boondocking and answers.
Make Ahead and Storage Information
Chicken enchiladas are a great meal to make in advance. After filling the enchiladas, cover them with creamy salsa verdes and cheese, cover the pan, and keep the enchiladas in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. About an hour before you want to eat, preheat the oven and bake the enchiladas as instructed.
Once baked, these chicken enchiladas will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a 325-degree oven until warm. Leftover enchiladas for lunch are one of my favorite things, so I always try to make enough to ensure we'll have some extra.
More Quick and Easy Recipes
This simple vegan black bean soup with tomatoes is a super quick, healthy, meatless meal that I find myself coming back to over and over again because it's so easy to make and packs a serious amount of flavor.
Chicken Fajita Pasta is creamy, comforting, and oh-so-satisfying, and will be on the table in under 45 minutes. Or, spice up your evening with 7-ingredient garlic chipotle pasta that will be on your table in 20 minutes.
These Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps use rotisserie chicken, or any kind of leftover chicken, to create a quick, intensely satisfying meal that will be on the table in about 15 minutes.
This Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole takes about 15 minutes to prepare and requires just 4 ingredients. Delicious, comforting, quick, and easy checks all the boxes for the perfect weeknight meal.
And, weeknight sushi bowls is how to enjoy delicious sushi at home in about 30 minutes. Perfectly seasoned bowls of sushi rice topped with fresh veggies, chives, avocado, sesame seeds, and wild-caught tuna fillets. Add even more sushi flavor with spicy, creamy sushi sauce or wasabi soy sauce.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
Easy, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
These cheesy chicken enchiladas require very few ingredients, one bowl, one pan, and just a few minutes to prepare. The perfect weeknight meal!
How about a margarita with your enchiladas? Pomegranate Margaritas are my favorite beverage to serve with Chicken Enchiladas and can be prepared by the glass or by the pitcher.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (11 ounces) cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ cup (170 grams/ 6 ounces) sour cream
- 3 ½ cups (400 grams/ 14 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- One 15-ounce jar (2 cups) of salsa verde (*See note)
- ⅓ cup (76 grams/ 2.66 ounces) heavy cream
- 5 large flour tortillas
For serving (optional):
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup diced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C).
- Add the cooked chicken, cumin, sour cream, and 2 cups of cheese to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- In a bowl or skillet, stir the salsa verde and heavy cream together. Spread about ½ cup of the creamy salsa verde across the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish.
- Divide the chicken enchilada filling between 5 tortillas, spreading it down the middle of the tortillas, rolling them up, and placing them in the baking dish.
- Pour the rest of the creamy salsa over the top of the enchiladas, spreading it out to cover them completely. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.
- Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with baking spray (or brush it with a bit of vegetable oil). This will keep the cheese from sticking to it as the enchiladas bake. Cover the pan with the foil and place in the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes in the pan then serve with toppings.
Notes
- Roast Chicken is on the menu at my house on a regular basis and I always roast more than one chicken at a time. One gets eaten for dinner the night I roast them and the meat from the other is saved for something else later in the week - like these enchiladas. Over the years, I've found two super simple methods for roasting chickens. https://alittleandalot.com/simple-roast-chicken/
- If you've never had the pleasure of a warm, homemade flour tortilla, I encourage you to make them just once. They are much easier than you might think and your effort will be rewarded 100 fold. This is my favorite Homemade Tortilla Recipe.
- When peppers and tomatillos are in season, I love to make my own Salsa Verde. The rest of the year, I purchase it in jars. My favorite brand of Salsa Verde is Herdez.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 607Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 1061mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 32g
Addison says
These enchiladas are so flavorful! They were great for a quick and easy family dinner.
Vladka says
I made it with my leftover chicken and it was just so delicious that I am going to do it again soon, this time I roast the chicken specifically for this recipe so we have enough.
Lindsey says
I can't believe how easy they were! My whole family adored these enchiladas. Great recipe - I'll definitely be making them again soon
Shelby says
I love how simple this was to make and it uses up the leftover chicken from the fridge. These enchiladas were a hit with the kids too, definitely putting them into the rotation!