Quick and Easy Layered Chicken Enchiladas Verde

A simple and incredibly delicious enchilada casserole. This recipe has a very short ingredient list and comes together quickly. I often will make one for me, one for the freezer, or one for a friend. If there are any leftovers, it’s your lucky day because these chicken enchiladas taste even better the next day! This is a favorite for my family, and I’m positive it will become a family favorite for you too!

Why I love this recipe so much

This is a great recipe for meal sharing and for freezing. Simple ingredients, it can be made a day ahead and baked when ever you need it, and the leftovers are amazing. What’s not to like? This recipe has been adapted from Annettes Enchiladas from the book Bread &Wine.  Bread & Wine is a collection of essays by Shauna Niequist about family relationships, friendships, and the meals that bring us together. Shauna also shares many wonderful and comforting recipes that she makes for her family and friends, including the recipe for Annette’s Enchiladas.  After the birth of her first child Shauna’s friend Annette brought her a pan full of enchiladas and now it’s a recipe she always shares with friends after they’ve had a baby.   This recipe is some serious comfort food! And now it’s one of my favorite recipes to share with friends and family.

Gather these ingredients

How to make this enchilada recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Start by cooking your chicken. I prefer to poach my chicken. Bring water to boil with a tablespoon of salt. Should be enough water to cover chicken breasts. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until internal temperature of the breast at the thickest part is 165 degrees F. Or when it pulls apart easily with a fork and is not pink on the inside. Remove cooked chicken to a baking sheet and let stand for 5-10 minutes, then pull the tender chicken apart with forks so that it’s in bite sized pieces.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together a 28 ounce can of enchilada verde sauce (Las Palmas is the best), 1 cup sour cream, and two 4 ounce cans (or one 7 ounce can) of diced green chilies.  Set aside.

In a non stick skillet or a griddle cook the corn tortillas for about one minute on each side. Remove to a cooling wrack until all the corn tortillas have been cooked. They will bubble up a bit and should get slightly browned.

This chicken enchilada bake will come together quick and easy if you create an assembly line with the shredded chicken, shredded cheese, cooked white or yellow corn tortillas, and the enchilada sauce.

1. Ladle a cup of the sauce into the bottom or your baking dish.
2. Next layer the corn tortillas over the sauce. You may need to cut the tortillas in half or quarters to get all the area covered.
3. Layer 1/3 of the shredded chicken on top of the tortillas.
4. Cover shredded chicken with one cup of monterey jack cheese.

Cover the final layer of tortillas with the remaining sauce, and remaining cheese. Place in 350 degree F preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove, cut into 8 pieces, garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve it up!

I love me an easy recipe that can be made ahead of time.  What’s better than a make ahead recipe for busy weeknights? Make ahead recipes are also great for giving.  After I had my babies it was nice to have a meal in the refrigerator or freezer that I could just pop in the oven. In that nesting stage I would double dinner recipes. As long as I was making one I might as well make two, what a great way to fill up your freezer. By doing this I had freezer full of meals before baby arrived. These days I do it, so when I know someone that could use help I have a meal ready and waiting in the freezer.

This easy dish is a winner! Perfect crispy edges with melty cheese and all the flavors of your favorite enchilada verde recipe. These enchiladas could be served with Spanish Rice, pica de gallo, and guacamole.

Tips & Variations

• Leftover Rotisserie Chicken is perfect in this recipe. Make sure you have at least 4 cups of shredded chicken, more is fine.
• Chicken – while we are on the topic of chicken you do not have to use chicken breasts, chicken thighs are delicious in this recipe.
• Cheese – what type of cheese you use is totally up to you I prefer to use Monterey Jack, however there are times that all I have is cheddar cheese so I use that. Pepper Jack Cheese, and Colby Cheese also work great in this recipe. Feel free to add more cheese, lots of cheese is not a bad thing.
• Variation: Add black beans or cannellini beans instead or in addition to the chicken. I often will add beans if I’m using leftover chicken and I do not have quite enough chicken, then I add beans.
• Freezing – Complete the recipe and cover with plastic wrap pressing the plastic wrap down into the top of the enchiladas, so no air can get to it. Then I cover it with a layer of aluminum foil. Make sure that it is securely wrapped and tight around the edges, this will help avoid any freezer burn or any freezer flavors getting into your food. Write on top of the aluminum foil the date, what’s in the casserole dish, and how to cook it. (thaw, remove plastic and foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes)
• Serving – I love to make my Spanish rice or cilantro lime rice (How to make cilantro lime rice = after you make white rice squeeze the juice of one lime into the rice add chopped fresh cilantro and using a fork fluff the rice.) and my Mexican corn bake to go with any Mexican food that I’m making. Of course you can always top your enchilada recipes with a dollop of sour cream, pico del gallo and guacamole !

What are your favorite easy meals to double and then freeze are? Some meals lend themselves better to freezing than others. Here are a few of my favorite meals for sharing.

Freezer Meals

• The Perfect Quiche
• Chicken Fontinella
• Hearty Homemade Ragu
• Breakfast Burritos

If you could take 2 seconds and give this recipe a star rating below I would greatly appreciate it! From my table to yours with love, Sheila