Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas in 30 minutes? Yes, it’s possible and this recipe is going to be a family favorite in no time at all.
Gooey cheese, spicy green chile, and hearty chunks of chicken come together to make this easy dinner.
This simple recipe for Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas is cheesy, spicy, and well-loved by my family.
I’ve been making 30-Minute “casserole style” Enchiladas for so long, I can’t recall the last time I rolled or stacked a batch of enchiladas in a more traditional recipe.
You can have these Green Chile Enchiladas on the table in less time than it would take to pick up take-out. I promise they’ll taste better than anything you can buy.
How To Make Enchiladas
I alternate making enchiladas with red chile or green chile enchilada sauce, depending on my mood as I’m cooking most of the time. However, I can’t deny that I choose green chile at least 90% of the time.
One of my boys prefers red chile though, so every so often a batch of red enchiladas will make it’s way to our table.
You can also make them “Christmas-style” – and use a combination of both sauces for the layers, similar to the way the flavors are combined in this Mexican Lasagna.
We are rarely patient enough to wait for a pan of enchiladas to cool enough to slice pretty, so we typically eat our enchiladas with a pile of crunchy tortilla chips as a hot and cheesy “dip.”
If your preference is sliceable enchiladas, let them cool 15-20 minutes prior to serving. If you haven’t eaten a plate of gooey enchiladas alongside a pile of crunchy chips, then you are missing out.
Try it once and I’m willing to bet you’ll never choose “sliceable” enchiladas again.
Easy Chicken Enchiladas
My favorite tips for these Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are illustrated in this video. I slice the tortillas into wedges before layering them into the dish.
This makes each serving easier to eat, with a great balance of flavors and textures in each bite, and it prevents any giant chunks of tortilla from making their way to your fork.
For an awesome slow-cooker variation on an enchilada dinner, check out this Crock Pot Mexican Casserole. All the southwestern flavors we love in a simple slow cooker dinner.
Enchilada Recipes
For more great enchilada recipes, save these recipes for Breakfast Enchiladas and Cheesy Chicken White Bean Enchiladas.
Check out these Steak Fajita Enchiladas by Aggie’s Kitchen and our BBQ Chicken Enchiladas too.
This Ground Turkey (low carb) Enchilada Casserole by Kalyn’s Kitchen and these Enchiladas Suizas by A Zesty Bite also look delicious.
My kids love it when I make these Pulled Pork Red Chile Enchiladas when I use leftover pulled pork to make this recipe.
These enchiladas can be made in almost any 1 1/2 quart oven safe dish. The smaller and taller the dish, the longer the enchiladas will take to bake.
A larger (9×13 style) dish will work as well, just watch the time more closely and don’t overcook the shallower enchiladas.
Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack, Cheddar, or Mexican blend shredded cheeses all work well in enchiladas. I tend to use whichever varieties I have on hand. A blend of Pepper Jack and Cheddar is my favorite combination.
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, 1/2 cup of chile sauce, cumin, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add the chicken, beans, and green chile. Stir to combine.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the green chile sauce into the bottom of a 9-inch baking dish. Place a layer of tortillas wedges across the green chile sauce and then scoop about 1/2 of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese.
- Layer with tortillas, top with the remaining chicken mixture and sprinkle with another 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese. Layer once more with tortillas and pour the remaining 1 1/4 cup of chile sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle generously with the remaining 2-3 cups of cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are bubbling. Remove from the oven and scoop piping hot onto plates or let cool for 15-20 minutes for a prettier slice of enchiladas. Serve with tortillas chips.
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups red or green chile sauce homemade or store-bought, divided
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or chopped bite-size
- 1 14- ounce can pinto or black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 4- ounce can chopped green chile or 1/2 cup roasted and chopped green chile frozen is fine
- 5 white corn tortillas cut into 6 pie-shaped wedges
- 5-6 cups shredded cheese see cook’s note, divided
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, 1/2 cup of chile sauce, cumin, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add the chicken, beans, and green chile. Stir to combine.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of the green chile sauce into the bottom of a 9-inch baking dish. Place a layer of tortillas wedges across the green chile sauce and then scoop about 1/2 of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese.
- Layer with tortillas, top with the remaining chicken mixture, and sprinkle with another 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese. Layer once more with tortillas and pour the remaining 1 1/4 cup of chile sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle generously with the remaining 2-3 cups of cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are bubbling. Remove from the oven and scoop piping hot onto plates or let cool for 15-20 minutes for a prettier slice of enchiladas. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 1/28/16 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/20/21}
Dzoli says
Great comforting dish.Looks so tasty
[email protected] says
This looks really good, cheesy and strong flavors. I love it. I think it will be very nice to serve with pasta or toasted bread. 🙂
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says
Stopping by to say hi – love your snapchat stories always, and this chicken enchilada recipe looks SO good, definitely adding it to my meal plan list!!
J Tiedemann says
What is the different in the red vs. green chile.. is one more hot? I like mild,.. any suggestions?
Mary says
The heat can vary for each chile. Sometimes the red is more mild and other times the green. When you're in a restaurant, you can usually ask the server which chile is hotter that day. If you purchase a canned or frozen chile, the heat level will be marked. As long as you purchase a "mild" variety, you shouldn't have any trouble with it.
Lynn says
What is the link to nutritional information on your recipes?
Thank you.
sue | the view from great island says
The idea of eating enchiladas with chips in inspired! Love love love this dish 🙂
jude says
Your write up mentions a video……….I can’t find it………..HELP
Mary says
It’s at the top of this page. Enjoy!
Mike from Chili Pepper Madness says
Chicken enchiladas are my favorite, especially with green chile sauce. I like mine extra spicy. And lots of cheese!
Martha says
Where do you buy green chili sauce? I live in South Carolina and can’t get fresh green chili, so I order it from one of the farms in Hatch New Mexico. Yummm!
Mary says
Hatch chile is my FAVORITE. You’re already ordering the best there is. 🙂
Zara Pyatt says
Made it – perfect combination of flavors. Yum recipe. I saw this yesterday and decided to make for dinner last night. Already had enchilada sauce and cheese (used pepper jack and mexican blend). I like using both red and green together. It was a huge hit, We couldn’t stop eating it. And yes, we ate it with chips, is there another way??!! I made mine without the chicken (trying for more meatless dishes) Perfect recipe. I added a little more green chiles, sour cream and black beans. But used all the same ingredients, minus chicken. keeper for sure. As a transplanted Arizona girl, enjoyed it.
Eva says
Thank You so much for this recipie !! We had family over , I made this Amazingly, Yummy stuff we ate it as a dip. Thank you again !!
Dana says
This looks amazing. I will be making this weekend. However, I have a question in regards to your chicken preference. I want to try it with thighs. If so, do you suggest boneless or skinless? Also, do you boil the chicken before or cook overnight in a crock pot?
I’ve made enchiladas lots of time, but use chicken breast or ground meat.
I love enchiladas. 🙂
Dana says
This looks amazing. I will be making this weekend. However, I have a question in regards to your chicken preference. I want to try it with thighs. If so, do you suggest boneless or skinless? Also, do you boil the chicken before or cook overnight in a crock pot?
I’ve made enchiladas lots of time, but use chicken breast or ground meat.
I love enchiladas. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Mary says
The enchiladas can be made with any kind of cooked chicken. Boiled, crock-pot, rotisserie, leftover grilled chicken, basically anything goes, so pick whichever chicken is easiest for you. For me, I typically either toss boneless skinless thighs in the crockpot or I buy a rotisserie chicken. Enjoy!
Laura says
Hi! Can I use flour tortillas instead?
Mary Younkin says
Sure thing, Laura. It will work with whichever tortillas you like best for enchiladas.
jason says
great recipe
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad you like the enchiladas, Jason!
Nicole says
So, so good! I mixed red and green enchilada sauce and it was amazing!
Mary Younkin says
I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the enchiladas, Nicole!
Charlene says
my husband cannot eat beans of any type will this work with out them consistency wise?
Mary Younkin says
Absolutely, Charlene. It will work nicely without the beans.
Loretta says
Made this last night. You are correct about it is a lot easier than rolling tortillas. It was perfect and everyone loved it. I should have watched the video before I made it. I ended up using more tortillas, but I don’t think it mattered. Also using 9 x 9 Aluminum pan I agree with another post that it took longer to heat than 25 minutes. Actual time was 40 minutes. Really good recipe, can’t wait to make it for a large group.
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the enchiladas, Loretta!
AntKathy says
I made these exactly as written and ran into a few problems. When layered in a 9X9 casserole dish, the dish is filled to the very, very top. Surprisingly, it did not overflow — score a point for that. The biggest problem with the pan was that it took much, much longer to cook than 20 minutes. Yes, my oven temperature is correct, and yes I preheated it. I have no idea why it took so long to cook. As it was, part of it was hot, and part of it was lukewarm. A problem for me since I prefer piping hot food. I did opt to wait for the sliceable style casserole, but some servings were still very hot while some were not. The other problem I had was that the tortillas were mushy. This may be the way the recipe is meant to be especially if you are going to eat it with chips, but I found it yucky.
However, everyone else in the family absolutely loved this dish, so five points for that minus one point for the problems I encountered. My son and I did not find this spicy (heat) at all, but my daughter felt it was very spicy (heat). She is more sensitive to chiles and peppers. The flavor was excellent and can stand on its own without spicy heat, but if you like chiles and peppers you might want to add diced jalapenos or something hotter to the dish.
I will make this again because the family liked it but would not make it again for myself. Since the family liked it, I’d consider it a win. Next time I’ll be prepared for a longer cooking time and maybe lightly fry the tortillas like traditional enchiladas to give it more body. However, if you want to serve it with chips as recommended, the soggy tortillas are fine.
Mary Younkin says
I’ll have to watch the time more closely next time I make this to double-check the cooking time, Kathy. I know all ovens are different, but that’s a pretty significant difference. I bake it until it is good and hot – bubbling all around the edges and hot throughout. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The tortillas definitely soften in this casserole. Frying them will change that a bit, but like you said, it’s immensely dippable this way and we love it.
Keri says
Elevation can change cook times too.
Martin D. says
This was quick and really good! I have always rolled my enchiladas so I was a bit skeptic about the whole cutting the tortillas into wedges thing. The turned out amazing.
Martin
Mary Younkin says
I felt the same way the first time I tried it. Now, I’ll never go back. I’m so glad that you like the enchiladas, Martin!
Dee says
I used 1/2 green chilies and 1/2 jalapeños..we like ours a bit zippy.
Also I used a lot more tortillas, made it more casserole like.
We love this recipe!
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you love the recipe.
Tiffany says
One of our favorites! Such a great tasting and simple recipe. Thank you!
Tiffany
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you liked the enchiladas, Tiffany!
DICK BIRKENHAUER says
awesome ! don’t eat if you’re on a diet, you can’t stop till it’s gone !!
Mary Younkin says
hahaha, I’m so glad you like the enchiladas, Dick!
connie Dunfield says
I’m making this one for my Gluten Free family members! Thanks
Mary Younkin says
I hope you love it, Connie!
T Browne says
Born and raised in Arizona, and this is totally not authentic… Green chili chicken enchiladas are made with flour tortillas and DO NOT have beans of any kind in them. Nor do they have dried/powdered onion. Sorry, this is just gross in my opinion.
Mary Younkin says
Well, to each their own, but “authentic” in my experience growing up in NM and AZ has rarely been made with flour tortillas. However, I’ve had delicious enchiladas made with flour tortillas, so that works too. (And for what it’s worth, you’ll find many enchiladas made with each kind of tortilla here on the website.) Lastly, I didn’t use the word authentic anywhere in this recipe and I don’t usually do that since food is all a matter of opinion. Have a great day and definitely make enchiladas however makes YOU happiest.
Mary Walker says
What if you dont have things for the chili sauce?
Mary Younkin says
Hi Mary, I’m not sure what you’re asking. I just buy the enchilada sauce at the store if I’m not making it myself.
Lora A Yoder says
Yum!! I’m wondering about leaving the tortillas out completely & just serve as a dip w/chips!?
Mary Younkin says
You can definitely do that, however, the tortillas cook down and thicken it nicely. We almost always serve it as a dip with chips, exactly as written. It will be pretty thin without the tortillas in it. Still really tasty though.
Rachel says
Excellent recipe! Thank you!
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you like the enchiladas!