Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
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Light and fresh chicken enchiladas filled with tender, smoky chicken and cheddar cheese in a tangy tomatillo sauce.
My whole family loves these chicken enchiladas. They take a bit of time to make, but you can make the sauce and filling ahead of time, then assemble and bake the enchiladas another time for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
Most chicken enchilada recipes call for dark meat because it stays moist. This is important because the chicken is cooked twice: once in preparing the filling and then again in heating the assembled dish. However, I like to use chicken tenderloins; they’re much easier to prep than dark meat and, unlike boneless breasts, they stay tender even if slightly overcooked. Plus, tenderloins are usually sold in convenient one-pound packs, which is exactly how much you’ll need.
The sauce for this dish is made with tomatillos. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they look like small green tomatoes covered by a papery husk. They’re related to tomatoes but have a distinctive tart flavor. (Note that they are not the same as green tomatoes, which are simply unripe tomatoes.) You can find them in most grocery stores.
Finally, this recipe calls for three jalapeño peppers, which I know seems like a lot. Don’t worry, as long as you remove the fiery ribs and seeds, the enchiladas won’t be spicy. When you taste the sauce on its own, it will have a little kick but once you put the dish together it will be mild enough even for young children. If you’d like more heat, throw in some of the seeds. (Always wear gloves and/or wash your hands very well after working with jalapeños, and keep your hands away from your eyes!)
How to make chicken enchiladas
Begin by making the tomatillo sauce. Cook the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft (no need to chop them too finely since it all gets puréed in the end).
Add the tomatillos, jalapeños, sugar, salt, cumin and 1/3 cup water.
Simmer until the tomatillos are soft.
Then, transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until completely smooth. Set the sauce aside and start the filling.
Season the chicken with the cumin, smoked paprika and salt.
Sauté the chicken in olive oil until just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side, then set aside to cool.
Once cool, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Tenderloins all have a tough tendon running through them; just remove it.
In the same pan that you cooked the chicken in, cook the onions until soft.
Remove the pan from the heat, then add the shredded chicken along with the cilantro and shredded cheese.
That’s your filling.
You can make the dish ahead of time up to this point.
To assemble the enchiladas, begin by smearing 3/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Next, brush each tortilla on both sides with oil.
Stack them on a plate and microwave until hot and steamy, about 2 minutes. This makes them pliable; if you skip this step, they’ll shred to pieces when you roll them.
Spoon the filling down the middle of each tortilla.
Then roll tightly with your hands.
Place the enchiladas side by side, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over top.
Spread the sauce evenly over the tortillas, then sprinkle with more grated cheese.
Bake until sauce is hot and bubbling and cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes.
Sprinkle the enchiladas with smoked paprika — it makes them look pretty but also adds more delicious smoky flavor.
Serve immediately with shredded lettuce, sour cream, sliced avocado, and lime wedges. Enjoy!
Note: My starting point for this recipe was a similar version in Cook’s Illustrated. I made a lot of changes, but the tomatillo sauce is very similar to the original recipe.
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Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
Light and fresh chicken enchiladas filled with tender, smoky chicken and cheddar cheese in a tangy tomatillo sauce.
Ingredients
For Tomatillo Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 medium cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the side of a chef's knife
- ¾ pound tomatillos, husks and stems removed, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 jalapeño chiles, seeded and roughly chopped (see note)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
For the Filling
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
For the Tortillas and Toppings
- 11 6-inch corn tortillas
- 2½ tablespoons olive oil
- 3 ounces (¾ cup) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Smoked paprika
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 small heart of romaine lettuce (or 5-6 leaves), shredded
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 lime, sliced
Instructions
For the Tomatillo Sauce
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatillos, jalapeños, sugar, salt, cumin and ⅓ cup water; bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until tomatillos are softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until completely smooth. Set aside.
For the Filling
- Place the chicken tenderloins in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the cumin, smoked paprika and salt. Toss with tongs until the chicken is evenly coated with the spice blend.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken and cook until just done, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a plate to cool. Do not rinse the pan. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces. (All tenderloins have a tough tendon running through them; just remove it.) Add the shredded chicken to the pan with the onions, along with the chopped cilantro and shredded cheese.
To Assemble
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spread ¾ cup of the tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Pour the oil into a small bowl or ramekin. Using a pastry brush (or your hands), brush both sides of each tortilla with oil, then stack them on a plate and microwave until hot and steamy, 1½ - 2 minutes. This makes them pliable.
- Spoon about ⅓ cup of the filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place side by side in the baking dish, seam side down.
- Pour the remaining chili sauce over the top, and use the back of a spoon to spread evenly over each tortilla. Sprinkle the cheese down the center of the enchiladas. Bake until hot and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle the smoked paprika down the center of the enchiladas and serve immediately with sour cream, lettuce, avocado and lime wedges. (The nutritional information below does not include the sour cream, romaine lettuce or avocado used to top the enchiladas.)
- Note: If you touch the seeds of the jalapeño pepper, just be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked enchiladas can be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost them in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then reheat, covered in foil, in a 325°F oven until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: 2 3/4 enchiladas
- Calories: 990
- Fat: 66g
- Saturated fat: 21g
- Unsaturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 63g
- Sugar: 9g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 40g
- Sodium: 1058mg
- Cholesterol: 124mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Very delicious. A 10 out of 10.
I am a great grandma and all 5 generations loved it.
Easy to make.
First time using tomatillos. Will continue to use.
Hi Jenn,
I have made your yummy chicken enchiladas before for a group of 4, but am now going to make them for a party of 8. So (1) can I just double the recipe with no adjustments and (2) can I make the filling the day before?
Thanks again for yet another fabulous recipe!
Hi Hannah, Yes and yes (and glad you like the recipes)! 🙂
Hi. Love the recipe and have made several times. Is it possible to prepare chicken in slow cooker? I use boneless/skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. Thanks.
Hi Nancy, so glad you like this! I do think you could get away with cooking the thighs in a slow cooker. I’d sauté the onions before adding them. Hope that helps!
Question about the salt content – The nutritional info says 2070 mg sodium per serving. This seems very high. Is this correct?
I haven’t made these yet, I’m sure like all the recipes on this site they will be great, just wondering about the salt content.
Hi Sarah, I just plugged all of the numbers in again and interestingly, the sodium comes up lower at 1058 mg. Still high, but definitely lower than 2070 mg. I am not sure what accounts for the difference, but the software I use is constantly updating its information/algorithms. I’m going to update the information on the website. Hope you enjoy if you make this!
Thank you taking the trouble to check this. In the meantime, I made this dish and it is FANTASTIC! Well worth the time. Not hard to make, but a few steps. So I made the sauce and filling in the morning, then I reheated slightly and assembled everything to bake right before dinner. I actually left out the added salt (because my husband needs low sodium). We didn’t miss the salt. There are lots of delicious flavors from the spices without the salt. We had leftover and I reheated in the oven 325 degrees, covered with foil. Good leftovers.
So glad it came out nicely — thanks for taking the time to let me know!
I’m making the enchiladas this evening and I know I’ll have leftovers as there are only two people eating this. What would be the best way to heat the leftovers?
Hi Diane, I’d use the microwave, or you can heat them, covered, in the oven at 325 until warmed through. Hope you enjoy!
Ohhh, yet another marvelous recipe from our wonderful Jenn! Thank you so much, Jenn, for introducing me to tomatillos! I’d always wondered how they were used whenever I passed by them in the produce section. What a delight these unique small gems are–you make it so easy to make a wonderful hand-crafted sauce from them. I can never go back to store-bought again! . . .
Hi Jenn, I hosted my book club last night and delighted their taste buds with your Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce and the Beef Enchiladas with rice and a Baja Salad. The best compliment is when there is no food left at the end of the night! Thank you so much for these wonderful recipes. I followed the recipes exactly and the flavors were wonderful, spices balanced perfectly. Your recipe for Mexican Lime-Coconut Wedding Cookies were enjoyed by all as the end of dinner treat. Yum! I will need to double the recipe next time.
I threw caution to the wind in making recipes I had not made before when hosting a large group, but all was wonderful!
Thank you!
Pam P
So glad everything turned out well!
Awful. Almost inedible. I ate it out of spite, but I would never make it again.
Probably just user error. Not sure how you could mess them up🤔
Another delicious recipe. Thanks alot!
Jenn,
Wow! So awesome – everyone loved these. Great tip on prepping the tortillas, they didn’t split open at all. Flavors were so well balanced: sweet, spicy, smoky, acidic. I was secretly hoping for leftovers but was ‘sadly’ disappointed! (Actually I was left with about 1 ½ C of filling left over; not sure how, I used 1/3C in each of 11 tortillas. Lunch bowl for tomorrow).
Daryl
Fabulous recipe! I, like you, prefer chicken tenderloins in most chicken dishes, but removing the tendon is tedious and I usually destroy the tenderloin in the process. Found a great tip to remove ..Grab tip of tenderloin with needle-nosed pliers. Place tendon between a fork’s prongs and pull down. The tendon pulls right out, leaving the tenderloin basically untouched. Works wonders!
Thanks!
Really delicious, I added a little bit of heavy cream and cooked the Salsa Verde a bit to make it a little more savory. I love how versatile this recipe is.
Hi! I have shredded chicken thighs which I slow cooked into submission. Was wondering if I would use it here and what modifications you would recommend to make it work.
Thank you!
Hi Shannon, Yes, I think you could use that chicken if you toss it thoroughly with the cumin, smoked paprika, and salt called for in the recipe. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I also used this method and it turned out awesome.
Really enjoyed it, but we only had 1 jalapeño. Would have preferred a little spicier. We also added some leftover black beans, more for nutrition.
I love your recipes as is, but for those in need of a time saver, a pouch of Frontera green enchilada sauce works in a pinch!
Cant wait to bake this dish! Never made tomatillo sauce. Could you please tell me the corn side dish next to the finished tortillas,looks so good.
Hi Chris, that’s not an actual recipe of mine — it’s just a combo of corn, red pepper, black beans, and cilantro. I have a black bean salad in my second cookbook that would go nicely with these. If you’d like the salad and don’t own the cookbook, let me know and I’ll email it to you. This would also pair well with the Mexican Rice. 🙂
Hi, I love your recipes! You said, “I have a black bean salad in my second cookbook that would go nicely with these,” but did you mean your first cookbook? Also, do you think your Black Bean Salad with Corn, Avocado & Lime Vinaigrette salad recipe from this blog would go nicely with these? And my last question… do you think I could sub pinto beans for the chicken in these enchiladas?
Hi Heather, Yes that’s what I meant! The black bean salad on the site would work beautifully too. I’ve never tried making these vegetarian, but I think pinto beans would be a good substitute for the chicken.
Thank you ☺️
Can I use store bought salsa verde ? First ingredient is tomatillos.
I think it would be better with the fresh, but you could probably get away with it.
UPDATE: used store bought – came out great. Though I am sure your fresh sauce is much better. I just don’t have access to tomatillos and don’t have time.
So glad it came out well with it — thanks for taking the time to follow up!
So good! Made it and took to my mom and sister’s. Well worth the steps. I’ll make again but use more jalapeños (I only used one because of their aversion to heat).
You lost me at microwave
Made this dish tonight, as a different take on the usual chicken enchiladas I usually make with red sauce. We loved the tomatillo sauce; just wished there was more!
Thanks Jen, for another delicious meal. I NEVER worry about trying a new recipe of yours for company. ALWAYS a hit!