Small Batch Green Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

My love for enchiladas is pretty close in line with my endless love for nut butters. I hate to compare the two, but it’s true when I say I’d adore them any way they’re served.

During my recent trip to Santa Fe, my Mom and I enjoyed the most unique and flavorful enchiladas. Each restaurant presented them with the most beautiful creative and flavorful sauces ranging from smoky red chile, mole, Hatch green chile and the beloved salsa verde. The best part about these sauces is that they have plenty of uses; dip your chips, smother your eggs and coat your meats. SAUCE PARTY.

I’m guessing that most of you have tried red sauce based enchilada recipes, but have you ever had a GREEN enchilada? Being half Hispanic, my Mom has taught me that creating sauces from scratch is essential to flavorful and authentic enchiladas. Trust me, you won’t regret creating your enchilada sauce from scratch, especially when it’s as fresh and flavorful as these salsa verde chicken enchiladas.

But wait, aren’t enchiladas LOADED with cheese and a little greasy? Unfortunately yes. However making them at home gives you the opportunity to make a healthy, hearty enchilada meal that will have your friends and family absolutely raving and licking their plates clean. As you know, comfort food makeovers are kind of my thing.

So, I give you my SUPER green salsa verde chicken enchiladas. They’re made with lean chicken tenders (or chicken breasts), homemade INCREDIBLE fresh salsa verde sauce, and a little bit of mexican cheese.

Lip smacking good.

DELIRIOUSLY DELICIOUS.

Nom nom nom nom nom nom.

Just a few words to describe these.

Making your own sauce may seem a little daunting, but trust me, it’s just like making fresh salsa. First you roast all the peppers are garlic up, then blend away. Traditionally salsa verde is made with sour cream, but I opted for greek yogurt for higher protein and all those tummy healthy probiotics.

We love serving these glorious enchiladas with rice and refried beans, or sometimes just chips and guac. However you serve them, they’ll be good.

If you make this recipe, be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram, or leave a comment below letting me know how you liked them. xoxo!

If you liked this recipe, you might also like my other enchilada inspired recipes:

Slow Cooker Healthy Chicken Chile Verde

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Chickpea Chili

Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchilada Skillet

Skinny Refried Bean & Chicken Enchiladas

Layered BBQ Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole

Black Bean, Corn & Quinoa Enchilada Bake

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Small Batch Green Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

5 from 2 votes

byby :Monique of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Leave A Review Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

ServesServes 4 enchiladas

Time for a healthy comfort food makeover! Beautiful super green salsa verde chicken enchiladas that will have you licking your plate clean. These are small batch so they're perfect for a few people, or double the recipe for a crowd!

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and cut in half
• 2 poblano peppers, stems and seeds removed
• 1 jalapeño, stems and seeds removed
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast tenders
• salt and pepper
• 1 medium bunch of cilantro, stems removed
• 1/2 cup plain low fat greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 red cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 cup shredded mexican cheese blend, divided
• 4 - 8 inch whole wheat, low carb, or corn* tortillas
• For garnish: avocado, diced tomato, greek yogurt, hot sauce

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Place tomatillos cut side down, poblanos, jalapeño and unpeeled garlic cloves on the sheet and roast for 8-10 minutes until the poblanos have charred on the top. The tomatillos will seem soupy and get juicy, but that’s the way we want them. Set the baking sheet aside to cool while you prep/cook the chicken.
• Reduce heat in oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a small casserole pan or baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place chicken on top. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. 
• Set aside for 5 minutes to cool, then shred chicken with two forks and transfer to a medium bowl. Keep heat in oven.
• While the chicken is cooking, you can finish the sauce. First peel the garlic cloves. Then place the roasted tomatillos (including their juices), poblanos, jalapeños and peeled garlic in a blender. Make sure you get all the juice that the tomatillos have released on the baking sheet. 
• Next add in cilantro, greek yogurt, salt, cumin and oregano and red cayenne pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
• Add one cup of the tomatillo sauce plus 1/2 cup of cheese to the bowl with the cooked shredded chicken. Set aside until ready to assemble enchiladas.
• Lightly grease a small casserole dish or a 9x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil. Pour about 1/4 cup of tomatillo sauce on the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly.
• Fill each tortilla with 1/4 of chicken mixture and then roll up and place seam side down in prepared baking pan. Pour remaining tomatillo sauce on top and then sprinkle remaining cheese on the top.
• Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and edges begin to turn slightly golden brown. Garnish enchiladas with whatever you’d like such as avocado, greek yogurt, hot sauce, etc. Serve with rice and beans. Makes 4 servings; 1 enchilada each.

Recipe Notes

Recipe can be doubled to serve 8. Just double the recipe & bake in a 9x13 inch pan!

*To make gluten free: If you’d like you can make this recipe gluten free by using corn tortillas. You’ll have to use 6-8 corn tortillas instead of 4. I would dip the corn tortillas in the tomatillos sauce before rolling; this prevents the corn tortillas from breaking.

Nutrition information above is based on using whole wheat tortillas. If you'd like you can use low carb tortillas. Here is the nutrition for 1 enchilada using a low carb tortilla: 411 calories | 14.8g fat | 31g carb | 15.8g fiber | 5.3g sugar | 38.4g protein

Nutrition

Serving: 1enchiladaCalories: 421calCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 37.4gFat: 14.8gFiber: 5.8gSugar: 7.3g