Green chile enchiladas! These are made with corn tortillas stuffed with roasted green chiles and jack cheese, then smothered with roasted tomatillo salsa verde. Great as a make-ahead meal or freezer meal.
If you were to ask me what my favorite food was in the whole world, I would most likely respond, enchiladas!
Not the exotic, wonderfully complex authentic enchiladas from Mexico, but the cheesy American casserole version my mom made for us growing up.
Just smelling the tortillas being lightly fried (to soften them so they roll up easily), and my tummy will leap for joy knowing that enchiladas will be ready shortly. We always make enough for leftovers because as my father will happily tell you, there is nothing better than my mom’s enchiladas re-heated for breakfast.
These Green Chile Enchiladas are a riff on my mom’s cheesy enchiladas. Instead of a tomato sauce we are using a tomatillo salsa verde sauce, and we stuffing the enchiladas with roasted green chiles and jack cheese.
The Best Chiles for Enchiladas
To make these green chile enchiladas of course you’ll want to start with some good green chiles. I like to use fresh Anaheim green chiles, but you could easily use Hatch green chiles, or even poblanos if you want a spicier enchilada. Anaheims and Hatch chiles tend to be milder than poblanos.
When working with fresh green chiles, you need to roast them first (either over a gas burner or under the broiler), to blacken the outer tough peel, then remove the charred bits to reveal the roasted chiles.
If you don’t have access to fresh green chiles, you can use canned, but note that the flavor of freshly roasted chiles is far superior to canned.
What Are Tomatillos?
For these enchiladas, I’m also making a homemade tomatillo salsa verde, by roasting and puréeing fresh tomatillos. Have you ever cooked with tomatillos? They have papery husks around them, and some people confuse them with green tomatoes but the taste is quite different.
How to Make Green Chile Enchiladas
To put the enchiladas together, it’s just a matter of frying the tortillas in a little oil and rolling them up with cheese and chiles. Then, you assemble them in a casserole dish, cover them with sauce and bake them until the cheese melts.
Short on time?
Of course the enchiladas will taste best with roasted fresh chiles and homemade salsa. But if you are running short of time, you can easily use prepared tomatillo salsa (3 cups) instead of making your own, and/or use prepared canned whole Anaheim green chiles.
Make ahead Instructions
You can easily make the tomatillo salsa verde ahead of time, it will store well in the fridge for several weeks.
You can also roast chiles ahead of time. I like to buy chiles in season (late summer) and roast them all at once. If you freeze them with the blackened charred peel still on, the chiles will continue to absorb the roasted flavor, and when you defrost them, the blackened peel will slip right off.
You can assemble the enchiladas (without the sauce) a day or two ahead, then pour the sauce over them and sprinkle with cheese to bake.
How to Store and Reheat Enchiladas
Once cooked, the enchiladas will keep in the fridge for up to four days, or you can portion them out and freeze them for up to three months. Take some enchiladas to work and reheat them in the microwave. Or reheat them and top with a fried egg for breakfast.
If you’re looking for a freezer meal, this is a great one to double, cook, freeze, and reheat. Let the whole pan cool to room temp. Transfer them to a freezer safe container. When ready to eat, reheat them in a microwave or transfer them to a baking dish, covered in aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F until heated through.
HERE ARE 5 MORE WAYS TO LOVE MEXICAN FOOD
- Red Chili Chicken Enchiladas
- Texas Stacked Enchiladas with Corn and Black Beans
- Turkey Black Bean Enchiladas
- Easy Chicken Skillet Enchiladas
- Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
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