Mexican recipe

Enchiladas Verdes

Name: Enchiladas Verdes
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexican cuisine
Ingredients: 900 g tomatillos, husked and rinsed; 2 serrano chiles; 2 garlic cloves; 70 g white onion for salsa; 25 g cilantro leaves; 8 g fine salt; 20 ml neutral oil for salsa; 18 corn tortillas; 120 ml neutral oil for softening tortillas; 500 g cooked chicken, shredded; 180 g Mexican crema; 180 g queso fresco, crumbled; 100 g white onion, thinly sliced for serving

Soft corn tortillas rolled around shredded chicken, bathed in a bright cooked tomatillo-serrano salsa and finished with crema, queso fresco and onion.

Central Mexico

Prep: 35 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 1 hr 10 min
Servings: 6

Chicken enchiladas verdes with crema, queso fresco and onion — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by WotancitoSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

900 g
tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2
serrano chiles
2
garlic cloves
70 g
white onion for salsa
25 g
cilantro leaves
8 g
fine salt
20 ml
neutral oil for salsa
18
corn tortillas
120 ml
neutral oil for softening tortillas
500 g
cooked chicken, shredded
180 g
Mexican crema
180 g
queso fresco, crumbled
100 g
white onion, thinly sliced for serving

Method

01
Simmer the tomatillos
Cover the tomatillos, serranos and garlic with water and simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatillos turn dull green and soften without collapsing.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Blend the salsa verde
Blend the drained tomatillos, serranos and garlic with the salsa onion, cilantro and half the salt until smooth but still vivid green.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Cook the green salsa
Heat the salsa oil in a saucepan, pour in the puree and simmer for 6 minutes until slightly darker and thick enough to coat a spoon.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Season the chicken
Toss the shredded chicken with a small ladle of warm salsa and the remaining salt so the filling stays moist.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Soften the tortillas in oil
Heat the tortilla oil over medium heat and pass each tortilla through it for about 15 seconds per side, just until flexible; drain well.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Fill and roll
Put a strip of chicken down each softened tortilla, roll snugly and arrange seam-side down in a warm serving dish.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Reheat the salsa
Bring the salsa back to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes so it is piping hot when it meets the tortillas.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Bathe the enchiladas
Pour the hot salsa generously over the rolled tortillas, coating the tops and letting some run underneath.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
09
Finish with cool toppings
Drizzle with crema, scatter queso fresco and sliced onion over the hot enchiladas and serve immediately.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Keep the frying oil steadily hot and work in small batches; tortillas and chile batter should sizzle immediately without darkening before the centre is ready.
Drain fried food on a rack rather than stacking it; trapped steam softens a crisp crust quickly.

Common mistakes

Adding too much food at once crashes the oil temperature and gives greasy, pale coating.
Covering hot fried food traps steam and removes the crisp texture you worked to build.

Substitutions

A neutral high-heat oil such as canola, peanut or refined sunflower oil can be used for frying.
When a recipe calls for briefly softening corn tortillas in oil, warming them on a comal is a lighter alternative; expect a less silky, slightly drier fold.

Storage

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed until piping hot throughout.

Cultural context

Enchiladas verdes are a familiar central-Mexican comfort food built around corn tortillas and tart tomatillo salsa; the same family of green sauces appears across many everyday dishes.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Enchiladas verdes con pollo — Photograph by Wotancito; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Mexican recipes

Enchiladas Verdes

Ingredients

Method

Simmer the tomatillos

Blend the salsa verde

Cook the green salsa

Season the chicken

Soften the tortillas in oil

Fill and roll

Reheat the salsa

Bathe the enchiladas

Finish with cool toppings

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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