My Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Bake is decidedly a family favorite. It reliably bakes up rich, gooey, and delicious! Relatively easy to make, this meaty, cheesy, highly flavorful comfort food dish pairs well with a fresh, crisp salad for a complete meal.
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This recipe made an appearance on our dinner table quite regularly while our kids were growing up. I have always used a store-bought, traditional Salsa Verde which was consistently great! However, this last October we had a huge load of green tomatoes from our garden that we used to create our own Green Tomato Salsa Verde. It was easy to make and incredibly flavorful! After all those years of buying jarred Salsa, it was amazing to make the Salsa from scratch! You can view the recipe and process for making the Salsa Verde on our Grammie&Stache IGTV Channel, Episode 9. Trust me, whether jarred or fresh, you can’t go wrong either way.
I love a properly rolled Enchilada. They are amazing! By comparison, an Enchilada ‘Bake’ cuts out quite a bit of time, and keeps ingredients to a minimum. With a large family to feed, I only put that traditional sort of all-out tedious effort in for special events.
Perhaps someday I’ll share our authentic Mexican ‘2nd-Christmas’ Enchiladas with you all. They don’t have a thing to do with Christmas other than that’s when I serve them. ‘2nd Christmas’ became necessary when our adult kids began establishing their own homes and traditions. By assigning our old family recipe with this new tradition, we now have ‘2nd-Christmas Enchiladas.’ But of course, I’ve FAR digressed!
Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Bake is easy enough for a weeknight meal and a delicious dish to confidently share with friends. Leftovers are just as tasty, if not better than the day before. This Bake also makes a tried and true freezer meal entree. Wow, is right! This Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Bake is a gem of a recipe to have on hand.
Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Bake
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil Extra Virgin
- 12 whole Boneless/skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 teaspoon gound Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 large Sweet Onion chopped
- 6 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
- 1 large Poblano Pepper chopped
- 40 ounces Mild Salsa Verde Use store bought jarred Salsa Verde or see video for recipe to make your own. Salsa Verde IGTV Video
- 8 medium Fajita style Flour Tortillas
- 1 1/2 pounds Jack Cheese grated
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the Salt, Pepper, Granulated Garlic, and Smoked Paprika and season Chicken Thighs evenly on all sides. Add Olive Oil to a heavy bottom or cast iron pan. Pan fry Chicken Thighs until cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
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In the same pan, add onion, peppers, and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. While cooking, cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. When veggies are softened, add the chicken back to the pan and toss together. Remove from heat.
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Lightly coat a 3-quart baking pan with Salsa Verde.
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Layer Tortillas (4 per layer) on top of Salsa, tearing to cover any gaps completely, as pictured.
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Top Tortillas with half of the cooked chicken combo.
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Top Chicken layer with shredded Jack Cheese and spread half of the remaining Salsa. Repeat layers, topping the last layer with additional Jack Cheese.
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Place in oven on middle rack and bake until hot, bubbly, beginning to brown, and visibly puffy (puffy is essential!). Remove from the oven and let rest about five minutes.
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Serve with a small dollop of sour cream (if desired) and a fresh veggie side salad. Enjoy!
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