Green Enchiladas
Craving some hearty Mexican-inspired fare? Use leftover pulled pork, green enchilada sauce, and a blend of cheeses to make these quick and easy green enchiladas. This recipe makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner for the whole family.
This post has been updated for photos and content since its original publication in 2017.
If Taco Tuesday is your favorite night of the week, you’ll love these cheesy green enchiladas for any other evening. They have a distinctive corn flavor and subtle heat, but you can make them spicier or spice-free according to your tastes. These enchiladas are rich, hearty, and so delicious.
Table of Contents
- 1 What are green enchiladas?
- 2 Why you’ll love this recipe:
- 3 Ingredients for making green enchiladas:
- 4 How to assemble pulled pork enchiladas
- 5 What’s the best enchilada sauce for green enchiladas?
- 6 Pro-Tips
- 7 FAQ’s
- 8 Variations and Swaps
- 9 What are the best garnishes for green enchiladas?
- 10 What goes with the green enchilada recipe?
- 11 Green Enchiladas
What are green enchiladas?
Green enchiladas are a Mexican-style casserole made with corn tortillas wrapped around a meaty filling with cheese and verde enchilada sauce (green) instead of a red sauce.
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They often have green chiles and are commonly made with shredded chicken or other pulled meat like pork or beef. The enchiladas are arranged in a casserole dish and baked with extra enchilada sauce or salsa verde and plenty of cheese.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It’s super cheesy with a light creaminess that will make you want another bite.
- A great way to use leftover meat such as pulled pork or rotisserie chicken.
- Assembly is quick and easy.
- Green enchiladas are gluten-free (thanks to corn tortillas)
- Can be made in advance.
- The recipe can be doubled.
Ingredients for making green enchiladas:
- Packaged Corn Tortillas -you can also use flour tortillas if you prefer, but they won’t be gluten free.
- Meaty filling of choice – we like this green chile pulled pork recipe.
- Cheese – we like cheddar and Monterey Jack (or cheddar jack).
- Green Enchilada Sauce
Preparing these pork enchiladas verde is one of its major selling points. They’re so easy to make.
It’s just an assembly line process; if you’ve already got the ingredients, it won’t take 15 minutes to make.
How to assemble pulled pork enchiladas
- Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Spread a layer of the green enchilada sauce at the bottom of the baking dish.
- Add grated cheese to the corn tortillas and top with leftover pulled pork and more enchilada sauce.
- Roll the corn tortilla over the filling into a cylinder and transfer to the baking dish. Place seam side down to prevent the enchiladas from opening up.
- Top the tortillas with green enchilada sauce and extra cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the filling is heated.
What’s the best enchilada sauce for green enchiladas?
I love this homemade green enchilada sauce made with a combination of tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cilantro, and lime.
If you don’t have time to make your own, feel free to use a store-bought enchilada sauce or your favorite salsa verde.
If you are using salsa verde, you can make it creamier by running the sauce through a blender. It makes it more spreadable and less chunky. You can pour it into a bowl and taste it for seasoning before assembling the casserole – that way; you can make any adjustments beforehand.
Pro-Tips
Corn tortillas are notoriously prone to cracking and tearing.
To make them more pliable, lightly brush them with corn or olive oil and warm the tortillas in a 350° oven for 3-5 minutes. This makes them much easier to roll around the green enchiladas without breaking, tearing, or falling apart.
FAQ’s
Yes. Assemble the enchiladas ahead of time and keep them wrapped and refrigerated. Remove them from the refrigerator about half an hour before baking so they can come to room temperature. Otherwise, they’ll take a few minutes longer to cook (5-10).
You can use meat from a rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast to make green chicken enchiladas or use cooked ground beef with onions and mixed with enchilada sauce.
Use a vegan cheese substitute for the regular cheese.
It depends on your enchilada sauce and your filling. For this recipe, I used my leftover green chile pulled pork, which is fairly mild and homemade enchilada sauce, which has a mild to medium spice level. You can make it more spicy by using a hotter sauce or adding extra chiles to the meat mixture.
Yes. I would suggest freezing the casserole after baking it and storing in an airtight container. It will keep well wrapped for up to 2 months. Defrost before reheating.
Reheat uncovered in a warm oven (325°) for 15 minutes or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Variations and Swaps
- Don’t have leftover pulled pork? This recipe works well with Instant Pot Pulled Chicken, Green Chile Pulled Pork, and Mexican Shredded Beef.
- Make it vegetarian by swapping drained canned beans such as pinto, kidney, or white beans for the meat.
- Mix in frozen corn with the shredded meat.
- Add diced hatch green chiles for even more spice.
What are the best garnishes for green enchiladas?
Personally, I like to stick to the green theme…
- Sliced or diced avocados.
- Green onions.
- Salsa verde or extra enchilada sauce.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Diced Hatch chiles.
But it’s also good with a dollop of sour cream or fresh diced tomatoes.
What goes with the green enchilada recipe?
- A salad of fresh avocados and tomatoes with a light vinaigrette is a good accompaniment.
- Make a side dish of black beans with a little cumin, garlic and lime.
- Balance the meal with a simple green salad, because these cheesy green enchiladas are so hearty.
- Try it with yellow rice.
- Refried beans would also be a good idea.
- Try it with another topping like pico de gallo,
More enchiladas and Mexican fare you’ll love:
- Shredded Beef Enchiladas
- Smoky Black Bean Tacos
- Crispy Baked Fish Tacos
- Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
- Leftover Braised Pork Tacos
- Chicken Soft Tacos with Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
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Green Enchiladas
INGREDIENTS:
- 2½ cups Green Chile Pork
- 2 cups Green Enchilada Sauce Recipe divided, recipe on this site
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 10 corn tortillas
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
GARNISHES (OPTIONAL)
- sour cream
- cilantro chopped
- green onion
- avocado
- Green Enchilada Sauce Recipe
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Spray a shallow 2 quart casserole dish with vegetable spray (I used two casseroles) Spoon 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce into the bottom of the dish and loosely spread with a spatula. Set aside.
- Brush oil lightly over the corn tortillas and place on a foil lined sheet pan. Heat in the oven for about 5 minutes until they’re pliable.
- Sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons of cheese on the tortillas, top with 1/4 cup green chile pork and 3 tablespoons enchilada sauce. (Doesn’t have to be exact, you can eyeball it).
- Roll the tortilla over to enclose the enchiladas. Place enchiladas in the casserole dish, seam side down.
- Continue in this manner until you’ve filled the dish with rolled enchiladas. Spread 1/3 cup enchilada sauce over the casserole and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
- Serve enchiladas with sour cream, avocado, cilantro, green onions and the remaining enchilada sauce.
NOTES:
NUTRITION:
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Can I say again how much I love these?? Had a guest over last night and between the three of us we nearly killed the whole pan of them. *insert oinking sounds here* Thanks again for sharing this recipe!!!
These were amazing enchiladas. I ended up using flour tortillas instead of corn because mine had died a peasants death with breakage. I’m glad I did. The sub out was better than I’d expected. These enchiladas will be a regular rotation now. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Your recipe sounds so delicious! I don’t cook with white beans enough and I know I should because they taste great! Love that you use tomatillo sauce, it’s my favorite! And I love it with cheese and sour cream!
Can you believe… I’m not sure I’ve ever made enchiladas? Or maybe I did once, with sauce from a can, but I wasn’t sure what they were supposed to taste like. Help me Lisa! Feed me the good stuff! (These sound delicious, and EASY… why haven’t I tried enchiladas before?!!?!)
I don’t know why — but now you know the error of your ways! Any time you’re in town, I promise to feed you!
These enchiladas are seriously speaking to me! Enchiladas with tomatillo sauce are my favorite kind. The bit of tang in the sauce just pairs so well with meats and the creamy elements like cheese and sour cream. What a fantastic way to us that beer braised hatch chile pork! It’s 9 am here and I have a huge craving for enchiladas now! 🙂
You did it! I can smell the deliciousness from here! Bravo!
Thanks for the inspiration!
These are delicious looking enchiladas and I’m thinking it’s been a while since I’ve made them. Thank you for the recipe.
My mouth is watering just thinking about this. I will be making these soon!
You, my dear Lisa are a Hatch Chile innovator! <3
Oh, dear Lord, I could eat that entire pan! I so love pork enchiladas! Beautiful photos, as always, Lisa!
Yum!! I love enchiladas! Especially with tomatillo sauce. These look so tasty and super easy and I can not wait to make it!