A store-bought roasted tomatillo salsa is used for the sauce as a delicious shortcut. AND, they can be prepped ahead of time and/or frozen. ANDDDDD, they’re “Texan husband approved,” which says a lot about their authentic flavor. Yup, you’re definitely going to want to try these.
How to prepare and marinate the chicken
The best part about this recipe, by far, is the chicken. If you’re in a rush, you can certainly make this recipe with any cooked chicken you have on hand, but I HIGHLY recommend marinating and cooking it like in the recipe below. To make the marinade, a mixture of jalapeño pepper, garlic, onion, and lime is blended together into a pulp in the food processor. I recommend leaving the seeds in the jalapeño- after marinating and cooking, it’s not that spicy. The chicken marinates for two hours, or preferably overnight, soaking in all the deliciousness. And the best part- the pieces are seared in a cast iron (or other heavy) skillet then shredded with two forks, resulting in a delicious crispy, blackened crust.
Can you make ahead and freeze these?
Yes! Once you’re done marinating and cooking, the chicken is then simply mixed with cheese and spinach for the enchilada filling, then rolled in flour tortillas and smothered in sauce and more cheese. To save time, you can make the chicken/spinach/cheese mixture ahead of time and assemble the enchiladas later (or, you can assemble them completely and refrigerate or freeze- see recipe notes below). Thank goodness I have some of these chicken and spinach enchiladas verdes stashed away in my freezer right now. Otherwise, I’d probably be crying (or running to the grocery store so I could make them again!).
Corn or flour tortillas?
Sometimes, I use corn tortillas when I make enchiladas (like with these Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas). I love the toasty corn flavor of corn tortillas, but if you aren’t careful, they tend to break apart when rolling and/or disintegrate into everything, causing a mushy mess. I used flour tortillas this time and was NOT disappointed, just like I did with these turkey enchiladas. They were easy to roll, especially after warming them up a bit, and held up beautifully. After baking, the centers, covered in sauce and melty cheese, were soft and pliable, and the uncovered ends were slightly browned and toasted, which added a nice crunch.
This recipe makes a LOT of enchiladas. Don’t be fooled by the photos in this post- I got an adorable mint green baking dish from Home Goods that I really wanted to use, so I divided this recipe between this, a freezer batch for us, and a freezer batch for my sister- and brother-in-law, who are expecting their second child in just a few weeks. It makes about 10-12 STUFFED enchiladas total- two is more than enough for a serving (but you will want to keep going, just because they are so delicious). Finally, the salsa. Jarred, salsa verde can be found in your local grocery store and makes this recipe nice and simple. You can also make it yourself if you prefer (this Love and Lemons recipe looks delicious!). Looking for a vegetarian option? Try these vegetarian enchiladas verdes. Recipe for Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas Verdes below!
