I've been overflowing with tomatillos lately so these Enchiladas Suizas have been in my kitchen non-stop over the past couple weeks.
They are wildly satisfying so if you're new to them please consider giving them a go.
But don't sweat the chicken too much as you'll be getting loads of flavor from the Suiza sauce!
How To Make Enchiladas Suizas
The original version of this recipe poached the chicken and that's always a good option.
But when I'm not in a rush I will brine-and-bake the chicken.
Letting the chicken rest in some saltwater gives it a massive bump in flavor and it's worth a try if you don't mind waiting an extra half hour for dinner.
And of course, in a pinch you could always use rotisserie chicken.
But again, don't sweat the chicken too much as your Suiza sauce is far more important! You'll get loads of flavor from your creamy green sauce and that's the key to this dish.
Start by roasting your tomatillos and poblano in the oven at 400F. Sure, you can always pan roast these but I think the oven is the easiest and it's equally effective.
The tomatillos typically need less time to roast than the poblano, but I usually just leave them in until the poblano is blistered and peeling, somewhere around 25-30 minutes. More info on working with tomatillos.
Once the poblano has cooled a bit you can de-stem and de-seed it. You can also pull off any loose bits of skin, but don't worry about getting every last bit as it won't affect the flavor.
Add the roasted poblano and tomatillos to a blender along with:
1/2 white onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 jalapeno pepper
10-12 cilantro sprigs
Give it a whirl and take a taste for heat.
If you want more heat you can add the other half of the jalapeno pepper (or more!). This mixture will get diluted a bit by the cream and stock, so I tend to make it a bit more spicy than usual. Are poblano peppers hot?
Once you're happy with the heat of the green sauce, add a glug of oil to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sauce from blender and cook for a few minutes.
Once it's heated we'll add:
1 cup stock (I used this chicken stock)
1/4 heavy cream, or creme fraiche
Cook over medium-low heat until heated throughout. You're really just bringing it up to temp so there's no need to overcook it.
And say hello to your Suiza sauce!
It's got vibrancy from the tomatillos, some depth from the roasted poblano, and savoriness from the cream 🙂
Once the sauce is done you can start building your enchiladas.
Use two forks to shred the chicken. Combine it with a few tablespoons of finely chopped onion, 1 cup shredded cheese, and dashes of salt.
This is the inner mixture of the enchiladas. You also have the option of adding a few tablespoons of the green sauce to this mixture.
Next we'll heat up the tortillas -- this will make them easier to roll up. I used the microwave for this batch but you could always just stick 'em in the oven for a bit. 3 ways to warm up corn tortillas.
Prepare your baking dish for the enchiladas by adding a few spoonfuls of the Suiza sauce to the dish. This will prevent the enchiladas from sticking.
On a plate, add a couple spoonfuls of the Suiza sauce. Dredge a tortilla in the sauce, flip, and fill with a small handful of the chicken mixture.
You can optionally add more cheese if you want your enchis to be kind of gooey 🙂
Roll tight and place seam side down on the baking dish.
Keep going ‘til the chicken is gone. This recipe will make 6-8 enchiladas depending on the size of your tortillas.
Add the remaining sauce on top of the enchiladas along with a layer of cheese.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until all the cheese is melted.
Getting hungry?!
I added freshly chopped cilantro to this batch but they really don't need much else so you can consider that optional.
Sweet Suizas, no?
Give 'em a go if your kitchen needs a kickstart -- once you get the green sauce to your liking you'll find all sorts of excuses to make them 🙂
Buen Provecho.
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Enchiladas Suizas -- Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 tomatillos
- 1 jalapeno (or serrano)
- ½ white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 10-12 sprigs cilantro
- 1 poblano
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 large chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons white onion finely diced
- 1 cup shredded cheese (I used Jack)
- freshly chopped cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Feel free to cook the chicken however you want. I go back and forth between poaching it and the brine-and-bake method.
- To poach the chicken, cover the chicken breast with water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add a half onion, cilantro sprigs and a pinch of salt for additional flavor. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
- To brine-and-bake the chicken, add 1/4 cup salt to a quart of water in a mixing bowl. Dissolve the salt and add the chicken, letting it brine covered in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. If the chicken isn't fully submerged then add a bit more water. Once brined, pat dry the chicken and add it to a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside (160F).
- Meanwhile, de-husk and rinse the tomatillos. I usually de-stem them as well. Roast the tomatillos and poblano in the oven at 400F for around 25-30 minutes.
- Cut off the stem and de-seed the roasted poblano. You can also remove any loose bits of skin. Add it to a blender along with the tomatillos, 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 10-12 sprigs of cilantro, and 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper. Pulse blend and taste for heat level, adding the other half of the jalapeno if you want more heat.
- Heat a glug of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the green sauce from the blender and simmer for a few minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock and 1/4 cup heavy cream to the mixture. Cook on medium-low until heated through.
- Use two forks to shred the chicken and add it to a mixing bowl along with 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped onion, a handful of cheese, and dashes of salt. You can also add some green sauce if you want.
- Heat the corn tortillas in the oven for a few minutes. (Or nuke them in some damp paper towels for 60 seconds.)
- Prepare the baking dish by adding a few spoonfuls of the green sauce to prevent sticking.
- On a plate, add a couple spoonfuls of the green sauce. Dredge a tortilla in the sauce, flip, and fill with a small handful of the chicken mixture. You can optionally add more cheese on top. Roll up and place seam side down on the baking dish. Keep going ‘til the chicken is gone. Add the remaining sauce on top of the enchiladas along with a final layer of cheese.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes (400F) or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately. You can optionally garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
Don't have poblanos or cream? You can simplify and make a batch of Enchiladas Verdes.
Once you're familiar with this style of making enchiladas you can swap out a few ingredients and make our Red Sauce Enchiladas or our Colorado Enchiladas.
And for a list of even more Mexican entrees you can make tonight, click here.
Still hungry?!
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Simon
Hi Patrick,
First, thank you so much for what you are doing, I am cooking as many recipes as I can (all of them delicious) but it's quite a challenge, in France it is way easier to get creme fraîche than "special" peppers ! I don't have access to fresh tomatillos or poblano, but I can get some canned ones, what do you recommend doing if I want to do this recipe, canned / no roast? Canned tomatillo + a fresh jalapeno + fresh green bell pepper ? I never had poblano so I have no idea how to subtitute 😀
Cheers !
Patrick
Hey Simon! So glad to hear that peeps are making Enchiladas Suizas in France 🙂
You can still get a good result using canned tomatillos, so I would start with that and don't worry about roasting them as it doesn't have the same effect as roasting fresh tomatillos. Fresh jalapeno is perfect if you have access to those. And unfortunately I would just put the Poblano out of your mind if you don't have access to them. There's no great substitute for them so I wouldn't bother trying -- you could consider adding an additional Jalapeno but that's only if you like heat.
Having said all that, I would still go for it if I were in your shoes. You'll still get a delicious creamy green sauce that will pair well with the cheesy, corny bites of the enchiladas 🙂 Cheers.
Colby
This is THE best recipe for enchiladas EVER!!!! Like ever ever!! My husband made this on a whim over a year ago and its our go-to. From this recipe we had tons of tomatillo plants pop up in our garden this summer! I really didn’t think they would thrive being in the Pacific Northwest. Now we plan to can the sauce, minus cream. Wondering, have you ever weighed your tomatillos? Mine range in size from marble sized to golf ball ha ha! Although, I don’t think extra is going to ruin anything. Thank you so so much for this amazing recipe!!
Patrick
Thanks for your note Colby, so glad to hear this one has become a regular for you guys!
If you're using golf ball sized tomatillos you'll typically get around 8-10 in a single pound. This recipe calls for about 1/2 pound worth of tomatillos, or 5 of the golf ball sized ones -- feel free to use a few more of the marble sized ones to compensate 🙂
Cheers.
Elliott
This recipe is out of this world. I put the tomatillos and the peppers in the smoker to make the sauce. I also brined chicken thighs then smoked them too. It was an epic dinner. We’re growing more tomatillos next summer, that’s for sure.
Patrick
Ooh sounds delicious 🙂
Kathryn
Can I make this sauce and can it in my quart jars? Any ideal how long to water bath them?
Patrick
Hi Kathryn! To be honest I don't do much long term preserving myself and haven't tried it with this recipe yet. Cheers.
Amy L
You cannot can anything with dairy ingredients. Your quart jars would be fine in the freezer though.
Elaine
Thank you so much for posting an authentic recipe using Tomatillos. I lost the recipe I had from many years ago and went looking for one and found many with jar sauce...yuk! Making this asap!
Patrick
Thanks Elaine, I hope it treats you well!
Nikki Krakauer “JustTabandMe”
Thanks so very much for sharing this recipe with everyone! I’m older than dirt, but have been cooking these for 76 years now! One suggestion: get a small pan (I use my cast iron (6.5”!) and put vegetable oil in and heat to frying temperature! If oil is hot enough, no oil gets absorbed! Fry corn tortillas for about 30-45 seconds on one side, less the second side. Drain on paper towel. (I personally have dedicated “oil towels”, because I’m so green). *Then* quickly submerge tortilla in pie pan of sauce, then continue building. The sauce is fantastic, I froze a couple of servings & the rest went to my daughter’s freezer!!! HTH!!!
Patrick
Hey thanks much Nikki for mentioning this! Lately I skip this step of frying the tortillas but that is definitely how it's done in Mexico. Cheers.
Linda
You don't mention what temperature to cook the enchiladas at.
Patrick
Okay, thanks for mentioning this Linda! 400F does the job quite well. Cheers.
Me
This looks great. We have no tomatillos available where I live right now, but we do have canned tomatillos. Could I use those instead for this recipe? I so want to try this one out!
Patrick
Hey M! Yeah canned tomatillos will work fine for this recipe. Note that I typically don't roast canned tomatillos as they've been resting in liquid for so long and it doesn't quite have the same effect. Cheers.
OEM
Thanks for the recipe. So easy to make and so good. Will make again.
Patrick
Thanks OEM!
Debbie
I’m making this for the second time because it was so so good. Really a hit at my house and very easy.
Patrick
Ahh good news Debbie, glad this one is a keeper for you. Cheers.
Barbara
Hi Patrick
Thanks for your great, easy to follow recipes! I have a lot of green tomatoes,
is there any Mexican recipes for these, for Mexicans just use tomatillos?
Lots of recipes on line, but nothing (that I found) really Mexican.
Patrick
Hey Barbara! Yeah I think that will be a tough one as they aren't used much in Mexican cooking and I don't really cook with them. Cheers.