Enchiladas Suizas are cheesy shredded chicken enchiladas topped with a creamy tomatillo sauce. My weeknight-friendly recipe is made using shredded rotisserie chicken and the easiest, creamiest salsa verde sauce!

enchiladas suizas in white dish on white marble

Enchiladas Suizas are the creamiest, most delicious enchiladas you’ll probably ever have.

We load the enchiladas with a combination of shredded cheese, tender chicken, diced green chilies, and a squeeze of lime juice to make all the flavors in the enchilada sauce pop. We dress these enchiladas with a cheesy, creamy tomatillo sauce that is so good you’ll want to slurp it through a straw. 

If any of it ends up making it over the enchiladas, you’ll be so glad it did, because that combination of shredded chicken, warm tortillas, and that creamy, tangy sauce is nothing short of dynamite.

halved enchilada on plate with fork

Enchiladas Suizas Ingredients

  • Butter: We’ll use a knob of butter to saute the onions and then make a roux with flour for the creamy tomatillo sauce.
  • Flour: Flour helps thicken our creamy verde sauce.
  • Onions: Finely chopped onions get sautéed in a knob of butter as the base of the tomatillo cream sauce.
  • Chicken Stock: I suggest using low sodium chicken stock for this recipe. Between the store-bought salsa verde and the chicken stock, I find the sauce can easily become too salty if you don’t cut back where ever you can!
  • Salsa Verde: You can use my homemade salsa verde recipe (and make it in advance too) or use store-bought salsa verde to make these enchiladas quickly.
  • Sour Cream: adds tang and creaminess to the creamy tomatillo sauce.
  • Flavorings: You’ll need a dash of garlic powder for the sauce, a handful of chopped cilantro, and a fresh squeeze of lime juice for the shredded chicken filling.
  • Diced Green Chilies: We’ll add the diced green chilies to the shredded chicken along with a dollop of the sauce and some lime juice so the acid cuts through some of the richness of the cream sauce.
  • Shredded Cheese: Traditionally, shredded Oaxaca cheese is used. I know it can be difficult to find depending on where you are, so I’ve tested the recipe with Monterey Jack cheese and well. I suggest buying a block of cheese and shredding it yourself, see below for full explanation as to why. 
  • Tortillas: You can use either flour or corn tortillas for this recipe. If you use corn, I suggest softening the tortillas first by lightly frying them in oil, cooling, then rolling the enchiladas. I find they fall apart if you skip that step.
prepared tomatillo cream sauce in sauce pan with wooden spoon

How to make Enchiladas Suizas

  1. Start with the sauce. Preheat the oven while you’re preparing the sauce and filling the enchiladas. Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted, saute the onions for a good 4-5 minutes until they’re translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to cook out the raw flavor. Then, drizzle in the chicken stock as you whisk out any lumps. Then add the salsa verde and garlic powder and allow the sauce to heat through and thicken slightly. At this point, you’ll add the sour cream and stir to combine. When he sour cream heats through, add half of the shredded cheese. When the cheese melts, remove the pan from the heat and stir in half of the cilantro.
  2. Load it up. Pour a generous amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. In a bowl, stir together ½ cup of this prepared sauce with the shredded chicken, lime juice, and the diced green chilies. Now, place a tortilla on a clean work surface and spoon roughly ¼ cup of the shredded chicken mixture into the tortilla, add a big pinch of shredded cheese and roll the tortilla up. Place this in the baking dish with the seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Drizzle with half of the remaining sauce.
  3. Bake ‘em up. Cover the casserole dish with foil (spray with cooking spray so the cheese in the sauce doesn’t stick to the foil) and bake. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, and bake uncovered for the last 5 minutes. Serve warm with Mexican rice, refried beans or with homemade pico de Gallo.
shredded chicken, diced green chilies, and cream sauce in a bowl

FAQs about Creamy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

Do you have to buy block cheese? How do you shred it?

Pre-shredded cheese is coated in potato starch (and other ingredients) and will leave your sauce a bit grainy, shredding from a block will definitely yield better results. If you have a food processor, shredding cheese is super easy with the shredding attachment. Just feed pieces of the block through the top until the cheese is shredded. You can also use a manual box grater

How do you cook chicken if you don’t have a rotisserie chicken on hand? 

I usually season 1 ½ pound of chicken with a big dash of garlic powder, onion powder, and a few cracks of black pepper. Then, sear this in an instant pot with a drizzle of oil for 30 seconds. Add ½ cup of chicken stock and cook pressure cook for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size.) Do a natural pressure release for 5 minutes. Shred the chicken once it’s cool enough to handle! You won’t need all of it for this recipe, and you can store leftovers in the freezer for next time. Or I have a homemade rotisserie chicken recipe that you can prep and shred (don’t toss the bones, they make a mean chicken stock!)

Will the sour cream curdle in the sauce?

If the sour cream is cold from the fridge, it might! I suggest whisking the sour cream in a bowl, adding a tablespoon of the warm liquid from the saucepan to the bowl while you whisk. And then repeating this process 2-3 more times. Then, add the sour cream to the saucepan. This is called tempering and it should prevent the sauce from curdling.

dish filled with enchiladas topped with tomatillo cream sauce
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white dish with enchiladas missing
Yield: serves 5

Enchiladas Suizas (Creamy Salsa Verde Enchiladas)

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Enchiladas Suizas are cheesy shredded chicken enchiladas topped with a creamy tomatillo sauce. My weeknight-friendly recipe is made using shredded rotisserie chicken and the easiest, creamiest salsa verde sauce!

Enchiladas Suizas (Creamy Salsa Verde Enchiladas)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons EACH: butter AND flour
  • ½ cup finely chopped onions
  • ½ cup EACH: low sodium chicken stock AND sour cream
  • 1 ½ cups salsa verde (homemade or store-bought)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
  • 2 cups Oaxaca or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  • 10-12 flour or corn tortillas
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro, divided

Instructions

    1. SAUCE: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, saute the onions for 4-5 minutes or until translucent. Whisk in the flour and allow it to cook for 1 minute. Gradually pour the chicken stock as you whisk until the mixture is lump-free. Add the salsa verde and garlic powder. Stir then simmer the sauce for 2 minutes or until it thickens, then add the sour cream (see note.) Add 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese and stir to combine. When the cheese melts, remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of the cilantro.
    2. ASSEMBLE: In a bowl, stir together ½ cup of prepared sauce with the shredded chicken, lime juice, and diced green chilies. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Ladle ½ cup of prepared sauce into the baking dish and spread it out. Lay a tortilla on a clean surface, spoon ¼ cup of the chicken filling into the tortilla, sprinkle some of the remaining cheese, roll the tortilla up, and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Drizzle the enchiladas with ½ of the remaining sauce.
    3. BAKE: Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 16-20 minutes or until tortillas heat through. Remove the foil, drizzle the remaining sauce over the enchiladas (or you can ladle this on right before serving) and continue to bake for another 5 minutes. Top with remaining cilantro before serving!

Notes

  • sour cream: If the sour cream is cold from the fridge I suggest whisking it in a bowl, adding a tablespoon of the warm liquid from the saucepan to the bowl while you whisk. Repeat this process 3 more times. Then, add sour cream to the saucepan. This is called tempering, it should prevent the sauce from curdling.
  • cheese: I highly recommend shredding your own cheese for this recipe. The consistency of the sauce will bet grainy if 1ou use pre-shredded cheese.
  • corn tortillas: If you want to use corn tortillas, you’ll need to soften them by frying them in a little oil before rolling. They may fall apart if you skip this step.

Have you made this recipe?

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