These creamy Poblano Enchiladas can be made with chicken or roasted cauliflower (or both). Flavorful and tangy with a subtle, lovely heat, they are filled with corn, cilantro, lime zest, coriander and cumin and bathed in the most flavorful poblano sauce.
Chef’s Tip
How to Roast Poblano Peppers
- On the Stovetop: If you have a gas stovetop, place directly over a medium-low flame, turning often, for about 5 minutes until blistered and blackened. The easiest, fastest way.
- Broiled In the oven: turning until they blister, about 10- 15 minutes. If you don’t have a broil setting, you can still roast in a very hot oven, but it will take a little longer for the skins to blister.
How to make Roasted Poblano EnchiladaS
Step one: Make the creamy poblano sauce using roasted poblanos or canned chilies.
If making this with chicken, use leftover rotisserie chicken, baked chicken breast, shredded chicken, or even this chicken carnitas recipe.
For this recipe, I used 8-inch tortillas that were flour.
Roll them up and place seam-side down in a greased 9×13 baking dish brushed with a little enchilada sauce.
Cover with the remaining poblano sauce and the remaining cheese.
Storage
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Enchiladas are A delicious freezer meal
Bake, freeze, thaw, and reheat at 350°F until internal temp reaches 150°F. I prefer to bake these first, then freeze, but it can be done the other way, too. 😉
What to serve with Poblano Enchiladas
- Mexican Slaw with Cilantro and Lime
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Refried Beans! | Instant Pot or Stove Top
- Guacamole
- Fermented Hot Sauce!
Watch how to make Poblano Enchiladas
Creamy Poblano Enchiladas
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 8 enchiladas
- Category: Main, vegetarian
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican,
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Ingredients
Filling ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken – see notes (or sub 3 cups roasted cauliflower – see notes)
- 1 cup corn – fresh or frozen, or sub spinach, sauteed bell pepper, sautéed mushroom or onion
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 scallions, sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
Poblano Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 large fresh poblano chili roasted, peeled and finely chopped (use half) or sub-4-ounce can green chilies (use half)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 shallot, chopped (or half an onion, finely diced)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock (or veggie broth)
- 3/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Enchilada Ingredients:
- 8 x 8-inch flour tortillas
- 2 1/2 cups queso fresco cheese or shredded jack or mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Make the Filling: Prepare chicken (or cauliflower/spinach) see notes, and place in a bowl. Add corn. Mix with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, scallions, fresh cilantro and lime zest. Set aside.
- Roast the poblano (or use canned green chilies) directly over a gas flame on the stove or grill (or place on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler) turning regularly, until the skins have blackened and blistered. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool. Under running water rub off the blackened skin, carefully tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem and rinse all the seeds away. Dice finely. (If pressed for time, you can skip this step entirely by substituting 1 small can of green chiles-don’t use jalapeños)
- Make the Poblano Sauce: In a medium pot, over medium heat oil or butter, and saute shallot until golden and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add the flour, and toast, stirring 2 minutes on med-low heat. Whisk in the broth a little at a time, bring to a simmer, and once thickened turn off the heat. Let cool 5 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, and whisk until smooth. If using canned chilies, add ½ of the can now, along with coriander, salt and pepper. Save the remaining chilies and add to the filling. Alternatively, if using the poblano, add a cautious 1/3 of the diced poblanos to start, tasting for heat. (Most are mild, but some, very occasionally are hot!) Then, according to your heat tolerance, add the remaining poblanos to taste. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Add some to the filling if you want.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Warm the tortillas to make them pliable (over a gas flame on the stovetop, in the microwave covered for a few seconds, or warmed in the oven) and wrap in a kitchen towel.
- Assemble: Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan and add ½ cup enchilada sauce to the bottom. Create an assembly line with warm tortillas, filling, cheese and sauce. Add 3 tablespoons of cheese to the center of each tortilla, 2 tablespoons of sauce, and 1/2 cup of filling and roll them up. Place them seam-side down in the pan. Pour the remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Place in 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes, uncovered until golden and edges are crispy. If you prefer soft enchiladas, you can cover them with foil for the first 15 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and scallions.
Notes
Leftovers keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a 350F oven or microwave.
Chicken: Use leftover rotisserie chicken, or make this simple baked chicken and shred, or this Chicken Carnitas recipe.
If subbing cauliflower/spinach: Preheat oven to 425 F. Chop one head of cauliflower into very small bite-size pieces, toss with olive oil to coat, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander and toss to coat well. Roast on a parchment-lined sheet pan until tender, and edges are slightly crispy. Wilt Spinach: Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, saute 1/2 cup diced onion until tender, add 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach and stir or toss until spinach is just barely wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the cauliflower and spinach in a bowl, mix in cilantro, scallions and lime zest. Add corn if you like, and taste for salt and pepper, adjusting. Use this to stuff the enchiladas.
If making ahead: either bake and reheat, or assemble ahead, leaving the sauce off the top until baking time. Freezer Meal: You can freeze this before or after baking (I prefer freezing after baking), freeze up to 3 months, thaw and reheat at 350F until internal temp reaches at least 150°F.
Cheese: Cotija cheese, a Mexican cheese, is much saltier than queso fresco, and less “melty”, so make sure to use queso fresco, not cotija. The packages look similar, but there is a big difference in flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: one enchilada - chicken and cheese
- Calories: 309
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 1591 mg
- Fat: 9.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 22.9 g
- Cholesterol: 35.6 mg
My family loves this recipe, and they often request it. I just watched the video and saw that you put some sauce on the bottom of the pan before adding the filled tortillas. It doesn’t specify that in the recipe. Is it better to put a little sauce in the pan before adding the tortillas?
Thanks for catching that Nancy! Yes, I like to add just a little to the bottom of the pan, about a half cup. I updated the recipe card to reflect. 🙂
These were delicious. Added a second poblano and pureed it into a little bit of the sauce for a brighter green color. The flavor of the filling is just perfection with the spices and lime zest
Nice! Glad you enjoyed!
these were DELICIOUS! we made two pans, one with cauliflower & the other veggies you mention, and one with shredded chicken. we used corn tortillas. what an incredible recipe!
Awesome Kate!
So good! Thank you for a great recipe. I used rotisserie chicken, corn, onion, red bell pepper and a jalapeño (it was in the fridge and needed to be used) I saved some of my filling for a salad. I used 2 poblanos because I love poblanos lol I also added some cilantro to the sauce not too much but I do love cilantro too but didn’t want to lose my poblano flavor get lost. I had enough sauce but would probably make a little extra next time.
Great to hear Scarlet, love your notes! Thanks!
I love this recipe! It’s delicious. But why do the directions say to bake uncovered but the video shows the chef putting foil over the enchiladas before baking?
Hi there, I cover them for the first 10 minutes of baking, then remove the foil to crisp them up. If you prefer soft, cover them the whole time, or extra crispy, uncover the whole time.
This was really good! I did everything according to the recipe (other than adding both corn AND spinach to the filling). The only thing I would change is doubling the sauce. The enchiladas were a little dry on top so I think doubling that would help! Other than that, it was really good.
Thanks Kit! You can also try covering the enchiladas with foil for half the time, if you prefer them softer and not crispy.
Holy Toledo – BEST chicken enchiladas ever! I was craving these and didn’t have time to defrost my chicken so I used Costco canned chicken and they were still the best I’ve ever made. My husband and I devoured the whole pan and normally I would have to freeze half of it! I have made at least 30 recipes from this website and every recipe is exceptional! Why go out to eat when we can cook better food at home? It’s been a joy to eat this food. Thank you for sharing your amazing skills! 🙂
So nice to hear this Kathy! So happy you are enjoying.
Has anyone tried freezing the the prepped enchiladas? I was thinking of prepping in smaller foil pans (Personal sized) and freezing. Any input greatly appreciated!
They would freeze well! I added freezing instructions to the post.
This was terrific, but mine needed more sauce. I was glad I added a bit more broth (the water that I steamed the chicken breast in) to the yoghurt, but it could have still used some more. Maybe I shouldn’t have drained the canned mild chilis? I just did the layered casserole, too, with corn tortillas, and I combined the chicken with the spinach and a bit of corn, so the filling was quite beautiful. I’ll be making this again for sure! Thank you!
Thanks Janet! Glad you enjoyed this. I wonder, did you add sauce inside the layers, could that have made it short?
I made these with both fillings, and we loved them. Creamy enchiladas, a little different from the usual. Thanks for another keeper.
Great to hear Laura!
This recipe sounds fabulous! I eat gluten free, so I suppose this could work with corn tortillas, right? I am going to try to make them tomorrow. Thanks for all your amazing and healthy recipes!!
Yes, corn tortillas would be just fine. 🙂
Reporting back – HUGE SUCCESS. Yes, Greek yogurt works great. I went with both chicken and cauliflower. I marinated the chopped chicken first in lime zest & juice, half the spices & salt, and a clove of garlic. I took MadisonHomeCook’s advice and added the juice of half a lime to the sauce. The cheese I used was cheddar – because this makes the whole thing reminiscent of a recipe my mom made when I was kid (only this one is way better). Completely delicious. Thanks so much, Sylvia!
Thanks so much Carrie Lynn! Appreciate your notes-helpful!
If I could give this 4.5 stars, I would. This was healthy and delicious and my husband and teenage son also liked it. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I feel the sauce needs some more pizzazz. My poblano was mildly spicy but I added lime juice, cumin and a pinch of adobo spice to the sauce. I used an immersion blender in the sauce and cooked off some of the liquid before adding sour cream, which made the finished sauce nice creamy. If I’d had cilantro, I would have added a bunch- like 1/2c – 1 cup of cilantro blended into sauce. Even so, it was tasty and satisfying. Also, I used mozzarella cheese, which I could not really taste. I think the saltier Cotija option or the goat cheese that other reviewers used would have been more flavorful. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback!