These easy and delicious red and green chicken enchiladas require just a few ingredients and let you have the both of best worlds, with both red and green enchilada sauces!
We call these Christmas Enchiladas at our house, as they’re a fun and festive non-traditional main dish during the holiday season. But really, they’re great all year round!
With this one dish you have the smoky spiced flavor of traditional red enchilada sauce, and the fresh zesty heat of traditional verde or green enchilada sauce.
Why you’ll love this chicken enchiladas recipe
- These enchiladas are so easy to make, especially if you use store-bought ingredients like rotisserie chicken and salsa.
- No need to pick between red and green enchilada sauces, you can enjoy both!
- There’s plenty of melty cheese and flavorful sauce, with tender shredded chicken breasts inside.
- You can prep them ahead to make dinnertime a breeze!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here’s everything you’ll need to make these easy red and green enchiladas (full recipe at the end of this article):
How to make red & green chicken enchiladas
- Prep ingredients. Make shredded chicken and pico de gallo (or chunky salsa), and shred Monterey jack cheese. Or make this dish even easier and use store-bought!
- Assemble enchiladas. Combine chicken, shredded cheese and a little enchilada sauce and roll up in tortillas. Place in your baking dish and cover one half of the enchiladas with green sauce and the other half with red sauce. Sprinkle the top with more cheese.
- Bake. Cover and bake at 350°F until bubbly, about 30 minutes.
- Enjoy! Let the enchiladas sit for a few minutes, then serve with sour cream, cilantro, avocado, more salsa or as you like.
How to make these enchiladas ahead of time
Enchiladas are the perfect dish to make-ahead. Simply assemble these red and green enchiladas according to the recipe instructions, cover with plastic wrap or foil and store in refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to eat, just pop them in the oven!
Tips for making this recipe
- This same recipe can be used to make all-red or all-green enchiladas instead of half and half.
- Use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauces! I like Frontera and La Victoria brands.
- I’ve found that 8-inch tortillas are ideal for enchiladas and fitting in the baking dish. These are often labeled as “taco” size.
- You can use either corn or flour tortillas. If using corn tortillas, heat them up in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top for 30 seconds. Or I think this method would be awesome too!
- I’ve used Monterey jack cheese in these enchiladas, but Mexican blend cheese would be great too.
- Feel free to use other filling ingredients such as shredded pork or beef, or roasted veggies, beans, etc.
- These enchiladas are best served fresh, but will reheat well for a few days. To reheat the entire pan, cover with foil and heat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes.
- Want to serve these enchiladas for a festive holiday dinner? I usually serve them alongside rice and beans, a colorful Mexican elote corn salad, and pomegranate or cranberry margaritas.
More enchiladas recipes
- Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
- Butternut Squash, Mushroom and Poblano Enchiladas
- Chicken Fajita Enchiladas
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Red and Green Chicken Enchiladas
Servings: 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
These easy and delicious red and green chicken enchiladas require just a few ingredients and let you have the both of best worlds, with both red and green enchilada sauces!
Ingredients
Enchiladas
- 10 oz can green enchilada sauce , divided
- 10 oz can red enchilada sauce , divided
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 8 oz Monterey jack cheese , grated and divided
- 8 flour or corn tortillas
- 1 cup pico de gallo or chunky salsa , recipe below or use store-bought
- Optional toppings: sour cream, avocado, cilantro or more salsa
Quick pico de gallo
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 shallot or ¼ onion , finely diced
- ½-1 tablespoon chopped cilantro , per your preference
- Juice of ½ lime
- Salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread ¼ cup of the green enchilada sauce on half of dish lengthwise. Spread ¼ cup of the red enchilada sauce on the other half.
- In a bowl combine the chicken, ⅔ of the cheese and ¼ cup of either the green OR red enchilada sauce (your choice!).
- Fill tortillas with a generous spoonful of the chicken mixture, then roll up and place seam side-down in the baking dish.
- Spoon remaining green sauce over half of the enchiladas lengthwise (match the sauce on the bottom of the dish) and spoon remaining red sauce over the other half, making sure to keep the two separate. (Note: you will have more of one enchilada sauce than the other, depending on which you added to the chicken filling. Add equal amounts of sauce to the top of the enchiladas and discard whatever is leftover.)
- Run a knife or spatula down in between each enchilada, separating them so they don't stick together after baking (Do all of the green side and then do all of the red side to keep colors separate). Top enchiladas with remaining cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes, taking off the foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking to brown the enchiladas just a bit.
- Let enchiladas stand for at least 5-10 minutes, then top with pico de gallo or chunky salsa down the middle and serve. Add any additional toppings as desired.
To make the pico de gallo:
- Combine all ingredients in bowl. Add cilantro, salt and pepper to taste. Pico de gallo can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 305kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 51mg, Sodium: 1274mg, Potassium: 208mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 875IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 270mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Author: Annalise
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