Green Chicken Enchiladas Recipe with Salsa Verde (2025)

FAQs

Can salsa verde be used instead of green enchilada sauce? ›

No, they are not quite the same. Although you could use salsa verde for enchiladas, I don't really think you'd want to use enchilada sauce as a salsa. The ingredients in each are similar, as another person mentioned, but the consistency is not usually the same.

Another key difference is the consistency. Green enchilada sauce is thinner than salsa verde and is cut with stock or water. Salsa verde, on the other hand, skips the liquid and consists only of vegetables and peppers blended together.

Put It on Your Tortilla Dish of Choice

If a tortilla is involved, salsa verde can be too. Tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, any and all tortilla-based meals.

Salsa vs Enchilada Sauce

These two sauces might overlap in their ingredients, but the key difference is that enchilada sauce is thin, smooth, and served hot. It's also considered an important part of dishes like enchiladas, while salsa roja is a cold table sauce that can be added to anything.

Most enchiladas are baked and covered with foil until heated through. Oven temperatures and baking times vary per recipe, but on average they cook in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the enchiladas after they are heated through.

It isn't necessary to cover enchiladas while baking. All of an enchiladas components are cooked and you are just heating them through when you bake them. Ideally your ingredients will be room temperature, not ice cold, when you assemble the enchiladas.

While some recipes use flour tortillas, corn tortillas are traditional — and for good reason — are the better option for enchiladas.

Salsa verde can be served warm or cold and can range in spiciness from very mild to completely mouth-searing. Salsa roja, or red sauce, is usually used as a condiment and made with tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, garlic, and fresh cilantro.

Salsa Verde recipe

Salsa Verde literally means “green sauce”. Different versions are found around Europe (Latin America also has its own kind of salsa verde). This herby, savoury sauce bound with olive oil is used as a fresh and tangy condiment most often served with meats or seafood.

The Short and Spicy Answer

Taco Bell decided to discontinue the green sauce due to changes in their menu and customer preferences. They often update their menu, adding new flavors and removing less popular items to keep things exciting. But don't worry, green sauce lovers!

How to make can green enchilada sauce better? ›

To make your canned enchilada sauce taste homemade, grab some butter, a little flour, and some chicken stock. This trifecta of ingredients infuses a canned enchilada sauce with a satisfyingly thick texture and a rich, savory flavor.

Fry each of your tortillas in hot oil before adding in your enchilada filling. This will help keep the tortillas from soaking up too much of your sauce too quickly, which can also cause them to break apart.

If you are making enchiladas, you may be wondering, “Which sauce should I use?” This is an excellent question, and the most straightforward answer is whatever you prefer. If you are making beef enchiladas, it is more common to pair them with a red sauce, and chicken enchiladas usually have a green sauce.

Salsa Verde is a fantastic replacement for green enchilada sauce. Most salsa Verde is a little simpler than green enchilada sauce, often just a mix of tomatillos and jalapenos without other spices. Enchilada sauce is often a bit more complicated, including onions, garlic, spices, and other additions.

Salsa verde is a staple Mexican sauce made from tomatillos—a small green fruit with papery husks and a tart, bright flavor. Onions, lime, cilantro, and jalapeños round out the rest of the ingredients in the sauce.

Today's enchilada sauce comes in two varieties, red and green. The former is made from dried red chiles boiled in broth with garlic and onions, while the latter is made from tomatillos cooked with chiles in liquid.

It is believed that green sauce is not very spicy. However, as the tomatillos can be slightly sweet, the green chilies add to the heat. Some green sauce recipes will also have jalapenos and serrano which cranks up the heat. Green sauce ranges from a mild to hot spicy flavor.