This Roasted Tomatillo Chicken Enchilada Casserole is made with a homemade roasted tomatilo, jalapeño, and garlic sauce. New fav!
SCALE
INGREDIENTS
for the sauce:
- 15 tomatillos, paper removed
- 3 jalapeño peppers
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup loosely packed green onions (green parts)
- up to 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (SEE NOTES)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
for the casserole:
- 6 8-inch flour tortillas
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- SAUCE: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño peppers on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Wrap the garlic cloves up in a small piece of foil, drizzling the with a bit of oil as well before you wrap it up. Place the foil garlic packet on the baking sheet with the tomatillos. Roast for 15 minutes – stir once to prevent burning, and roast for another 15 minutes. Unwrap the foil and transfer the roasted garlic, tomatillos, and jalapeños to a food processor. Add the cilantro and green onions. Pulse until mostly smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the broth, sour cream, and oil.
- CHICKEN: While the sauce is roasting, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the chicken, turn heat off, and cover tightly. Let rest for 30 minutes. This will poach the chicken – it should be cooked by the time the sauce is done. When it’s done, shred the chicken and reserve the water.
- ASSEMBLE: Dip a tortilla in the hot water from step two until it’s very soft. Lay it on the bottom of a greased 9-inch square baking dish. Cut the next tortilla in half, dip the halves in the water, and place them in the corners of the pan. Layer with half of the chicken, one third of the sauce, and one third of the cheese. Repeat layers. End with a final layer of tortillas, sauce, and cheese.
- BAKE: Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly – I’d put a pan underneath to catch sauce drips. Sprinkle with extra cilantro before serving.
NOTES
Based on some of the comments and another round of testing, I’d suggest just eyeballing the amount of broth instead of adding all of it right away. You want the consistency of the sauce to fall somewhere between a thick and chunky salsa verde and an enchilada sauce.
