RDN-made Chicken Meals from Around World: Green Chicken Enchiladas (Enchiladas de Pollo en Salsa Verde)

This National Nutrition Month, we’ll be featuring chicken meals designed by our Registered Dietitian Nutritionists from around our world to celebrate diversity, inclusion, and the importance of delicious healthy eating. All the meals are low fat (and with heart healthy fats), high in fiber, balanced, nutritious and (most importantly) delicious!

RDN: Paula Rubello, RDN, CDN
Country: Mexico
Why This Meal: This is a typical meal in my hometown. Every time I eat it, I remember Mexico City. The culture, the bright colors, the delicious food, the music. I love that there are many varieties to this dish. You can use red or green salsa, mole as well. Stuff them with chicken, vegetables, cheese. This was my first time making this dish from scratch. I would usually eat it when dining out or if it was prepared by someone in my family. I will definitely be making it again!
Tips from Paula: This recipe does require a lot of steps especially since we are making our own sauce. You could buy a pre-made sauce in a jar, however, be warry of the sodium content. I prefer to make my own to control the amount of salt. Additionally, the traditional recipe usually calls for frying the tortillas in oil before filling with chicken. I prefer skipping this step to keep the fat content low. Explore different kinds of tortillas! My favorite kind to use are corn and cactus tortillas. They contain more fiber, calcium, iron, niacin and some B vitamins! As far as toppings go, there are many options. Usually, enchiladas are topped with cheese, sour cream and onion. I prefer using yogurt instead of sour cream (higher and protein and lower in fat). I also top mine with avocado for heart healthy fats and more fiber! Since this dish makes a lot of servings, it may be a good option to have a few meals ready for the week!

Serving size: (Makes 16-20 Enchiladas, 5-6 servings, 3 enchiladas per serving)

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• 1 lb of tomatillos (green tomatoes)
• 5-10 jalapeno peppers
• ½ an onion chopped
• 3 tbsp of chopped cilantro
• ½ c of water
• A pinch of salt and pepper to taste
• ½ tsp of avocado oil

For the enchiladas:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 16-20 corn tortillas (I like using corn and cactus)
• Grated cheese to garnish
• Plain yogurt to garnish
• Sliced avocado to garnish
• Pumpkin seeds to garnish

Preparation

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add chicken. Pour enough water to cover chicken.
2. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium. Let simmer until chicken is cooked through, 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let rest 10 minutes.
3. Shred chicken with two forks. Place on the side to use later.
4. Remove stems from jalapenos and poke them.’
5. Remove skins from tomatillos (sometimes they are sold without skin)
6. Place them in the pot with the jalapenos.
7. Pour enough water in the pot to cover tomatoes and jalapenos.
8. Boil on medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until bland.
9. In a blender, place tomatillos and jalapenos, ½ cup of water used for boiling them, onion, cilantro and a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until well incorporated.
10. In sauce pan, over medium-low heat, add avocado oil and pour sauce. Cook for about 10 minutes or until boiling. If sauce is too thick, add more water.
11.  Heat tortillas on a pan (about 3 seconds each side).
12. Dip tortilla in green sauce for about 1-2 seconds. Just enough to evenly coat the tortilla.
13. In the center of the tortilla, add about 2 tbsp of shredded chicken and roll it up. Place in baking dish. Continue until you use all the tortillas.
14. Pour some more sauce over the enchiladas. Add cheese on top.
15. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
16. To serve: Add 2-3 enchiladas on a plate and top with yogurt and avocado.