Poblano Chile Enchiladas – rich and spicy enchiladas filled with roasted poblano chiles and topped with a salsa verde-sour cream sauce – are a must-make for your meal plan this week!
One way to enjoy great food and save a ton of money is to focus your dishes on rich flavors that can make up for a lack of more expensive ingredients. These are those random, but rich ingredients that make the rest of your pantry zing with flavor. Think vinegar, soy sauce, ethnic sauces, chile peppers, rich cheeses, and the like. Some of these items may be a little pricier than other pantry staples, but they pack a punch of flavor. Usually a little goes a long way.
One of my very favorite dinners in the whole wide world is this one, which just so happens to be BURSTING with the rich flavors I’m talking about. In the early years of our marriage, I discovered a recipe called, “Chile Relleno Enchiladas.” It was very similar to this one, except that it called for red salsa. Red salsa mixed with sour cream looked a little too much like Pepto Bismol. Not really that appetizing. So, as with most recipes, I started tweaking.
The result has been a family favorite for over 20 years! This is the one dish that FishPapa and I “fight over.” That is to say, I keep track. We divide them, even-Steven. They are that good.
When they were little, the kids didn’t really care for them, and that was totally okay with me. More for us! Woe is me, though, the kids are starting to love them, too. I now need to make two pans. Not that that is a bad thing….
How to make this good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the poblano chiles is key. My husband will randomly text me pictures from the produce department when he finds a good batch at a great price.
- Roast and freeze your chiles in advance. This dish comes together quickly if you have this step already taken care of.
- Make your own tortillas. Commercial tortillas are great in this recipe; homemade takes it OVER THE TOP.
Tools I use to make it EASY:
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- stainless steel mixing bowl – I’m not sure you have too many of these.
- wire whisk – Be sure to get one with a closed barrel so dishwater doesn’t get stuck in its innards and drip into your food. Ask me how I know.
- rubber spatula – I have two of these; I love them so much.
- 9×13 baking dish or gratin dishes
- box grater or food processor for cheese
Poblano Chile Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 16 oz sour cream
- 1 jar salsa verde I use Trader Joe’s
- 12 corn tortillas preferably homemade
- 6 poblano chile roasted, and cut in half
- 8 to 12 oz jack cheese (shredded) (2-3 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour cream and salsa verde. Whisk until smooth. Spread ¼ cup sauce over bottom of prepared dish.
- Soften tortillas by warming them briefly. Roll each enchilada by placing half a chile and a small handful of cheese inside each tortilla. Roll and place seam side down in pan. Continue rolling until all twelve enchiladas are assembled.
- Pour sauce over the top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until heated through and starting to bubble.
Notes
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the poblano chiles is key. My husband will randomly text me pictures from the produce department when he finds a good batch at a great price.
- Roast and freeze your chiles in advance. This dish comes together quickly if you have this step already taken care of.
- Make your own tortillas. Commercial tortillas are great in this recipe; homemade takes it OVER THE TOP.
Nutrition
Updated April 22, 2017.
Karen J
I’ve made this recipe several times (including last night) and haven’t taken the time to comment. My husband and I both agree, this is delicious! I’m glad I’ve learned how to blister and peel chiles-so easy and doing that step really makes this dish. I didn’t have salsa verde so used green enchilada sauce instead. I halved the recipe as I only had three chiles and we are two people. Still it made eight-Thank you!
Jessica Fisher
So glad to hear it’s been a winner at your house! It’s such a yummy dish.
Tiffany Matthews
I’ve followed you for years & have this recipe printed out for as long. My husband & I made it once before but it’s been years ago. I saw Poblano’s at the store the other day & bought some with this recipe in mind…but I screwed up the recipe!!!! Hahaha! In the craziness that dinnertime brings I had glanced over the recipe & thought it said to put the sour cream, salsa verde & cheese ALL together in the bowl – so that’s what I did…OOPS! Well, let me just say my husband said it was better than any restaurant (& he’s a “Foodie”)! I used low carb tortilla’s, because that was what we had, & smeared my concoction down the middle of the tortilla, then the chile & a little shredded cheese….lined them all up in their pan and put the rest on top & baked them for 20 minutes like you said….DELICIOUS!
So this to say, that this recipe is SOOOOO good that you can even screw it up & it comes out well!! Thanks, Jessica!
Jessica Fisher
YAY! Sounds yummy, not screwed up.
Angela
We had these for dinner tonight and they were outstanding! My only issue is I don’t think I roasted the peppers long enough or did something wrong in the steaming process. I roasted them on a foil lined sheet and then double wrapped them in foil once they were done. Only a few peeled well….but it didn’t effect the flavor. 4 of 7 of us voted to have them again very soon. I used up the rest of the sauce as dip for chips before dinner and my 14 year old licked the bowl clean! Thanks for the great recipe, its a keeper!
Jessica Fisher
The peppers should get pretty black and blistery. That helps the peels come off easily. So glad you liked them! I’ve got a couple other recipes that use that sauce: https://goodcheapeats.com/2015/02/cilantro-chicken-rice-bowls/ and https://goodcheapeats.com/2011/08/chile-cheese-bake-whats-on-your-plate/ so yummy!
chantel
I made your Mexican Rice and Poblano Chile Enchiladas recipes for lunch today. Both were fantastic! These will be going in to my family favs notebooks. LOVE it when you can find recipes that are super easy, cheap and yummy to boot.
Thanks for sharing.
Jessica Fisher
Those are our favorites, too. So glad you like them!
Kurtzmama
Do you freeze these?
Jessica Fisher
I don’t freeze the enchiladas. There are too many things in here that could go wrong (homemade tortillas, sour cream) upon freezing. I often buy a load of peppers, roast, peel, and freeze those so that putting the enchiladas together is much easier.
Cecy
Love the taste of Chile poblano. Specially if you make rajás de Chile poblano with cream and cheese and corn is the best.
Zane
Adding these items to my grocery list now, but what type of cheese do you use (the shredded one)? Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Usually cheddar or jack. Pepper jack ensures some spiciness because not all chiles are created equal.
Becky
These look delicious! How spicey are they? I’m a wimp and can’t handle anything above mild.
Jessica Fisher
@Becky, that is hard to say. Sometimes our chiles haven’t been hot at all. Other times they are super spicy. You could just taste the chile and then add less if it’s too spicy for you.