Salsa Verde Chicken Zucchini Enchiladas are a low carb, healthy dinner that tastes delicious. Using leftover rotisserie chicken, this recipe comes together in about 40 minutes and makes a for a great weeknight meal when you want something different.
If your not familiar with tomatillos they are not green tomatoes. They are super healthy and cheap (I bought 1 1/4 pound for $1.14). They can be found in the produce section of just about any large grocery store now and they can be grown in containers or in the ground.
There’s a picture of ours when they we’re still tiny from last year, we grew our tomatillos on our deck in St. Louis. If you’re into gardening and like to give them a try, the seeds might be hard to find, but Amazon does carry them.
They have a papery husk, but are shaped like tomatoes. However, they taste nothing like a tomato, even though I’ve seen people say use green tomatoes in place of tomatillos, that would be nowhere near the same flavors. I would rather use a red enchilada sauce if you can’t find tomatillos.
According to Natural Food Series;
“The tomatillo is actually a vegetable, rather than a fruit like other tomatoes, and is a staple ingredient in Mexican cuisine. Although tomatillos closely resemble tomatoes, they do not contain lycopene. On the other hand, tomatillos contain a different type of antioxidant phytochemical known as withanolide. Researchers from the University of Kansas discovered 14 phytochemicals in tomatillo that shows anti-cancer potential through pre-clinical testing. Even more interestingly, these compounds have no side effects or toxicity. Furthermore, tomatillos are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, niacin, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. Tomatillos also have a list of organic compounds that are beneficial to one’s health.”
Now if you want to go completely meatless with these try it chickpeas, for Meatless Monday. Don’t have leftover rotisserie chicken? Try it with ground turkey, or hamburger, or even some canned chicken (I haven’t tried with canned chicken, but I know they sell a lot of it at Costco).
Maybe you do meal prep Sundays. We will sometimes buy a 10 bag of frozen leg quarters, cook them up in the smoker and pull the chicken to put in baggies in the freezer to pull out for a quick dinner, like this Skinny Chicken Fajita Soup, that’s really super delicious as well as quick and easy; or a simple Cherry Chicken Salad.
Some tips:
- If you want to go completely meatless with these try it chickpeas instead of chicken, for Meatless Monday.
- Don’t have leftover rotisserie chicken? Try it with ground turkey, or hamburger, or even some canned chicken!
If you LOVE this Salsa Verde Chicken Zucchini Enchiladas recipe, try this Pan Roasted Chicken Vegetables and Pasta OR this Sweet Corn, Zucchini, & Sausage Casserole!
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Salsa Verde Chicken Zucchini Enchiladas
Salsa Verde Chicken Zucchini Enchiladas are a low carb, healthy dinner that tastes delicious. Using leftover rotisserie chicken, this recipe comes together in about 40 minutes and makes a for a great weeknight meal when you want something different.
Ingredients
For the Enchiladas:
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 large zucchini (sliced thin with a mandolin)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/3 cup salsa verde (recipe follows)
- green chiles (7 oz can)
- 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
- fresh cilantro
For the Salsa Verde:
- 1 1/4 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 serrano chiles (depending on heat), stemmed and seeded
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon (or more) kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
For the Enchiladas:
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and season with salt. Cook until soft, 5 minutes; then add garlic, cumin and chili powder and stir until combined. Add shredded chicken and 1/2 cup Salsa Verde and stir to mix through.
- Use a mandoline to make thin slices of zucchini. Lay out three, slightly overlapping, and place a spoonful of chicken mixture on top. Roll up and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining zucchini and chicken mixture.
- Spoon remaining Salsa Verde sauce over zucchini enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake until melty, 20 minutes.
- Garnish with green chiles and cilantro and serve.
Instructions for Salsa Verde:
- Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse to remove the sticky residue. Bring a large pot of water to a boil add tomatillos and peppers, let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain and coarsely chop tomatillos, onion, chiles, and garlic then add all ingredients to a blender. Puree until smooth.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 455Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 91mgSodium 942mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 7gSugar 14gProtein 29g
Nutrition data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix, and should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate.
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