Pork Verde Enchiladas
74 Comments Dec 09, 2019
Updated Oct 28, 2023
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Pork Verde Enchiladas made easy with slow cooker pulled pork and Finish the enchiladas off in the oven for a perfect dinner.
We love to make enchiladas on the weekend and serve them with homemade refried beans and Mexican rice.
Table of Contents
These beautiful Pork Verde Enchiladas start out in the slow cooker. I cook the meat all-night with seasonings, beer and a small amount of liquid smoke.
The next day I get everything ready to put together these enchiladas. I cook the tortillas in oil for a small amount of time to make them pliable, this is what Mexican restaurants do for their enchiladas too.
I add chopped cilantro to the green enchilada sauce to liven it up. Then I start assembling the enchiladas. Enchiladas are not hard to make, it just takes some time to get everything ready before you start filling them.
How to fry tortillas for enchiladas:
- Start by heating canola or vegetable oil in a skillet or deep cast iron pan.
- Add a corn tortilla to the pan and lightly fry on each side. This only takes a few seconds per side.
- The tortilla will not be crisp, it will now be soft and pliable and ready to make enchiladas.
- Lay each tortilla onto a paper towel-lined plate.
- Lightly sprinkle with salt if desired.
- Let the tortillas cool enough to handle
If you have not par-cooked tortillas for enchiladas before you may want to watch this video below. I learned from my mom growing up, but if I did not watch her I may have been confused about the small amount of time that they really need to cook.
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Pork Verde Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the Pork
- 3 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, (around 3-4 lbs)
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. liquid hickory smoke
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup beer, use water if you can't use beer
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 4-6 plump cloves
For the Enchiladas
- 16 yellow corn tortillas
- vegetable oil
- 28 oz green enchilada sauce
- 1/8 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 1/2 lbs. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
For the Slow Cooker Pork:
- In a large skillet set to medium-high heat add the oil.
- Once hot, brown the pork roast on all sides.
- Place in to the slow cooker with all the remaining ingredients over the pork roast.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours.
- Shred the meat with 2 forks, set aside.
For the enchiladas:
- Set a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add about an inch of oil.
- Cook each corn tortillas for about 2 seconds on each side, place them onto paper towels to drain the oil. (see notes)
- Get everything else that is needed to make the enchiladas ready. Mix the enchilada sauce and cilantro together in a small bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the casserole dishes.
- Lay a cooked tortilla down in the sauce in the casserole dish, add about a 1/4 cup of pulled pork, a sprinkle of cheese and a drizzle of enchilada sauce, roll up the tortilla and put the seam down.
- Repeat this until all the meat is gone.
- Add a touch of enchilada sauce to the top of the enchiladas, add about a cup and half of cheese to the top of each casserole dish.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake for 35 minutes covered and then 20 minutes uncovered. If you like browned cheese on top (like mine), set the oven to broil and cook for about 5 minutes until the cheese is browned.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Can this be made the night before & cooked the next day for a potluck lunch? Will they get too soggy?
Not if you slightly fry each tortilla. Enchiladas are often made the day before they are baked, so you’ll be fine.
Super delicious!! Mine came out tasting exactly like amazing pork tamales!! I topped mine with some fresh pico de gallo and it was perfect.
Easy and amazing recipe for entertaining!
If I am taking to a friends house for dinner, can I assemble at home then bake at their house? So excited to try!!
Yes! That will work very well.
Thank you! Trying these tomorrow!
What size corn tortillas??? Also can you use white corn tortillas?. I was going to make mine.
I made it before and it was wonderful but can’t remember what size tortillas I used. We are going to have it for our Christmas dinner this year.
Thank you for your wonderful recipe.
You can use white corn. I usually go by the ounces on the packaging.
Can the pork be cooked in an insta pot instead? If so how long would you cook it? Thank you
Sorry! I have not tried.
Yes it can! Brown the pork in 2 inch chunks on the sauté function. Then add the liquid ingredients and cook on high pressure for 30 mins followed by the 15 min natural release. If you want to crispify them before using for enchiladas put them under a low broil for about 5 mins
I made these tonight using pulled pork shoulder I did in my InstantPot using slow cooker mode the day before.
Frying the tortillas made all the difference making this dish. Without this step the tortillas crack and make this dish a real mess to make.
So excited to make these but I dont have the 11 hours to cook on low in time for dinner tonight. Can I cook on high to save time?
Yes! 6-7 on high should do the trick (depends on the size of your pork).
2 2021
i put solid frozen shoulder into the crock overnight.
Its done before morning, but, if the smell doesn’t
awaken you in the middle of the night, just
cool down on a plate in the morning.
Fall apart tender!
Your super simple recipe for making pork verde enchiladas is one of our favorite meals! My husband puts the enchiladas together while I heat up the tortillas.
We end making so many we give half away. However, once the enchiladas are cooked, can they be frozen and still taste yummy? I meant to save some without cooking for that purpose and forgot in the excitement of making the dish. LOL Am I too late to freeze them?
Thank you so much! I have to say I have made a lot of your recipes and every one of the meals has been outstanding. I LOVE cooking in my crock pot!
I think they are fine to freeze. I usually freeze before cooking in disposable pans. I do think they are probably fine to freeze after cooking too.
These are delicious! Any recommendations for freezing after making then cooking at a later date?
These are amazing!! So easy and delicious! I have made them 3 times now and my family can’t get enough! Thank you for the recipe!!
This is a favorite in my household. My husband declared these better than going to a restaurant. I always have leftover meat and I love adding it to chili.