Tomatillo Chicken Recipe (2024)

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Pollo Entomatado

Tomatillo chicken, called pollo entomadado, is prepared with skinless chicken thighs and legs, and white potatoes simmered with tangy tomatillos and chipotle chile in adobo sauce. Chicken doesn’t have to be dull. This dish has layers of flavor. The chicken is lightly browned, and the tomatillos sauteed then all the ingredients are simmered together to create a rich sauce. It’s even healthy as an added bonus.

We like to serve it with Mexican Rice or white rice as a side dish but it’s so good it doesn’t need a side. A stack of warm corn tortillas is always welcome too.

How to Make

Ingredients:

Gather all your ingredients.

4 chicken legs
4 chicken thighs
1 ¼ lb. tomatillos or green tomatoes
2 large white potatoes
¼ large white onion
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs cilantro
½ tsp. oregano
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt + to taste
3 tbsp. olive oil

First, remove the skin from the chicken.

Then, generously season the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside while you prep the potato, tomatillo, onion and other ingredients.

Cut the potato into ½″ cubes. Cut the tomatillo into ½″ pieces. Slice the onion lengthwise into thin strips. Finely chop the cilantro, garlic, and chipotle chile.

Preheat a large frying pan to medium-hot then add 3 tbsp. of olive oil. In the hot oil, lightly brown the chicken pieces on both sides.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside while you work with the other ingredients.

In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute until the onion just starts to turn translucent.

Then add the tomatillo and cook for 5 minutes until it has softened and is changing in color from bright green to pale green.

Add the chopped chipotle and stir. The chipotle adds a little smoky heat. It’s just enough to give the sauce a hint of heat but not make it burn-your-mouth hot.

Add the potatoes and cilantro stir well.

Add the chicken broth.

Add the water.

Add the oregano and salt and stir.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Serving

Spoon the tomatillo potato mixture on a plate and place 1 thigh and 1 leg on top. Serve with white rice or Mexican rice as a side dish.

This will become one of your favorite chicken dishes. It’s easy to prepare and has depth of flavor.

Provecho!

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4.41 from 32 votes

Tomatillo Chicken Recipe

Tomatillo chicken, called pollo entomadado, prepared with skinless chicken thighs and legs, and white potatoes simmered with tangy tomatillos and chipotle chile in adobo sauce.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword how to make tomatillo chicken, Mexican chicken recipe, tomatillo chicken recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 367kcal

Author Andrés Carnalla

Ingredients

4 chicken legs
4 chicken thighs
1 ¼ lb. tomatillos or green tomatoes
2 large white potatoes
¼ large white onion
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs cilantro
½ tsp. oregano
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt + to taste
3 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

First, remove the skin from the chicken.
Then, generously season the chicken with salt and pepper. Set aside while you prep the potato, tomatillo, onion and other ingredients.
Remove the papery husk from the tomatillos then rinse under warm water.
Cut the potato into ½″ cubes. Cut the tomatillo into ½″ pieces. Slice the onion lengthwise into thin strips. Finely chop the cilantro, garlic, and chipotle chile.
Preheat a large frying pan to medium-hot then add 3 tbsp. of olive oil. In the hot oil, lightly brown the chicken pieces on both sides.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute until the onion just starts to turn translucent.
Then add the tomatillo and cook for 5 minutes until it has softened and is changing in color from bright green to pale green.
Add the chopped chipotle and stir. Add the potatoes and cilantro stir well.
Add the chicken broth, water, oregano, and salt then stir well.
Bring the mixture to a boil then add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
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To serve, spoon the tomatillo potato mixture on a plate and place 1 thigh and 1 leg on top.

Notes

Substitutions

You can leave the skin on the chicken if you prefer. Follow the same steps for browning and cooking.

Storage

It will keep well in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Nutrition

More Mexican Chicken Recipes

Chicken Tinga
Chicken Fajitas in Adobo
Chicken Tacos with Avocado Salsa
Chicken Tostadas
Chicken Taquitos (Flautas)

More Mexican Chicken Recipes

Mole Poblano
Mexican Sopes with Chicken
Chicken Fajitas [Easy in 30 Minutes]
Chicken Tacos with Avocado Salsa

Reader Interactions

Comments

Kathleen says

August 05, 2018 at 9:57 pm

Hi! This says to add cilantro and oregano, but doesn’t give amounts?

Thanks!

Reply
- Douglas Cullen says
  
  August 05, 2018 at 10:02 pm
  
  Kathleen, it’s 2 sprigs cilantro and 1/2 tsp. Mexicano oregano. Thanks for the heads-up!
  
  Reply
Linda Henry says

October 26, 2018 at 12:36 pm

Made this keto-friendly last night by just omitting the potatoes and using half the amount of tomatillos (suggest reducing liquid since there’s no potatoes to soak it up) – it was a hit! Served with guacamole to tame my overuse of the chipotle in adobo ;) YUM!

Reply
Matt G says

March 26, 2019 at 5:37 pm

This is a big hit for the whole family. The kids (2 and4) enjoyed the chicken enough to power through the slow simmering heat that made their lips tingle. My wife keeps going back for more. I was glad to gobble up anything left on plates (almost nothing) and and am super excited for leftovers.

Reply
deborah k crary says

August 24, 2019 at 4:29 am

when it says a can of chipotle in adobo.. do I use the whole can? it says chopped chipotle..

Reply
- Jon says
  
  January 03, 2022 at 4:48 pm
  
  No! Your face will explode into flames. Just 1 pepper out of the can. :-)
  
  Reply
eatchimac says

December 21, 2020 at 10:57 pm

It’s the best recipe ever!
Make for Christmas – delicious!

Reply
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Reply
ol says

May 11, 2021 at 10:25 am

This recipe is excellent. Shockingly flavorful and easy. I didn’t have fresh tomatillos, so I used canned and it was still good. I will try with fresh next time and also try it with pork.

Reply
ol says

May 11, 2021 at 10:30 am

I used 1-2 chiles from the canned adobe chiles.

Reply
Eric says

August 17, 2021 at 6:02 pm

I planted tomatillos in my garden and I needed something to make with them, and – wow, this is delicious.
I just cut up a fresh chili instead of the canned, and I used boneless chicken thighs, and cut them up after browning them. (I like having the smaller chicken pieces rather than a couple huge ones). Worked great; I’ll absolutely make this again.

Reply
Laura Alatorre Parks says

September 27, 2021 at 10:23 pm

Wow…just wow. I grow tomatillos…and am always looking for new ways to use these delightful fruits. My changes were minimal: boneless skinless thighs (next time I will chop smaller before serving) and I added a few cayenne peppers, whole, for heat and color, and I doubled the chipotle pepper from the can…because they are just so sexy! We served with corn torts (how I was raised) and a simple garnish of avocado with lots of fresh cut cilantro. Yummy factor off the charts on this one!

Reply
Laura says

August 30, 2022 at 10:37 am

This was a good dish even though it’s not what most people would consider typical Mexican food. My modifications were to add a bit more chipotle and because I was out of regular potatoes, I substituted a medium sweet potato. It worked out fine and the tiny bit of sweetness it added complimented the chipotle nicely.

Reply