My fried chicken loving hubby was smilin’ like he was eatin’ a banana sideways when he tried these Chicken Enchilada Verde Sliders! All of the wonderful, spicy and creamy flavors verde enchiladas have, incorporated into pretty little sliders that taste just as good as they look! We had a blast!!

For these, I decided to use chicken thighs, as they’re less expensive, more flavorful, juicier, and more tender than chicken breasts. Plus, once you trim any excess fat, you simply slice them in half and you don’t have to pound them at all.

They end up being the perfect size and thickness for sliders!

To give the chicken meat itself a little “verde” boost, I added some of the enchilada verde sauce to my beaten eggs, along with just a touch of cumin. Bathing and marinating the chicken thigh pieces in this sauce will give it a wonderful flavor base to start with!

Once those “heavenly chicken nuggets of goodness”, as my hubby lovingly calls them, have marinated, they go into a spicy flour and cornmeal mixture for a nice coating!

I don’t use just any ol’ cornmeal, though! I find that a lot of brands have much too coarse of a grind, and makes things like breadings and cornbreads come out tasting like pea gravel.

And I really hate that gritty consistency.

So, I only use Indian Head Stone Ground Corn Meal, which has a wonderful, fine grind and makes for the best cornbread!! (See my homemade from scratch recipe here!)

And for this, it adds just a little bit of corn flavor, which reminds me of corn tortillas and lends the breading a little bit of a Mexican taste!

And when that gorgeous chicken comes out of the hot oil after frying, all deep golden brown and singing, place the pieces onto a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet, and immediately top each with a small pile of shredded Mexican blend cheese.

Since the pieces with be very hot, the cheese will slowly melt all on its own! There’s no need to pop them into the oven or run them under the broiler.

They will also stay plenty hot while you fry the rest, so they’re fine to just sit and patiently wait to be made into glorious little sandwiches!

The sauce drizzled over the top is an absolute must!

OMG is it ever delicious, and it of course is what helps to give them that “enchilada verde” flavor, too!!

But the rest of the toppings are completely up to you.

The hubby didn’t want any pickled jalapeños or tomato slices on his, but went for shredded lettuce, finely chopped onion, sweet red & green cubanelle pepper slices from the garden, and freshly snipped green onions from my little herb garden!

These little babies packed a TON of flavor into one cute little sandwich! They are also very filling! I was only able to barely handle one, but the hubs went for it! Let’s just say…I don’t know where that man puts it all!!

These would be fast to make on a weeknight if you already have the chicken pieces trimmed, cut and marinating, and the flour mixture all ready to go!

And they’d be a blast on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy with your friends while watching the football games, too!

They aren’t too spicy for kids to handle, either! And you can always add some green hot sauce to kick the heat up a notch or two if you’d like! Tabasco makes a jalapeño hot sauce that I love!

So, the next time you’re looking for a fun new slider to make, give these Chicken Enchilada Verde Sliders a try! They aren’t hard to make, you can top them any way you choose, or set out toppings to let everyone top their own, and they really are one tasty little sandwich! We thoroughly enjoyed these, and I hope you do, too!

Yield: 12 - 16 sliders

Chicken Enchilada Verde Sliders

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and halved
• 1/2 cup green chile enchilada sauce from a 10 oz. can
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• oil for frying
• Mexican Blend shredded cheese
• garlic butter or n-stick butter flavored spray
• slider rolls of choosing
• shredded lettuce
• thinly sliced roma tomatoes
• finely chopped yellow or red onion
• red and green cubanelle pepper slices, seeds removed
• pickled jalapeno slices

For Flour Mixture:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal, *I only use Indian Head Stone Ground (it's less grainy)
• 1 Tbl. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. regular black pepper
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/8 tsp. ground rosemary powder

For Enchilada Verde Sauce:

• rest of can of green chile enchilada sauce
• 1 Tbl. sour cream
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Instructions

In bowl, whisk eggs, whisk in 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and cumin. Set aside. Trim fat and cut chicken thighs in half and place into bowl. Turn and fold chicken pieces to coat. Cover and chill for several hours to overnight to marinate.

In double-lined brown paper lunch sacks, add all Flour Mixture ingredients. Twist top closed and shake to mix well. One at a time, place chicken pieces into flour mixture. Close bag and shake to coat each piece well. Place onto baking sheet as you go along.

When all are coated well, pop into fridge, uncovered, to set while you prep any and all toppings that you'd like.

Then, heat enough oil in a large deep frying pan to deep-fry chicken pieces. Fry in hot oil until golden brown on each side, (turning halfway), and done all the way through. (About 5 - 7 minutes total depending on thickness and oil temp.) Do this in batches, and place them onto a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet as you go along. While they are hot out of the oil, place a small mound of shredded Mexican blend cheese on top of each. The cheese will melt on it's own while they rest.

When all are fried, butter or spray insides of slider rolls and broil until toasted.

To Assemble: Top toasted rolls with shredded lettuce, thinly sliced tomato, chopped onion, a piece of chicken with melted cheese, cubanelle and pickled jalapeño pepper slices, snipped green onion, and drizzle with lots of Enchilada Verde Sauce. (To make the sauce, simply whisk ingredients together in a small bowl.)

Place top rolls on and enjoy!!

Notes

*If you have extra seasoned flour mixture leftover, twist the bag closed and store in the fridge. Then, just before frying, you can add a second coating of seasoned flour for those that might not have enough on them. Just place a few back into the bag and lightly coat with a little more.