Carnitas Casserole Verde is made with shredded pork, cream cheese and tomatillo sauce for an easy one dish meal sure to satisfy that Mexican craving.
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If you had to eat only one nationality of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
You can probably guess, mine would be Mexican. In a heartbeat. If I only could eat one Mexican food? Guacamole for sure! Yum!
But today’s post is not a guacamole recipe. Today’s recipe is Carnitas Casserole Verde. This is one of those easy, one dish meals that comes together quickly. Who doesn’t need that?
Now, if you have any Mexican or Hispanic in you, I need to warn you, this is not traditional carnitas. Not only because it’s casserole style, but the pork was cooked differently than in a traditional Mexican kitchen.
Don’t judge! This recipe still has amazing flavor, fills you up, and is quite the comfort food.
Carnitas Casserole Verde
For this recipe you’ll need shredded pork, corn tortillas, cream cheese, salsa verde (mild, medium or hot, your choice), and some monterey jack cheese.
See? Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Top it off with some cilantro.
Pro Tip~
Cook a big batch of pork and freeze it in portions so you have it on the ready for any recipe. For that reason, I don’t season this pork with anything other than salt and pepper.
Prep your ingredients (mixing, shredding, chopping, etc) to make building your casserole go quicker.
Casserole, I don’t like that word much. It kind of comes with a stereotype ya know? Sounds old, and not very appealing. But hey, the truth is, this is a casserole. But it’s a good one I promise!
Put a cup or so of the salsa verde on the bottom of your pan.
Place the tortillas next. Usually 5 will do. Four are whole, and I tear the last one to make it fit well.
Spread the creamy sauce on,
Then the pork…
Last but not least, the cheese! Oh yes! Glorious cheese!
Now, repeat!
Top it off with a layer of tortillas, sauce and cheese. Pop it in the oven and this baby is good to go!
After you bake it for 30 minutes, garnish it with some fresh cilantro. Cilantro happens to be one of those love it or hate it kind of things. Where do you stand?
If you don’t like cilantro, leave it off, no problemo. You could also top it with some diced tomatoes if that floats your boat.
We serve our Mexican meals up with chips, salsa, and guacamole.
Variations for Carnitas Casserole Verde
- Use beef or chicken
- Go vegetarian and use beans in place of meat
- Fajita style veggies make a fantastic additional layer
- Add a another type of cheese for extra cheesy goodness.
This dish is a great one to make ahead so all you have to do is heat it up. It’s also a great freezer meal! I would recommend thawing it before you bake it if you go that route.
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Carnitas Casserole Verde
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups shredded pork
- 15 corn tortillas
- 1 16 oz jar of salsa verde mild, medium or hot
- 2 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1 8oz block of Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- Cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Reserve 1 cup of salsa.
- Combine cream cheese and remaining salsa and mix well.
- Wrap tortillas between damp paper towels and warm in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Pour 1 cup salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
- Spread 5 tortillas in the pan.
- Spread ⅓ of the sauce on top of the tortillas
- Place half of the shredded pork on top.
- Follow pork with ⅓ of the cheese
- Repeat steps 6-9.
- Finish with a layer of tortillas, sauce and cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until warmed through.
- Serve topped with Cilantro
Video
Nutrition
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This is a fantastic recipe! Didn’t change a thing except I used smoked pork leftovers and it was a HUGE hit with the whole family!
YAY!!! So glad everyone loved it, that’s always a win. Smoked pork sounds delightful!
I would like to freeze this. Should I bake it before freezing, or just assemble and then freeze?
I usually assemble and freeze. Enjoy!
Let it thaw before baking.
I’ve made this recipe several times now so I thought I should probably leave a comment! 🙂 I found no need to tweak! It’s my go to when I have extra pork and a hit with my husband and even my 5 year old will eat it too (still working on 2 year old, but hey, you take what you can take), which is a huge win! Thank you!
Thank you so much Sarah! I’m glad you love it and it’s a regular– I love having those in my back pocket. Keep working on that two-year-old, they’ll come around eventually. My kids were picky at that age, but now they will eat almost everything, and I believe it’s because I didn’t give up with having them try new things and re-try stuff they didn’t love. 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and rate the recipe, I truly appreciate it SO much!!
Oh my heavens! Not even 10 a.m. and I’m craving this casserole!
Haha! You’ll really enjoy it by dinner time then.
This recipe is quite delightful, I added the whole brick of cream cheese to hide the salsa taste from my kids and it was a hit they loved it! My husband especially loved it because we used pork that he had smoked 👌. Thank you so much for sharing!
That sounds delicious! Thanks, Brooke for trying the recipe and taking the time to leave a comment.
i make this with either pork or chicken about two times a month or more, the only difference is that we use corn chips, makes it a bit easier to get out of the dish.
So glad this has become a staple for you! Love the idea of chips, thanks for sharing that, and thanks for the rating!!
I had a big batch of unseasoned pulled pork and I’d used it for many other recipes – with scrambled egg/veggie/stirfry, taco/burritos, salad bowl meals, and I was ready for something different for dinner tonight. I was happy to find this simple recipe with ingredients I had in the kitchen. Very easy and , though I haven’t served it yet, I did sneak a little taste of the sauce as it was baking, and it was delightful! I’d been feeling uninspired, and not looking forward to making yet another meal, but now I’m really looking forward to dinner and to leftovers tomorrow! Thanks!
Thank you so much! I hope you loved it, and I’m so happy you were inspired. It is such a great easy and versatile recipe that everyone loves. I’ve made it with chicken, pork, and even replaced the meat with beans.
made this tonight. OMG! Delicious! The whole casserole gone. We like a more moist casserole so I added 6 oz of cream cheese to the salsa. I also added 2 chopped whole Ortega chilies with 1/8 C of the juice it comes in. Also just a few slices pickled jalapenos, chopped. Sooo delish!!!! Oh, and I added another cup of meat.
So glad you enjoyed it Jessica! Way to make it your own. 🙂
I have used this recipe twice now and plan to make again for large group this week because it gets rave reviews. I do use flour tortillas pan spun and almost double the verde salsa. It turns out great. Plan to try with chicken next.
I love how you’ve made it your own! I make with with chicken often, you’ll love it! 🙂
Made this tonight. Hubby declared “That’s darn good stuff”! Winner winner carnitas dinner!!
That’s awesome Cara!! We love that one too. Thanks for sharing, glad you enjoyed. 🙂
This was amazing! My family loved it! My changes were to use more salsa Verde (3 cans 19 oz green enchilada sauce) and 8 ounces cream cheese. Baked longer. My family likes moister casseroles, and my boys are football-sized. SO yummy–will definitely make again!
Denise! I love how you made it your own! It totally makes my day that your family loved this. Thanks so much. 🙂
This is great! Been making chili verde for years. My aunt taught me. It’s my favorite recipe. But my wife has this thing about leftovers. I guess it’s not a problem exactly, more for me, right!? But I’ll give this a whirl next time and see if I can stretch it a bit. But I will respectfully replace the pork and salsa verde in your recipe with my own proprietary solution ;). https://craftlog.com/us/cooking/salsa-verde-carnitas-Sj2h
I just made this and I was surprised at how good it was. I had left over pork carnitas and decided to try. I was scared it would be tangy with the Verde boy was I wrong. So excited for my husband to have it when he gets home from work. Yum.
This looks delicious! You are one of the features at tonight’s Creative Ways Link Party! Thanks so much for sharing this yummy recipe!
Blessings,
Nici
Wow Nici! I’m honored, thank you so much!!
Yum yum and YUM!
Thanks for the recipe!
Michelle
I make something like this recipe. So yummy!
Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight Party. Pinned & shared.
ohh yes this carnitas casserole looks and sounds delish! thanks for sharing the recipe!
You bet! I love how easy it is too!
Chellie,
This looks delish! I love all of your beautiful photography.
Thank you so much! That means a lot, especially on this post because casseroles can be hard to photograph. Not a lot of creativity. haha!
I just made this recipe tonight, and it was delicious. I just had a question. The recipe calls for 2 oz of cream cheese. I barely had any sauce to put on the tortillas. I ended up using almost 2 packages of cream cheese. Is this a typo? Did you really make it with only 2 oz of cream cheese?
Hi Sara, I do only use 2 oz of cream cheese, but it’s mixed with the salsa, so it usually just makes it creamy. I’ve also made it with Sour cream. I love that you weren’t afraid to make it your own. Maybe try it next time with mixing the salsa and some sour cream and a little cream cheese if you want to. You’ll get a nice creamy sauce with great flavor. Or, instead of more cream cheese, you could use more salsa verde. I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out exactly right for you. Keep me posted if you try something else.