Guys, these white chicken enchiladas have to be one of my all-time favorite enchilada recipes EVER! This post has been a HUGE reader favorite as well.They’re cheesy, saucy, and truly downright divine. I promise you will really love these! All that and they come together quickly enough to work for my midweek dinner rotation.
If you love this type 0f enchilada, you might want to try creamy seafood shrimp enchiladas. My shredded beef enchiladas are absolutely heavenly and have an amazing homemade red sauce that is to die for on them. I really hope you try them!!! If you’re looking for a more traditional chicken enchilada, try my cheesy chicken enchiladas. They’ve been in our families regular dinner rotation for more than a decade! If you’d like an easier version of enchiladas, our green chicken enchilada casserole fits the bill perfectly!
Let’s make these!
What I Love About This Recipe
- Smothered in a rich, tangy, homemade sauce
- Quick to prepare
- Loaded with cheesy goodness!
- No Canned Soup
How To Make White Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
My decadently cheesy enchiladas recipe whips up in less than 45 minutes! A double win — delicious and quick.
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In a small bowl, combine chicken and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Fill tortillas with this mixture and roll each one up then place seam side down in the prepared pan.
- Melt the butter in a skillet. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 minute to remove the flour taste. Remove the skillet from heat and whisk in broth. Place back on the heat and cook until the mixture has thickened and is bubbly. Cool sauce for 3-5 minutes.
- Add sour cream and chilies and stir until sauce is smooth and sour cream is completely dissolved.
- Pour sauce over enchiladas and add remaining cheese over top. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until enchiladas are heated through and sauce is bubbly.
- Turn on the broiler and broil until the top is nicely golden. Top with chopped green onions and serve.
Best Chicken To Use For This Recipe
This is a great recipe to use a rotisserie chicken in. It greatly speeds up the prep time and it’s infused with great seasoning. If you’d prefer, you can use homemade poached chicken or any leftover grilled chicken you happen to have. You can use a combo of white and dark meat or just white or just dark meat per your family’s preference.
White Chicken Enchiladas Recipe Ingredients + Notes
- Diced chiles – Our recipe calls for mild chilies. If your family likes spicy food, you can substitute hotter chilies instead. Another tasty option is fire-roasted chilies. They should be on the shelf near the other canned peppers at your grocery store.
- Chicken – You can cook the chicken according to your favorite method, such as roasting or poaching the breasts. If you’re pressed for time, using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from your grocer is a great time-saving shortcut. Honestly, 9 times out of 10, that’s what I use.
- Shredded cheese – We love the flavor of Monterey Jack in this dish. It also helps keep the sauce white! If you have a different cheese on hand, feel free to substitute your favorite shredded cheese in this recipe. My son loves when I use Pepper Jack instead of the plain Monterey because it adds another layer of flavor and spice. It might be too spicy for little kiddos though.
- Sour cream – We strongly recommend using full-fat sour cream in this recipe. It’s an important factor in the richness of the sauce. Also, low-fat sour cream tends to separate and get runny when heated. You might end up with gloppy enchiladas!
- Green onions – Don’t have any green onions? A sprinkle of chopped cilantro on top will add a bright flavor, too.
- Tortillas – The recipe calls for using flour tortillas, but if you prefer, you can switch them with corn tortillas. I used fajita sized tortillas.
- Seasoning – I didn’t need to add any salt or pepper to this recipe. The chicken broth I used was very flavorful and had a lot of salt already in it. The chicken was also well seasoned and obviously, the cheese had a good amount of salt.
- Tools to Make
Tools For This Recipe
- A 9×13 baking pan
- A stovetop skillet
- Mixing bowls
- A whisk: The whisk is important! This helps you get the creamiest, dreamiest sauce imaginable.
How To Shred Cooked Chicken
The quickest and easiest way to shred chicken is to use a handheld mixer or a stand-up mixer. Here’s how:
- Place boneless, cooked chicken in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand-up mixer.
- Set the mixer on low and mix.
- Et Viola! Perfect shredded chicken in a fraction on the time!!
Storing + Freezing + Meake Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? If you have leftover enchiladas, store them in an airtight container to keep them from drying out. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days for optimal freshness.
- Can You Freeze This? Sour cream can tend to get runny and/or chunky in the freezer. Freezing them will change the texture of the sauce. We suggest freezing the stuffed and rolled enchiladas without the sauce. Then make the white sauce on the day you plan to reheat it and eat it.
- Make-Ahead Tips: If you meal prep at the beginning of the week, these can easily be prepared several days in advance. Store the stuffed and rolled enchiladas in a covered baking dish. Keep the white sauce separate until you plan to cook the enchiladas. This will cut down on soggy tortillas.
- If you’re making the sauce in advance, it may get a bit too thick when it’s cooled and reheated. This is easy to fix. Add whole milk or chicken stock, one tablespoon at a time, during reheating to achieve your desired thickness. Be sure to stir or whisk thoroughly to maintain the creaminess of the sauce.
Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Serving Recommendations
What better way to serve my chicken enchiladas than with a whole Mexican feast? My favorite things to serve with this are my Mexican Rice, charro beans, jalapeno cornbread, Mexican corn salad, and my Southwest Salad (my family’s favorite salad! They always eat their veggies when I serve this). All the flavors in the dishes complement each other perfectly and I have a meal on the table that everyone is happy with.
How about some dessert? We like this with or margarita cake (totally nonalchoholic!), pineapple upside down cake, pig pickin cake, or pineapple sheet cake.
If you want to pair this with cocktails, try our pink margarita, pineapple margarita, or our old fashioned mocktail, lime rickey!
More Delicious Mexican-Inspired Recipes
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
White Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 8-10 small flour tortillas
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or chopped
- 3 cups Monterey jack cheese shredded-divided
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (4-ounce can) diced green chilies mild
- 2-3 tablespoons green onions sliced
Instructions
- Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine chicken and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Fill tortillas with this mixture and roll each one up then place seam side down in the prepared pan.
- Melt the butter in a skillet. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 minute to remove the flour taste. Remove the skillet from heat and whisk in broth. Place back on the heat and cook until the mixture has thickened and is bubbly. Cool sauce for 3-5 minutes. (Don't skip this step- if the sauce is too hot and you add the sour cream it will curdle it-yuck!) Add sour cream and chilies and stir until sauce is smooth and sour cream is completely dissolved.
- Pour sauce over enchiladas and add remaining cheese over top. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until enchiladas are heated through and sauce is bubbly. Turn on the broiler and broil until the top is nicely golden. Top with chopped green onions and serve.
Jen says
This is an excellent recipe that I have made several times. Thank you for it. And for all those weirdos that change everything and then say crap, I made it EXACTLY as is and its AMAZING.
Kathleen says
Thank you so much, Jen! I’m so glad you like this enchilada! 🙂
Sharon says
This was the best white enchilada chicken enchiladas that I have ever made.. I served this dinner to a group of friends that I had invited over and was trying out a new recipe it did not disappoint love love this sauce.. thank you for a great recipe will be making it again.
Kathleen says
Yaaay! I’m so happy this recipe was a hit! Thank you so much for sharing your positive feedback 🙂
Ashley Klein says
Our favorite Chicken Enchilladas! SO good!!
Kathleen says
Thanks, Ashley 🙂 I’m so happy you like this chicken enchiladas!
Kim says
Hi Kathleen, these look absolutely incredible! I am planning my menu for Super Bowl Sunday, and I think I’ll add these to the list. They’ll be easy since I can assemble them ahead, then pop them in the oven near kickoff. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
Kathleen says
Thank you so much, Kim! I’m so happy you’ll include this to your Super Bowl menu 🙂
Gilda DENIRO says
This looks delicious. Can you use greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Kathleen says
Hey Gilda, I’ve never used Greek yogurt in this sauce. Not 100% sure how it would work. I switch out sour cream with yogurt all the time in fillings, but not sure how it will melt and emulsify in the sauce when it’s heat! Let me know how it works if you try it!!! This sauce is the BOMB!
Lorilyn Kay Harper says
We LOVED this – and we’re “snobs” when it comes to Mexican or Tex-Mex foods! Having lived for several years in Texas, we have some “quirky” standards. We like heat, so I added a drained can of Ro-tel to the chicken/cheese filling, along with adding some chopped fresh jalapenos and diced onion to the butter before adding the flour to the sauce. Your sauce is excellent! Thank you for sharing this – we’ll definitely be making it again! 🙂
Kathleen says
Thank you so much, Lorilyn! I’m so happy you like the sauce 🙂
Joanna says
So you changed the recipe entirely.
Victoria A. Cheramie says
I’ve run out of flour and don’t have cream of chicken soup. Can anyone think of a sub? Oat flour?
Kathleen says
Hi, Victoria. I haven’t tried this with oat flour but I think that will work. There will be slight changes in texture.
Jane says
Wow I’ve got several people hook on this. It’s definitely a 5 star meal. Thank you for a great recipe!!!
Kathleen says
Yaaay! That’s awesome, Jane! I’m glad it was a hit 🙂
Richard Potoukian says
Very good. Went with corn tortillas and some yellow onion.
Sauce was delicious
Kathleen says
That’s great, Richard! Thanks for your positive review 🙂
Doris says
Haven’t tried yet. But wondering if you drain the chiles? Thanks!
Kathleen says
Hi, Doris! No, no need to drain the chiles 🙂
firmwaregirl says
Easy to make and really delicious. I used pre-grated Mexican cheese mix (lazy!) and threw in some black beans into the chicken/cheese but otherwise followed recipe. Sauce was perfect!
Laura says
Haven’t made yet but making tomorrow for a family get-together, do to put think corn tortillas would be good with this recipe?
Kathleen says
Hi, Laura! You can switch them with corn tortillas. I used fajita sized tortillas. 🙂 Enjoy!
Lisa says
I haven’t made these yet, so no rating. My question is can I make these and then just freeze, thaw and bake at a later time?
Kathleen says
Hi Lisa.
If you’re making this ahead of time: Store the stuffed and rolled enchiladas in a covered baking dish. Keep the white sauce separate until you plan to cook the enchiladas. This will cut down on soggy tortillas.
Sour cream can tend to get runny and/or chunky in the freezer. Freezing them will change the texture of the sauce. We suggest freezing the stuffed and rolled enchiladas without the sauce. Then make the white sauce on the day you plan to reheat and eat them.
Julia North says
I’ve made this recipe twice. The flour tortillas got too mushy so I tried corn tortillas last week. They were so stiff even after heating them. They broke and fell apart when I tried to roll them. Other than that, it tasted great. Can you recommend a great corn tortilla brand??
Tracy Williams says
Typically if you are using corn tortillas, you must warm them in a frying pan. Cook in a hot pan with vegetable spray for about 30 seconds each side. That should fix your problem. Try using a local brand of white corn for a bit lighter taste and flexibility.
Jessica Campbell says
I sear the enchiladas on a skillet before I put them in the sauce. They don’t mush up then!
Lisa F says
Came out delicious! Thank you!
Kathleen says
So happy you enjoyed, Lisa <3!
Brenda Ragland says
Omg! This is my new go to recipe for sour cream enchiladas. I always had made the way my mom did with a couple cans of soups added and enchilada sauce stacked. Really wanted to try rolled ones. The love that goes into your recipe. Wow..I did use corn tortillas instead of flour but stuck to the recipe. Amazing how great it is without any salt pepper or other spices. THANKS for the GREAT recipe. Every one had thirds!
Kathleen says
Brenda, I’m so happy this was a hit for you and your family!
Hannah Dillon says
Third time making it! It really is an amazing tasting dish! My husband loves it and does not like sour cream.
Kathleen says
Wow, that’s amazing, Hannah! I’m so happy it was a hit! Thanks for the positive feedback 🙂
Shirley boock says
So good! I only used 2 cups of leftover rotisserie chicken and used 8 oz Colby Jack and 8 oz pepper Jack cheese. I used homemade chicken stock and a tsp. of chicken base. It was delicious. We are not big meat eaters and I thought the recipe had an excessive amount of cheese for our liking. Great recipe, we will make this again!
Kathleen says
Yaaay! Thanks, Shirley! I’m glad it was a hit 🙂