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.
- In a bowl, combine chicken and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese.
- Fill tortillas with this mixture and roll each one up.
- Arrange the tortillas in the prepared pan.
- Melt butter in a skillet. Sprinkle flour and cook for a minute.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add chicken broth. Place back on the heat until the sauce thickens.
- Add sour cream and chilies, stir until the sauce is smooth.
- Pour the sauce over the enchiladas. Add the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake.
- Top with green onions and serve.
***See the full instructions below.
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 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.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
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 our 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 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
- In a small bowl, combine chicken (3 cups) and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese. Fill tortillas (8-10) with this mixture and roll each one up then place seam side down in the prepared pan.
- Melt the butter (3 tablespoons) in a skillet. Sprinkle flour (3 tablespoons) 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 (2 cups). 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 (1 cup) and chilies (1 can) and stir until the sauce is smooth and the sour cream is completely dissolved.
- Pour sauce over enchiladas and add remaining cheese over top. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated through and the sauce is bubbly. Turn on the broiler and broil until the top is nicely golden. Top with chopped green onions (2-3 tablespoons) and serve.
Laurie says
OMG is this to die for. So easy to make and delicious. Made it for our Cinco de Mayo dinner last night and couldn’t get enough. This recipe is a definite keeper for my files. Thank you for sharing.
Kathleen says
Hi Laurie! So happy to hear you liked it! 😀
Lisa Daily says
Can this be froze?
Kathleen says
Hi Lisa! Yes, you can freeze it, but do it without the white sauce. Hope this helps!
MARIA salas says
Delish
Kathleen says
Thank you, Maria! 😀
Mary says
Can I use beef instead of chicken
Kathleen says
Hi Mary! You can check out my Shredded Beef Enchiladas. Happy cooking!
Betty P. says
Wow! My 7 year old daughter who usually does not like anything with sauce on it devoured these! It was funny because she didn’t want me to know that she liked them so she snuck bites when I was not looking. Eventually, I noticed that she had finished an entire enchilada. My 4-year-old son was equally enamored with them. My husband and I were licking our plates! It was easy and the kids were able to help make the recipe. I used shredded leftover chicken from earlier in the week for a timesaver. MMMM! I cannot wait to make these again!
Kathleen says
Aww your kids sound so adorable, Betty! ❤️ I’m glad to hear you and your family loved it!
Patty says
Delish and super easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Kathleen says
You’re welcome, Patty! 😀
Cal Abriola says
OMG. EVERYONE YOU MUST TRY THESE There is a mexican restaurant in Fort Myers, FL that my family takes me to when I visit. They serve Sour Cream Enchiladas. They go there just for that. So i came home and found your recipe and made it. THESE ARE THE BEST! Now I can have them anytime and I can’t wait till they come home to North Carolina for the summer so I can fix these for them. Thanks for making me the cooking queen of the family.
Kathleen says
Woot! You’re welcome, Cal! 😀 So happy to hear you liked it!
Libby says
I love this recipe. My kid loves this recipe. I’ve made it 3 or 4 times already. I use rotisserie chicken as a time saver. I make Spanish rice and refried beans to go with.
Kathleen says
I’m so happy you and your family enjoy these enchiladas!
Steven Craig says
In the parking lot have the ingredients going home eighth now to make it SO EXCITED. Note I am not a cook I burned cereal once… I only used my oven to light candles lol put the bowl of cereal on stove top right after and it caught fire… so keep me in your prayers… will report back!
Kathleen says
You can do it Steven! ?
Shenika S says
This was so good, and very easy to make. Thank you so much for sharing! =)
Kathleen says
Hi, Shenika! Yay, I’m so happy you like this. 🙂
Stacie says
I have made this recipe many times. They are so creamy. It is key to boil your chicken broth until thick. I like to add onion and diced jalapeno to the chicken mix as well as some Pollo seasoning. I use a pepper jack/Monterey cheese blend. They are always a hit! Thanks for the receipe!
Kathleen says
Hi, Stacie! That sounds so perfect! Thanks for the rating and I’m happy you like this!
Hannah says
I have made these several times and the whole family loves them. I’m wondering if these can be made and frozen.
Kathleen says
Hi, Hannah! I’m happy your family loves this! 🙂 Unfortunately, freezing them will change the texture of the sauce.
Paxton says
I have made the enchiladas and froze them on a cookie sheet and then put them in a ziplock baggie- I have sent them on ski trip with kids-and just send the jar of sauce and shredded cheese made up so they can assemble it and pop it in the oven. Have used the canned sauce for convenience if sending with traveling kids, but prefer this one if just making it to eat. We love it! Thankyou!!
Kathleen says
Hi, Paxton! Wow, thanks for your feedback! Kid-approved meal, right? 🙂
Gloria says
Just got done making them followed all your instructions you did a great job on the recipe the only thing different that I did was got a whole chicken and boiled it with some seasoning that Mexican seasoning fixing to sink my teeth into this enchiladas
Kathleen says
That sounds so yummy, Gloria! I’m happy you like this recipe 🙂
Joy says
Love these enchiladas!!
Just a suggestion… you should talk about adding the broth in the video.. you skipped it!
Thanks
Kathleen says
Thank you, Joy!
Mary says
Fantastic!! My family loved them. Recipe was easy to follow no problems. I saw the comment about the chicken broth that needs to be cut in half but that didn’t happen with mine because I let it thicken like the recipe says! All in all we loved this
Kathleen says
Hey Mary! So happy you loved the enchiladas! Thank you for your input. It really helps other readers. I hope you try more of our recipes and enjoyed <3
Kristi says
My meat and potatoes loving son didn’t fully appreciate this recipe but I sure did. More for Mom!! I followed the recipe exactly, It was easy and delicious! Thank you!
Kathleen says
Hey Kristi! I’m so glad you enjoyed the enchiladas! One of my favorite meat and potatoes recipe you might like to make for him is my hamburger hash Its a great one skillet meal! If he likes meat and pasta, here’s my sons and my sister’s all-time favorite hamburger casserole. Hope one of these works out better for him <3
Taylor says
Can I make today (without putting in oven?) an then preheat it up tomorrow for a party?
Kathleen says
If you do that, I’d make the sauce, cool, place in an airtight container and refrigerate separately.
When ready to serve, assemble and cook. <3
Lysa says
If I use raw chicken, should I cook it before wrapping it in the tortillas and oven cooking?
Kathleen says
Hi Lysa. Yes cook your chicken before placing in the tortillas <3
Betty Ann Phillips says
What can I use in place of the flour in the recipe? I need it to be gluten free.
Kathleen says
Hi Betty Ann. I’m sorry I’m not well versed in gluten-free substitutes 🙁
june says
cornstarch is what I always use to replace flour
Grace says
I used almond flour and it worked great! Just add a tad bit extra sour cream, because almond flour can make things a bit dry. Other than that it’s a 1:1 ratio.
esther says
Loved this! It was easy and delicious. Stirred chopped spinach into the sauce to add some greens. Toddler loved it! Thanks!
Kathleen says
Hi Esther. I love the idea of adding spinach. So happy your family enjoyed <3
Olivia says
Yummmm!! So I made some changes because I only had a can of diced tomatoes with green Chile’s. I used a little less chicken broth and added some of the juice from the can to the sauce and added the rest of the can to the meat mixture. I didn’t add any cheese to the meat mixture because I forgot, so I just topped with cheese. Thinking that helped me cut some calories from this. Lol but it was soo good! Hubby loved it! Will be making again! Already linked it to my sister!
Kathleen says
Wow, I love your tweaks, Olivia! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Meghan says
These are by far a family favorite at our house! My husband loves them and my 2 littles (5, very picky & 2, eats anything) love them as well. We usually dont have leftovers!
Kathleen says
So Happy to hear that Meghan <3
Kristi Buford says
I made these last night and they were amazing!! Thank you for sharing. It was so worth the calories on my cheat day 😉
Kathleen says
Hi, Kristi!! Yay, so happy you like it! Cheat day worthy! <3
Dollmomkimberly says
This recipe was just what I was searching for, thank you! It came out beautifully. I did increase the ingredients by about a 1/4, and used my supersized pyrex, so that we could have leftovers.
Everyone (excluding my very picky Dad) enjoyed it, so thank you again.
Kathleen says
So happy your family enjoyed. I love when even the picky eaters love our recipes!
Grace B says
Cut the cheese and sour cream in half and they were still delicious! Great recipe for left over grilled chicken. Will definitely make these again ! Yum !
Kathleen says
Hey Grace! I totally agree with you, I love grilled chicken in these! <3
Sarah says
Perfect treat for a snow day. Delicious and so filling. Thank you
Kathleen says
Hi, Sarah! Thank you! Yes, that’s perfect for cold weather! Stay warm 🙂