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.
Julie Jolly says
I’ve made this for my family several times and today I’m making it for my nephew’s birthday since he loves it and it’s very easy to adjust to make it low sodium since him and myself have to watch our sodium intake.
Kathleen says
Hi, Julie! That’s fantastic, I’m happy you all enjoyed it. Happy birthday to your nephew 🙂
Michelle L Turnbull says
My husband and I loved this dish! It was easy to prepare and had a great flavor.
Kathleen says
Hi, Hilary! So happy you both enjoyed this enchilada! 🙂
Susan says
This is my one of my family’s all-time favorite dishes. It is easy and delicious.
Kathleen says
Thank you so much, Susan! I’m glad you and your family love dish 🙂
Peggy Harris says
My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Cancun. We had timeshare in
Cozumel for 6 years. We adore and love Mexican food. This recipe was beyond best we’ve had. Absolutely love the Monterey Jack. Thank you for the recipe.
Kathleen says
Hi, Peggy! Wow, I’m so happy you like this! ❤️❤️
Christina Lightburn says
….EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT!! EXCELLENT!…. Quick and easy prep. to boot. Thank you for enriching this family’s dining experience by sharing your amazing recipe. It does not get better then this.
Kathleen says
Wow, thank you so much, Christina! I really appreciate your positive review! <3 🙂
Julie Carter says
This is such an easy and delicious recipe- great when made with rotisserie chicken. Everyone loves it!
Glenda Winham says
The recipe for chicken enchiladas was very good, and I will make it again
Jacs says
This has been my go-to chicken enchilada recipe for years !! Always a hit.
However, for health reasons (PCOS) I’ve transitioned into a fully low carb lifestyle. So making this now requires a few modifications.. I use cabbage leaves instead of tortillas & coconut flour instead of plain flour. Everything else is the same. It’s still SO delicious! Such a treat for those days where I’m craving Tex Mex. I serve it with cauliflower rice & refried beans (for my heavy carb eaters).
Angie Caldwell says
Enjoyed by all.
Kathleen says
Yay! Thanks, Angie! 🙂
Angela says
Great recipe! I make it all the time
Alice says
Excellent recipe…thanks for sharing….I love sour cream enchiladas…no more restaurants for enchiladas…Thanks
Ronda Eby says
This was amazing!!
Kathleen says
Thanks, Ronda!
janelle fratus says
So good I am not that into enchiladas especially red sauce these are bomb
Kathleen says
Thanks, Janelle!?
Ran says
Kathleen, Thank You!!!
My son requested this for dinner. I had a simular recipe saved on a glitchy computer. So I went on my phone & it was a miracle this recipe popped up immediately. Loved this version so much more than the other one! You explain things very well, like a cooking teacher. We had such a delicious dinner!!
Kathleen says
You’re welcome, Ran! Glad to hear that this recipe is a hit with your fam! 😀
Norma says
Ever try making these with Swiss Cheese? I didn’t use your recipe but have been making my own white enchiladas for many years, I’m coming up on 72nd B’day soon! So yes many years! Give it a try, promise, you will love them!
Kathleen says
That sounds fantastic, Norma! ? Thanks for your recommendation!
Joanne says
I have made his recipe numerous times over the last couple of years and it is fantastic and so easy. I buy a roasted chicken from Costco. My kids love it, even my son who doesn’t care for chicken, will have seconds. This is a wonderful rainy day or cold weather comfort food… As condiments on the dinner table I put out salsa verde, guacamole, Valentina sauce, hot sauce, and cilantro, for people to add what they wish. This recipe is a keeper!!! On my table tonight for a rainy day indoor dish :))))
Kathleen says
Whoa that’s soooo awesome, Joanne! Glad to hear that this enchilada is a HUGE hit with your whole fam ❤️❤️ Loving your condiments too
Violet Lemm says
I also use the Rotisserie chicken, mix with chicken stock and half the prep is over.I to prefer the Salsa Verde type for added flavor.
Laretta says
This was excellent. I even had a friend call me for this recipe so they can serve it to their friends.
Kathleen says
So happy this was a hit for your family and friends, Laretta <3
Kelly Gross says
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I did make a few modifications. The chicken mixture I added diced yellow onion, fresh cilantro, jack cheese, and chipotle seasoning. In the sauce I added diced fresh habanero peppers (minced, 2). Kids and hubby LOVED IT!!!
Kathleen says
Loving your tweaks, Kelly! So glad to hear you and your whole fam loved it! <3
Mary says
Could you use cornstarch instead of flour to make these gluten free?
Kathleen says
Hi Mary! I’m not well versed in gluten-free substitutes but you can certainly use cornstarch. Happy cooking!
Betty says
Hi! I am gluten-free and I use gf flour instead. Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 never fails me, but I’m sure others would work too. We love this recipe!
Kathleen says
Thanks so much, Betty! That’s great to know! <3
Stacey Manning says
I used that same flour, too for my hubby! 🙂
Emmakate Small says
Love this recipe! I am making it again tonight with some adds to kick up the flavor! I premade the shredded chicken in the crock-pot using a seasoning blend i use for white chicken chili (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder and cayenne) and added a can of green chilies and chicken broth. After shredding I added some of the liquid from the crock-pot to the shredded chicken to infuse more flavor and moisture. Also adding to the chicken mix a little dice jalapeno and cilantro! Cant wait for dinner tonight!
Kathleen says
Emmakate, that sounds off the charts delish!!!