White Chicken Enchiladas
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These White Chicken Enchiladas have the easiest cream sauce you could ever make, super delicious, cheesy, gooey, melt in your mouth delicious! Perfect for an easy and quick weeknight meal, ready in a total of 40 minutes start to finish!
The Best White Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
If you ever crave comfort food, if you ever feel the need to eat something creamy and cheesy, these white chicken enchiladas will hit the spot. They are simply the best enchiladas ever! My recipe is a simple, fool proof recipe that you’ll love and want to make over and over again.
Enchiladas are one of my favorite things to eat whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant. What am I saying, enchiladas are one of favorite dish ever, period!
This is an old recipe I’ve had for years and been making forever because enchiladas truly are my comfort food. It’s the sauce that’s so good it makes me lick my plate clean. It’s a sour cream based sauce that’s super easy to make and ready in 5 minutes.
This will be a meal that your kids would run to the dinner table for, not only them but you as well. Totally a crowd pleaser.
Why You’ll Love These White Chicken Enchiladas
- Quick and Easy! You can make homemade chicken enchiladas in just 40 minutes with this simple recipe. The sauce comes together in just 5 minutes and rolling the enchiladas is a piece of cake.
- Tasty Mexican Twist! When you mix green enchilada sauce together with chicken and then top it with a creamy white sauce and some melted mozzarella cheese you get delicious Mexican comfort food.
- Family Favorite! Your whole family is going to love this dish! It’s hearty, comforting, and kid approved! And it’s also a meal that you can easily make ahead to reheat.
- Chicken Breasts – You will need some already cooked and shredded chicken breasts for this recipe. You could also use rotisserie chicken if you like.
- Green Enchilada Sauce – I used canned green enchilada sauce to keep this recipe simple.
- Mozzarella Cheese – For this recipe, I like mozzarella cheese. Monterey Jack cheese or pepper jack cheese is also a yummy choice, but whatever shredded cheese that you have on hand can work.
- Flour Tortillas – Both flour and corn tortillas are options. I just prefer to use flour.
- Parsley – Used as a garnish to finish the enchiladas and add a layer of fresh herb flavor. You can also use cilantro as well.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter unless a recipe calls for salted. Doing so helps to control the level of sodium.
- Flour – Simple all-purpose flour is all you need to thicken the white sauce.
- Chicken Broth – I prefer to use low-sodium broth to ensure that my sauce doesn’t turn out too salty.
- Green Chiles – These chiles are on the mild side, so you don’t have to worry about using the whole can. They add a lot of yummy flavor.
- Sour Cream – Adds richness and creaminess to the white sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Makes the enchiladas cheesy. You can use other types of cheese. Just make sure they melt as well as mozzarella cheese.
This is a super easy method of making enchiladas with very little effort. You can use any type of chicken and green enchilada sauce. You are going to love this recipe!
To begin, you need to preheat your oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) so that it’s already hot once the enchiladas are assembled. Then spray a baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside for now.
Now, let’s prep the chicken to fill the enchiladas. To do this, combine the shredded chicken together with one cup of the mozzarella cheese and green enchilada sauce in a medium bowl. Do your best to evenly distribute the chicken and cheese in the mixture.
You’ll need to use your hands for this step, but it’s really easy. Take a tortilla, top it with about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture, and then roll it up. Now, place the formed enchilada in the prepared baking dish seam side down and continue on with the other tortillas until they are all filled and rolled. You should have enough of the chicken mixture to make 6 enchiladas.
Once the enchiladas are formed, you can make the white sauce. First, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Next, whisk in the flour and cook it for a minute to make a roux. Then pour in the chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Now, let the sauce cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it becomes thick and bubbly. Then stir in the sour cream and green chiles. Finally, remove the sauce from the heat, give it a taste, and season it with salt and pepper if needed.
With the enchiladas formed and the sauce made we are about done! Just evenly pour the white sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese. Now, transfer the enchiladas to the preheated oven and bake them for about 22 to 25 minutes or until they begin to brown on top and the sauce is bubbly. Then to finish, garnish them with a bit of parsley or cilantro and serve immediately.
Corn Vs Flour Tortillas Enchiladas
I think this comes down to a personal preference. I personally like flour tortillas, however if you’re looking for a bit healthier meal, then I suggest going with corn tortillas because flour tortillas may contain refined flours and lard.
The texture of the enchiladas can also differ based on which tortillas you use. Flour tortillas can made the enchiladas have a more doughy texture, which doesn’t bother me. So use whatever you prefer.
What To Serve With Chicken Enchiladas
I personally prefer to serve these on their own, sometimes with some avocado slices and some chopped tomatoes. You can also serve them with some guacamole and chips or along with some Mexican rice.
Expert Tips
- Right size baking dish. The shape of your baking dish doesn’t matter too much, but remember that the sauce will be bubbly. So you need a dish that can comfortably hold all the enchiladas once they are topped with sauce and cheese.
- Don’t overcook the roux. When making the white sauce it’s important to whisk the butter and flour together well and only let it cook for about a minute before adding the chicken broth. If the butter and flour mixture gets dark it will change the flavor of the sauce.
- Heat the tortillas. If your tortillas are tearing or not rolling easily, you can warm them up a bit to make them more flexible. Either cover them with a damp paper towel and put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds or warm them one at a time on a clean large skillet.
Storage
You can store leftover white chicken enchiladas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months! To reheat, just cover them and pop them in the microwave on medium power for a few minutes or put them in the oven at 350°F (176°C) for about 10 minutes. If the enchiladas have been frozen you will need to bake them for about 20 to 25 minutes or let them thaw out in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
- Quick and Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Enchilada Meatball Bake
- Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
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White Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
Chicken Enchiladas
- 2 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
- 1 cup green enchilada sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 6 medium flour tortillas (or corn tortillas)
White Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups chicken broth (low sodium or no sodium added)
- 4 ounces green chiles ((1 small can))
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons parsley (fresh, chopped)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl combine the chicken 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and the enchilada sauce.
- Take a tortilla, top with about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture, then roll it up and place in the prepared baking dish. Continue with all the tortillas until they are all filled and rolled. You should have enough chicken mixture to fill 6 tortillas.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook for a minute then add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth. Let it cook until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Add the sour cream and green chiles to the saucepan and stir. Remove from heat. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as necessary.
- Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until the top starts to brown and the sauce is bubbly.
- Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- For the chicken you can use store bought rotisserie chicken, or you can use this recipe to cook the chicken breasts.
- Right size baking dish. The shape of your baking dish doesn’t matter too much, but remember that the sauce will be bubbly. So you need a dish that can comfortably hold all the enchiladas once they are topped with sauce and cheese.
- Don’t overcook the roux. When making the white sauce it’s important to whisk the butter and flour together well and only let it cook for about a minute before adding the chicken broth. If the butter and flour mixture gets dark it will change the flavor of the sauce.
- Heat the tortillas. If your tortillas are tearing or not rolling easily, you can warm them up a bit to make them more flexible. Either cover them with a damp paper towel and put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds or warm them one at a time on a clean large skillet.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Delicious! Made it with your Mexican sweet corn, Mexican rice/enchilada sauce, and guacamole. It made a beautiful Christmas dinner – 5 stars!
Quick question. Could I use ground beef in this instead of chicken?
Sure, absolutely!
this recipe is so easy and very tasty. I made refried bean and salad with it and had leftovers…
easy and simple to make. directions were great, even my recipe challenged husband was able to make these ;). tasted yummy. only my extremely picky 4 yo didn’t eat them. will be saving this recipe to make again
This was heavenly!!! So delicious! Thank you Jo! I’ve always wanted the perfect chicken enchilada recipe and now I have it!
I’m so glad you liked them! 🙂
I found this recipe about 3 years
ago and have made it several times – yum!
I have had this recipe for over 40 years! I roll corn tortillas with a filling of sharp cheddar cheese and chopped onions, then smother the enchiladas with the green chile sauce. The sauce is also great over a casserole of cooked rice and sauteed chicken tenders!
That all sounds so delicious. Thanks for sharing Tandra!
This was absolutely delicious! My daughter thought it was amazing and was definitely a “make again” dish. You will not be disappointed in this recipe!
I like it, but it’s not spicy enough for us.
Excellent recipe, made it for the first time last night and it was a big hit. I used Monterey Jack cheese but otherwise followed the recipe as written. There are any number of similar recipes out there but I chose to try this one because I liked the idea of adding the enchilada sauce to the chicken mixture. I used less than the full cup called for as I didn’t want it to be too wet. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Thank you! I doubled it and made 2 pans. Used the instapot to cook up the chicken. I followed the recipe and it was great! Leaving a comment because I hate wondering if a internet recipe is good and I hate reading comments that tell how they changed a recipe. Will be making it again.
I’m so glad you liked it, Luna!
you know those people that say “my picky eater actually ate this!”, yah, that’s never me…except this time it was! My daughter is so picky and even though I force her to try everything typically she just ends up eating the least she can to get by. Anyway, at 12 years old, she has never had enchiladas but yesterday I just had to try these. She even helped me cook them…she liked them (trust me, this is big) and I loved them. I had no extra toppings on hand but even without them, it is still delicious. I used La Victoria brand Mild Enchilada sauce for those of you who can’t eat too much spicy stuff. Thanks for this recipe!
That’s amazing to hear! Congrats on the big success 🙂
LOVE this recipe, it’s so dang good. I add jalapeños and onion to the chicken mixture to give it more flavor. So exited to try more recipes 🙂
Made this last night…. so so good and easy. I used a Mexican blend cheese because that’s what I had on hand. Garnished with cilantro and salsa. Yum, will make again for sure!!!
could you do this with ground beef mixture too?
Yes for sure!
Can you use a red enchilada sauce instead of green?
Yes absolutely!
This was a quick and easy recipe yet everyone REALLY liked it. It was made even easier since I used a rotisserie cooked chicken from out local market. The only thing I would do differently next time is add more chilies to it for a little more kick. Definitely making this one again!