Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas
This recipe for Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas is made with flour tortillas, shredded chicken, cheese, green chiles and a delicious creamy white sauce!
An Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe
This is one of those recipes that everyone loves – even picky eaters! It’s not spicy and has a wonderful creamy sauce that really pulls it all together. It is absolutely delicious and a wonderful alternative to those that maybe don’t enjoy the red sauce version. It’s the perfect weeknight meal that can be pulled together pretty quickly!
I have made this recipe so many times. I make it exactly to the recipe. It’s always a hit–even with two picky kiddos. We love it so much, we’ve eaten the leftovers for breakfast!
– Rachel
Frequently Asked Questions:
*You can cook chicken for this recipe in a couple of ways. You can roast a couple of chicken breasts in the oven. Just drizzle a bit of olive oil on them and season with salt and pepper and cook for about 35-45 minutes.
*Or you can boil your chicken until cooked.
*Or you could use a store bought rotisserie chicken.
*It just depends on how much time you have to prepare this and what flavor you want from your chicken. The roasted and rotisserie chicken are going to give you the most flavor.
*Once your chicken is cooked, you’ll want to shred it using two forks. Or if you have a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, put your chicken in the mixing bowl and mix until shredded.
If you are looking for a more traditional homemade red enchilada sauce, be sure to check out my recipe for Chicken Enchilada with red sauce!
Some Crock Pot Refried Beans or one of my personal favorites – my 3-Ingredient Mexican Rice! Or, if you like, just serve with a delicious, leafy green salad.
Absolutely! Corn tortillas need to be individually warmed up before rolling or they will tear as you roll them up keep that in mind.
White Chicken Enchiladas can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They can be frozen (before being cooked) for up to 3 months. Cover well to protect against freezer burn and make sure the sauce is completely cool before wrapping. When ready to cook, make sure to let it come to room temperature before cooking per directions. You can also store leftovers in the freezer then re-heat in the microwave.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- flour tortillas – this recipe calls for flour tortillas but feel free to use corn tortillas (just heat them up before rolling so they don’t tear.) I used a larger soft taco sized tortillas but you can use smaller and get more out of this recipe.
- shredded cooked chicken – see my FAQ’s above on different chicken options.
- Monterey Jack Cheese – use your favorite blend of shredded cheese. This recipe is very easy to customize. If you want to a bit of spice, you can use a Pepper Jack cheese.
- butter and flour – you will be using these to thicken up the sauce.
- chicken broth – if you are trying to cut down the sodium, you can use low or no sodium broth.
- sour cream – if you don’t like sour cream you can use plain Greek yogurt or even softened cream cheese.
- diced green chiles – this barely adds any spiciness at all but if you cannot have even the tiniest bit of spice then just leave it out.
- salt, pepper and Adobo seasoning – use any combination of seasoning you prefer. You can even use a homemade taco seasoning.
How To Make White Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together 2 cups shredded chicken with 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Season with salt, pepper and a little Adobo seasoning.
Place chicken mixture in each of the flour tortillas.
Roll them all up and place them in your baking dish. Just squeeze them all in there.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Whisk in flour and let cook and thicken for 1 minute (don’t let it burn.)
Add chicken broth and whisk until smooth.
Stir in sour cream and chiles. Be sure not to let the mixture boil.
Take sauce off the heat and pour it over the enchiladas. Top with remaining shredded cheese.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes. If you’d like, you can turn the broiler on high and broil these for a minute or two until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly. Serve warm with your favorite sides.
Craving More Recipes?
- White Chicken Enchiladas (For Two)
- White Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Cornbread Taco Bake
- Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
- Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
- Bisquick Chicken Enchilada Bake
- Swiss Chicken Enchiladas
- Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas
- Ground Beef Enchiladas
- White Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Originally published: April 2012
Updated photos and republished: March 2024
White Chicken Enchiladas (+Video)
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or mozzarella)
- salt, pepper, Adobo seasoning, to taste
- 10 flour tortillas (taco size)
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles (do not drain)
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken with 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese along with salt, pepper, Adobo seasoning, to taste.
- Place chicken mixture into each of the 10 flour tortillas.
- Roll them all up and place them in the prepared baking dish.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt 3 Tablespoons butter. Whisk in 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour and let cook and thicken for 1 minute (don't let it burn).
- Add 2 cups chicken broth and whisk until smooth.
- Stir in 1 cup sour cream and 4 ounce can diced green chiles. Be sure not to let the mixture boil.
- Take sauce off the heat and pour it over the enchiladas.
- Top with 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes. If you'd like, you can turn the broiler on high and broil these for a minute or two until cheese is slighly browned and bubbly.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- I have this set for five servings assuming it would be 2 enchiladas per person.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I have made this recipe for years. So simple, yet so much flavor. And best of all no cream of anything soup is used.
I made this for supper last night . Delicious! My husband raved about it. It reminds me of a chicken chimichanga.
super easy to make, in the oven now and sauce smells delicious!
These were absolutely delicious!!! Followed your recipe exactly. Thank you SO much for the video and step by step photos! There was no way I was messing it up with all this helpful instruction. Love your site and all your recipes!!
Thanks so much Rachel!! That means so much! I never know what is helpful sometimes so it really helps to get the feedback. Thank you for taking the time!!
These were delicious!!! I only made a few slight changes based upon other reviews – added garlic salt and cumin to the roux and then added an extra can of green chilies! We like it spicy! This recipe is definitely added to my rotation! Thank you for sharing!
Amazing! Second time I’ve made this, this month for the husband and kids. I do a bit more cheese in the filling with some smoked paprika, and 2 cans one hot one mild of the green chilis for the sauce. So good it is definitely a family favorite all 5 of us can agree on. Thanks so much!
hello 🙂 Can I use cornstarch instead of flour to make this gluten free?
I haven’t tested it. I’m sure you could but I can’t tell you from experience so I can’t give amounts, etc – sorry!
Thank you. I’ll give it a try!
I didn’t have a can of green chilies on hand so I used the full 10oz can of rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies. Came out great. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly
3x making it with few modifications i cook my chicken in the crockpot then shred it then add more cheese and 2 cans chillis so good
I make this several times a year and it’s one of my family’s favorite meals! It’s so good and even better the next day!
So! Delicious! Just made this for the first time tonight, and wow! So flavorful and super simple. I made it a little more laborious by making my own flour tortillas and baking the chicken(which I seasoned with cumin, paprika, onion/garlic, salt/pepper). I used Greek yogurt because that’s all I had, but it made no difference in flavor. I’ll definitely be making this again!
This is delish! I’m vegetarian so instead of chicken I used cooked garbanzo beans in the filling instead. Rehydrated soy curls would be great, too. I made up my own chicken broth. I had corn tortillas on hand so used those only I layered them in the pan, (I was tired of standing by then) starting with some sauce on the bottom and turned it into a chicken enchilada casserole. The sauce is everything!!
I was “literally” following the Instruction section where it “literally” makes no mention of adding cheese to the pan. One might think it important to include that there. I now see that step in the “how to prepare” section. I’d suggest adding that to the instruction section…”literally.”
You add 1 cup cheese to the filling (Step 2) and 1 cup to the top before baking (Step 9). How is this confusing?
I even went back and read the instructions as well. This recipe has been on my site for YEARS and I literally never heard anyone mention that. Plus, I give step by step photos and a video to help clear up any confusion there might possibly be in my instructions.
It’s not…confusing. It says all that right there in the instructions section like you mentioned, and I followed those, adding the cheese when and where instructed. However, in the “how to prepare section” apparently you’re suppose to add 1 cup of cheese to the pan itself as well. This isn’t mentioned in the instructions section which is what I followed.
I think I see what you’re talking about. As long as you followed the recipe card, you did it right 🙂
Some people literally have no reading comprehension.
Excellent recipe!
We loved this recipe! I should have doubled it because everyone ate every last bit of it – ha! So that is always a good sign of a good recipe 🙂
This was delicious! We loved the sauce so much that next time, and there will be a next time, I may increase the chicken broth to 3 cups and do 2 cans of the green chilies. This recipe was a great find!
Great recipe
Love how easy this was! So simple to make and my young daughter was able to do this almost all by herself. It was so yummy and we appreciate that the flavor was mild (a couple of us can’t have spicy foods for health reasons) so this was a wonderful compromise. Thank you!
Excellent flavor. I made crepes instead of using tortillas and I really liked the texture, but using tortillas would be easier. My husband thought the white appearance of the sauce on the plate looked bland, even though the flavor was not bland. I think I might try adding lots of minced parsley or cilantro to the sauce the next time for color.
I have made this three times and each time it turned out great. The recipe is easy to understand, good job!
Delicious easy quick and good ingredients!
It was great!
They look absolutely delicious
I’ve made this several times for my family as well as for other families and it is always a hit. Many enjoy the Mexican style dish without it being spicy. I have often swapped mild chilies for medium to hot which kicks it up a notch! If you want it spicy, try that! Still so tasty.
Are these spicey. I do not like heat, what should I substitute so they are not spicey hot?
Spiciness is so subjective that I hesitate to say. I don’t think it is at all but I’ve had people tell me they thought a dish was too spicy and it only had a quarter teaspoon of black pepper in it. I talk about the ingredients in more detail above in the post if that will help.
No flavor at all. This is definitely an American recipe, not Mexican at all. You should add more seasoning to the topping sauce to spruce it up ( salt, pepper, cumin, oregano). Although it is an easy recipe but that is about it.
Duh! She’s an American what did you expect?! I don’t believe she ever mentioned once that this was authentic at all. You didn’t even make this recipe, you are just critiquing it. She really should delete this comment. I made this recipe and we LOVED it! In fact, several of my guests asked for the recipe. Also, with a name like “JEAN”, who are you to comment on what is authentic Mexican or not anyways LOL!
Anyhow, Brandie, pay no attention to JEAN. As you can see by the hundreds of comments on this post, people love it! If they are looking for authentic recipe, they should go to a Mexican site and not make something or judge something that wouldn’t appeal to their tastebuds anyway! I love all of your recipes and they have all been winners for me!
LOL Mariana! that was great.
As someone who had made the recipe, and served to my “authentic” Mexican friends in Texas, they have loved it and asked for the recipe.
I’ve been making these for 3-4 years now and me my husband looks forward to them every time I make them. they are PERFECT. 10/10.
Easy to put together and was very tasty. Very good, will make again.
My 13 year old son made these. They were great and so simple!
I’ve made this recipe many times. A definite family favorite.
Great. Would chip/dip on the side be good?
This was so good! I played around with the seasoning. I did some adobo and a little taco seasoning as well (your homemade recipe which I LOVE!) and we all really enjoyed it! Thank you so much for this recipe and your recipes which are so user friendly and great for people like me who aren’t the best cooks – thank you for the time you put into it!
This is a great recipe! Thank you! I have to adapt all recipes for a salt-free diet, so thank you so much for including your nutrition information – it gives me a starting point to work with! Other than those changes, I made the recipe as intended and we loved every bite! My neighbor loved the idea so I shared your site and recipe with her – she’s hooked! Eats them cold, hot, whatever – she made the recipe as written exactly – we’re all happy!
Was a little skeptical of the flavor but this dish well exceeded my expectations. After two bites my husband said this was definitely a do again. I gave leftovers to my son-in-law and he said it was delicious. Will definitely make this again. I used a rotisserie chicken from Sam’s Club. The meal was very inexpensive and makes a lot.
can I make these ahead and store in refrigerator until ready to cook
I think they would maybe get soggy :/
I plan to make these tonight and will prep the tortillas ahead of time and add the sauce before I am ready to bake. I will let you know how it goes 🙂
Delicious! Thank you for putting the ingredient amounts in the instructions too! So helpful!
Delicious! The sauce was incredible, and it was easy to make.
Delishious…made it exactly as the recipe said !!
Really GOOD!!
How do you advise I alter this to make it vegetarian?
I would probably add refried beans
Use black beans cooked down with some onion, garlic and peppers. good fiber, very filling!
sub chichen with any combo of veg (pre grilled onions, peppers, zucchini) or protein alternative you like? and use a veg alternative bouillon to sub out the chichen broth.
I made these enchiladas for my birthday celebration and they were fabulous! I made a few tweaks to the recipe because I’m gluten-intolerant. I used corn tortillas, but I cooked them for a few seconds in hot oil first to make sure they were nice and pliable and wouldn’t break. I made the sauce with gluten-free flour which worked perfectly. Then, instead of just the chicken and cheese, I added the sauce before I put the mixture in the tortillas to add additional moisture to the centers of the enchiladas. They came out so, so good!!! This is my new go-to chicken enchilada recipe. The sauce is what makes this recipe really sing! I actually didn’t use adobo seasoning and improvised with what I had on hand. But I’ll test some other spices the next time I make these. And trust me, there will definitely be a next time! This recipe is fantastic! If you’re an enchilada enthusiast, this is the chicken enchilada recipe you need!
This is a great recipe to play around with the spices and different blends! Thank you so very much!
Very good and easy to make! All my picky eaters finished their plate! Easy to make and would definitely make again.
P.s. the sauce will thicken when it’s in the oven. Don’t worry!
I followed the instructions carefully. I used precooked chicken and added onion powder and garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. It came out very yummy especially if you like cheesy gooey dishes! I think it needs to be paired with something light, like a fresh salad because it is quite heavy. I didn’t add any heat to it for my friends sake, but it would have been nice for me. Next time!
How did you avoid the heat? I don’t like heat either
This was a huge winner at our house! Absolutely everyone loved them! I made your Mexican Rice and your slow cooker pinto beans. It was a huge hit and everything tasted fabulous. Thank you!
After the roux is made and the chicken stock is added, do you bring it to a boil to thicken the sauce?
I’ve made this sauce countless times cz its my husband’s favorite and I never bring it to a boil
just hot cause you don’t want the sour cream to curdle (as she says above in the recipe). I also take the sour cream out of the fridge to warm up a little so it’s closer to room temp.
just continuously wisk til it thickens and that’s when you add the sour cream. I do a scoup at a time while wisking.
Yes, once you’ve cooked the flour in the butter for at least a minute or so, you add the broth and then bring up to a boil. This allows the sauce to thicken by boiling. After adding in the green chiles and sour cream do not boil, just leave it off the heat and then cover your enchiladas with it to bake.
These are delicious with flour or corn tortillas. They freeze nicely too.
i substitute jalapeños for the chiles and pepper jack for the shredded cheese. talk about awakening those taste buds
Amazing !
Everyone loved these ! Perfect just as they are !
Absolutely delicious! My whole family raved about them. Thanks for sharing ❤️
Question, how well do you think they will freeze? Kind of concerned with the sour cream.
awesome
What a great recipe! This is my go-to for meal train dinners and it’s always well-received. Thank you!