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!
A DELICIOUS CHICKEN ENCHILADA RECIPE
One of my favorite Mexican meals (besides chimichangas) are enchiladas. 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’s the perfect weeknight meal that can be pulled together pretty quickly!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S):
*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. Add in 1 cup of shredded 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)
- 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
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.
Best enchilada recipe I’ve ever tried
My kids scream for this once a week
Wondering if you could replace the chcken with shrimp or imatation crab meat? Was delicious as is, but I love seafood.
Thanks for the wonderful meal
Hi Judy! Absolutely! Check out my recipe for Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas: https://www.thecountrycook.net/creamy-shrimp-enchiladas/
I’m wanting to make this for my sister as a freezer meal since she just had my nephew. Once frozen, what temperature and time duration would you recommend reheating?
Hi Leigh Ann – congratulations to your sister! Same temperature as if you were cooking from fresh, then add on about 8-10 minutes to the cooking time. I am just making an educated guess here since I haven’t actually tested it from frozen but it should be a good starting point. 🙂
Quick, easy and delicious! I always have to make a recipe my own, so I added black bean hummus and corn inside the enchiladas. We didn’t have green chiles so I subbed salsa verde and it worked perfect. The chicken I used was cooked in salsa verde with green peppers, onion and jalapeño so that added a little something too. I sprinkled taco seasoning on top before cooking and garnished with fresh tomatoes, gauc, onion and lettuce. We loved it! Broiling at the end gave it a perfect crunch on top.
Sounds amazing!!! Thank you so much!!
Made these last night for the first time and loved them!
Love hearing that Karen! Thank you so much for coming back to comment!
Can I make this a couple of hours ahead of time & keep in the fridge until it’s time to bake? I’m watching my 2 year old grandson tonight ❤️ & I don’t think I’ll be able to prepare it with him here.
Made this for dinner tonight. We thought it was tasty.. I only made eight because because there were only three of us. My husband thought the tortillas were soggy. And he said he would prefer yellow cheese. Just wondering what your thoughts are regarding the soggy tortillas. I used the full recipe for the sauce but did not use all of it. Also used a 8×12 pan Thanks for your time.
Hi Joyce, it could’ve been a couple of things (although it’s always hard to say since I am not there while you’re prepping it) but the tortillas should be soft enough that you can cut it all with a fork to eat. It also could’ve been too much sauce because of the smaller pan. If you prefer corn tortillas, you could try those next time for a more firmer texture. These should be soft but not soggy. 🙂
Thank you! Thats what I thought too! Thanks for the recipe. I plan to make it again but with less sauce! 🙂
My family loves this. Came home from vacation and this was what my grandson asked when I offered to take him out to dinner as thanks for taking care of the house and our dogs. It is excellent. I usually cook my own chicken and usually use chicken thighs, season with cumin, chipotle chili powder, garlic, diced onions, salt and pepper before I shred the chicken. I also brown the chicken in butter and olive oil, scraping up the browned bits. It adds a depth of flavor to the chicken but just Adobo works well if you don’t want to fool with the dicing etc.
Awesome dish. i have some sauce left over. is it ok to jar and save it?
Hi Amy! Yes, it should last a week or two in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. 🙂
I made this on family vacation with about 10 adults and 10 children and it was a hit for everyone! I did change it up by adding cans of tomatoes and green chilies to the chicken and cheese mixture inside the tortillas. Several family members asked for the recipe after dinner.
This recipe is good if what a mild-tasting enchilada. I prefer a little more spice and flavor. I added cream of chicken soup to the chicken, along with a little taco seasoning. It amped up the flavor profile to about medium.
I made chicken broth from the Rotisserie chicken. I just took the meat off the bones and boiled the skin and bones in water for an hour or so, enough to freeze for the next time also
I’ve been looking for a great easy recipe like this and oh my goodness, I love it. My son loves it too! Was so easy to make. I did 8 enchiladas, because I like a lot of meat in mine, LOL. I kept them separated by like an 8th of an inch. So good!
I’m sure this will be one of my favorite dinner.
Hope you all love it as much as we do!
Honestly I love the ideas of this dish. Unfortunately I used leftover chicken and it just wasn’t good. My fault. I dont like reheated chicken and I should have k own better. Our tortillas did get soggy but the flavor was fantastic and I would definitely make them again using fresh chicken. I also wonder if theres a way to put the sauce on the side because my son does not like soggy tortillas. I loved the white sauce it was so tasty!
Sososo good. I’m a vegetarian, so I sub 1-2 packages of prepared soyrizo for the shredded chicken (depending on how many I plan on making), and replace the chicken broth with either no-chicken broth (more flavorful), or veggie broth, depending on what I have on hand. The soyrizo gives it a perfect amount of heat, and no one notices that there’s no “meat.”
Thank you so so much for coming back to comment! This will be so helpful for any others who might wonder how to make it vegetarian and still have it taste great. Thank you!
The Country Cook, very easy and delicious. My hubby loves country and this was a hit. Thank you very much.
Thanks so much Cindy! I love hearing that!
This was delicious! Easy ingredients that are in most kitchens. Added cheese to the sauce to help thicken it more & also some Rotel since I didn’t have the chiles. Will definitely make it again!
I have made this recipe many many times and it is always a hit! Easy to make and it freezes well IF/WHEN there are leftovers…
Don’t pass this one up!
Yay!! That’s so awesome to hear Jen!! Thank you SO much!
AMAZING! Tried this dish for the first time today and loved it . The whole family did!!
Already wrote on the recipe page “KEEPER” and “Double recipe” . LOL
I didn’t make any changes at all to the recipe as I like to try the original first and then make and additions/changes as needed. No changes will be made to this. It’s perfect as is.
I did see a few comments about tortillas being soggy, I can honestly say that was not an issue for us. We used flour tortillas and they cooked up perfectly.
Will definitely be making again. 🙂
Woo hoo!! Yes!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and review!!
This is my go-to recipe for chicken enchiladas. Very yummy and so simple! Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Karen!! I love hearing that!! Thank you for taking the time!
If you freeze these, do you add the sauce before or after freezing?
You can add the sauce before freezing or after reheating.
Holy guacamole. I made these last night following the recipe exactly (using chicken breast I cooked in my Instant Pot and shredded) and they were phenomenal. Even better as leftovers for lunch today! I did let the sauce heat quite a while to thicken a bit, then let it cool for a few minutes while I prepared other things before pouring it over the enchiladas. I was worried it was too thin, but they came out perfectly. Cooked about 23 minutes and then turned the broiler on for 2-3 minutes. These are definitely going in the rotation.
Ooooh, I love that you made the chicken in your Instant Pot – great tip!! Thank you so much Melissa! So happy y’all loved this one!!
Made this twice this week per request of my 6yr old my 12 yr old and the hubby I think it’s a good one
When the WHOLE family loves a recipe – it’s a great day in my book!! 🙂
Just made this tonight for dinner for my husband and I! Sooo delicious sooo creamy. Thank you for the recipe!
All I can say is WOW! This is one of the BEST recipes ever. So delicious, even my picky 10 year wanted seconds. My mouth is watering just thinking about these as I type this. This has become one of my family’s favorites.
O M to the G!!! This was delicious!!!! My family of 6 looooooved these!!! Definitely a keeper! ???? Thank You for the awesome recipe!
Made this today. Added extra tablespoon flour to white sauce. A teaspoon of cumin powder. Used corn tortillas. Used cheddar cheese instead of Jack. Family loves the recipe. A keeper for sure.