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.
Outstanding.
I increased the amount of chicken and used taco seasoning as we had no Adobo.
Other than those, I stuck spot on to the recipe and it turned out fantastic!
Thanks so very much Rob!
can mild green enchilada sauce be added to this ?
I suppose you could. Might make it more liquidy & not as thick though if you’re asking about adding it to the sauce. You could add it to the chicken instead.
Just made it tonight!! Super easy, best enchilada I’ve made so far!!! Thank you
These are amazing! I use 2 cans of chilis. The extra chilis add more spice and zing to the enchiladas. I also double the entire recipe because we can’t get enough of them. So delicious!
My family LOVES this recipe. it has become our new go to during the busy week along with great homemade Mexican rice.
My college roommate used to make what we called sour cream chicken enchiladas. She can’t remember the recipe and I have been looking and trying recipes for years and this is the closest I have found! Absolutely delicious! I use queso fresco in with the chicken and jack cheese on the top.
This was one of the best green enchiladas we have made – husband loved it!! Will be making them this way from now on.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. Simple recipe; delicious results. My hubby is pretty fussy about his food and he thought these enchiladas were yummy. my grown son finished off what hubby and I didn’t eat. He was a big fan too. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Market Basket up here in RI and MA sells these 10″ corn & flour mix tortillas – they give that corn flavor but are a bit easier to work with than straight corn. I always use these for my enchiladas. I don’t know if I’m just being ignorant though and they’re sold in every other state as well, so forgive me for sounding odd!
This was good! My family loved it!! I added a little sauce to my chicken mixture before I added them to the tortillas. Also I used low carb tortillas and they were not chewy! My husband was very happy and he only like red sauce enchiladas! A definite keeper in my recipe book!
My family loved this recipe.
I have made these a couple of different times, but every time, they always come out almost soggy on the bottoms – how can I prevent this? I use the recipe exactly as states.
Hmmmm I’m really not sure. I’ve never had that issue. Maybe you could serve the sauce separately and not cook it together?
I will try that, I’m making tonight!
try heating the tortilla up in a frying pan with a little oil before you roll them up.
I’ve made this several times (very good by the way) and have not ever used all the sauce. You could make queso fundido with the rest.
This recipe is chef’s kiss. Have made it multiple times, my family loves it. Only thing I do differently is mix some of the sauce with the chicken and cheese filling. Makes it more juicy and flavorful. Still have enough sauce to pour over the tortillas.
I just made this and it is delicious. I took your advice and used blended cheese, half Monterey Jack and half Cheddar. I cooked the chicken in my crockpot (my standard method of 1 package low sodium taco seasoning mixed with 3 tablespoons water and two large chicken breasts. It shreds beautifully after about 4 hours on high. My other addition, which I am sure it is great her way was that I added some chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to the chicken/cheese mixture as well as with the diced green chiles in the sauce. AMAZING! And it gave a beautiful color to the sauce as well. Next time I think I will try it with corn tortillas. Oh, I also used the lighter carb flour tortillas for the first time. I loved them. They are not nearly as gummy.
love this.. I made it for my family they loved it new favorite
I followed the directions as written. I loved the ease of the recipe, and the taste was lovely. I would make it again!
This recipe is delicious. I’ve made it multiple times, and my husband and I really enjoyed enjoy it. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Very good!
I like to use extra green chiles and sometimes I deep fry them instead of baking them. They turn out great!
Thank you so very much Karra!
My favorite recipe by far for White chicken enchiladas! And the simplest to make. Love them
Thank you so very much Margaret!!
It’s also good if you use Rotel tomatoes instead of green chilies.
I lost my wife who was the best cook in the world 2 months ago and I’m going to try this recipe for my daughter and granddaughter who live with me now. I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Love this! Hope you and your “girls” enjoys lots of great meals together to come!
Very good recipe. Will make it again.
This is a yummy recipe! I cooked 3 medium chicken breasts in the Crock pot instead of Rotisserie chicken. It worked perfect. The only thing I’d change is adding a drained can of green chilis for more flavor.
So easy and So delicious! I made it exactly like the recipe
Easy and delicious recipe !
Made 2 pans of this for a group of 12. One pan used flour tortillas the other used corn tortillas for someone that couldn’t have wheat. They were a big hit!!!! I thought they would be too spicy for me but it was just the right amount of flavor with the green chilies.
Woo hoo!! Love that you were able to make it both ways so everyone could enjoy! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment!
Best recipe I have tried. everyone loves them.
Soooo good!!!!!
Excellent recipe. I loved to make my own cream sauce. My friend was impressed and he’s finicky. He’s an enchilada snob. The only thing I’ll do differently is mix some roasted garlic into the sauce. But it didn’t even need it. I’m just a garlic addict. 😉
I love when we can even win over the snobs LOL!
Family loves this. It is now on our weekly meal plan.
Thank you very much Michele!
So so good! So glad I found this recipe! Perfect!
We loved these!! I went exactly by your recipe and wouldn’t change a thing. I am always tempted to change a recipe based on the comments but I really think it is important to try a recipe first exactly as it is written first before making changes. I made it again using some of the commenters suggested changes and we just didn’t think it was as good as the original that Brandie had written (sorry commenters!)
Thanks so much Lisa! I do agree about making changes after trying a recipe as written first. So many people will make changes based on what other commenters did then come back and say they didn’t enjoy the recipe but then I find out that they made changes to what I had written based on what others did. I know it is tempting to read comments and do what others suggest but I think that should be *after* the original recipe is tried. I put a lot of work into testing these recipes and I often have to make something quite a few times so I can get an exact measurement of everything. I am an old school cook where I add a little and taste so I have to do things a few times to actually get proper measurements. I don’t just throw any old recipe on here. If it is on my site, I have made it many, many times to get it just right. Then I think other things can be added to suit your tastes after you’ve tried the original. 🙂
awesome, simple yet flavorful! thanks
Wonderful recipe! Tweaked it with carb friendly tortillas. Came out fantastic!
A huge hit with my family! It will be added to the rotation, thank you for the recipe!
Can I use canned chicken for these chicken enchiladas?
You can! You don’t get the same exact flavor but it would certainly work 🙂
This recipe never disappoints, and I have altered it with even adding some extra salsa and different cheeses as well as meats. It is a great recipe, and is very easy, it goes a long way!
This was really good! I have a gluten sensitivity so used corn tortillas and cornstarch instead of the flour roux. I will definitely make this again but next time I’ll use gluten free flour tortillas and see how that goes! Yum!
Thank you so very much! Please let me know how they turn out with the gluten free tortillas. I have people ask me about them all the time and I don’t see why they wouldn’t work but I’d love your thoughts on the texture!
I was so happy to find a recipe that incorporated a different way to create the sour cream sauce. This was so much simpler and the taste was phenomenal. These have become a family favorite. The only alterations were that we prefer the corn tortillas over the flour, and I added cream cheese and onions to the chicken. Other than that, these are a winner for any chicken dinner night. Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe is so simple but so good! I made the shredded chicken with the instapot and chicken breasts, and added a lot more seasonings. I also used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream because that is what I had. Loved it!
This is an excellent recipe!
Thanks so very much Rawat! So happy you liked this one!
This is an excellent recipe! I didn’t have diced green chilies, so I replaced those with 4 oz of Salsa Verde. These were easy to make and super delicious!
Thanks so much San! I love the idea of using salsa verde too!
These are our favorite, been making for years! But now I’m making for a new mama and realized I don’t know how to freeze/make these ahead?
you could probably prep the enchiladas in a baking dish without putting the sauce over them, then just make the sauce and store it in a separate dish.
(I like to save the plastic soup containers from Chinese takeout restaurants for things like this. They’re durable and *usually* dont leak or spill.)
Then all she’d have to do is pour the sauce over and pop everything in the oven
absolutely delicious, I omitted the chilli’s and used carb free wraps and it worked great. Thank you, my boyfriend thanks you
Thanks so much Kait! So good to know this recipe works well with the carb free tortillas!
Can this be made a day ahead and have it all ready just to throw in the oven?
Technically yes but the tortillas might get a bit soggy since it is sitting in the cream sauce.
Love this recipe but seeing if anyone knows if the sauce would separate if prepped a day or so ahead? Was maybe gonna prep but wait to pour sauce over just before baking.
Thanks!
This was delicious! That sauce was amazing! What I loved was this wasn’t spicy. With my medicine, I can’t eat spicy food anymore (sadly!) but I think this is a very easy to make it spicy if you are able to enjoy that. Thank you!
I made this for supper tonight except i used corn tortillas becausei preferthem…& it is outstanding. I will make this every time
These enchiladas were delicious. This is a great recipe.
Delish! That’s all.