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.
These were really good! I made half of the recipe but the full amount of sauce. Can I freeze the extra sauce and then use it to make another half batch of enchiladas?
Had this for dinner tonight and it’s soooo yummy I put some extra sharp white cheddar on top and It was lovely! Will be making this for a long time to come for the fam! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
love this so so much
Great recipe, it was a nice change in what I normally cook. I did make 1 modification. I added another can of chiles to the chicken/cheese filling.
Sounds perfect – thank you Derek!
Can these be made with white corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas? Taste as good? Any modifications needed? Thanks!
I answer that question in detail above on the frequently asked questions section 🙂
I love this recipe. Can I freeze this
This is a great recipe! I’ve made it several times (because it’s so delicious), some times experimenting with a new ingredient. The last time I made a big batch for my office holiday party – I added a can of rinsed black beans and 1/2 cup hot green chili to the filling – so I could only fit 8 enchiladas in the pan. But I got lots of compliments and “really tasty” comments, and by the end of the party there was nothing left! Thanks for the recipe.
this is such a great recipe! I made it as is the 1st time (minus the green chilis) and it was amazing… the 2nd time I cooked the chicken in the crock pot with some taco seasoning, garlic powder, onions and some chicken broth. when it was done I took the liquid from the chicken and used it to make my rice with chicken broth for the rest of the liquid that I needed. when that was done I combined the rice with my chicken and added some cheddar cheese and mixed it all up and used that as my filling for my enchiladas. it was AMAZING! Im going to use that filling for tacos or just as a rice bowl from now on too.
recipe was great used rotisserie chicken breast (probably closer to 3 cups). followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Served with pico and avocado slices. 😉
Excellent. My kids were able to make these on their own and they did a great job with your excellent instructions, photos and videos! A great teaching website 🙂
This is a great idea!! Thanks for the inspiration!
Excellent recipe! Easy to prepare for a weeknight dinner. Served with Mexican black beans and Mexican rice. Very tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
These are great. I broil for the last couple minutes to get the cheese on top brown. My whole family loves them! Easy recipe.
I made these with no modifications to the recipe and oh my goodness…they are the best white chicken enchiladas I’ve made. Definitely keeping this recipe on hand!
Thanks so very much! Appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment!
Brandi, thank you for making it so easy for us. Great recipe, well organized and tested.
Doubled amount of chicken/cheese/season to taste. Chicken was boiled. Awesome recipe. Great instructions. Easy and turned out delicious. Master recipe.
These were my first enchiladas and they were a big hit, thank you!
This is a really great base recipe that allows a lot of creativity. I have MCAS and need to follow a reduced histamine diet, so I adjusted the recipe for that. I added 1 teaspoon of ground coriander to the flour/butter base of the sauce, subbed homemade low histamine chicken broth for the broth, and used cream cheese instead of sour cream. For the filling, I used shredded chicken but also added sauteed onions and red bell peppers (and omitted the Adobo seasoning, not a fan). Instead of Monterey jack I subbed a low histamine cheese (mozzarella). All in all it turned out really delicious.
These are the only enchiladas I make now. My whole family is in love!
Easy and delicious. Thank you for the recipe
Huge hit with the whole family! Not spicy (I was worried because of the green chiles) but the kids loved it too! Thank you!
This was soooo good! I have terrible acid reflux so I tend to shy away from enchilada sauce, but this was perfect! Thank you for sharing.
2nd time making your enchiladas! Made exactly as directed! Family absolutely loves this! Making a corn salsa for garnish today but this is not necessary- just for fun!
Oooooh corn salsa sounds HEAVENLY!!
Yummy. I substituted the chicken broth for green chile sauce and it was amazing, too.
I’m excited to see how these turn out. I am using corn tortillas instead of flour. I’m also layering them because it is quicker. It’s a great white sauce similar to my white bean chicken chili. Thank you I will check out your other recipes.
How did they turn out, being layered?
Outstanding recipe and instructions. I’ve made this before and my next batch is in the oven now. Can’t wait!
Delicious!! Loved by all!
Best white sauce chicken enchiladas ever. My wife doesn’t like spicy food so I fire roast a green bell pepper in lieu of the green chile. Absolutely awesome.
So good! I want to try with corn tortillas next time. My whole family gobbled it up!
I really love this recipe. Really easy and really delicious. I always make a bigger batch to give some to my neice because she loves it! I add a little corn to mine for a little crunch and because my mom made them that way growing up. So good!
I’ve made this recipe several times now and it’s always delicious. I have even made it with some left over pulled pork
this turned out really well. I used your recipe as a guideline but tweaked it a bit. put seasoned boneless skinless chicken breasts in the pressure cooker until they were falling apart, followed your directions for the sauce, assembled as instructed, but put ultra thin sliced pepper jack payed over the top before adding the shredded Monterey over at the end. The extra cheese browned up nice with a low broil the last few minutes and helped hold everything together.
This recipe was fantastic, but I was unsure of the amount of salt to use. I made my own adobo seasoning according to another recipe and would cut the salt from that in the future. I recommend that if you’re using a store-bought rotisserie to really be mindful of the salt. My family tends to use less salt in our cooking. Overall, this recipe was very good and I thought the amount of enchilada sauce was perfect as well as it being delicious! Thank you!
The great thing about using cooked chicken is you can add a little and taste as you go until you get it how you like it. Some rotisserie has a lot of seasoning and others don’t so that’s why I don’t give exact amounts because salt is very subjective to each persons taste. So this way you can taste and season to how you like it. So happy you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe! I slow cooked the chicken in broth and a can of hotel, then followed the recipe! AMAZING!
Was it good? Yes it was, but I like my enchiladas to taste more Mexican.
Turned out great!!
Thanks so very much Donna!
Really love this recipe and have made it a few times now. The only thing I add is some chopped up scallions on top instead of green chili’s.
mmmmm I love green onions – perfect addition!! Thank you so much Debi!
Hello!
I’m excited to try this recipe tonight. I see it says season salt/pepper and adobado seasoning to taste but do you have a recommendation on how much? I sometimes over season food and I want to get it right! Thank you.
Sorry Isaac, I’m just now seeing this. The great thing about using cooked chicken is you can taste as you go. I don’t give measurements because it’s SO subjective and I don’t know if you’re using a seasoned rotisserie chicken or maybe someone is using cooked boiled chicken. So I recommend adding seasoning then taste it. It’s the best way. Perhaps start with about a teaspoon of adobo then go from there. If it doesn’t seem like nearly enough, try another teaspoon. If it’s close but not enough, add just a 1/3 teaspoon. Adobo has salt in it so you shouldn’t need to add much salt. And pepper brings spice so the more pepper you add, the more kick you add. So perhaps a 1/2-1 teaspoon of that. Hope that helps!
Wow is this good! Thank you for this recipe, I made it today and even my picky teenager loved it. Will definitely be making this more. I did tweak a few things as others have done but only because of our personal preferences. We did a total of 1.75lbs of chicken breasts and that seemed to fill the 8 taco sized La Banderita low carb tortilla shells perfectly in a 10×13 glass pan. I seasoned the chicken with smoked paprika (not too much!) and a little of the adobo seasoning (yummy – my new favorite spice!). This is my first time with the green chiles and they were perfect for flavor. I did notice this makes a lot of sauce so I added about a cup or so of the white sauce to the chicken mix and mixed well before putting it into the tortillas. Thank you Brandie 🙂
What a fabulous review Amy! Thanks so very much!!
We are doing this as a make ahead for a meal train. Can the sauce cool or will it break? We were going to assemble the tortillas and make the sauce but delivery them separately so the couple can pour on and then and bake.
Thoughts?
Hey Jim! Great idea on packing them separately. The sauce can cool. And since it will be reheated slowly as it cooks in the oven, there shouldn’t be any reason why it would break. You should be fine with this one 🙂
Perfect white sauce and seasonings! We topped them with shredded lettuce, tomato, and green chili sauce, with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced green onions. A definite keeper. Many thanks!
Thanks so very much Laura!
Hi are there any common seasonings that could sub for the adobo seasoning in this recipe? Thanks!
So if this helps, here is what is usually in adobo seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and oregano.
Absolutely delicious! Husband tried to go for thirds. Super easy to pull together and worked great with leftover chicken.
Ha! I love it!! Thanks so much Kate!
I loved these, however next time I will probably fry up the flour tortillas a little bit. Not a big corn tortilla fan. Otherwise Delicious recipe & thanks for sharing!
I made this with homemade corn tortillas. This was the first time that I’ve ever made enchiladas. My husband usually hates almost everything that I cook. He LOVED this! I’d also never used Adobo before but I did taste it before I used it.
Best enchiladas ever! We *loved* that sauce! It really was so good. I made some rice and scooped a little of the sauce over that too. Absolute heaven
My family loves these! They’re easy and delicious!!
Thank you Lynnelle! That means a lot!
Brandie,
I have been cooking for many, many years I make these very often everyone loves them. The best recipe I have found. Thanks for the inspiration.
I cooked my chicken in a crockpot all day and used the broth from that in the sauce. other then that I followed your recipe and it was great!!
This is my favorite enchilada recipe, haven’t found one to beat it. Love the sauce!
Thanks so very much Rhonda!!
My family loves this recipe! We make it for large gatherings and it’s always a hit.
This is SO GOOOOOOOD!!!!! SO GOOD, I HAD TO SHARE IT… SHARED THE RECIPE WITH MY MOM, SISTER, AND NIECE! AND, IT TASTES LIKE YOU PUT A LOT OF TIME INTO IT!! DEFINITELY MAKING AGAIN! The ONLY thing I did was add one more cup of chicken, and some cheese to accommodate! I’m sure the amount of chicken each person uses us going to be different. All just depends on how full you want your enchiladas!! Oh and I added a pinch of garlic and pepper to the sauce– but, I do that too everything!