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.
Absolutely DELICIOUS! We will definitely make this again !
Absolutely delicious!! My family loves these. I’ve made these twice and each time, they’ve been gobbled up.
Does this recipe work with corn tortillas?
I go into detail above about that in the frequently asked questions section 🙂
I’ve made them with corn tortillas and they are delicious!
Turned out great for me! My wife and kids ate all of it so obviously a hit LOL
Huge hit with the family and it was something even the kids really loved (and it was easy!) After work I’m so tired so I loved how quickly this came together!
Excellent as-is, I wouldn’t change a thing! Delicious and a huge family favorite! Followed recipe exactly
I loved this recipe! We used to always make this with canned cream of chicken soup. But this is way better! 10/10
Is there a recommendation on the best was to freeze leftovers and how would you reheat them.? We made this for like the 100th time for a church event and we have about 2dozen leftover out of the 120 we made. Would love to be able to freeze but wasn’t sure if it was possible and what it would take to reheat them.
Excellent! The only thing I added was a second can of green chiles. Definitely a keeper.
I used leftover turkey.
I make these as written ALL the time. My family LOVES “Enchilala night”. My favorite batch every year is the one I make with leftover tamale ingredients. So the sauce on the chicken is homemade, the chiles are roasted and peeled by me, etc. all the joys of a lengthy cook with the ease of “grab, build, and cook!” But even without the extra, this is a favorite in my house and on steady rotation!
I made these for the first of what will now be many times tonight. All in all, I got rave reviews from my family.
Super recipe. I’ve made it many times exactly as written and it’s fantastic. This last time I decided to sauté some onions and include those. Not sure if it made a difference. My whole family loves it. No changes are needed! I used rotisserie chicken which I normally do with any chicken enchiladas. Thank you for the lovely recipe.
P.S. to my original comment, leftover turkey is absolutely delicious in this recipe.
Fabulous recipe!
We love this recipe!! So easy and so flavorful! We double the sauce though. Soo good!! In our rotation. Thank you.
my family loves it!
Can this be made ahead and stored in frig for 24 hours?
You could but the tortillas can get soggy. Some people don’t mind it but it’s a texture issue for others. You could maybe brown them a bit on both sides first & that might help a little.
Wanting to make these for a luncheon, group of around 30. Could I make ahead without the sauce, then add the sauce and cook right before serving?
I understand what you mean about getting soggy. Maybe just put a the coating on the bottom or butter so they don’t stick?
I haven’t tried that, I am sorry. I don’t like to guess unless I’ve experimented because I hate for anyone to waste ingredients because I guessed wrong.
Omg! No need to ever make enchiladas any other way. I give this 10 stars and so did my hubby!
Woo hoo!! Thanks so much LaRhesa!!
Wow!!!! This was so YUMMY!!!❤️
Thank you So Much!
I added 3-4 leaves of spinach to each one for fun.
So easy to follow your recipe too! That’s half the battle. Thank you!!
We love your white chicken enchilada casserole too
I have made enchiladas before, but no recipe is better than this! I did add black beans and refried beans to the filling, along with chili powder and cumin. My husband is still raving about this recipe five days later!
The BEST Enchiladas Recipe
That white sauce though!!! So delicious. Thanks for the great recipe! This came together quickly and the family approved.
If someone isn’t a fan of sour cream, can you even tell that’s in there? I don’t have plain yogurt or cream cheese to substitute with at the moment.
It adds creaminess. Is it a strong taste? No. But my experience is once you tell sour cream haters it is in there, they will just make up their minds not to like it LOL.
My whole family absolutely loved this!! Easy to tailor to your family’s tastes too. Thank you!!
Can you use ground chicken instead of shredded chicken?
Yes. Just cook first
These white chicken enchiladas were So Good and so easy. The best part though, everyone loved them, especially my husband. The only tweaks that I made was to add 1/4 cup of onion & 1 tablespoon of garlic to the simmering butter (before adding the flour). Thanks so much for the awesome recipe. It will definitely become a regular dish for our family.
Great tasting, easy to prepare.
So good and easy to make!
Easy and delicious!
Always a hit! I make it exactly to the recipe
I cook a lot. I would say that most everyone I know thinks I am a good cook. I am often giving out the recipe for things I make. My daughter made this for dinner and it was so very delicious! She was beyond thrilled how much my husband and I loved it. I will be making this TOMORROW!
Fantastic!! I didn’t have green chilis, so I used one can of Rotel. Followed everything else to the ‘T’!! Whole family loved it, will be adding to my favorite recipes!!
Thank you for including an ingredient photo in your post! It helped me to know exactly what to look for. This was delicious!
Winner Chicken Dinner! After eating this at our friends house, it was so deliscious I asked her for the recipe. I made it today, absolutely fantastic! Everyone loved it!
I only had liquid Adobo sauce, so I mixed it in w/the chicken, and added chopped fresh cilantro and thinly chopped green onions.
Thank you for such an easy recipe!!
I have made this recipe time and time again. It has become a family favorite. So easy and so delicious. Even my young children (7 & 5) love this recipe and ask for seconds.
Easy and delicious
If you haven’t made this run, don’t walk and make them. I absolutely guarantee you will be happy you did, great recipe and the taste WOW!
Very good recipe!
Many of these sound delicious! I wish there was a way to easily get multiple recipes to my e-mail.
Delicious & easy! We use freshly roasted Hatch green chilies for more spice, but otherwise make the recipe as is.
I love to add Pico de Gallo & the Fire Roasted Corn to the Chicken. ‘Searing’ the Corn Tortillas slightly before rolling…… Mi’ Bueno !!!!!!!!
I used fresh jalapeño rather than canned.
Fantastic recipe that will become part of my regular repertoire.
Great recipe and one I think you can easily tailor to your tastes!
These are my favorite! I double the recipe so the wraps have more chicken . And I don’t crowd them in pan as sauce won’t go down in between enchiladas. I use 9 x 13 and 9 x 9 pans. And use soft taco wraps. Delicious. I eat on them for a few days!
I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it several times and everyone loves it! Thank you for sharing!
Yummy
Easy to follow and easy to make
These are very tasty. I’ve made them a few times, and my family loves them.