White Chicken Enchiladas

ByAlexis
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Welcome to the recipe that went viral on Pinterest! If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you're following me on Pinterest for this and alllll my delicious recipes I'm sharing over there. White Chicken Enchiladas are ALL the rage, and for good reason. The flavor is incredible.  Bold flavor but not spicy.  Creamy comfort food, yet not too rich.  These are a winner in all categories and will satisfy even the pickiest eater. (Yes even with green chilies and sour cream!)

Not your everyday Enchiladas...

These are not your typical enchiladas.  Traditionally, enchiladas are made with corn tortillas and a red or green sauce.  These are a "whole other thing"….and so so good.

 
Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas on plate with fork

I have a big family and we love to have big Fiesta Night dinners.  Tacos, taquitos, nachos, and of course these enchiladas are a must.  There are never any leftovers (I blame the Sour Cream and green chillies!).

White Chicken enchiladas in pan from oven

I like to put these on the Menu for Monday because I can cook the chicken in the slow cooker on Sunday and assemble everything and stick the pan in the fridge.  Then when we get home Monday from school, activities, appointments, and general chaos that comes with the beginning of the week, I can pop these in the oven and know that we will all be looking forward to a delicious dinner.

Welcome, Pinners!  

Thanks for visiting!  There have been hundreds of comments and questions on this recipe (White Chicken Enchiladas) so I want to make some of the answers known upfront.  🙂  

After you make these, you will probably want to try a few of my other VERY popular recipes that are similar

The Recipe:

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White Chicken Enchiladas

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White Chicken Enchiladas are ALL the rage, and for good reason.  The flavor is incredible.  Bold flavor but not spicy.  Creamy comfort food, yet not too rich.  These are a winner in all categories and will satisfy even the pickiest eater.

  • Author: Alexis

Ingredients

Scale

10 flour taco shells

2-3 cups cooked, shredded chicken *see notes*

2 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 can (4oz) diced green chilies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x14 pan.

Mix shredded chicken and 1 cup of cheese in a bowl.  Roll up the chicken into the 10 tortillas and place seam down in the prepared pan.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in the flour and stir while cooking for 2 minutes.

Add in the broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  This will take about 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat on the saucepan and stir in the sour cream and green chilies.   Stir well and remove from heat so your sour cream won't curdle.  When it is mixed well, pour your sauce over the enchiladas in the pan.

Top with the remaining 1 ½ cup cheese.

Bake for 22 minutes and then broil on high for 3 minutes at the end to get the cheese bubbly.

Enjoy!

Notes

*To make my shredded chicken, I use 4 frozen chicken breasts and sprinkle with 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp garlic powder, and ground black pepper (just a bit) and cook on low in my slow cooker all day.  Then they easily shred up when you are ready to make dinner.*

*For a professional shredding tip, toss your cooked chicken breasts into a kitchen aid mixer and mix on low and watch them shred up perfectly before your eyes.  You are a dinnertime champion!

Pro Tips:

  1. This recipe calls for diced green chilies.  Don't let that fool you, these are NOT spicy in the least.  My 3 year old and 1 year old love them.
  2. If you would like, you can substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream in the recipe.  It is a 1 for 1 substitute.
  3. If you cook your chicken first (rather than using a rotisserie chicken), you may want to add some spices to give it extra flavor.  I like the chicken to have good flavor.  I tend to cook my chicken in the slow cooker with 2 teaspoon ground cumin,  2 teaspoon garlic powder, and a few shakes ground black pepper.
  4. You can make this ahead and keep it in the fridge up to 24 hours.  Just put it in the oven and increase the time a bit.  You will want to make sure they are heated through.
  5. This sauce does not freeze well.  Then enchiladas themselves freeze really well.  I freeze a few pans of them double wrapped in foil and then I just make the sauce the day of.  Thaw them first, add the sauce, cook according to original instructions. (Need more freezer meal ideas?  I've got a ton!)

Yes, your friends and family will lick their plate and ask for you to bring them to every gathering from here on out.

*These are seriously so so good*

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414 Comments

  1. I don't usually comment on some of the recipes I make from pinterest but this one's an exception. I usually try out new recipes on my daughter and son in law (he loves to eat and cook)..this was a hit with them and a keeper for me. I think the only thing I would do different would be to add some pepper jack cheese to the top. Thank you for this recipe

    1. Thanks for stopping by! I have done a little pepperjack cheese on the top and oh boy....yum!!

  2. Thanks so much for this recipe!! I also made my chicken in the crock pot. It's SO easy to shred that way!! I added a little bit of broth, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. The only alteration I made to this is that I mix my shredded chicken with the cheese, refried beans and onions. I stuff them VERY full, but I still use the smaller taco shells. I fit 8 in a 9x13 casserole dish, and 4 in a 7x11 (? maybe? The next size down from the 9x13 in my pyrex set. 🙂 ) So then I make 1.5 times the sauce. These go fast in our house...always a favorite. 🙂

  3. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My family loves it! We sometimes mix rice into the chicken and cheese mixture. Your recipe is our absolute favorite!

  4. My family of five (four of which are all guys) loved this meal!!!! Even the youngest one that complains 8 out of 10 meals. Great recipe! Thank you for sharing.

  6. Delicious recipe that I keep in my routine regularly. I also add a bunch of chopped cilantro to the sauce.

  8. Hi,

    Love this recipe. I decided to make it for a volunteer luncheon that I'm hosting in a few weeks. Need to make enough for 30-40 guests. How many does your recipe serve. You mentioned using soft taco shells which seem a bit small for assembling. I was thinking of using the bigger flour tortillas and serve one large per guest. I will also be making refried beans (do you have a good recipe for beans) as a side dish and serve fresh salsa. I think I read that I can assemble them the night before.
    Thanks,
    Rose

  9. I made the recipe exactly as stated and I'm sorry to say it was incredibly bland and not very good at all. I have several go-to enchilada recipes for both red and green sauce and this recipe did not compare 🙁 I'm so bummed because it seemed great in theory! The chicken definitely needs something to liven it up, but the sauce does as well... it just tastes like a very bland cream sauce.

    1. I really like this recipe but thought it bland also. I added 1 teaspoon cumin and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder which helped a lot. Now it's my favorite! Thank you, Joyful Momma!

  10. Tonight's dinner. Tried it with corn tortillas and instead of butter used milk, added minced garlic, and instead of rotisserie chicken I used chicken breast w/salt free Cajun seasoning, next time I will sub the flour with milled flax seed to make it GF (didn't think about that till after the fact

  11. Loved the recipe, but one minor suggestion. Before melting the butter, take the flour taste away by browning your flour for 1-3 minutes. then start the recipe

  12. Now following you on Pinterest. This recipe is amazing. Got a lot of comments. I cooked the chicken using onion, garlic and cumin as well as adding rice and black beans to the filling. Even by using low carb soft tacos, rice, black beans and light sour cream, it was easy, filling and flavorful

  14. I just made these for the fifth or sixth time. It's my number one favorite recipe. Love love love them! And so do my hubby and kids!

  15. I found this a whike ago and my husband literally requests it once every couple of weeks and every time we have a guest over and every holiday work dinner.... ahhh the list goes on for reasons to make such a delicious dinner. Off to the store because the husband has yet again reauested this for his holiday work lunch!! It's away of life, some what close to an obsession. Thank you!!!!

    1. I am so glad you like it!! My husband plans to take it for his coworkers for a lunch as well. Enjoy!

  16. I made these for dinner one evening and my wife said that it was the best "Mexican" type food she has ever had. I dredged the tortillas in enchilada sauce before stuffing them with the chicken mixture (to which I added more diced green chilis) ; the result was absolutely fantastic! Thank you for the recipe and for sharing it on Pintrest.

  17. Thanks for the recipe! I recently discovered that I have a soy intolerance/slight allergy, so I can't have store-bought enchilada sauce. The flour, butter, and (soy-free) chicken broth sauce was an excellent alternative!

    I made a few changes to suit my palate, and had great results. I added a couple spoonfuls of cumin, chili powder, and lime juice to the chicken while I cooked it (I would've marinated the chicken in this, but I didn't want to wait). I used half pepper jack cheese and half sharp cheddar. Also, I added about 2Tbs of chopped jalapeños and some of the juice they were in to the chicken/cheese mix along with more chili powder, cumin, and lime juice. The outcome was delicious! The lime adds just enough zest and the jalapeños and chili powder add just enough heat to balance the cream sauce.

    Next time, I think I'll add corn, black beans, and possibly mexican-style rice to the enchiladas. I want to make these again soon!

    Thanks again,

    Noelle

  18. Thanks for the recipe! I recently discovered that I have a soy intolerance/slight allergy, so I can't have store-bought enchilada sauce. The flour, butter, and (soy-free) chicken broth sauce was an excellent alternative!

    I made a few changes to suit my palate, and had great results. I added a couple spoonfuls of cumin, chili powder, and lime juice to the chicken while I cooked it (I would've marinated the chicken in this, but I didn't want to wait). I used half pepper jack cheese and half sharp cheddar. Also, I added about 2Tbs of chopped jalapeños and some of the juice they were in to the chicken/cheese mix along with more chili powder, cumin, and lime juice. The outcome was delicious! The lime adds just enough zest and the jalapeños and chili powder add just enough heat to balance the cream sauce.

    Next time, I think I'll add corn, black beans, and possibly mexican-style rice to the enchiladas. I want to make these again soon!

    Thanks again,

    Noelle

  19. Hi just found this recipe on pinterest, i want to make it for a mid morning pot luck, can i make it the night before or do i need to make it that morning?

  20. Hey Mipsy Jo, I live in Arizona and am married to a mexican. I make lots of authenic mexican food. That doesnt mean that just because these are called * enchiladas* that they cant be a nice family dinner once in awhile. I made this and my grandson loved them. If my 4 kids were still young, I would be making these for dinner at least once a month, they were delicious!

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