White Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce {Recipe}

ByAlexis

These easy White Chicken Enchiladas are made with flour tortillas, shredded chicken, melty cheese, green chiles, and a delicious sour cream sauce.

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!)

White Chicken enchiladas text overlay with ribbons and a plate with white chicken enchiladas and a fork

This recipe gets all the accolades and compliments.  Everyone loves these creamy and cheesy chicken enchiladas. Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas has been the #1 recipe on my site every year since 2012.  It's just a classic favorite.

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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.

 
Two foil pans ready to cook white chicken enchiladas sitting on a wood table

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!).

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Easy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

This is a great recipe for a busy schedule.  If you have a busy day, cook the chicken in the slow cooker and then shred it and assemble the enchiladas, and make the sauce at dinner time.

If you have a busy late afternoon, make the the full recipe up to 12 hours in advance and keep in the fridge and just bake them at dinner time.  

White Chicken enchiladas in glass 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.

Ingredients for White Chicken Enchiladas

There are so many ways to make this your own.  This recipe will give you the confidence to experiment.  Onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, black beans, taco seasoning, chili powder, and all kinds of things to add as you cook the chicken and assemble the filling.  Start with the basic recipe and then experiment as you like.  

If you like to punch up the flavor and enjoy spicy, add chili powder to the chicken, add diced jalapenos to the sauce and use pepper jack cheese.
  • Flour tortillas- I used a taco size tortillas, but you can also use the smaller ones and get more individual enchiladas.  The flour tortillas do not become soggy or gummy.
  • Cooked, shredded chicken- I have shared several ways above to make delicious and moist chicken and easy ways to shred it quickly.
  • Monterey Jack Cheese- you can use any kind of melting cheese.  Cheddar jack, pepper jack, and Mexican blend all work well here.  If you are using mozzarella, mix it with cheddar for texture and melting.
  • Butter and flour- this will be used to make roux as a base to thicken the sour cream sauce.  
  • Chicken Broth- use prepared chicken broth or bouillon base and water
  • Sour cream- use full-fat sour cream.  Full-fat Greek yogurt can also be used.
  • Green chiles- these are diced and mild. They are not spicy, and they add great flavor. 

See the recipe for quantities.

Hand rolling chicken and cheese together into a burrito
*You can add all the broth at once and stir while it cooks, coming to a simmer for 15 or 20 minutes and is nice and thick. Stir continually.
*Or you can add in only small amounts (½ to 1 cup of broth) at a time and let each addition thicken before adding more, it will only take about 10 minutes to simmer and thicken.  Stir continually.
Stainless steel pan pouring sour cream sauce over the chicken filled burritos in a glass pan
a round plate holding the white chicken enchiladas with a fork in front of a glass bowl of salad

Serve with your favorite taco toppings and a side salad or fresh veggies.

If I am making this to serve a large family or big group, I figure 1.5 enchiladas per person and then go heavy on the side options. I like to warm up pinto beans (or refried beans) and corn and serve chips with salsa. There is always more sour cream and fresh avocado. Fresh lime wedges and diced tomatoes are wonderful. We also like sliced black olives and jalapenos. 

Variations and Substitutions:

  • Use corn tortillas.  Tradiitional enchiladas use soft corn tortillas.  Warm up the tortillas first so that when you roll them up, they won't split.
  • Add chili. powder and taco seasoning to the chicken
  • Add green chilies and onions to the chicken when cooking it.

What's The Best Way To Make Shredded Chicken?

*Slow cooker- use 4-5 boneless chicken breasts and cook on low with ½ cup water and seasonings for 6 hours.  Shred and enjoy.

*Oven roasted- Drizzle olive oil over 4-5 boneless chicken breasts and season with cumin, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Shred and enjoy.

*In a large pot filled with chicken broth, boil chicken breasts for 20 minutes or so until cooked through.  Shred and season.  

*You can also buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it for a quick solution.  Even faster, I love buying the packaged shredded rotisserie chicken from Costco. 

Top Tip

*For an easy way to shred chicken, you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and shred it on low while the chicken is hot.  you can also use an electric hand mixer with beaters just be careful not to mash or pulverize the chicken.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftover enchiladas in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Can I freeze White Chicken Enchiladas?

This recipe, as a whole, does not freeze well.  The chicken rolled up in the flour tortillas will make the tortillas gummy when thawed. The sour cream sauce doesn't freeze well and separates when thawed.  To use your freezer in meal prep for this recipe, cook your chicken with prices and any mixins.  Cool and then freeze in a zip top freezer bag for 2-3 months.  You can then thaw and roll it up in the tortillas, make the sauce, and bake it as directed.

More Enchilada Recipes

Do you love all enchiladas?  I have recipes for more!

414 Comments

  1. I have to say that i made ths for dinner tonight and this recipe is AWESOME!!! It was easy and SO VERY YUMMY!!! THANK YOU!!!

  2. FOR GLUTEN FREE: Use CORN tortillas, Gluten-free all purpose flour (mine's a bean mix) and make sure your broth is GF as well. YUMMO! Celiac-friendly!

  3. I am so excited to make these; can you tell me if you used corn tortillas or flour?
    Thanks for sharing!!

  5. made these last night. I need to buy another 9x13 pan and double up. They were gone in just minutes! so so so yummy. Thank's for sharing.

  6. I found this on pinterest and gave it a try. I used rotel instead of just green chilies. I also added onions to the chicken. It was delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  8. Wow! I tried this tonight - amazing! I cooked the chicken in the crock pot on high for a couple of hours in chicken broth, cumin, garlic salt, and chili powder. Then shredded the chicken adding green onion, chili powder, cumin and a bit of dried cilantro to the cheese and chicken. I made the tortillas from scratch because we were out and must say. So proud of the way it turned out. 🙂 Thanks!

  9. I made these last night, and they were really good. I'm an enchilada SNOB, so finding another recipe besides my old "tried & true" is nice! My family really liked the recipe too which is saying alot because they are snobs when it comes to enchiladas as well. I believe that if you think this needs more "spice or flavor" then your palate is probably pretty numb. If you over spice you kill the true flavor of the food. Just my opinion.

    This time I used corn tortillas, but I suggest using FLOUR tortillas. The corn tortillas tend to get mushy and fall apart. Which I'm sure has to do with the amount of liquid in the sour cream sauce. Also, next time I make these I will probably try the half sour cream, half cream cheese suggestion that someone else posted, to cut down on the "liquidity" of the sauce. I also used a can of Rotel instead of just green chilies, so next time I will also DRAIN the Rotel before adding it to the sauce. (probably another reason for the high liquidity. At the end of the day this is a great tasting recipe and it's definitely a keeper. Not bland at all. P.S. my son liked the way it all blended together when my corn tortillas fell apart, so if I don't have flour tortillas next time, I may just make it into an enchilada casserole instead of regular enchiladas. 😉

  10. Tried this recipe last night, it was 'Ok' it definately needs more spices as suggested by previous comments, even though I did this, it was still a little bland. Next time I would add more spices to the chicken mixture as well as the cream sauce, I will also add green onions to the chicken mixture. My kids said they prefer the other Enchilada recipe I make, so back to that I guess. 🙂

  11. Kim, you can really use either. I use flour because that is what I always have in the pantry. If you do try corn, let me know what you think

    1. Recipe sounds great, but a flour tortilla makes a chicken burrito. A corn tortilla makes a chicken enchilada (which I believe is what is confusing everyone).

    2. I always use flour tortillas to make enchiladas. usually burritos are not baked like this. It doesn't really matter, just personal preference. I have noticed that the farther north you get the names of Mexican dishes get confused!

  12. I have the same question several other posters have had, which has not been answered yet. Flour or corn torillias??

  13. It was super easy and really good. For me, I might use a can of rotel instead of the canned chilis. Really good recipe though. Thanks!

  16. Sara.sunshine, I like to toss 3-4 frozen breasts in the crock pot with some broth and let it cook on low all day. I have started adding cumin and taco seasoning while it cooks for some extra flavor. Enjoy!

  18. I made these last night and it turned out so yummy! I added taco seasoning mix, half a can of rotel and black beans (drained/rinsed) to the chicken and cheese mixture. I used the other half can of mild rotel instead of the chiles to make it more kid friendly. This will definitely be made again.

  19. Exactly what Becky said above!!!! They're in my oven and I pinned this recipe a long time ago!

  20. first off.. Pinterest is my new Love! I found you there... The Enchilada's are in the oven as i type this. I can already tell they are going to be yummy! Thank You 🙂

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