White Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce {Recipe}
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!)
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.
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.
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.
*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.
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!
Oh my goodness..these are awesome! I had to improvise some. I added pinto beans and an onion to bulk it up some and to that I added cumin and chili powder along with the chicken and cheese..substituted greek yogurt for the sour cream..I only had whole grain tortillas which was was worried about..but they turned out GREAT! It was a HUGE hit with the kids and adults! Will be making these often..thanks!!
Since finding this recipe on pinterest, it is on our menu every week. Thanks for sharing.
If the French made enchiladas, this would be it. The sauce is Volute sauce--try bringing the broth (or better yet, the chicken stock) to a boil before adding to the roux for some serious time savings and better thickening.
I made these tonight. HUGE hit with me & my hubby.... kids not so much. I sauteed some onion & green pepper for about 2 minutes and added it to the chicken/cheese mixture. Thank you for the recipe!!
Baking them in the oven as we speak!! I can't wait to try them. I used low carb tortillas though!
I made this tonight and it was so good, the kids loved it too! I did sauté a 1/2 of a chopped onion in the butter then removed it and let it cool to add to chicken and cheese mixture. I added one more tablespoon to the butter that I cooked the onions in to then make the sauce. I think this added some great flavor. So easy to make too!
My bf takes them to work the next day and says they are still wonderful!
THESE ARE DELICIOUS! I altered the recipe a little bit by using "tommatoes with green chilies" and using cheddar jack cheese instead of monterey jack. LOVE them! Thanks for sharing! (I also found this on pinterest.)
Can these be made in the morning and refrigerated? Or at least just the sauce?
I found this on pinterest. This looks so good, can't wait to try it!
laroo906...I used rotiseree chickens too. Very good and easy. And you get the flavor from the rotiseree!
I have made these two times. Once using flour tortillas and once using corn. I think the corn was much better. The flour got way too "doughy" and mushy. But the corn was really good. I also added about a cup of finely chopped onion sauteed in a little butter to the chicken mixture for a little more flavor.
Made these for dinner! They were delicious!!Just used meat from a rotiseree chicken.. Super easy and quick!
Made these last night, they are SOOOOOOOOOO Good!!!! Made them exactly as recipe called for. 🙂
Tried these tonight after getting this off pintrest. LOVED!!!!! Thanks for sharing!
These were fantastic. I've never tried making enchiladas before, but these were fairly simple and they were an instant family favorite. We will definitely be making these again, and again, and again. Thanks!
We just had these for dinner. They are SOOOO good! Thanks for sharing!
Your recipe is the first thing I re-pinned when I joined Pinterest this week--can't wait to try it out!
I also added 1 1/2 tsp. each of: garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, cumin, pepper, and chili powder to the white sauce, it needs the flavor!
Yum this looks great! I will be trying it!