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

  2. Gluten free: used penne pasta and gluten free flour! My husband who hates cassoroles loved it. Also, didn't have green chiles so used green salsa. Yummy

  3. Made this last night. Quick, easy and delicious. Used traditional store bought rotisserie chicken (also used the broth from the chicken in the sauce). Instead of white flour tortillas, I used Joseph's brand oat bran and whole wheat tortillas and added red pepper flakes and cayanne to the meat mixture and sauce (I love spicy). Will make this again and again.

  4. I skimmed through the comments looking to see if anyone added spinach? I have a family of 6 and am wondering if that would be a good way to add more bulk. thanks 😀

  5. Ive made these twice now. I use leftover crockpot chicken from another meal. Ive made them with leftover salsa lime chicken and leftover cheddar chicken. I also add spanish rice inside. Its a huge hit at my house and an easy, inexpensive way to stretch leftovers.

    Huge hit with my family!

  6. Loved these! I can't follow recipes, so I did make some changes, but the base recipe itself is great! I used white corn tortillas. Added onion to the chicken as well as pickled jalapeno. I also added about half a cup of Monterey Jack to the sauce along with cumin and pepper. Served with my pico de gallo on top and I am in heaven!

  8. Love these!! I pre make them for my brother and law and he takes them to work and all of his co workers are jealous! We add extra green chiles to them and sometimes pickled jalapenos. Thanks for the great recipe!

  9. We love these at my house! We've made some slight modifications to reflect our taste- add some sauted corn, green peppers, and onion to the chicken. Season the chicken with cumin, chili powder, and paprika. And sub greek yogurt for the sour cream for a little extra kick- delicious! About to test the recipe on a large group for the Super Bowl!

  10. Hi, I also found your pic of enchies on Pinterest. Going to try to make them tonight or tomorrow. I was born and raised on the traditional red sauce and everyone who has mine says they're to die for! Thanks for sharing!
    ~ Stephanie

  11. This was good, but we thought the insides needed more flavor...I liked someone else's idea of sauteing onions with the chicken, but we were also thinking some homemade salsa or at least some chopped up tomatoes and cilantro would be a great addition to the inside as well. Great base recipe, our family just wanted a little more flavor!

  13. I made these gluten-free for my family by using white corn tortillas. There was only one problem....My family was mad that there were no left overs! 😉 Yummy!!!

  14. I made this dish for my family last night; they were a resounding hit! I used B/S breasts and thighs and baked them with a variety of seasonings. I served it with Mexican rice. This was easy to make, devoured in record time and a breeze to clean up after. Thank you for sharing this great recipe!

    P.S. I found you on Pinterest!

  15. Made these for dinner this evening with a few modifications (added..can of rotel tomatoes with green chillies, cumin, chili powder, garlic and some green onion) Awesome recipe!! My family loved them. Thanks for sharing!!!

  16. I don't think it's that big of a deal...it is absolutely delicious and the details in the name are not what makes it or breaks it...at least to me? Wikipedia...really? lol

    Thanks Joyful Momma for sharing..just found you through Pinterest last week and love your site :0)

    1. I agree! It really doesn't make that big of a difference! It was YUMMY!!!! I made them tonight. My family loved them! 🙂

  17. Just to clarify: The recipe is called White Chicken Enchiladas. This means it should be made with corn tortillas. Once you use a flour tortilla it becomes a chicken burrito. It's probably good with either, but a enchilada is typically made with corn (see wikipedia below). Joyful Momma's Kitchen recipe could have been more specific for those who are unaware of the difference.

    An enchilada is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchilada

    A burrito or taco de harina,[1] is a type of Mexican food. It consists of a wheat flour tortilla wrapped or folded around a filling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrito

    1. Wikipedia is not a very good source to base anything on, especially Mexican food. Maybe you should lighten up on your definitions, or take a trip to Texas.

    2. I promise I'm not trying to be rude, I'm honestly curious; are tortillas called soft taco shells in some states? I've seen this before & I was wondering if the packaging itself is labeled this way or if it's just relative to where one lives?

      ~Just curious in Cali

  19. I want to make them but wonder if I could make a veggie mixture to put inside or if the veg would get too watery. Maybe black beans, onions, some red bell peppers, and jalapenos?

    I guess I could cut down on some of the veggie stock to offset any water that the veggies give off?

    Thoughts, anyone?

    1. I added beans and onions to my chicken mixture and didn't have any problems..so I don't think it would be a problem.

  20. made these once as is and they were just ok. my sister said she made hers with 1/2 c cream cheese and 1/2 c sour cream instead of 1 full cup sour cream. she said it was really good that way. so i made it again, using the cream cheese, and omg, so much better!!

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