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!
These are amazing! I made them twice already! Thanks so much for sharing!!
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
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.
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 😀
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!
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!
Making these in a few minutes!! Perfect Super Bowl food!
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!
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!
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
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!
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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!!!
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!
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!!!
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)
I agree! It really doesn't make that big of a difference! It was YUMMY!!!! I made them tonight. My family loved them! 🙂
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
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.
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
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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?
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.
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!!