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A comforting twist on traditional enchiladas, White Chicken Enchiladas are topped with a creamy sour cream-based green chile sauce. It’s a perfect recipe to use leftover chicken or even pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store.
Everyone loves enchiladas! There are so many different ways to make them. This White Chicken Enchilada recipe is super simple, sticks to tried and true flavors, and is not spicy at all. If you haven’t tried it, it will quickly become a favorite!
Don’t forget the Authentic Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, or tortilla chips and Guacamole on the side!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Leftover Chicken Recipe – It’s a great way to use up leftover shredded chicken in your fridge.
- Creamy White Sauce – The green chile and sour cream-based white enchilada sauce is so easy to make.
- Family Friendly Favorite – It’s ultra creamy and not spicy at all, This is one of those dinners that is loved by adults and kids alike!
- Serves A Crowd – Make a double batch of enchiladas and easily serve a crowd over the holidays or for a casual dinner party.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Shredded Chicken – This is a great recipe to use leftover cooked chicken breasts or even a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Spices – Salt, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper. Other optional seasonings include chili powder or cayenne pepper for a little heat.
- Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese – Divided for both the filling, sauce, and to sprinkle on top.
- Flour Tortillas – Use the soft taco size.
- Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- White Onion – finely diced. You can also use yellow onion or omit all altogether (see recipe tips).
- Minced Garlic – Freshly minced is best, but the kind in a jar works too.
- Chicken Broth or Stock
- Sour Cream – For a lighter variation, you can swap in some or all of the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt.
- Canned Chopped Green Chiles
How To Make White Chicken Enchiladas
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Prep – Start by preheating the oven and greasing a large 13×9 inch baking dish.
Mix Filling – Mix together the shredded chicken, spices, and 1 cup of the cheese.
Assemble Enchiladas – Fill each tortilla with the filling, then roll up then place in a single layer in the baking dish.
Make White Sauce – In a medium pot, melt butter with onions and garlic and whisk in flour to make a roux. Whisk in broth and simmer until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in sour cream, cheese, and green chiles.
Pour Sauce and Bake – Pour the white sauce over the filled tortillas, cover with remaining cheese, and bake until bubbly.
Serve – It’s best to let the enchiladas cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is super filling on its own, but I love to round it out with Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, a Black Bean and Corn Salad, or Elote. You can also serve them with toppings such as extra sour cream, chopped cilantro, salsa, or pico de gallo.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enchiladas can be frozen for up to 3 months, thaw before reheating. Reheat single servings in the microwave for about 1 minute.
When freezing, keep in mind that the sour cream based sauce may change in texture as it thaws and is reheated.
Expert Tips
- Shredded Chicken – Use one of my recipes for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken, or Crockpot Whole Chicken. Or make it easy on yourself and just pluck the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken.
- Onion-Free Variation – For a no-onion version of this recipe you can omit the fresh onion and garlic in the sauce, and increase the garlic powder and onion powder to 1 teaspoon each.
- Corn Tortillas vs. Flour – You can use corn tortillas for this recipe. You’ll want to warm the corn tortillas before trying to roll or they can tear easily. Flour tortillas are a bit easier to work with.
- Bake Uncovered – Baking the enchiladas uncovered helps the cheese on top get golden and bubbly. If they are getting too brown, you can loosely tent the pan with foil.
- Cheese – It’s best to use shredded cheese that will melt well. I love to use Monterey Jack cheese, but a quesadilla cheese also works well. Or bring a little heat with some shredded Pepper Jack cheese.
More Enchilada Recipes
- Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Beef Enchiladas
- Cheese Enchiladas
- Ground Turkey Enchiladas
- Easy Enchilada Skillet
White Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded and divided
- 10 8-inch flour tortillas soft taco size
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup white onion finely diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 ounces canned chopped green chiles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease a 9"x13" baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and 1 cup of the shredded jack cheese.
- Lay one tortilla on a flat surface, like a cutting board. Spoon a heaping ⅓ cup of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla. Roll and place seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat until you've used all the chicken.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds more. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream, ½ cup shredded cheese, and green chiles, until smooth and combined.
- Pour the sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas in the pan and cover with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve with your favorite toppings, like diced tomatoes and sliced jalapenos.
So freakin tasty!! I ended up adding paprika, cayenne, and chili powder to the chicken ( I used a rotisserie) and it complimented the dish perfectly
Nice! Awesome feedback Olivia! Thanks for stopping by.