Shredded chicken, Colby jack, and a creamy homemade white sauce — rolled up, baked about twenty minutes, and on the table like takeout from your favorite Mexican spot.
Three things that make these taste like takeout
A few ingredients, most of them already in your kitchen, and one sauce that does all the work.
- Build the sauce slowly: Melt butter, whisk in the flour, then add the broth slowly so it thickens smooth before the sour cream and green chilies go in.
- Use what you have: Just a handful of ingredients, and most of them are usually hanging around the kitchen anyway.
- Do not overbake: Twenty to twenty-five minutes uncovered is all it takes for bubbly, golden enchiladas.
Inside: This white chicken enchilada recipe tastes like takeout from the local Mexican restaurant, and by making your own homemade white enchilada sauce, the enchiladas are fresh, creamy and delicious.
The Recipe That Finally Won My Kids Over
We love Mexican food at our house. It’s the food that I’ve always served in hopes that my kids would take to the flavors and love it as much as I do .. and guess whaattttt??
It finally happened!
My entire family will eat my chicken enchilada recipe! Woohoo!
This white chicken enchilada recipe is one of my favorites to make because it’s so easy and there are so few ingredients. And, the few ingredients that this creamy white chicken enchilada recipe calls for are usually hanging around most kitchens anyhow – that’s a big win!
Everything You Need (Probably Already in Your Kitchen)
- 6-10 flour tortillas
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (This Instant Pot shredded chicken tacos recipe is exactly what you need.
- 1/2 can Rotel
- 2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
- 3 T butter
- 3 T flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 oz diced green chilies
How to assemble Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas:
Spray 9×13 baking dish and set aside
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Add the Rotel and 1 1/2 cups cheese to the cooked and shredded chicken, stir well
Meanwhile, melt butter in a pan on medium heat
Once butter is melted, add flour, stir well to combine
Turn heat to medium-high and slowly add the chicken broth to the mixture
Once the butter, flour, broth mixture has thickened, turn down heat and add sour cream and green chilies
Turn off heat and let sit a bit to thicken while stirring frequently
Place 1/2-2/3 cup chicken mixture inside each tortilla, rolling one by one and setting seam side down in baking dish
Once all the enchiladas are rolled, pour homemade white enchilada sauce over entire pan of enchiladas, top with remaining cheese
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 uncovered
Enjoy!
You’re going to absolutely love these delicious enchiladas served with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, Spanish rice, and beans!
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
Flour tortillas
Eight to ten soft taco size flour tortillas, about eight inches across. Flour tortillas roll without cracking and hold the creamy sauce. Corn tortillas split in this one.
The chicken
Two cups of cooked, shredded chicken. A rotisserie chicken is the fastest route. A batch of crock pot shredded chicken is what I usually have in the fridge.
Rotel and green chilies
Half a can of Rotel goes into the chicken for flavor and a little heat. A four ounce can of diced green chilies goes into the sauce for the tang that makes it taste like a restaurant.
Colby jack
Two cups shredded, with a cup and a half in the filling and a half cup over the top. Colby jack melts mild and creamy. Monterey jack is the closest swap.
Butter, flour and chicken broth
Three tablespoons of butter, three of flour, and two cups of broth. That is a basic white sauce, and it is the base everything else melts into.
Sour cream
One cup, stirred in off the heat. It is what makes the sauce white and creamy instead of just thick. Full fat holds up best in the oven.
Step by Step, With the Details
Mix the filling
Stir the shredded chicken with the half can of Rotel and a cup and a half of the cheese. Drain the Rotel a little first so the filling is not soupy.
Start the sauce
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and let it cook for a minute. It should look like a smooth paste.
Add the broth slowly
Turn the heat to medium high and pour in the broth a little at a time, whisking the whole way. It thickens in two or three minutes once it comes to a bubble.
Sour cream and chilies off the heat
Turn the heat down, then stir in the sour cream and the green chilies. Turn it off and let it sit, stirring now and then, while you roll the tortillas.
Roll and pack
A half to two thirds of a cup of filling down the middle of each tortilla, rolled snug, and set seam side down in a sprayed nine by thirteen. They should fit tight against each other.
Sauce, cheese, bake
Pour the sauce over all of them, scatter the last half cup of cheese on top, and bake uncovered at 350 for twenty to twenty five minutes until bubbling at the edges.
Keeping the Sauce Smooth
Sour cream curdles if it hits a boiling sauce. Lower the heat before it goes in, stir it in gently, and keep the pan off a hard boil after that.
If the sauce gets too thick while it sits, a splash of broth brings it back. It should pour over the enchiladas, not sit on top in a lump.
Toppings and Sides
- Shredded lettuce and diced tomato on top
- Sliced avocado or guacamole
- Chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime
- Spanish rice and refried or black beans on the side
- A bowl of queso blanco and chips to start
Easy Variations
Spicier
Use the whole can of Rotel in the filling and swap pepper jack for half the colby jack. The sauce stays mild, so the heat is in the middle.
Black beans and corn
A half cup each of drained black beans and corn stirred into the filling stretches the pan to ten full enchiladas and adds color.
Green chile chicken
Add a second can of green chilies to the filling and skip the Rotel. It is tangier and a little more like the ones from New Mexico.
Make Ahead and Freezing
Assembling ahead
Roll the enchiladas and set them in the pan, but keep the sauce in a container. Cover both and refrigerate up to a day. Pour the sauce on right before baking and add five minutes.
Freezing
Freeze the rolled enchiladas without sauce in a foil pan, wrapped twice, for up to two months. Make the sauce fresh the day you bake them.
Leftovers
Leftovers keep covered for three days and reheat in the microwave in about two minutes. The sauce thickens overnight, which most people like.
Questions I Get About These Enchiladas
Why did mine come out watery?
The Rotel went in with all its juice, or the chicken was wet. Drain the Rotel and pat the chicken dry before you mix the filling.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes, plain whole milk Greek yogurt, added off the heat the same way. It is a little tangier and works fine.
Can I double it?
Yes. Double everything and use two pans. The sauce doubles in the same pot and takes a few extra minutes to thicken.
Can I use cream of chicken soup instead of making the sauce?
A can of cream of chicken whisked with a cup of sour cream and the green chilies is the shortcut. The homemade sauce is better and takes eight minutes.
Which tortilla size?
Eight inch soft taco size. Burrito size tortillas are too big for the pan, and the small street taco ones hold too little filling.
More Mexican Dinners From My Kitchen
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Restaurant Style Fajitas
- Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos
- Crockpot Pork Carnitas
White Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade White Sauce
Ingredients
- 8-10 flour tortillas
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (This Instant Pot shredded chicken tacos recipe is exactly what you need.
- 1/2 can Rotel
- 2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
- 3 T butter
- 3 T flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 oz diced green chilies
Instructions
- Spray 9x13 baking dish and set aside
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Add the Rotel and 1 1/2 cups cheese to the cooked and shredded chicken, stir well
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large pan on medium heat
- Once butter is melted, add flour, stir well to combine
- Turn heat to medium-high and slowly add the chicken broth to the mixture
- Once the butter, flour, broth mixture has thickened, turn down heat and add sour cream and green chilies
- Turn off heat and let sit a bit to thicken while stirring frequently
- Place 1/2-2/3 cup chicken mixture inside each tortilla, rolling one by one and setting seam side down in baking dish
- Once all the enchiladas are rolled, pour homemade white enchilada sauce over entire pan of enchiladas, top with remaining cheese
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 uncovered