The Ultimate Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas: An Irresistible Family Favorite Recipe
Prepare to delight your taste buds with these incredibly creamy chicken enchiladas, a dish so universally loved that it consistently tops the charts as one of my family’s most requested meals. Bursting with simple yet profoundly flavorful ingredients, these white chicken enchiladas are guaranteed to satisfy even the pickiest eaters and are perfect for any occasion, from a casual weeknight dinner to a festive potluck gathering. Their rich, savory filling and luscious, cheesy topping create an unforgettable culinary experience that you’ll want to revisit again and again.
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Among all the culinary creations that regularly come out of my kitchen, this creamy chicken enchilada recipe holds a special place, not just for its deliciousness but for the sheer volume of recipe requests it generates. The inspiration for these “white” enchiladas came to me over 15 years ago, thanks to my dear friend Terri. Her original version was a revelation, and I’ve been making them ever since, slowly refining and tweaking the recipe to perfection over the years. This current rendition represents the culmination of that journey – a harmonious blend of creamy textures, savory chicken, and a subtle kick of chilies, all wrapped in a soft tortilla and smothered in melted cheese. It’s truly a labor of love that has become a cherished staple in our home.
Why These Creamy Chicken Enchiladas Are a Must-Try
What makes these creamy white chicken enchiladas so special? It’s their unique combination of comforting familiarity and exciting flavor. Unlike traditional red enchilada sauces, our creamy white sauce offers a milder, incredibly rich base that perfectly complements the tender chicken and savory vegetables. They strike an ideal balance, being hearty enough for a satisfying dinner yet light enough not to feel heavy. Plus, they’re incredibly versatile, allowing for easy customization to suit your family’s preferences. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a beginner in the kitchen, this recipe is designed for success, yielding consistently delicious results every time.
Time Needed: Quick & Easy Prep
One of the many benefits of this creamy chicken enchilada recipe is its adaptability to your schedule. If you’re a fan of meal prepping and already have ingredients like cooked chicken, sautéed onions, and bell peppers conveniently stored in your freezer, thawed and ready to go, you can have this entire meal on the table in approximately 40 minutes. This makes it an ideal choice for busy weeknights when time is of the essence but you still crave a homemade, comforting meal. However, if you’re starting from scratch, allocating an additional 15 to 20 minutes for chopping vegetables and sautéing them will ensure all your components are perfectly prepared. The beauty of this recipe lies in its flexibility, allowing you to choose your level of upfront preparation.
Ingredients for the Best Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Gathering your ingredients is the first step towards creating these delectable enchiladas. This recipe relies on a combination of pantry staples and fresh components that come together to form a rich and satisfying meal. Each item plays a crucial role in building the layers of flavor that make these enchiladas so irresistible.
- Shredded or Chopped Cooked Chicken: The star protein! Rotisserie chicken is a fantastic shortcut here, or use leftover roasted chicken.
- Cream of Chicken Soup: Forms the rich, creamy base of our signature white sauce.
- Chicken Broth: Thins out the soup and adds depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Sour Cream: Contributes to the luxurious creaminess and a slight tang.
- Chopped & Sautéed Onion: Provides aromatic sweetness and texture.
- Chopped & Sautéed Bell Pepper: Adds a fresh, vibrant flavor and color. Any color works beautifully.
- Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilies: A Tex-Mex essential, adding a mild heat and tomato tang. Be sure to drain thoroughly.
- Diced Green Chilies: Enhances the subtle chili flavor without overpowering the dish.
- Cumin: A warm, earthy spice that is foundational to many Tex-Mex recipes.
- Adobo or Garlic Salt: Essential seasonings for that perfect savory balance. Adobo offers a more complex flavor profile.
- Flour Tortillas: Soft and pliable, they are the perfect vessel for our creamy filling.
- Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese: Melts beautifully, creating a golden, bubbly top and adding gooey goodness inside.
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray: For preparing your baking dish and preventing sticking.
Instructions: Step-by-Step Guide to Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Creating these creamy chicken enchiladas is a straightforward process, broken down into a few easy steps. Follow along to prepare a meal that will impress everyone at your table.
1. Prepare the Creamy Sauce and Filling Base
Begin by making the foundational creamy mixture that will serve as both the luscious filling and, if desired, a rich topping sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, and sour cream until smooth and well combined. This blend creates the signature “white sauce” that distinguishes these enchiladas. Now, here’s a crucial decision point: if you prefer to have a generous amount of sauce poured over the top of your enchiladas before baking, set aside approximately half of this mixture in a separate bowl or measuring cup. If you prefer all the creaminess to be *inside* the enchiladas, keep the entire mixture together for the filling.
2. Assemble the Savory Chicken Filling
To the remaining creamy mixture (or the entire batch, if you’re not reserving sauce for the top), add the cooked shredded chicken. Next, incorporate the sautéed onion and bell pepper, which add a wonderful depth of flavor and tender texture. Stir in the drained diced green chilies and the drained Rotel tomatoes and green chilies. These ingredients provide a mild, zesty kick that perfectly complements the creamy base. Finally, add your preferred spices, such as cumin and Adobo or garlic salt, adjusting the amounts to suit your taste. Mix everything thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly distributed, ensuring every bite of enchilada is bursting with flavor.
3. Incorporate the Cheese
Now for the cheese! Add about half of your shredded Mexican blend cheese directly into the chicken filling mixture. The cheese will melt slightly as it bakes, adding another layer of creaminess and binding the filling together. Gently fold the cheese into the mixture until it’s evenly distributed. This ensures that every roll-up will have that delightful cheesy pull.
4. Fill and Roll the Tortillas
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a 9×12 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Take one flour tortilla at a time and place approximately ½ cup of the prepared chicken mixture down the center. Be careful not to overfill, as this can make rolling difficult. Tightly roll each tortilla, ensuring the seam is securely closed. Place the rolled enchilada seam-side down in your prepared baking pan. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas and filling until your pan is full or the filling is used up. Typically, this recipe yields about 6-8 enchiladas, depending on how generously you fill them.
5. Sauce, Top, and Bake
If you opted to reserve some of the creamy white mixture for a topping sauce, now is the time to pour it evenly over the rolled enchiladas in the pan. This will create a wonderfully moist and flavorful crust. Then, generously sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over all the enchiladas. This top layer of cheese will melt and turn golden brown, adding an irresistible finish. Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly around the edges and the cheese on top is perfectly melted and lightly browned. The aroma filling your kitchen will be incredible!
Expert Tips for Perfect Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
To truly master these creamy chicken enchiladas and make your cooking experience as enjoyable and efficient as possible, consider these expert tips. They stem from years of perfecting this recipe and focusing on smart kitchen habits.
The Power of Prep-Ahead Strategies
I am a firm believer in the “prep it before you need it” philosophy, especially when it comes to dinner prep. Rarely do I start a recipe by sautéing chicken or browning ground beef from scratch on the same day. My secret weapon for low-stress (and genuinely enjoyable!) dinnertimes is doing as much preparation as possible well in advance. For this specific creamy chicken enchilada recipe, leveraging fast ingredients from the freezer—such as pre-cooked chicken, sautéed onion, and sautéed bell pepper—drastically speeds up my preparation time. This approach transforms a delicious meal into a quick-fix solution, perfect for those hectic weeknights.
Optimizing Chicken Preparation
Utilizing pre-cooked chicken is a game-changer. Rotisserie chicken is a fantastic option for this recipe, offering tender, seasoned meat with minimal effort. It’s not just for enchiladas; check out my other rotisserie chicken dinner ideas for more easy weeknight meals. If you prefer to cook your own chicken, consider cooking a larger batch than needed. It takes less time to sauté or grill (which is my preferred method) several pounds of chicken once, then shred or chop it and freeze portions, rather than cooking one pound at a time for multiple meals. This principle applies to browning ground beef, sautéing chopped onions, and bell peppers as well.
Bulk Cooking Vegetables for Efficiency
Embrace the habit of bulk cooking frequently used vegetables. For instance, in the summer when bell peppers are abundant and often more affordable, we prepare huge batches of chopped peppers and onions. We sauté them until tender, then portion them into freezer bags. This means that when a recipe like these creamy chicken enchiladas calls for sautéed onions and peppers, they’re already done! This “prep it before you need it” method is the crux of the Secrets of a Busy Cook and is the biggest key in significantly cutting down on evening prep time. Using these pre-cooked ingredients saves me considerable chopping, cooking, and clean-up time in the evening, precisely when I’m tired and everyone else is hungry.
Customizing Your Creamy Enchiladas
Feel free to make this recipe your own!
- Spice Level: If you prefer more heat, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of your favorite hot sauce to the filling. For less heat, choose mild Rotel and green chilies.
- Vegetable Additions: Sautéed mushrooms, spinach (drained well), or corn can be wonderful additions to the filling.
- Cheese Varieties: While Mexican blend cheese is fantastic, experiment with Monterey Jack, cheddar, or even a touch of cream cheese for extra creaminess in the filling.
- Sauce Preferences: Remember you have the choice: smother them generously with the reserved white sauce for a very saucy enchilada, or keep all the creaminess inside the tortillas for a drier, more filling-focused dish. Both ways are absolutely delicious!
Recipe
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
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Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
- 1 condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 can chicken broth
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 1 onion, chopped & sautéed
- 1 bell pepper, chopped & sautéed (any color)
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
- 1 can diced green chilies, drained
- ½ tsp. cumin
- Adobo or garlic salt
- 6 flour tortillas, 8″
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded
- non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
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Chop and sauté the onion and bell pepper in the vegetable oil until softened.
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Combine soup, chicken broth, and sour cream in a large bowl. Set aside ½ of this mixture for the sauce if you like to add sauce on top; if not, keep all of it together for the filling.
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To the remaining (or full) mixture, add chicken, sautéed onion and pepper, drained green chilies, drained Rotel, and spices to taste. Add half of the shredded Mexican blend cheese.
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Place ½ cup of chicken mixture onto each 8-inch flour tortilla, roll up tightly, and place the tortillas seam side down in a prepared 9×12 inch baking pan.
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If you reserved half the sauce, pour it evenly over the enchiladas now.
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Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese generously over the enchiladas.
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Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and lightly golden.
Notes
Although this recipe instructs you to sauté the peppers and onions, if you are using the Secrets of a Busy Cook method, you will have prepared onions, peppers, and chicken in your freezer to use in this recipe. The principle of preparing frequently used ingredients in bulk saves lots of time in the evening, but doesn’t add much time on the front end. For example, when you are cooking onions for one meal, cook up a whole bag instead of just one, then freeze the rest in usable portions. If you adopt this strategy often with common ingredients, your time in the kitchen will be much more efficient, making meal prep a breeze.
Nutrition per serving
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🥗 Side Dishes to Complement Your Enchiladas
No delicious meal is complete without perfectly paired side dishes. For these creamy chicken enchiladas, I highly recommend serving them alongside classic Tex-Mex accompaniments that enhance the overall dining experience. My personal favorites include warm, savory refried beans, elevated with a swirl of red enchilada sauce and a sprinkle of shredded cheese – just like you’d find at your favorite Taco Bell! This adds a touch of familiar comfort and a delightful contrast in texture and flavor. Alongside the beans, a crisp green salad provides a refreshing counterpoint to the richness of the enchiladas, offering a burst of freshness and a vibrant crunch. Alternatively, slow-simmered green beans, seasoned simply, can add a wholesome, home-cooked touch. For those who enjoy a bit more variety, consider serving with Mexican rice, corn on the cob, or a simple avocado salad. The options are endless, ensuring a well-rounded and satisfying meal for everyone.
📌 Pin This Creamy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe!
Loved this recipe? Make sure to save it for later! Pin this image to your favorite Pinterest boards so you can easily find this delicious creamy white chicken enchiladas recipe whenever that craving strikes. It’s a dish that’s sure to become a cherished part of your family’s meal rotation. Happy cooking!
I hope you thoroughly enjoy preparing and sharing these creamy chicken enchiladas with your loved ones. Their ease of preparation, combined with their incredible flavor profile, makes them a standout dish that consistently earns rave reviews. From my kitchen to yours, happy cooking!
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