This sour cream chicken enchilada recipe is so creamy and delicious. If you love Mexican food, then you're going to love this hearty Mexican classic chicken enchiladas recipe smothered in a sour cream sauce and baked to perfection. This easy recipe only requires an hour of your time and will certainly delight you with sweet and spicy flavors combined with melted sharp cheddar cheese.
If you love enchiladas remember to check out my easy Mexican lasagna with tortillas, homemade enchilada sauce and enchiladas verdes with chicken. These two recipes are fantastic when combined!
Contents
🧀 Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
From Mexico to your dinner table in an hour that serves 6 people!
This easy enchilada recipe is all about comfort food, a bit of spice, an amazing sour cream sauce, and CHEEEESE, lots of delicious melty CHEESE!
Serve them on their own baked in the delicious white enchilada sauce or serve them with Mexican slaw or refried beans for an authentic Mexican dinner.
These enchiladas are very versatile, and the ingredients are flexible to fit your everyone's needs. If you want to try something different, check out the succulent beef enchilada casserole or the best homemade enchilada sauce.
Make a double batch of them and store the leftover for the next day! And sour cream chicken enchiladas taste even better the following day because the tortillas soak up all the sour cream sauce and the chicken mixture stays moist.
Check my collection of comforting chicken casserole recipes and best mexican soup recipes for more ideas.
🍽 What You Need
You'll need a few ingredients to make this fantastic sour cream chicken enchilada recipe. Still, it is definitely worth it!
Equipment
- Baking dish or casserole dish
- Large mixing bowl
- 2 skillets or 1 skillet and one pan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 jalapeno - seeded and minced
- 1 large onion - diced
- 3 cups chicken breast - cooked and shredded
- 2 cans green chilies - 4 oz cans, drained and chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth - divided
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese - grated
- 12 small flour tortillas
- Salt and pepper - to taste
- Fresh cilantro - chopped, for garnish
I use Monterey Jack cheese and some shredded chicken from the roasted chicken I made the day before. Feel free to mix this recipe up with different cuts of chicken, different types of cheese, and even different tortillas.
🔪 How to make Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
To make this chicken & sour cream enchilada recipe kid-friendly, I recommend adjusting the spice level accordingly. I tend to use 1 can of mild green chiles for my kids and omit the jalapenos to make the enchilada sauce sweeter and less spicy.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) and grease a baking dish with cooking spray or butter.
Step 1
Sauté the minced jalapeno and chopped onion in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until softened.
Step 2
Add the shredded chicken, ½ cup of chicken broth, heavy cream, and half the green chilies.
Step 3
Mix the ingredients for 4 minutes until combined and hot, then remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
Step 4
In the other skillet, melt butter and add the flour. Whisking continuously for 1 minute until combined. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth bit by bit while frequently whisking until it gets to a thick consistency.
Step 5
Stir in the remaining green chilis, add sour cream, garlic powder, and cumin.
Step 6
Then remove the skillet from the heat and add in half of the cheese, salt, and pepper to taste.
Step 7
Heat the flour tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds to soften them. Then start assembling the sour cream chicken enchiladas by spreading half a cup of the chicken mixture evenly on each warm tortilla. Roll them tightly, and place each one seam side down in the prepared baking dish.
Step 8
Pour the sour cream cheese sauce over the rolled tortillas and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake it for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Step 9
Remove the chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce from the oven, let them cool for 10 minutes, and garnish the enchiladas with avocado, chopped cilantro, or salsa.
💭 Top tips for success
- Use a rotisserie chicken instead of baking and shredding chicken breasts to save yourself some time in the kitchen.
- Make it gluten-free by using corn tortillas or flour tortillas that are free from gluten.
- This recipe is absolutely delicious with a variety of sharp cheddar cheese and mild cheese. Try mixing Monterey, pepper jack, cheddar, and gouda for the cheese sauce and topping.
📖 Easy variations
- Swap the shredded chicken for ground beef, sausage, or slow-cooked pork.
- Enhance the chicken mix with a tin of cream chicken soup and omit the heavy cream.
- Substitute the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt or crème fraise.
- Do you like spicy food? Then why not make the white chicken enchiladas recipe even hotter by adding a tablespoon of hot sauce and a small handful of freshly diced green chilies.
🥗 What to serve with
I usually serve sour cream chicken enchiladas with rice, slaw, or a simple salad when I have guests over for dinner. Most of the time, I never even touch the side dishes. The showstopper is these excellent enchiladas, and I am stuffed after about 3 or 4 of them.
If you are thinking to fill the dinner table with other delicious Mexican recipes as well as these shredded chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce, then check out some of these suggestions:
Potatoes
If you are not bothered much about the carb count, feel free to serve those tasty enchiladas with mashed potato, fried, or even a cold potato salad. My kids like to eat potato smiley faces with their chicken enchiladas because they are fun to make and taste great dipped in the delicious cheese & sour cream sauce.
Rice
Why not make some fragrant one-pot Mexican rice full of spicy, herby tomato flavors and filled with vegetables. A perfect companion to go with enchiladas that can be eaten hot or cold!
Salad
Whip up a simple Mexican salad loaded with healthy goodness from the chopped tomatoes, corn, black beans, bell pepper, zucchini, sliced green onions, lettuce, and topped with crispy corn tortillas and a sweet aromatic dressing.
Guacamole
Nothing says Mexico like guacamole! Commonly accompanied by nachos and cheese, but I actually enjoy dipping my sour cream chicken enchiladas into the smooth guacamole. Grab two avocados and squeeze one lime, a touch of salt, and voila! As simple as that.
🧊 Storing and ♨️ Reheating
These sour cream chicken enchiladas are perfect for storing uncooked or cooked in the fridge or the freezer. If you are thinking of preparing some in advance for another day, you can store them for a few days in the fridge and a few months froze.
Fridge
Cooked
Wait until the leftovers have cooled down. Transfer the ingredients to an airtight container or wrap the baking dish in aluminum foil and place it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Uncooked
After rolling the enchiladas and placing them in the dish, cover it with plastic wrap and cover the cheese & sour cream sauce. Place everything in the fridge until you are ready to bake the rolled enchiladas with the remaining sauce and shredded cheese.
Reheating
Leave the dish out of the fridge while preheating the oven to 350 Fahrenheit and bake for 30 minutes.
Freezer
Cooked
Simply cover the sour cream chicken enchiladas with plastic wrap or transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and freeze it for 3 months.
Uncooked
After you have covered the rolled tortillas with sour cream sauce and shredded cheese, cover the baking dish with 3 layers of plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 5 months.
Reheating
There is no need to thaw frozen sour cream chicken enchiladas. Simply preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) and bake them frozen for 45 minutes until bubbly.
Related Enchilada Recipes
👪 Serving Size
They serve 6 people and will last a good few days if there's any leftover! Make sure to prepare a double batch of them just in case and also for midweek meal prep.
Give them a try, and let me know what you think of this sour cream chicken enchiladas recipe.
📋 Recipe
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 jalapeno - seeded and minced
- 1 large onion - diced
- 3 cups chicken breast - cooked and shredded
- 2 cans green chiles - 4 oz cans, drained and chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth - divided
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups monterey jack cheese - grated
- 12 small flour tortillas
- salt and pepper - to taste
- cilantro - chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9 x 13" casserole dish.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook the jalapeno and onion together until beginning to soften, about 3 - 4 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, about half of the green chiles, ½ cup of the chicken broth and the cream and stir together well. Cook for a few minutes, until hot, then remove from heat and set aside.
- In another skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then whisk in the flour - cook for about 1 minute, then pour the remaining chicken broth. Cook for another minute or two, whisking constantly, then stir in the remaining chiles, sour cream, cumin and garlic powder.
- Remove from heat and stir in half of the shredded cheese and generously salt and pepper.
- Heat the flour tortillas in the microwave about 30 seconds, just enough to soften them.
- Place about ⅓ cup of chicken filling in each tortilla, roll tightly, and place seam side down in your casserole dish.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is beginning to brown and is bubbly.
- Garnish with cilantro and avocado. (or top with fresh salsa and some guacamole on the side)
Video
Notes
- Use a rotisserie chicken instead of baking and shredding chicken breasts to save yourself some time in the kitchen.
- Make it gluten-free by using corn tortillas or flour tortillas that are free from gluten.
- This recipe is absolutely delicious with a variety of sharp cheddar cheese and mild cheese. Try mixing Monterey, pepper jack, cheddar, and gouda for the cheese sauce and topping.
G.A. Rawson
I got really excited at first because I thought you knew where to get green chiles in CPH 😉 I'll definitely still try this out!
LaShanna Bates
I just moved back from Europe, I am from New Mexico so I grew up with Haas green chili's so I about died when I got there and couldn't find them. Luckily my mother would send me care packages of good ol' new mexico chilis.. I personally don't think the turkish chilis have the same taste. I did try to do that as well. Also in a lot of supermarkets they have Old El Paso ingredients (watch the salt content) I was able to get corn tortillas through them and some spices.
Barvada
Made this tonight, it was very good, I’ll make it again, Thank You to the person that developed the recipe !
Becky
I can’t wait to try this....😍
Debby
Just made this tonight for the boys and it was a resounding hit! This had a lot of flavor and will definitely be making this in the rotation.
Laura
Made this for dinner tonight for my son and I. Turned out well and was delicious. Thank you for sharing this recip!
Aysegul
It looks really very well and delicious. Thanks for sharing
Barbara Schieving
This is a recipe my family would love. I'm a flour tortilla fan too.
Jennifer Farley
So good! I want these for dinner every night this week!
Melissa Sperka
These truly are easy and that sour cream sauce is DREAMY!
Carrie
My family loves chicken enchiladas, YUMMY
Erin
Enchiladas are one of our favorite dinners, and these are creamy and delicious!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes
The creaminess of these enchiladas is unreal!
Joanne
This is cheesy comfort perfection. Love how easy it is too!
Toni | Boulder Locavore
A new addition to our weeknight favorites!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
Love these super easy to make enchiladas!
Trish Rosenquist
I could eat this once a week, so delicious!
Anna
Absolutely Loved this Enchiladas Recipe!! Very flavorful and easy to make for the family. thanks