White Chicken Enchiladas

These simple white chicken enchiladas are stuffed with tender chicken, cheese, and a simple and scrumptious homemade white enchilada cheese sauce and baked until perfection!

These enchiladas are anything but boring. They’re bursting with flavor, thanks to a combination of tender, shredded chicken, a creamy white sauce that’s smooth and comforting, and melty cheese that pulls everything together. Plus, they’re surprisingly easy to make. These have a little kick to them thanks to some diced jalapeno which you can certainly leave it out if desired!

What you need to make White Chicken Enchiladas:

• Chicken – You can use leftover rotisserie chicken, poached chicken breasts, or even shredded chicken from a grocery store deli. I poached my chicken and shredded it for this recipe.
• Jalapeno pepper – I like to add a finely diced jalapeno to my chicken mixture for a bit of a kick. If you don’t like spice or are serving to kids, you can leave it out!
• Olive oil and flour – these will serve as the roux to thicken your white sauce!
• Chicken broth
• Spices! Cumin, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and salt. These will go both into your sauce and into the chicken filling.
• Monterey jack cheese (and lots of it!)
• Corn tortillas
• Sour cream
• Diced chilies
• Fresh cilantro

Recipe Tips and Suggestions:

1. To save time, you can buy a rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked shredded chicken from your grocery store, though I find it pretty easy to toss a few chicken breasts into a pot with some spices, poach, and shred. Either way works though!
2. Related to the above, you can make your chicken in advance, shred, and keep in the fridge overnight if needed.
3. For the jack cheese, make sure you buy a block of cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese as shredded cheese has added ingredients to avoid clumping that will result in a less-smooth cheese sauce!
4. I prefer to use corn tortillas over flour tortillas for enchiladas. Corn is more authentic and I prefer the taste and texture over flour which can get sort of gummy for enchiladas.
5. Make sure to heat your corn tortillas really well before building your enchiladas to avoid tearing them once you roll them up!

Looking for more enchilada recipes? Check these out!

Spicy Beef Enchiladas

Stovetop Chicken Enchiladas

White Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Vegetable Enchiladas

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Yield: 6 servings

White Chicken Enchiladas

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

These simple white chicken enchiladas are stuffed with tender chicken, cheese, and a simple and scrumptious homemade white enchilada sauce and baked until perfection!

Ingredients

For the cheese sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies

For the enchiladas:

• 3 cups cooked shredded chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 3 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 8-10 large corn tortillas, warmed

Instructions

1. In sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and stir until smooth. Pour in the chicken broth and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in the cumin, garlic and onion powders, and salt. Lower heat to low and stir in the sour cream, half and half, and diced green chilies. Keep sauce heated on low.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While the sauce is warming, add the chicken to a saute pan and heat over medium high heat. Add the water, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and the jalapeno pepper. Stir the chicken mixture until it is heated and coated in the spices. Remove from the heat and mix in 1/2 cup of the sauce and 2 cups of cheese.
3. In a 9x13 baking dish, spoon in some of the sauce to coat the bottom of the dish. Take a warmed tortilla and a couple of spoonfuls of the chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture.
4. Pour sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Top with foil and place into the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes until bubbling and warm. If desired, broil for a minute to toast the cheese on top. Serve with freshly chopped cilantro if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 616Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 728mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 38g

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