These easy white chicken enchiladas will be a hit with the entire family with their creamy white sauce, flavorful shredded chicken filling, and baked cheesy topping!
It’s the best chicken enchilada recipe I’ve ever tried and definitely an easy chicken enchiladas recipe that’s perfect for someone making creamy chicken enchiladas for the first time! Definitely a chicken enchilada recipe you’ll want to keep forever!
The Best White Chicken Enchiladas
I’ve never been a big fan of chicken enchiladas because most often they have either green chilis, onions, or some other sort of ingredient that I personally don’t love. Thank goodness I married a man who can cook, like really cook.
I’ve always wanted to love chicken enchiladas but never could because of the typical ingredients. My sweet husband decided he wanted me to love enchiladas because he grew up having them for Christmas with his family every single year and wanted me to like them too!
You guys – I love these white chicken enchiladas.
My husband is a miracle worker. These white chicken enchiladas are not just something that I’ll like, they’re something that everyone will like. The flavor combinations are out of this world and just downright amazing.
I’m totally making my husband make these for Christmas this year, even though we’ll be my with my family, probably playing these Christmas games!
How Do You Make Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce?
You make chicken enchiladas in five simple steps.
- Make your enchilada filling.
- Fill and roll your tortillas.
- Top your tortillas with creamy white sauce.
- Bake your enchiladas.
- Enjoy!
It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s the basis of it. You can watch the video in this post to see how quick and easy these are to put together. The most time-consuming part by far is filling and rolling all the tortillas. Good thing my father-in-law actually enjoys that part, makes making them for a family Christmas even easier! The full instructions are included in the printable recipe card below as well!
How Do You Make White Sauce for Chicken Enchiladas?
To make the white sauce for chicken enchiladas, we really just pour whipping cream and Mexican blend cheese together on top of the rolled enchiladas. The combination of the two gives these that creamy cheesy white sauce flavor.
White Chicken Enchiladas Ingredients
The ingredients in white chicken enchiladas is a pretty lengthy list, mostly including spices:
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 can unsalted corn, drained and dried
- 3 pinches of salt, plus additional to taste
- 3 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 cup chicken broth, reduced sodium
- 1 can black olives, sliced into rings (or you can buy pre-sliced)
- 8 oz cream cheese, cubed and softened
- 10 flour tortillas
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped (optional – garnish)
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced (optional)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (optional)
- 1 can chopped green chiles, drained (optional)
That being said, there are a few key ingredients that you don’t want to forget in this chicken enchilada recipe. The first is the corn – just like in this white chicken chili recipe, the caramelized corn in the filling really sets these apart from other chicken enchilada recipes!
Second, shredded chicken. Making shredded chicken enchiladas rather than cubed or sliced is huge because the sauce and spices really grab onto the shredded chicken, much more so than if you cut it any other way.
And third – the additional toppings. I’ve written this recipe going all out with green chilis, red peppers, and tomatoes because that’s how my husband prefers his.
It’s super easy to make this your own by leaving out the chilis, red pepper, and tomatoes in the recipe and just adding them as extra toppings to your own personal enchiladas while they’re hot. That’s typically what we do since I don’t like any of those things in mine.
Same with the black olives – you can totally leave those out as well but the saltiness of the olives really does add to the dish!
What Goes With White Chicken Enchiladas?
White chicken enchiladas really can go with any sort of Mexican side dish or pretty much anything you want. I’d avoid anything with tortillas or chicken since you already have both of those things covered in the meal but anything else is fair game. Some of my favorite enchilada side dishes include:
- Sopapillas
- Red Mexican rice
- Spicy Mexican beans
- Chipotle Mexican street corn (probably only do this if you omit the caramelized corn)
- Mini churro donuts
- Coconut rice
More Helpful Tips for Making Chicken Enchiladas
I’ve included answers to many of the questions I receive about these white chicken enchiladas below. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to answer it ASAP!
Can you freeze white chicken enchiladas?
Yes, you can freeze white chicken enchiladas. They’re actually a great freezer meal! If you know ahead of time that you’re going to freeze them, I recommend actually not baking them at all. Put all of the filled tortillas into a freezer safe baking pan then cover with airtight plastic wrap. Take them out of freezer for a few hours to thaw before baking then just bake like normal.
If you just didn’t finish all of them, scoop them out of the baking dish and put them into some sort of freezer safe food storage dish. Thaw before reheating either in the oven or on the stove.
Can you make white chicken enchiladas ahead of time?
Yes, you can make white chicken enchiladas ahead of time. Either make them and freeze them like I mentioned above – just thawing far enough in advance that you are ready to bake. Or if you want to make them say the night before, simply do everything other than baking and store overnight in the refrigerator topped with plastic wrap. Take out of the fridge and bake whenever you’re ready. I don’t recommend making them more than one, maybe two days, ahead of time.
How to make chicken enchiladas with red sauce? How to make chicken enchiladas with green sauce?
To make chicken enchiladas with red sauce or green sauce, you’ll need to use a different recipe. This recipe is written specifically for white chicken enchiladas. Luckily for you, I’ve put together a collection of other delicious chicken enchilada recipes with every type sauce imaginable!
Are chicken enchiladas healthy?
Chicken enchiladas can be healthy but this particular recipe isn’t on the healthier side – it is delicious though! If you’re looking for a healthy chicken enchilada recipe, check out the list above!
Are enchiladas made with corn or flour tortillas?
These white chicken enchiladas are made with flour tortillas as are most enchilada recipes I’ve ever seen. It would be hard to fill and roll corn tortillas in the same manner as a typical enchilada recipe. If you want to make enchiladas with corn tortillas, I recommend trying out these chicken enchilada inspired bowls and using the filling to make sort of enchilada tacos with corn tortillas!
Are chicken enchiladas gluten free?
No, these white chicken enchiladas are not gluten free because they use flour tortillas. For gluten free enchiladas, see my answer to the previous question.
Don’t forget to pin these white chicken enchiladas for later!
Easy White Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 can unsalted corn , drained and dried (or 3 ears fresh corn, dekerneled)
- 3 pinches of salt , plus additional to taste
- 3 1/2 cups cooked chicken , shredded
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 cup chicken broth , reduced sodium
- 1 can black olives , sliced into rings (or you can buy pre-sliced)
- 2 roma tomatoes , diced (optional)
- 1 red bell pepper , diced (optional)
- 1 can chopped green chiles , drained (optional)
- 8 oz cream cheese , cubed and softened
- 10 flour tortillas
- 2 cups Mexican blend cheese
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup cilantro , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Heat 1 T olive oil in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add the corn and 3 pinches of salt. Cook the corn, stirring every few minutes, until caramelized, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the corn from the pan and set aside.
- Add 1 T olive oil to the same pan. Add shredded chicken and warm.
- Once chicken is warm add the oregano, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and paprika to the chicken and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits from the pan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the broth has reduced, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the corn, olives, tomatoes, red pepper and green chiles to the pan then cook for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the cream cheese and cook, stirring constantly, until the cream cheese melts, about 3-4 minutes.
- Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up each tortilla and place it seam side down in the prepared 9x13 baking dish. Repeat for all 10 tortillas.
- Sprinkle the rolled tortillas with the Mexican blend cheese and drizzle with the heavy whipping cream.
- Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Garnish with whatever toppings (e.g., cilantro, salsa, guacamole, sour cream) you want and serve hot.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info
Debi says
Can these be made with something less fat/calorie than heavy cream?
BritniV says
Like every recipe other there, you can probably substitute something for the heavy cream, but it will change the flavor and texture of the dish.
Lindee says
I followed the recipe as is but didn’t have the black olives. My family loved it! Thank you for sharing!
BritniV says
Ohhh I’m so glad your family loved it! Enjoy & thank you
Vicki says
Made these today and these are definitely my favorite chicken enchilada recipe. That corn – adds so much flavor! I did use corn tortillas, as that’s all i had and they were still wonderful!!
Britni Vigil says
We’ll have to try them with corn sometime, glad you enjoyed!
B. Parnell says
Absolutely delicious. My guests were so impressed. I wouldn’t change one thing about this recipe. It is perfect.
Britni Vigil says
YAY! You just made my day with this comment. It’s our favorite too!