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Cream cheese chicken enchiladas are thick and creamy with a touch of spice. They prep in minutes for a favorite weeknight dish!
These enchiladas are a tasty variation of our classic Enchiladas and Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.
A Favorite Family Dish to Love!
Being Hispanic, it should be no surprise that we eat a ton of Mexican food at our house! We have it AT LEAST once a week for dinner, but realistically it’s more than that. There are just so many delicious dishes, and Enchiladas are a go-to.
These cream cheese chicken enchiladas are a top requested dish for our Luna family get-togethers and hopefully can be for you and your family!
Why we love them:
- Quick prep time. With only 20 minutes of prep, this recipe is perfect for busy weeknights or last-minute dinner plans.
- Deliciously cheesy. The combination of cheese creates a delicious creamy dish everyone will love.
- Make-ahead convenience. Prepare for a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta or have it on hand for a busy day, this can be made ahead and frozen for up to 3 months.
- Flexible ingredient choices. Whether using store-bought or Homemade Enchilada Sauce, rotisserie chicken, or Shredded Chicken, this recipe accommodates various ingredient preferences.
Ingredients
- cream cheese – Room-temperature cream cheese mixes in better with the other ingredients. Cream cheese can be replaced with sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- minced garlic
- cumin
- salt
- garlic pepper
- lime juice
- diced tomatoes
- diced green chiles
- fresh cilantro
- shredded chicken – Use pre-shredded cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken, or bake chicken to shred for this recipe.
- Mexican blend cheese or Colby Jack cheese – I use a Mexican cheese blend that includes Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero, and Queso Quesadilla Cheese. You can also use mild cheddar, colby jack, queso blanco, or a spicier pepper jack cheese.
- flour tortillas – I used Flour Tortillas for this recipe, but corn tortillas may be used as well. Since they tend to be smaller you’ll need to use more of them.
- green enchilada sauce – use store-bought or homemade Green Enchilada Sauce to make the dish even more amazing. Or substitute it for Red Enchilada Sauce.
- toppings – green onions, diced tomatoes, sliced avocados
How to Make Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- FILLING. In a medium bowl, stir together the filling ingredients.
- ASSEMBLE. Pour a little bit of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread around before adding the enchiladas.
- Add ½ cup of the chicken and cheese mixture along the middle of each tortilla and roll up. Place in a prepared baking dish with the seam down.
- Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
- BAKE. Bake for 20 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Tortillas. Warm tortillas tend to roll better without tearing, especially corn tortillas. Warm them up in the microwave, or briefly fry them.
- Filling. Don’t overfill the tortillas and place them seam side down so that all the filling stays inside.
- Baking. Bake the enchiladas uncovered to keep them from getting soggy. If the cheese has browned before the enchiladas are done, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the casserole during the last few minutes.
- Don’t add too much sauce to the top of the filled tortillas otherwise, it can cause them to become soggy.
- Easy cleanup. To help keep the enchiladas from sticking to the bottom of the baking dish spray it lightly with cooking spray.
- Serving suggestions. Serve this cream cheese chicken enchiladas recipe with a side of Cilantro Lime Rice, Spanish Rice, Mexican Street Corn, or Refried Beans.
Storing Info
- Make ahead of time. Keep the enchiladas, covered, in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking them. To keep them from getting soggy, add only half of the enchilada sauce. Save the rest of the sauce and remaining cheese to add right before baking the enchiladas.
- Freeze ahead of time. Prepare the enchiladas as directed in the recipe, then wrap the entire tray with plastic wrap and again with aluminum foil and freeze for about 3 months. Either thaw them or bake them from frozen.
- Thaw them overnight in the fridge then remove plastic and foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Frozen. Remove the plastic and place the foil back on. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until they are cooked through.
- STORE. Cover and store leftover easy cream cheese chicken enchiladas in the refrigerator for 4 days. Small servings can be reheated in the microwave or larger portions in the oven.
For More Mexican Food:
Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Cream cheese chicken enchiladas are thick and creamy with a touch of spice. They prep in minutes for a favorite weeknight dish!
Ingredients
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese or Colby Jack cheese, divided
- 10 (8-inch) tortillas, soft taco size
- 1 (15-ounce) can green enchilada sauce
- toppings, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Fold in tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, 1 cup shredded cheese, and shredded chicken.
- Pour a little bit of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread around before adding the enchiladas.
- Add ½ cup of the chicken mixture along the middle of each tortilla and roll up. Place in a prepared baking dish with the seam down.
- Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 310kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 95mg, Sodium: 1133mg, Potassium: 278mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 603IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 330mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe. And my “jump to” worked just fine each time I went into it on my phone. I had to click it a couple times when I pulled it up on my desktop however.
Absolutely amazing. My youngest always says ” I don’t like chicken” . … BUT OMG she just went to town on these!
I am not a person to subscribe or put my email on much of anything….but Lil Luna and 1 one other chef are the only ones I follow and subscribe to. And with good reason!
The very first recipe that got me hooked on like Luna’s publications…. is her crock pot CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP… which is a family favorite as well!!! Bri
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy the recipes. That means so much!
We all loved this dish in my house! It was the perfect easy dinner and so delicious! Definitely adding it to our weekly dinner rotation, thank you!
These were wonderful and creamy. My family loved this, it was a huge hit! I will definitely be adding this recipe to the rotation.
this dish was amazing and my friends loved every second of it! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe
I love your recipes but I have a problem. Your ‘Jump to Recipe’ button almost never works. Do others have this problem?
I’d be interested to hear what others say. It works great for us on our end. Sorry to hear it is giving you trouble.
I have to push it 3 or 4 times but it eventually works