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Cheesy white chicken enchiladas are so creamy with just the right amount of green chili spice. They’re simple and delicious!
White chicken enchiladas are a different take on our classic Chicken Enchiladas or Creamy Chicken Enchiladas. All these enchiladas go perfectly with a side of our favorite Spanish Rice and Refried Beans.
White Queso Sauce!
We love enchiladas at our house and have several favorite recipes! Our classic Red Cheese Enchiladas are a go-to, but we also love Chicken Enchiladas.
These creamy white chicken enchiladas are a yummy variation. It uses Queso Blanco as the sauce and it’s out-of-this-world tasty. You will love this cheesy sauce, it’s practically drinkable.
If you love Mexican food as we do, you will LOVE this cheesy dinner dish. It makes a great weeknight dinner and freezes well – perfect for sharing!
Quick Prep Dinner
Chicken enchiladas with white sauce are creamy and delectable, it preps easily for a tasty weeknight dinner.
PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
FILLING. In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, shredded cheese, garlic salt, pepper, chopped cilantro, and mix.
Spoon ¼ – ⅓ cup of chicken mixture onto the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place in prepared baking dish.
SAUCE. Make the sauce by melting butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour until bubbly.
Add broth and stir until well combined. Mix in green chilies, garlic salt, chili powder, and cumin.
Add 1 cup cheese and sour cream and mix until smooth.
ASSEMBLE. Pour queso sauce over the tortillas in the baking dish and top with the remaining shredded cheese.
BAKE for 20 minutes.
Toppings
One of my favorite parts about Mexican dishes is all the yummy toppings that you can put on them. Some favorite toppings for easy white chicken enchiladas include:
- sour cream
- avocado or Guacamole
- Pico de Gallo or Tomatillo Salsa
- jalapenos, cilantro, or green onions
Ingredient Tips
For the best-tasting enchiladas, use these tips for the best ingredients.
Chicken. I like to have shredded cooked chicken on hand to make whipping up dinner much easier. Place a large batch of chicken breasts in a slow cooker. After the chicken has been shredded and cooled, divide it into 1-cup portions and store them in the freezer.
You can also use this Baked Chicken recipe to cook up some chicken or purchase a rotisserie chicken to shred.
Cheese. If desired, replace the Colby Jack cheese with mild cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, or a Mexican cheese blend.
Tortillas. I used flour tortillas to make these enchiladas, but you can use corn tortillas as well. Since corn tortillas are smaller you may need to use more of them.
Rolling the tortillas when they are warm can keep them from tearing. You can warm them up in the microwave or fry them briefly in a hot skillet.
White sauce. The ingredients for the sauce come together to create a delicious and creamy enchilada sauce. For more heat, replace the green chilis with diced jalapenos.
Recipe Tips
Creamy white chicken enchiladas will come out perfect every time with these simple tips!
- To prevent enchiladas from sticking to the bottom of the baking dish, spray it lightly with cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper.
- To keep the filling inside the tortillas avoid overstuffing. Also, placing the tortillas seam-side down will help keep them from unrolling.
- Soggy enchiladas are produced when they either have too much sauce or have been allowed to marinate in the sauce before baking. Add the recommended amount of sauce right before baking.
- Baking the enchiladas uncovered will also help keep them from getting soggy. If the enchiladas are browning on top and they are not all the way cooked, tent a piece of foil over the dish during the last few minutes of cooking time.
Storing Tips
Make ahead of time. Keep the enchiladas covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking them. To keep them from getting soggy, store the white enchilada sauce in a separate container and add it right before baking.
FREEZE. Prepare the enchiladas as directed in the recipe, then wrap the entire tray with plastic wrap and again with aluminum foil. It will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
Note that after freezing, the texture of the white sauce may not be quite as creamy as when it is baked freshly made. It’s still quite yummy and a favorite freezer meal of ours.
- Thaw: Thaw them overnight in the fridge then remove the 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 or until they are cooked through.
STORE. Cover and store leftover enchiladas in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Small servings can be reheated in the microwave or larger portions in the oven.
Recipe FAQ
This white chicken enchilada recipe can be used as a freezer meal so go ahead and double or even triple the recipe and whip up a few to store for later. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw them overnight or bake them directly from the freezer.
Some common cheeses used in Mexican cooking include cotija cheese, queso blanco, and queso fresco. You can easily incorporate your favorite traditional cheese into this white chicken enchilada recipe.
For More Enchiladas, Try:
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Slow Cooker Enchiladas
- Beef Enchiladas
- Red Cheese Enchiladas
- Homey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
White Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
- garlic salt with parsley flakes
- pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 10 (8-inch) flour tortillas soft taco size
White Queso Sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- dash chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin optional
- 1 ½ cups shredded white sharp cheddar cheese divided
- 8 ounces sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, shredded cheese, garlic salt, pepper, chopped cilantro, and mix.
- Spoon ¼ – ⅓ cup of chicken mixture onto the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place in prepared baking dish.
- Make the sauce by melting butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour until bubbly.
- Add broth and stir until well combined. Add green chilies, garlic salt, chili powder, and cumin.
- Add 1 cup cheese and sour cream and mix until smooth.
- Pour queso sauce over the tortillas in the baking dish and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We were pleasantly surprised by this twist traditional chicken enchiladas . So yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
In the ingredients, it lists sour cream for the queso sauce, but in the directions, it doesn’t say to put in anywhere. Is this just an optional topping? thank you
Thanks for catching that. We updated the recipe and added the sour cream, so the recipe card should be all up to date with the sour cream being added in step 6.