Family Favorite Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce Recipe

My middle daughter is a pretty picky eater.  When she discovered that she preferred chicken enchiladas with white, cream sauce to the spicier red sauces when we ventured out to Mexican restaurants--it sent me on a mission to make our own chicken enchiladas at home.  Years ago-I saw chicken enchiladas as something slow cooked, difficult, and time consuming--so OF COURSE, we should be paying $13- $15 for a couple of enchiladas and sides of rice and beans at local Mexican restaurants, right?  Hmm.  I finally gave in and began working on "the" chicken enchilada recipe that everyone in my family would eat, love and request again.  It took a few tries--but, these chicken enchiladas with sour cream white sauce are the best ever--and the recipe is actually pretty easy.

Ingredients for  Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

3 c. Shredded, Cooked Chicken Breast
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1 Medium Yellow Onion Diced
1 12 oz. Can Green Chillies, Diced
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Ground Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1 c. Shredded Monterey Jack/Cheddar or Mexican Blend Cheese

8 Standard Flour Tortillas

3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. White Pepper (or Black Pepper)
3 c. Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth)
1 c. Sour Cream
2 c. Shredded Monterey Jack/Cheddar or Mexican Blend Cheese

Shredded Cheese, Sliced Green Onions, Diced Tomatoes, Sliced Black Olives for Garnish (Optional)

Instructions for Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Preheat the Oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Spray a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.  

Prepare the Chicken Filling.     I, personally, boil 3 medium, boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a mixture of vegetable broth and water over medium heat for about an hour until the chicken is tender and easy to shred with a fork.  If you have leftover, boiled, roasted or grilled chicken breasts--use that.  If you just want to pick up a PLAIN, unseasoned rotisserie chicken from your grocery store and shred up three cups--do that.  I just prefer no seasoning on the prepared chicken to avoid clashes in flavors of the final enchiladas.  

Simply shred up three cups of cooked chicken and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil until hot.  Add the diced onion and  saute until the onion is softened.  Toss the set aside chicken and the green chilies.  Stir to combine.  Add the Cumin, Chili Powder, Garlic, Salt & Pepper.  Cook for a minute or two, add in the cup of shredded cheese and set aside.

Prepare the Chicken Enchilada White Sauce.  In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, melt the butter.  Add the flour and stir until it is blended into the butter.  Add the salt and pepper and stir a minute or two more until the flour mixture begins to brown slightly.  Add the broth in one cup portions to the flour mixture; stirring constantly until the mixture re-thickens between broth additions.  After all of the broth has been added; stir in the sour cream and cheese.  Set aside.

Build the Enchiladas.  Be sure to use a quality, flour tortilla wrap.  The generic ones tend to get soggy during baking.  I also use standard sized, flour tortillas--rather than small ones--I find that they hold a nice amount of filling--and wrap up well to avoid sogginess.  Portion the chicken filling into 8 fairly equal portions.  Spoon each of those portions onto a flour tortilla, wrap up like a burrito (folding in the ends and rolling tightly), and place rolled side down into the prepared baking dish.    Continue until you have filled and placed all 8 enchiladas into the baking dish.

Pour on Sour Cream Sauce, Cover and Bake.  Pour the entire pan of white, sour cream sauce over the chicken enchilada "rolls".  Cover with aluminum foil or an oven proof lid--and bake for about 25 minutes.

Garnish & Serve.  Carefully remove the enchiladas from the baking dish onto serving plates--spooning sauces over each enchilada.  I generally sprinkle the chicken enchiladas with an extra bit of shredded cheese, and sliced green onions and/or black olives for the kids.  I sometimes add diced tomatoes or jalapenos for my husband.   We serve with re-fried beans and Spanish rice as side dishes.

Mama's Kitchen Notes.
These are actually really simple--in spite of all of the ingredients and steps.  Once you have three cups of shredded, cooked chicken--the rest is really together in about 30-40 minutes!

I am not a fan of using store-bought Rotisserie chicken because of the store-applied seasonings (and I prefer all breast meat in these)--enchiladas prepared from all breast meat are less greasy and the tortillas hold up better to the less-greasy filling--especially if you make them ahead.

The cheaper store brand /generic tortilla wraps do tend to get soggy faster than brand named ones.  This doesn't mean that your favorite store brand won't work....Kroger store brand wraps work well for me--their Pssst generic brand gets really soggy.    If you prefer a firmer enchilada--you may want to buy a more expensive, tortilla wrap. 

I love these for make ahead meals.  I often make the chicken filling one day--or during the early morning--and then mix up the sauce and get these ready for the oven on the way out the door for an evening soccer practice.  When we get home, I reheat the sauce a bit--pour it on --pop it into the oven...With a couple of quick sides, dinner is ready in about 30 minutes.


Enjoy these for any potluck, make ahead meal or--for that special, fun, Cinco de Mayo celebration!