Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
If you haven’t had these green chile chicken enchiladas, you are missing out! The easy from-scratch white sauce makes them over the top!
If you haven’t made these creamy green chile chicken enchiladas, you have not lived.
Pinned over 50,000 times, there’s a reason they are so popular. They don’t just look good on Pinterest…they ARE good. Crazy good.
Homemade Creamy Sauce
What exactly are we doing with this homemade sauce?
We are basically making a homemade cream of chicken soup and bedazzling it with green enchilada sauce or salsa and bit of sour cream.
It’s thick, creamy and flavorful. You’re going to make it and set it aside.
Green Chile Enchilada Filling
The filling for these enchiladas consists of:
- cooked chicken
- green chiles
- cream cheese
- white or black beans
- cilantro
- fresh lime juice
Mash up all of that goodness into one glorious bowl of enchilada filling.
It.is.so.good.
How to Assemble Enchiladas
Flour or corn tortillas can be used for this recipe (both are delicious!). I use 6- or 8-inch tortillas. Whichever size I have hanging around.
Scoop about 1/2 cup filling onto each tortilla and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.
Grease a 9X13-inch pan and spread a bit of the sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Roll each enchilada up and snuggle it in with the others. I cram 10-12 enchiladas into the pan, cover with sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until bubbly-bubbly and golden.
White Sauce vs Red Sauce Enchiladas
These creamy white sauce enchiladas are glorious. And I firmly believe they have their place in the enchilada world, even though purists may claim that enchiladas only belong to the red sauce world.
My heart holds space for all enchiladas, no matter the sauce or the style.
But these creamy green chile chicken enchiladas are a huge favorite.
Make-Ahead and Freezable
Easy and delicious, the perfect combo for a weeknight meal, these enchiladas can be made ahead of time. Assembled in the pan, they can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen before baking.
Keep in mind that the tortillas (especially flour tortillas) will soften quite a bit more if making them ahead of time.
Adaptable Recipe
If you’ve made these in the past, be sure to check out the notes of the recipe below for some simple adaptations.
The enchiladas can be made:
- with flour or corn tortillas
- with white beans or black beans or without any beans at all
- with canned green chiles or with green enchilada sauce or salsa verde
After more than a decade, these creamy green chile chicken enchiladas are still one of my favorite meals ever.
What to Serve With This
- Mexican Rice
- Fresh, seasonal fruit
- Roasted broccoli or asparagus
- Garnishes such as lime wedges, cilantro, sour cream, extra cheese, or cherry tomatoes
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Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
- 2 cans (4-ounces each) green chiles, lightly drained (see note)
- 8-ounce package cream cheese, light or regular, softened and cubed
- 1 can (15-ounces) white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here or leave them out)
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup chopped onion, about 1/2 medium onion
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup green chile enchilada sauce or salsa verde (see note for homemade version)
- ½ cup sour cream, light or regular
Assembly:
- 8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 10 soft taco size flour or corn tortillas
- Handful of chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken, beans, cilantro and lime juice. Mix to combine. Set aside.
- For the sauce: in a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth.
- Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.
- Spread 1/4 cup of the sauce in a thin layer on the bottom of the prepared dish.
- Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas.
- Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I get about 10-12 enchiladas for this recipe; the exact number will depend on the size of tortillas).
- Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas and spread evenly. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally posted May 2010; updated with new pictures, recipe notes and commentary.
i found a soup that was a creamy enchila made in a soup for quick and easy, is there a way to change up the recipe for soup.
Could these be made with cornstarch instead of flour for a gluten free sauce? Would the ratio be the same?
Hi Brianna, that’s definitely worth a try – should work great! The cornstarch needs to be dissolved in cool/cold liquid before being added to the sauce. Usually you can use about half as much cornstarch as flour.
Can you make this a day before?
Yes. The tortillas will soften a bit more, but it works fine.
We have made this tons of times. Sometimes we add some black beans to the chicken mixture, but no matter what this is a huge hit with my family of teenage boys!
These are wonderful! I have made these several times and we love them exactly as the recipe is written! I have doubled the sauce, and have excluded the cilantro for those who do not like it (include it as a side garnish along with diced jalapeño, extra sour cream, and shredded cheese- not that it needs any of it). I find these to be so incredibly filling and leftovers are just as good! I take the time, buying chicken breast and seasoning them in a low simmer (like you would for a soup) with a broth made with Mexican seasonings (chili powder, cumin, cayenne- also tossing in some fresh tomato chunks, onions, and garlic). You can make this in advance (freezer). I’m prepping now for a big event (my son’s wedding where they wanted some family favorites served instead of randoms from a caterer). QUESTION if you can answer. If this is made in advance and you know, would you could this before putting in a chafer or do you think the heat from the chafer will be sufficient to warm this appropriately? Keeping in mind that the chicken is cooked.
Good flavor but too rich
LOVE this recipe! It’s so flavorful, better than any restaurant. Thank you, Mel!
Just LOVE THEM…. MY MOUTH WATERS FOR THESE DELICIOUS ENCHILADAS
THANK YOU, TRY USING CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP OR
CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP.
Very tasty. I layered instead of rolled. Used pepper jack cheese. I served a coleslaw with it. Thanks for sharing your yummyiness.
I’ve made these many times and did again tonight. Was impressed again by how delicious and decided I should leave a review. Love everything about this recipe!
Always a winner
For the sauce I ended up using a can of cream of mushroom soup and added dried onion, some milk, salsa verde, and sour cream. I didn’t have cilantro or lime juice. Also added some frozen corn to the filling. My family loved it. I’ll have to actually make the sauce as written someday but as a tired mom of a newborn and toddler this sped up the process. I also just didn’t have a fresh onion. I used some rotisserie chicken I’d shredded a while back and had in the freezer. So I guess I’m saying even sort of following the recipe still resulted in a delicious meal. Thank you Mel! I’ve been making recipes of yours (or using them for inspiration )for years now and have never been disappointed.
DELICIOUS! Our dear friend made it for us. We rarely eat Mexican food but this recipe was outstanding!
These were so yummy!! I posted them on Facebook. I definitely will use your recipes again.
My MIL had just brought me several pounds of freshly roasted green chiles, already prepped for using so I hunted for a chicken recipe to use with them. I landed here for 3 reasons: many great reviews, am amazing looking picture and the shared name of Mel.
I followed the recipe as stated, the fresh chiles really gave it a good kick. I had a hard time keeping my husband out of the mixture while prepping. We did both flour and corn and both are just delicious.
This recipe has already made it into the counter cookbook and will be made frequently.
Fresh chiles in this recipe would be delicious! So happy you found it and loved it…thanks for taking the time to let me know, Melinda!
I printed this long ago and finally tried it tonight and WOW! So so good. We usually make your honey lime enchiladas but wanted to try something new. These were easy to make, have incredible flavor and are going into the regular rotation.