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Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce have tender chicken-stuffed tortillas topped with a zesty creamy white sauce and cheese.
Baked Chicken Enchiladas in a Creamy White Enchilada Sauce
Our Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce recipe is a long-time reader favorite recipe here on A Family Feast!
This easy recipe has lightly-fried corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese. Then, the tortillas are topped with more cheese and a zesty white enchilada sauce with a perfect amount of heat, rather than the more traditional red enchilada sauce.
The cooked chicken used this recipe is our very popular Mexican pulled chicken recipe – a versatile, easy and delicious way to prepare chicken for many Mexican-inspired recipes.
Reader Review
“Just wanted to let you know that we are making these enchiladas for the third time tonight. It is a sophisticated and modern take on classic enchiladas. Whoever came up with the pulled chicken recipe deserves a medal.” -Alex & Kim
Why You’ll Love Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce
- Every bite is pure, delicious comfort food.
- Tender zesty chicken is smothered in a creamy white enchilada sauce with the perfect amount of heat and flavor.
- This dish is great for any fiesta or family meal. The recipe as written serves six, but you can easily double the recipe and bake in larger quantities to feed a crowd.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Mexican Pulled Chicken – The tortillas are filled with our Mexican Pulled Chicken – a zesty mix of chicken, canned tomatoes, onions, red bell pepper, and a variety of seasonings. Cook this up ahead of time.
- White Sauce – This creamy zesty sauce is made with chicken stock, sour cream, canned green chilies (we used mild), spices and seasonings, and thickened with butter and flour.
- Tortillas – We used 6” corn tortillas. Flour tortillas can also be used, although we think the flavor of the corn tortillas works best in this recipe.
- Vegetable Oil – To fry the corn tortillas
- Cheese – We used both Monterey Jack as well as Pepper Jack cheese.
Special Tools Needed
- Medium/Large Saucepan – To make the white sauce.
- Box Grater – To shred the cheese (use the larger holes).
- Medium Skillet – To fry the tortillas.
- 9×13-inch Casserole Dish (oven-safe) or baking pan
- Various measuring cups and spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Whisk
- Tongs – Used to fry the tortillas.
How Do I Make Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce?
- Prepare the Mexican Pulled Chicken.
- Make the white sauce. Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish.
- Fry the tortillas in oil to soften.
- Divide the chicken and Pepper Jack cheese between twelve tortillas.
- Roll each tortilla closed and place seam-side down into the prepared casserole dish.
- Top with remaining white sauce and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bake until hot and bubbly and golden on top.
- Serve immediately with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans.
Cooking Tips
- Lightly frying the corn tortillas in a little hot oil makes them pliable enough to fill and roll without breaking, plus it enhances the corn flavor. Do not fry for too long – they will get crisp and brittle instead of pliable.
- After baking in the sauce, the enchiladas will be soft and delicate. Carefully remove two per portion with a long wide spatula. It’s helpful to brush or spray the spatula with a little oil to help the enchiladas slide off onto your plate.
- When sprinkling the Monterey Jack cheese on top, spread it evenly over each roll so once the dish is baked, you can identify where each one starts and stops to make it easy to serve. (You’ll see slight mounds for each rolled tortilla.)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce ahead of time? You can make the chicken, make the sauce, and shred the cheese ahead of time, but the enchiladas should be assembled and baked just before serving.
- How do I store leftovers? Cool, then cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and store refrigerated for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? Gently reheat individual portions in the microwave.
- Can I freeze this dish? If you have extra pulled chicken, that can be frozen and used in another recipe such as our Mexican Lasagna, Chilaquiles, or our Pulled Chicken Tacos. But, due to the white sauce, the baked enchiladas will not freeze well.
This Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in April 2013. We’ve update the post and photos, but the original delicious recipe remains the same (it has been rewritten for improved clarity).
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Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce
Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce have tender chicken-stuffed tortillas topped with a zesty creamy white sauce and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound prepared Mexican Pulled Chicken (one pound is 1/4 of the entire Mexican Pulled Chicken recipe)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock, heated
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 8 ounces full fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce (less if you like your food mild). We used our homemade Rocket Fuel hot sauce.
- 1 4–ounce can mild chopped green chilies, not drained
- Vegetable oil – To fry the tortillas
- 12 six-inch corn tortillas
- 6 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, shredded on large holes of a box grater
- 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded on large holes of a box grater
Instructions
- Make the Mexican Pulled Chicken recipe. (You’ll be using one quarter of the cooked chicken in this recipe – see notes below for other recipes that call for the cooked chicken.)
- In a medium to large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat and add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon for three minutes.
- Add heated chicken stock one third at a time, whisking at each addition.
- Whisk in the salt, cayenne, sour cream, and hot sauce. Then stir in the chilies and remove the white sauce from heat and set aside.
- Spread a cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place a skillet over medium high heat and add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. Have a plate covered with paper towels next to the pan.
- Place in one tortilla at a time and heat to soften, about 5-10 seconds per side. Use tongs to flip and remove to the paper towel lined plate, then stack off to the side. Continue until all the tortillas have been cooked, using more oil as needed.
- Lay all twelve tortillas on your counter and divide the pulled chicken between them in a strip in the center left to right.
- Divide the Pepper Jack cheese over each strip of pulled chicken.
- Fold into a roll and place seam side down into your casserole dish.
- Pour all the white sauce over each tortilla, using all the sauce.
- Sprinkle the Monterey Jack cheese over each tortilla, being careful to keep the cheese on the top of each roll. Once baked, this will help define where each one starts and stops to make it easier to serve.
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Let rest for ten minutes.
- Serve two per portion.
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Notes
Use the extra Mexican Pulled Chicken in some of these recipes:
Our original photos from 2013:
Very good
Thank you Denise!
This is a fantastic recipe.. Everyone I have made this for loves it..I also make it gluten free.
So glad everyone enjoys the recipe! Thanks Mark!
Next time, I would add caramelized onions with the chicken for more flavor (even if this is not typical for enchiladas) and double the amount of white sauce. (tortilla chips could be dipped in the sauce or crushed and added to the top the last 10 minutes for added crunch). I made shredded chicken, because my mother-in-law is 90 and needs something easy to chew. I would do Mission low carb flour tortillas. The cheese on the top was crisp and delicious. My husband added more hot sauce and peppers. This is a nice, easy recipe that the whole family enjoyed and could be adjusted to meet their personal preferences. Thanks.
Thanks for the suggestion De Ann.
I’ve been making this for Christmas dinner for the last 8 years. It’s definitely a family favorite that I make about 8 times a year. It’s simple yet has many layers of flavor to make everyone happy. I make two trays, one spicy using a higher level spice with the hot sauce and the other mild. This recipe makes my Christmas run smooth with plenty of time away from the kitchen to enjoy football and family.
Thank you for writing to us today Dawn! So glad to hear that you enjoy the recipe and it’s a tradition! Merry Christmas!
Recipe was ok. Not really sure what I was expecting. What do we do with the flour? It’s on the ingredient list but now in the directions.
Sorry you were disappointed Ryan. The flour is used in step 2 – you must have missed it.
Our new family favorite! Thank you
You’re welcome Donna – glad you enjoyed the enchiladas!
Delicious!
Thanks Rebekah!