I’ve been playing around with the perfect “white” enchilada recipe. I’ve used these fantastic Honey Lime Enchiladas as my go-to recipe for a while but I’ve also wanted a creamy, white enchilada that really rocks. Thanks to inspiration from my lifelong friend Liz P. and my mom’s famous recipe, I think I’ve finally stumbled upon the version that we love best.
Deliciously cheesy and creamy, a homemade white sauce is paired with a chicken filling that is ingeniously mixed with cream cheese and green chiles before being rolled into flour tortillas. Baked to golden perfection, these enchiladas are filling and ever so tasty. The fresh cilantro on top is optional but adds a fantastic fresh pop of flavor to the entire dish.
Probably not considered the healthiest meal in the world, the taste will certainly make you feel less guilty for indulging.
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Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)
Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream
8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.
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 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.
Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ 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 can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).
Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. 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.
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
Enchiladas are a favorite in our house. We have to make them every week!
Great idea to make white enchiladas, Mel. I would much prefer it. Copying the recipe now….
This is one of our go-to dinners. Instead of making the sauce from scratch, I stir together equal parts tomatillo salsa and sour cream. It’s delicious too!
We love a similar recipe. Ours doesn’t have beens but that sounds good! We really like a little cilantro rice tucked in ours. Yum Yum!
I’ve never made white enchiladas before, but this sounds great! I just froze about 3 cups of leftover chicken the other night….sounds perfect to me!
I just had to leave you a comment and tell you how much I love your blog and thank you for the great recipes. I have had my eye on many recipes of yours to try and last week I did it. I made one of your delicious recipes every night for dinner! Now I have many favorites to go to! Thanks again!
This looks fantastic, Mel! I have never made white enchiladas, but I will now! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Thank you! I was just about to begin searching for this exact recipe. I’ve been making creamy chicken enchiladas with cream of whatever soups and really want to make it without using those. Your timing is perfect in posting this recipe and it looks just wonderful. Thanks!!
you have to throw health to the wind every once in awhile, and this is the type of meal that makes it easy to do so. enchiladas are a favorite for this gal, and your perfected sauce is amazing. health shmealth.
Thanks, Amber – I’m so happy you’ve liked the recipes you’ve tried and I hope you find many more that are hits as well!
This is pretty close to my chicken enchilada recipe. I cook my chicken in the crockpot with an onion, green chilli’s, a packet of italian seasoning and some chilli powder. Then shred it and add the cream cheese. Goodness, it’s tasty! Can’t wait to try this one out.
Thanks for your recipe! I have to admit, after living in New Mexico for some time, I have become accustomed to enchiladas. Just a suggestion…instead of using the canned stuff (which is full of preservatives) you can use fresh anaheims (unless you live in NM and can get the real stuff) or use frozen chiles – they taste better!
Oh my, those look amazing. I just posted a similar recipe that is awesome: http://babblingsfrombrooke.blogspot.com/2010/05/best-enchiladasever.html.
I have tried hard NOT to look at this recipe all day…but…the CHEESE, oh my goodness. I think the healthy eating plan is just going to have to be “on hold” tomorrow as I am sure I won’t stop thinking of this recipe until I make and eat it.
This recipe certainly sounds like it Rocks! I can’t wait to try it.
Great idea, Anna!
Go Liz P! Love that girl.
I have some bad news Mel, very very bad news. I think my baby can’t have dairy. I’m dying reading these recipes I want to try on here– but I can’t! Oh, and all of the well thought out & prepared freezer meals I did a few months ago? Most of them have cheese, of course. Dagnabit. What am I going to do? Until I stop nursing or he grows out of it, I’ll have to keep a list of everything I want to try later!
Those look so good! I’m a sucker for a white sauce. thanks for sharing!
I have about a billion and 1 enchilada recipes, but the Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas are our favorite! I can’t wait to try this one, enchiladas are one thing my ENTIRE family will eat!
Ohhhhhh!!!!!! These look sooooo yummy!!! Can’t wait to try them!!! I LOVE chicken enchilada’s!!!!
I made these tonight for dinner and they were so good! my husband said they were a 10 out of 10
thank you for putting yummy recipes that don’t use the condensed soups!
Melissa – 10 out of 10 is pretty high praise! I’m so glad you liked the recipe…thanks for letting me know!
Wow, these sound fabulous! You go, girl!
Meg made this last night and it turned out soooooo delicious.
Bruce (and Meg, of course) – thanks for checking in on this recipe. You know I’ll still love the lot of you even if you think a recipe is terrible, right?? By the way, I just made the infamous chocolate angel food cake. Despite Ty sticking his finger into the center of the cooled cake, making a divet the size of Texas, I have a feeling it’s going to be ggoooooodd.
My sister requested this for her birthday dinner….No lie, she was licking her plate. Yes, and she’s not 8…more like 28. Everyone loved them. These are easily 10 out of 10, even more. We did them with the white beans and my sis almost cried when we realized we forgot to put the cilantro on. I guess the leftovers will be loaded with cilantro. Thanks for the AWESOME recipe and my sis says it’s her favorite enchilada. YUM. Can’t wait to make them again.
Megan – so funny. I’m glad I’m not the only one who licks her plate now and again.
Thanks for checking in on this recipe. I’m so glad it was a hit!
I have been looking for a great green chicken enchilada recipe for a while now and couldn’t wait to try these out. I loved the homemade sauce (no canned soup!) so much I added the whole can of green enchilada sauce. They turned out wonderfully and my family approved with empty plates! Thanks a bunch!
April – thanks for letting me know these enchiladas were a hit with your family!
This was my first recipe that I made from your blog, and I know now, that it wont be my last. My whole family loved the “Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.” I defiantly will be making this again, and again.
You are the best! Thank you so much.
Michelle
Michelle – I’m thrilled that your first try at a recipe from here worked out so well. Thanks for letting me know!
This recipe kicks my old’s trash! I actually haven’t made chicken enchiladas in far too long because of it. This is filling and delicious!
Thanks a bajillion
Heidi – glad you liked these enchiladas. Thanks for letting me know!
I made 4 pans of these for my father’s 80th birthday party and everyone LOVED them! They got rave reviews! Thanks for the great recipe. It’s a keeper. I made them a day ahead of time and baked them right before the party. I did use rotisserie chickens to save time since I had to make such a large amount. My very picky niece and nephew loved them, along with all my dad’s older friends. Can’t thank you enough. I’m e-mailing the recipe to all my kids and friends!
Yum, yum, yum! I had tons of shredded chicken left over from something, and this was fantastic. After we finished eating, my husband said that was the most satisfying meal he’s had in a long time…Maybe because I haven’t really cooked in awhile, but it was so good! We had it with a Bajio knock-off recipe for the sweet cilantro rice and it was delicious!
Ashlee – great compliment from your husband! I bet it was delicious with the sweet cilantro rice.
KL – 4 pans?? Oh my, you are amazing. I’m so happy everyone loved them. Thanks for the review!
Just had these tonight and they were de.li.cious. Thanks for another great recipe!!
Thanks, Jess!
Hi,
If I make these ahead of time and refrigerate, how long and at what temp should I bake?
Thanks.
Cassandra
Cassandra – if these enchiladas have been refrigerated, I would still bake them at the same temperature but I would add on about 15 minutes to the baking time.
I made these tonight – loved them! Thanks! It’s great to have them so creamy w/o using a can of cream of something soup!
Thanks, Kristyn!
Am I crazy to try these with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving?
Rebecca – no! In fact, it is a brilliant idea! Let me know how it goes…
I made these last night with the leftover breast meat from Thanksgiving and they were good. The turkey was surprisingly strong, sort of gamey tasting. These will be waaaay better with chicken! I will definitely be making these again and soon. They were a bit dry for me, but I put some salsa on top and it was fantastic. It made 12 enchiladas.
One note, I used low-fat sour cream and Neufchatel cheese (that’s the stuff that looks like the brick of cream cheese and says its 1/3 fat of the cr cheese). I couldn’t find reduced fat Monterey Jack. Again, very good, but definitely waaaay better with the real deal. However, I most often use reduced fat dairy, so the next time I make these (with chicken) I will still use the low-fat varieties.
Rebecca – I think these would be great with leftover turkey so fantastic idea on that one. Thanks for including your notes and variations!
Once again, a delicious recipe. This one is definitely a keeper. I loved the sauce!
Thanks for the great recipe! Loved it!! Every recipe I have tried from you always turns out great! Thank you SO much!
LOVE this one!!! Great website and great recipes!! Thanks
Again . . . another delicious recipe from your site. I normally just pour the green enchilada sauce over the top, but making this creamy version is so much more tasty. It wasn’t too spicy (my kids’ normal complaint with enchiladas). And I used white beans and I believe the beans made a HUGE difference. These were so good and I can’t wait to taste them tomorrow, since they are always better the next day.
I used the fajita sized tortillas which are on the smaller side and I had enough to make dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day AND an extra pan that I put in the freezer (unbaked). I’m hoping they’ll freeze well because they are delicious. Even my husband liked them and he isn’t a fan of cream cheese/sour cream concoctions.
I made these last night but instead of using just green chiles, I also added diced chipolte peppers, and upped the amount of cream cheese to counter-act a bit of the heat. Wow! They were amazing and you can really adjust how spicy you want them. Since my kids are 4, 2, and 2 I need to be mindful of spice, but my twins loved them. I served this with Mexican rice, throwing in some fresh corn-on-the cob we BBQ’d Saturday night and black beans. I also added some cotija cheese to the plate, along with shredded lettuce, sour cream and diced tomato. Yummy!
Hi Mel,
We are thoroughly enjoying your recipes!! i am a single mom of six, and your snowman cupcakes or so cute! Making these enchilada’s tonight! Do you have a way to tweet? I would love to tweet some of these to friends!
Thanks for this! excellent help for our house!
These were awesome! I featured this recipe with a few healthy alterations on my blog. http://blogfoodbetter.blogspot.com/2011/08/creamy-green-chile-chicken-enchiladas.html
I just made these this past weekend and might I say they came out outstanding! Just he perfect creamy. I used pinto beans instead of black and they were a hit in my house. Thanks again, for a great recipe!
I just moved to Nebraska and meet someone who knew you and referred me to your website! Glad they did. I tried these and I even healthified them here http://healthconsciousmommas.blogspot.com/2011/10/healthy-chicken-enchiladas.html
Thanks for sharing!
I made these the other night, and they were absolutely delicious! My husband normally doesn’t like chicken or enchiladas, but he loved these and told me to definitely make them again. Thank you for sharing!
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING! I used a lot more cheese (as usual) and my boyfriend was in heaven! We LOVED every bite! I am so happy I can trust you to have AMAZING recipes! Thank you again! Can’t wait till the next time!
Made these last night. Everyone loved them & one person took home a copy of the recipe.
Hahaha, I just did the WW P+ on these, and they are as many points as an average woman should eat in the entire day.
Just made these for dinner and they were delicious!!!!!! Yum Yum. Stoked that I have leftovers for tomorrow too! Love your blog.
Love, love, love these! I love your site and cook something from at least once a week if not more. Keep those yummy recipes coming!
Commented once before but these deserve a comment for sure! Made them last night, and have leftovers for lunch at work today. My whole family loved these (though my husband and I added chopped jalapenos to our to “spice it up!”) The kids loved the creamy, mild flavor- and I loved that they were lighter than our usual recipe.
I love that your homemade recipes are things that I can share with my whole family. I am diabetic, and for a while was making two dinners every night. I’ve now found that by using your recipes, which have VERY limited processed ingredients, I am better able to control my blood sugar. I ahve so MANY recipes tagged for future use, I’ve made my own little binder of “Mel’s Recipe to Try.”
Thanks so much for your hard work, I’m definitely a follower!!
I’ve made these twice. Delicious!
Has anyone made this for the freezer? If so was it still good and how do you cook frozen?
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