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
One Year Ago: Almond Joy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two Years Ago: Cinnamon & Sugar Dusted Whole Grain Applesauce Muffins
Three Years Ago: Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers {With a Slow Cooker Variation}
Four Years Ago: Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos
Five Years Ago: Peaches and Cream Sensation
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’ve never commented before, but these days any new recipes I try are almost exclusively yours! Last night we had these and they were such a hit that my husband automatically assumed, “These are from Mel, aren’t they?” You have a good reputation around our dinner table. ^_^
Yay!!
These were so good that one of my children literally cried at the table.
Haha, I know this probably wasn’t meant to make me laugh, but it did (in a good way).
I’ve made these several times as written and love them! Yesterday, I made a small batch (just me) and made some drastic variations which turned out surprisingly well – for me, anyway 🙂
I used blanched collard greens in place of tortillas. For the sauce, I whisked some sour cream into salsa verde and skipped the roux-chicken broth part. No changes to filling – I used mayocoba beans. As I said, I was a bit surprised at how much I liked this variation. Much as I love tortillas, the collard greens with the filling and sauce were very good!
Not sure how collards would fly with kids…
I love that, Liz! I might have to try it, too (love the easier sauce as well).
Mel – Question . . . Video says bake at 450 . . . That does not match the recipe
Sorry about that! Bake per recipe directions at 375.
My family loved this ! A simple recipe that tastes delicious! I will. make this often.
No flavor? I have a bad cold and these still have flavor. I loved them. The only thing I would change since I did herdez salsa verde is subtract pepper since I still have little kids sensitive to spice. Okay I’m one of them, haha. Thanks for the deliciousness, Mel!
In what universe does this only take 15 minutes to prep? It took me at least that long just to cut the meat off the rotisserie chicken. I swear it took me about an hour to get this dish ready to go in the oven, (I made my husband come in and put the chicken mixture on the tortillas and roll them up —- he is much better at this skill than I) then the wait for it to cook added 25 more minutes. With all that effort, I expected much more flavor. My 16 year old son only ate half of his. He is usually much more excited about Mexican meals I have made in the past.
Hey Marisa – I agree that the prep time is a bit short (I just increased it to 25 minutes; I think there was a typo). However, I don’t include taking the chicken off the rotisserie bones as part of the prep time since it is just a suggestion in the recipe. The prep time includes using already cooked, shredded chicken. Hope that helps.
Awesome recipe! Hubby loved it. I made a few changes though. We like to feel the HEAT so I added some crushed red pepper and, instead of salsa verde, I used our homemade salsa which has more-than-usual jalapenos in it.
YUMMO! Keep the awesome recipes coming!!!
I consider myself a super cook.. 3 kids under age 5 and I find myself saying to my 5 year old “Just get used to burnt food, honey. It’s part of our reality.”
But these, thank the Lord, I can handle. They always hit the spot and take no time at all!! I’m making them for our Friendsgiving get together tonight as the main dish and I ain’t even scurred. (Usually cooking for friends is nerve wracking).
So kudos from a novice level cook!
Haha…you are cute, Ginny! Happy Friendsgiving!
I’m serving the enchiladas for a ladies luncheon at Christmas. What do you suggest I serve with it?
I think it’s delicious with cilantro lime rice (https://www.melskitchencafe.com/cilantro-lime-rice/), maybe this Mexican corn and tomato salad (https://www.melskitchencafe.com/mexican-tomato-and-corn-salad/) and maybe cornbread (https://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-cornbread-and-fluffy-honey-butter/)?
Yummy! I didn’t have the enchilada sauce on hand so I used a jar of homeade salsa and it worked great! Lots of flavor and creamy! The kids got out a bag of chips and started eating it with chips! So thankful my sister pointed me to your blog a couple years ago! We use it almost daily for our meals! Thanks so much!!!
Thanks, Gwen!
The sauce is awesome, but I didn’t care for the filling. Next time I will leave out the cream cheese and maybe use corn tortillas.
I never post comments about recipes, but I just had to with this one. It is by far THE BEST enchilada recipe I’ve tried and I’ve tried them all! What amazing flavor! I used salsa verde from Trader Joes in place of the chilis and enchilada sauce. I double the sauce and it was perfect. So incredibly yummy! I made extra filling and froze them for later. Now all I’ll have to do is whip up the sauce and dinner will be ready. Hubby LOVED them! Thanks a million!
Thanks for the review, Heather!
Simple enough recipe but loads of flavor! Even my real picky eaters loved this. “Mom, why don’t you make this more often?” This will be in our rotation for sure! Or great for those times when you need to bring a meal to someone. Just double the recipe – and really impress with this meal 🙂
Thank you so much, Betsey! It really means a lot that you would take the time to comment and let me know!
I forgot the salt and pepper so they turned out a bit bland. It isn’t included in the directions. When do you add it?
Sorry about that, April! I add it with the milk and broth or right after – it really can be added anytime while making the sauce.
I will be trying them again!
I like the recipe, but sauce was not near enough. Frustrating to have to stop in the middle and make more sauce, will know to double it next time. Turned out very well, my guys loved it.
My family loved these enchiladas! Great chile lime taste!
Made this recipe for my husband, and he loves it! Thank you it is wonderful.
I made these for dinner last night and they were EXCELLENT! I had my parents over for dinner. The absolutely loved them and said they are the best enchiladas they have ever had. They even called this morning to thank me again for such a delicious meal! Thank you for yet another fabulous recipe! I have an 8 month old baby who doesn’t like baby food anymore. He was devouring these (the filling). We couldn’t feed him fast enough. If only some of my other kids had that same appreciation for great food… 😉
So happy to hear that, Laurel!
Excellent, especially when made using the sauce recipe you provide. At the end of cooking I did a drizzle of sour cream over the top of the enchiladas. Thanks for the great recipe.
I made these for dinner tonight and they were *delicious*. I used salsa verde instead of the canned green chiles but other than that everything was as per your recipe. Seriously, yum! These are now on my make-it-again list
Thank you Mel for this wonderful recipe! My husband and I thought it was wonderful. Love the fact that it isn’t too saucy but oh so flavorful! I made your Green Enchilada Sauce as well – so great!
Made this for the first time this weekend, and they were a big hit! My hubby was beside himself with the deliciousness of these enchiladas 🙂 Will definitely make them again.
Love these!
Today I made a double batch of these for a friend’s family and my own. They are delicious! Thanks for the make-ahead instructions. It’s so helpful to have meals I can make and deliver in the morning when I’m bringing someone dinner. Trying to get a dinner made and delivered after my kids are home from school is very stressful!
My goodness was this delicious! I could have eaten the sauce plain with a spoon (I may have shamelessly cleaned out the edges of the pan with my finger). My whole family also loved it, which is rare for Mexican inspired food. My four year old asked me if I could make it again after two bites. I’m sure it will become a fixture in our meal rotation.
I also wanted to take a minute to thank you for putting your time and effort into maintaining this blog. You’re my go to stop for new dinner ideas as you’re one of the few blogs I’ve found with recipes that suit my family’s taste preferences and my cooking style. Almost every recipe I’ve tried has been a winner. I also appreciate that I don’t have to double/triple the recipes to feed my growing family of six. God bless.
Thanks for such a heartfelt comment, Shauna! Made my day!
These are really good. They got 3 thumbs up. However your beef enchiladas have the lead for the best Mexican meal with these being a close second.
Yeah, those beef ones are pretty stellar. 🙂
Wow!! These were dinner last night and they were a HIT!!! I have a few picky eaters, and they all devoured these and raved about them!! I like saucy but didn’t see your note about possibly doubling the sauce until they were already in the oven, and I thought they had a great amount of sauce as you have it! Thank you so much for another delicious meal to add in our home!!!
Thanks for the review, Nicole – so glad you loved them!
these are excellent! i added chopped jalapeños to the filling for some kick.
Thanks, Jill! Glad you liked them!
I made these last night. They were so good – perhaps even my favorite enchilada! And the best part – they were so easy to make!
Glad to hear it, Summer!
Wow! I was just looking up this recipe to make again, because my family loved it. Here it is on the home page. Great timing and confirmation that my memory served me well about how good they were. Thank you!!
How strong is the cilantro flavor? Could you leave it out? My husband absolutely will not eat anything with cilantro in it!
Yes, you can definitely leave it out.
Do you think I could sub in tofu for the chicken? Maybe if I press it then shred it? Or perhaps bake it off a little to dry it out? Suggestions?
Thank you so much!!
My husband also won’t eat cilantro (he thinks it tastes like soap). I substitute 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander. It gives back some of the flavor complexity since it’s the same plant but he likes the flavor.
This looks exceptional
What size (diameter) tortillas do you usually use? When I look at the tortilla aisle at WalMart or Publix I see all sorts of different sizes — when I make a recipe the first time I try to replicate what you (or any writer) wrote before I add my own tweaks (if any). Thank you
It depends if I’m using flour or corn, but I’d say about 6-8 inches in diameter.
I’ve been making your recipe for chicken enchiladas for years! It is hands down my husband’s favorite dinner – He always requests it for his birthday!
With the make-ahead option these sound like they’d be perfect for a casual dinner party (the only kind I ever have!) with friends or family.
Mel, you never disappoint. There is no one that compares to the consistency of good recipes like you do. Thanks for sharing your goodness.
Oh my goodness, Kara – you are so sweet! Thank you!
I eat the leftovers of these for breakfast, microwaved, days later and they’re just as delicious. Ok, maybe it’s a little later than breakfast and on a paper plate, but I dream of them.
I made this several months ago and froZe it. We just ate it over this past week and it was still delicious!
My daughters made this together while I was gone last night. They made 4 batches and it was fabulous! Mmmmmm. So yummy!
I’ve made this recipe many times, and it’s always a big hit! Great for a take-in meal and just downright delicious! The sauce is amazing! Thanks, Mel!!
Yes! Perfect take-in meal!
This is a family favorite for us; I’ve been making them for years! Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
Thanks, Stephanie!
Just made these last night, so funny to see them today! Totally delicious!
Haha, great timing!
Makes these all the time! I love Love Love love them! Thanks again for a wonderful family and kid friendly recipe.
Thanks, Jenny!
These look amazing and I can’t wait to try them! Just a quick note, in your introduction paragraph, you say “I first posted this recipe waaay back when in 2017,” instead of 2010.
I love all your recipes and am pretty sure this one will be added to my “must print off” list (which is crazy long after 8 years of following your blog!)
Ha…thanks for the catch. Will fix. 🙂
I made these last night (and have made them many times)! They are delicious, and I am not usually an enchilada fan. Once you’ve made them a couple times and know what’s next in the recipe, they come together pretty quickly. So delicious!
That’s so true, Beth – they really do come together pretty quickly – glad you love them (and thanks for leaving a rating!).
Just bought the ingredients to make these again tonight. My son and his friends LOVE these- I never can make enough! I have said it before- your recipes are the best!!!
Thanks, Martha – you are so sweet!
I Love These !! And made them Yesterday!!! Amazing!!
Thanks, Helen (and thanks for leaving a rating!).
LOVE this recipe! Love everything about the taste, texture and the smiles I see from my family when I say this is what I am cooking for dinner. This is also a dish that is a wonderful take-in meal. Thanks, Mel, for all of your incredibly dedicated work you do in keeping this blog going!
Wondering what tortillas you used here?!? I’ve made your tortillas and I love them but I’m looking for some decent pre-made ones when I don’t have time. So many from the store are gross! Have you tried using the tortillas from Costco that need to be cooked first? I love those also, just worried they would become too soggy.
Hi Kattie – yes, I love the cook-your-own tortillas and have used those. There are also a few brands I love from Trader Joe’s that I pick up when I get down there.
Which do you personally prefer for this recipe, corn or flour tortillas?
Which do you personally prefer for this recipe, corn or flour tortillas? Looks like Mel uses flour.
Oh my! Just make these creamy chicken enchiladas without the beans and they are awesome! Thank you. Mel, for your great recipes and this site. I don’t cook often but when I do I will be sure to get out more recipes 🙂