Ready for the BEST Chicken Enchiladas? This recipe takes tender, seasoned chicken breast, diced green chilies, and a blend of Mexican spices, all enveloped in warm, soft flour tortillas. As the enchiladas bake to perfection, the gooey blanket of melted cheese melds with the white enchilada sauce, creating a symphony of flavors that will have you begging for more!
Try serving this easy dinner with a side of cilantro lime rice and salsa for a full meal everyone will love!
Why You’ll Love These Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
- Easy: I live for easy dinner recipes. These enchiladas use pre cooked chicken, like a rotisserie, which takes away a lot of the prep and help this come together in minutes!
- Picky Eater Approved: My very picky teen actually asked for seconds!
- Freezer Friendly: You can FREEZE this dish! That makes these a go-to for meal prep. I always double the recipe and put the second one in the freezer for a quick meal later.
Alright, my friends. Are you ready for the easiest and most delicious enchilada recipe of all time?
This super simple dinner idea combines cooked chicken and cheese in a way that even the pickiest of eaters will love. All you need are a few pantry staples. We keep things fairly basic with incredible end results! The secret really is in the cheesy white sauce topping!
Chicken Enchilada Ingredients:
Ready to get started? We are going to do a quick dive into what you will need to get this recipe in the oven. The ingredient list is simple, and I have even included a few substitutions for you!
- Chicken: We always use what we have on hand. Sometimes that will be chicken breast (grilled is AMAZING) or most likely rotisserie chicken. Any will work, just make sure that it is cooked and either shredded or cubed.
- Cheese: Cheese is going to go INSIDE each enchilada and in the sauce on top. I always always always recommend using a variety of flavors. Cheddar and pepper jack is my normal grab, but we have had great success with the Mexican blends you can find at the store.
- Butter and Flour: The fat from the butter mixed with the flour is going to give us our thickening agent and provide the very best smooth and creamy sauce.
- Chicken Broth: I am a big big big fan of Better Than Bullion Base. It is a paste that mixes with water and has incredible flavor, but we have also used chicken broth. Both are going to give you stellar results. Just know that if you opt for the bullion, you will need to season with salt and pepper.
- Sour Cream: Just a dollop adds a little tang that ties all of the flavors in the sauce together.
- Green Chilies and/or Jalapenos: Here is where you are going to get a nice kick. We do a half and half mix of chilies and diced pickled jalapenos. You could also substitute a quality green salsa (Trader Joe’s Hatch Chili Salsa is amazing).
- Tortilla: Homemade are best, but let’s get real… I don’t have time to make homemade when it’s the middle of the week and I am faced with a starving family. So don’t sweat it. Use whatever tortillas you have on hand.
Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe
Now, the full sauce recipe is located in the recipe card. Can you skip homemade and use store-bought? Absolutely, but you will be missing out on so much creamy delicious flavor. Here’s the quick guide on how to assemble enchiladas:
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mist a 9×13″ (or two 9″) pan with cooking spray and set aside for later.
- FILLING: Combine the diced chicken with 1 cup of shredded cheese. Add a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture to the bottom third of a tortilla. Roll tightly and place in a line inside the prepared pan, seam side down.
- BAKE: Continue with remaining chicken and tortillas. Smother with sauce and bake as directed.
How To Freeze Enchiladas
Here is the deal… We have made this recipe SO MANY TIMES over the years. And I have tested out different ways to freeze these for later. There are two versions that I feel work best.
- Freeze the sauce separate from the enchiladas after assembled.
- Freeze everything together, but leave the cheese off of the top.
The first method is my favorite, but it isn’t ideal if you plan on giving these out to neighbors or family. So I will walk you through both processes.
Freezing The Sauce Separate:
- Find a good aluminum foil tin or glass freezer dish that you love.
- Follow the recipe through step four (placing the filled tortillas in your pan).
- Wrap tightly and freeze.
- Make the sauce as directed. Cool and freeze. We find these small soup freezer containers to be ideal for this.
- When you are ready to bake, take out of the freezer and allow to thaw overnight.
- Spread the enchilada sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese, and bake as directed.
Freezing Fully Assembled:
Follow all of the steps above, except with the sauce directly on your enchiladas.
Recipe Notes:
Yes. It’s an amazing time saver to use pre-cooked chicken for enchiladas. I use leftover rotisserie or grilled chicken.
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use either flour or corn tortillas! Both taste incredible.
Absolutely. If you prefer a red enchilada sauce vs the green chili sauce you can make that switch.
Yes, you can prepare chicken enchiladas ahead of time. After assembling the enchiladas, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake, simply remove the covering and follow the baking instructions in the recipe.
To store leftover chicken enchiladas, allow them to cool to room temperature. Then, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or transfer them to an airtight container. Refrigerate the enchiladas and consume them within 3-4 days. If you have a large batch of leftovers, you can also freeze them individually. Wrap each enchilada tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. Frozen enchiladas can be stored for up to 2-3 months. When ready to eat, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven or microwave until heated through.
More Chicken Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
- Margarita Chicken
- Southwestern Chicken Packets
- Easy Chicken Stir Fry
- Baked Bruschetta Chicken
More Freezer Friendly Recipes:
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Easy Chicken Enchilada Recipe- Freezer Friendly!
Ingredients
- 4 cups cheddar or Mexican blend cheese divided
- 4 cups cooked chicken diced or shredded
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3½ cups chicken broth
- 2 cups sour cream
- 7 oz diced green chilies
- 7 oz diced jalapeno- or 14 oz green chilies
- 8 to 10 to tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 435 degrees. Mist a 9×13″ (or two 9″) pan with cooking spray and set aside for later.
- Combine the diced chicken with 1 cup of shredded cheese.
- Add a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture to the bottom third of your tortilla. Roll tightly and place in your prepared pan, seam side down.
- Continue with remaining chicken and tortillas. Set aside.
For the sauce:
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.
- Whisk in the flour and cook one to two minutes, stirring constantly.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Cook another two to three minutes or until just slightly thickened.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream, chili's, jalapeno and 2 cups of cheese.
- Pour the sauce over the top of your enchiladas.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top. Bake 20 minutes, or until warm and bubbly.
Notes
- Find a good aluminum foil tin or glass freezer dish that you love.
- Follow the recipe through step four (placing the filled tortillas in your pan).
- Wrap tightly and freeze.
- Make the sauce as directed. Cool and freeze. We find these small soup freezer containers to be ideal for this.
- When you are ready to bake, take out of the freezer and allow to thaw overnight.
- Spread the enchilada sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese, and bake as directed.
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Comments & Reviews
Kristin Benini says
When do the chilies get added?!
Jesseca says
Sorry, Kristin. It should be stirred in with the sour cream. I just fixed that.