These white chicken enchiladas are made with an ultra-creamy, cheesy white sauce made with Greek yogurt swapped in for sour cream! They're easy to make (with a gluten free option provided) and ultra-cozy and flavorful.
Winter is the time for comfort food, and this healthy white chicken enchiladas recipe will keep you cozy and nourished! Growing up, my mom made an authentic white enchiladas recipe that my brother requested for his birthday every single year. They quickly became our most popular birthday dinner request, and now my other brother and dad request them too! Some would say we love white chicken enchiladas...
Now I'm excited to share with you my version, inspired by my mom's perfected recipe. It has a few healthy twists but maintains the same creamy, cheesy deliciousness.
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Key Ingredients & Notes
- Enchilada Filling: Our enchilada filling will include the veggies and chicken. I highly recommend using a rotisserie chicken from the store as a shortcut, but any leftover chicken will do. If you're cooking chicken for this recipe specifically, chicken thighs are the way to go -- they're so juicy and much harder to overcook.
- Sauce: The white enchilada sauce is where we'll add the full fat Greek yogurt, but you can definitely use sour cream here. Coriander is the seasoning that MAKES this recipe, so please don't skip it!
- Tortillas: Lastly, I love corn tortillas for these enchiladas. It helps if you warm in the microwave slightly so they don't crack as easily. The La Tortilla Factory corn tortillas are not gluten free, but they are SO pliable. I love them for these enchiladas!
Red sauce next? If you're interested in a veggie enchiladas recipe with red sauce, you need to check out my veggie and bean skillet enchiladas with sweet potato! Bonus: It's all done in one skillet—no tortilla rolling necessary!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat some olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions and green bell peppers until soft and translucent, adding a pinch of salt as they soften.
Step 2: Remove from heat and add to a bowl along with the chicken and canned diced green chiles. Set aside while you make the white enchilada sauce.
Step 3: Whisk together white whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour), coriander, and salt in a small bowl. Using the same skillet as before, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add the flour mixture right into the butter as you constantly whisk the two together.
Step 4: Immediately add broth, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is thickened and bubbly, about 5-6 more minutes. Congrats, you've made a roux!
Step 5: With heat over medium, add cheese and yogurt to the pan and whisk it together. Constantly whisk until you get a smooth white sauce! Stir a half cup of the white enchilada sauce into the chicken mixture to make your enchilada filling.
Step 6: Add another ½-3/4 cup of sauce into the bottom of a rectangular baking dish -- enough to cover the bottom in a thin, even layer. If using two baking dishes, layer the other dish as well.
Step 7: Scoop a heaping ¼ cup of the chicken enchilada mixture into the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas and place it in the baking dish, repeating for each tortilla, placing them snuggly next to each other into the baking dish.
Step 8: Cover all tortillas with remaining cheese and sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Top with fresh cilantro before serving!
Baking Dish Sizes & Notes: This recipe makes 12 enchiladas, which for me usually takes one 3-quart baking dish (about 9x13 inches) and one 2-quart baking dish (about 8x8 inches).
Hint: Using room temperature Greek yogurt helps it to blend seamlessly into the sauce. If you don't have time for your yogurt to come to room temperature, leaving it out for 30 minutes before getting started will help!
White Chicken Enchilada FAQs
Mexican rice an easy and delicious side for these enchiladas! Chips, salsa, loaded guacamole, and pico de gallo are some of our other favorite sides for this recipe. Even a simple side salad would be a good complement!
Yes! Using gluten free corn tortillas (most are) and gluten free flour in the white sauce make these enchiladas gluten free.
Yes! To make ahead, do not preheat your oven, and prepare the white chicken enchiladas through Step 4 (below). Cover tightly and store in the fridge until you're ready to bake the enchiladas. When ready, take the enchiladas out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter at room temperature while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese bubbles.
Store leftover enchiladas in airtight (preferably glass) containers in the fridge for up to five days. To reheat, bake at 350 degrees until heated through, or reheat in a skillet on the stove. In a pinch, the microwave will work, but oven and stovetop methods revive the texture a bit bitter. To freeze, store cooked and fully cooled enchiladas in an airtight glass container in the freezer for up to three months. When you're ready to eat them again, thaw the enchiladas in the fridge for a few hours, then reheat on the stovetop or in a 350-degree oven.
📖 Recipe
Favorite Homemade White Chicken Enchiladas
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 enchiladas 1x
Description
Homemade white chicken enchiladas are packed with flavor and a creamy, cheesy white sauce that uses Greek yogurt instead of sour cream! The white sauce is spiced with coriander, and we think this makes the dish. The perfect cozy dinner for any night of the week!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced small
- 1 green bell pepper, diced small
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
- 2 cups chicken, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour (unbleached all-purpose OR white whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas
Instructions
- Sauté onions and peppers. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and peppers to the skillet and sauté until soft, about seven minutes.
- Combine filling ingredients. Add the onions and peppers to a bowl with the chicken and green chiles, and set aside.
- Make a roux. Mix the flour, coriander, and salt together in a small bowl. In the same skillet used for the peppers and onions, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add the flour mixture and gently whisk it together with the butter to form a uniform mass.
- Add broth, then yogurt and cheese. Immediately add the chicken broth. Heat the mixture over medium while you whisk, until it becomes thick and bubbly, then cook and stir for 1-2 more minutes. Add the Greek yogurt and cheese, constantly whisking until smooth and melted.
- Add white sauce to filling. Stir a half cup of the sauce into the filling you had set aside earlier.
- Fill and roll enchiladas. Line the bottom of your baking dish(es) with a thin, even layer of sauce. Place ¼ cup of the chicken filling in the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and set it in the baking dish, parallel to the short side (if pan is rectangular). Repeat for as many remaining tortillas as you can fit in the baking dish, then continue into other baking dish if using.
- Top enchiladas. Top the enchiladas evenly with all remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then serve with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Tortillas. Pliable tortillas are key for successful enchiladas! No one wants their tortillas breaking apart while rolling enchiladas. I recommend using whole wheat flour or corn tortillas that haven't been refrigerated. If you do need to use up refrigerated tortillas, allow them some time to come to room temperature or warm slightly in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
- Baking pan sizes. Because this recipe makes up to 12 enchiladas (depending on how full you fill them), you may need to use multiple pans. Make sure to follow instructions for each.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 enchiladas
- Calories: 452
- Sugar: 6.4 g
- Sodium: 929 mg
- Fat: 22.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
- Fiber: 5.1 g
- Protein: 30.7 g
- Cholesterol: 95.3 mg
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Marge says
Love the chicken but looking forward to swapping it out with leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Tera Gigot says
Yay! You can only eat those leftovers for so long, LOL.
Maureen says
Turned out awesome! Will make again. Very easy!
Tera says
Yay! So glad you liked them!
Marla Micoley says
I haven’t had these since we had Mexican night at Mom’s! Kathy, Betty, and I each brought different styles of enchiladas. Your moms were the best!
Can’t wait to make them.
Tera says
I never knew that story!! 🙂 Thanks Marla! These ones are a treasure.
Michelle says
Just made these and the whole fam loved them 🙂
Tera says
Yay! So glad you liked them, Michelle!