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    Home / Recipes / Main Dishes / Chicken Recipes

    Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

    Jump to Recipe
    Composite image with ingredients for chicken enchiladas (shredded cheese, tortillas, cumin, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, garlic salt, cooked chicken, cooked peppers and onions, and rotel) in top image and prepared enchiladas in bottom image with text creamy chicken enchiladas

    These deliciously creamy chicken enchiladas are one of my family's most requested dishes. Filled with simple but flavorful ingredients, they never fail to please.

    Pan of cooked enchiladad covered in melted cheese

    Jump to:
    • ⏲️ Time needed
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 📋 Instructions
    • 💭 Tips
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 🥗 Side dishes
    • 📌 Pin this recipe

    Of all of the dishes that I make, this creamy chicken enchilada dish is the one for which I get the most recipe requests. My friend Terri introduced me to the idea of white enchiladas over 15 years ago. I loved hers, and I've been making them ever since. I've tweaked the recipe over the years and this is the way I currently make them.

    ⏲️ Time needed

    If you have prepared ingredients in the freezer and thaw them ahead of time, this meal can be ready in about 40 minutes. If you need to do your chopping and sautéing as you prepare, add at least 15 minutes for that.

    🥘 Ingredients

    Ingredients for creamy chicken enchiladas: cooked chicken, cooked onion & bell peppers, cumin, garlic salt, green chilis, Rotel tomatoes and green chilis, chicken broth, shredded Mexican cheese, and flour tortillas

    • shredded or chopped cooked chicken
    • cream of chicken soup
    • chicken broth
    • sour cream
    • chopped & sautéed onion
    • chopped & sautéed bell pepper
    • Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
    • green chilies
    • cumin
    • Adobo or garlic salt
    • tortillas
    • shredded Mexican blend cheese
    • non-stick cooking spray

    📋 Instructions

    Make the basis for the filling and the sauce by combining the soup, chicken broth, and sour cream. Set aside ½ of this mixture for the sauce if you like to add sauce on top; if not keep all of it together for filling.

    Batter bowl of white sauce for enchiladas separated into two parts; one half is in a measuring cup and the other is in the batter bowl

    To the remaining filling mixture add the chicken, sautéed onion, sautéed bell pepper, drained chilies, drained Rotel, and spices to taste.

    Cumin being dumped into a bowl of white cream sauce with chicken and peppers

    Add half of the cheese.

    Mixing shredded Mexican blend cheese into a large glass bowl with white enchilada filling

    Place about ½ cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of each tortilla, rolling each one up and placing it seam side down in a prepared 9x12 pan.

    Large spatula full of creamy white enchilada filling peing placed on the center of a flour tortilla

    If you reserved some of the filling to use as sauce, pour it over enchiladas. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over enchiladas and cook at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until bubbly.

    Pan of creamy white enchiladas topped with melted shredded cheese

    💭 Tips

    I rarely start a recipe by sautéing chicken or browning ground beef. I'm a big believer in doing as much preparation as possible before I need to start cooking so that dinnertime is low stress (enjoyable, even!).

    For this recipe I use fast ingredients from the freezer—cooked chicken, sautéed onion, and sautéed bell pepper—to speed up my preparation time.

    It takes less time to sauté or grill (my preferred method) several pounds of chicken once than to cook one pound at a time multiple times. The same is true with browning ground beef, sautéing chopped onions, and sautéing chopped bell peppers. Typically we do huge batches of peppers and onions in the summer when bell peppers are plentiful.

    The "prep it before you need it" method is the crux of the Secrets of a Busy Cook and the biggest key in cutting down on prep time. Using pre-cooked ingredients saves me lots of chopping, cooking, and clean-up time in the evening when I am tired and everyone is hungry.

    📖 Recipe

    Pan of cooked enchiladad covered in melted cheese

    Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

    This Creamy Chicken Enchilada dish is perfect for sharing with a group. When you take it to your next potluck, though, be prepared for all the recipe requests!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 55 mins
    Course Main Dish
    Cuisine Tex-Mex
    Servings 6
    Calories 432

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
    • 1 condensed cream of chicken soup
    • 1 can chicken broth
    • 8 oz. sour cream
    • 1 onion, chopped & sautéed
    • 1 bell pepper, chopped & sautéed (any color)
    • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
    • 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
    • 1 can diced green chilies, drained
    • ½ tsp. cumin
    • Adobo or garlic salt
    • 6 flour tortillas, 8"
    • 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded
    • non-stick cooking spray
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Chop and sauté the onion and bell pepper in the vegetable oil.
    • Combine soup, chicken broth, and sour cream. Set aside ½ of this mixture for the sauce if you like to add sauce on top; if not keep all of it together for filling.
    • To the remaining mixture add chicken, sautéed onion and pepper, chilies, Rotel, and spices to taste. Add half of the cheese.
    • Place ½ cup of chicken mixture onto each tortilla, roll up, and place the tortillas seam side down in a 9x12 pan.
    • If you reserved half the sauce, pour it over enchiladas now.
    • Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas.
    • Cook at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until bubbly.

    Notes

    You can make these enchiladas two ways: smothered in white creamy sauce reserved from the filling or use all of the filling mixture inside the enchiladas with no sauce on top.
    Although this recipe instructs you to sauté the peppers and onions, if you are using the Secrets of a Busy Cook, you will have prepared onions, peppers, and chicken in your freezer to use in this recipe. The principle of preparing frequently used ingredients in bulk saves lots of time in the evening, but doesn't add much time on the front end. When you are cooking onions for a meal, cook up a whole bag instead of just one, then freeze the rest. If you do this often with common ingredients, your time in the kitchen will be much more efficient.

    Nutrition per serving

    Calories: 432 calCarbohydrates: 20 gProtein: 24 gFat: 28 gSodium: 560 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 4 g
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    🥗 Side dishes

    I like to serve these enchiladas with refried beans (topped with red enchilada sauce and shredded cheese like they do at Taco Bell) and a salad or slow-simmered green beans.

    📌 Pin this recipe

    Composite image with ingredients for chicken enchiladas (shredded cheese, tortillas, cumin, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, garlic salt, cooked chicken, cooked peppers and onions, and rotel) in top image and prepared enchiladas in bottom image with text creamy chicken enchiladas

    Composite image with ingredients for chicken enchiladas (shredded cheese, tortillas, cumin, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, garlic salt, cooked chicken, cooked peppers and onions, and rotel) in top image and prepared enchiladas in bottom image with text creamy chicken enchiladas
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    More Chicken Recipes

    • Honey Mustard Chicken (30 Minute Recipe)
    • Crockpot Chicken with Stuffing
    • Shortcut Chicken Fettuccine Casserole
    • Savory Chicken and Mushroom Bake

    Posted by Mary Ann on December 3, 2010; Updated on November 12, 2020Filed Under: Chicken Recipes, Recipes Using Cooked Chicken, Recipes Using Leftover Roast Chicken

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Joan G.

      February 15, 2019 at 8:21 am

      I really liked this recipe as did my daughter. I will make again.

      Reply
      • Mary Ann

        February 15, 2019 at 8:29 am

        I'm so glad you liked it. This is one of my top 5 favorite recipes, and it's so easy to put together if you do the bulk cooking of ingredients so that all you have to do is put everything in a bowl and mix instead of sautéing it all that night. Thanks for the feedback!

        Reply
    2. Mary Ann

      January 25, 2011 at 2:55 pm

      That would be easy, Angela. I've actually put the filling with rice as well.

      Reply
    3. Angela W

      January 25, 2011 at 2:04 pm

      You know what would make this recipe even simpler? Instead of putting the filling inside the tortillas and rolling it up. Just layer it! I do this all the time when I make enchiladas. Still delicious, still serve-able, but a lot less headache getting all the stuff inside.

      Reply

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