This Mexican inspired Chicken Enchilada Recipe is absolutely the BEST! Enchiladas are easier than you think – flour tortillas filled with chicken in the most delicious homemade enchilada sauce, loaded with cheese.
This is a great make-ahead meal and is especially good topped with Pico De Gallo!
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Chicken Enchilada Recipe:
Chicken Enchiladas are a classic Mexican dish. Not only are the enchiladas easy to make, but they are so filling and loved by kids and adults alike. Enchiladas are essentially tortillas filled with chicken and smothered in a creamy homemade enchilada sauce and cheese.
Just like our Mexican Pulled Pork Carnitas, this enchilada recipe is sure to become a new favorite.
Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing our EASY Chicken Enchiladas!
How to Make Chicken Enchiladas:
- Cook chicken – and shred chicken with two forks. Save time by using leftover cooked chicken (like our Instant Pot Whole Chicken) or even a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Prepare enchilada sauce – In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, add sour cream, enchilada sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, green chilis, and beat until combined.
- Prepare the filling – Divide this enchilada sauce mixture into two bowls, about ⅔ of the sauce mixture in bowl one and ⅓ of the mixture into a second bowl. Add the cooked chicken into the first bowl with 2 cups of shredded cheese.
- To Assemble Enchiladas – Take the cheesy chicken filling from bowl 1 and place it into the center of each tortilla.
- Arrange Enchiladas – Tightly roll up the tortilla and place seam-side-down into a 9”x13” baking dish. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Pour the reserved ⅓ part enchilada sauce mixture over all of the tortillas and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese (you can add more cheese if you like a lot of cheese).
- Bake – Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and begins to turn a golden brown.
NOTE: Use your favorite cheese. Mexican, Four Cheese or Colby Jack will all work great in this recipe.
What to Serve with Chicken Enchiladas:
Though you can serve the enchiladas just as they come out of the oven, you can also add personalized toppings. Here are some of the most popular toppings to serve with enchiladas:
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Red onion
- Homemade Spicy Guacamole
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pico de Gallo
- Jalapenos, fresh or jarred
- Jalapeno Ranch
Can I Prepare Enchiladas in Advance?
Yes! These enchiladas are great to prepare in advance. Prepare the recipe per instructions (don’t bake), cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. NOTE: Since the ingredients will all be cold, add an additional 5 minutes baking time to the dish when covered with foil.
I hope these homemade enchiladas become a family favorite. We especially love that you can add the toppings buffet style and allow the family members to each add their favorite toppings.
More Crowd-Pleasing Dinner Ideas:
- Shrimp Tacos with the Best Shrimp Taco Sauce
- Philly Cheesesteak Quesadillas – everyone loves these
- Shrimp Fajitas – so simple and delicious
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken– Ready in just 15 minutes
- Chicken Lo Mein– So much better than takeout
The BEST Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas, 10-inch burrito size
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast or thighs
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 4.5 oz diced green chilis, with their juice
- 20 oz mild red enchilada sauce, (We used 2 - 10oz cans)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided (Mexican, Four Cheese or Colby Jack)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Shred pre-cooked chicken or cook your own: Add chicken to a saucepan, completely cover with water and season with 1 tsp salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken with two forks and set aside.
- Make the Enchilada Sauce Mix: In a bowl, beat the cream cheese. Add the sour cream, green chilis, enchiladas sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika; beat until combined.
- Divide the enchilada sauce mixture into two bowls, add 2/3 of the sauce into a large bowl. Set aside the remaining 1/3 of the sauce for the top.
- Add the shredded chicken with 2 cups cheese to the first bowl with 2/3 of the sauce. Mix with a spatula to combine.
- Generously add chicken filling to the center of each tortilla and roll up tortillas tightly. Arrange the tortillas in a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Pour the reserved 1/3 of sauce over the tortillas and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese (add more cheese if desired).
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 400˚F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
I’m a little bit confused by the three different bowls? Can you simplify what you are saying. I assume you are mixing the chicken, cheese and sour cream / cream cheese mixture all together? Why the three bowls??
Hi Elisa, we used two bowls for this recipe. The first bowl is where you will mix the cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, enchilada sauce, and spices. You will then divide that mixture into two bowls. 2/3 of the sauce stays in the large bowl and 1/3 of the sauce will be in the second bowl for that sauce that will top the enchiladas. I hope that helps!
Natasha, please help!
I still don’t understand three bowls. 2/3 of sauce mixed with chicken and other 1/3 of sauce to put on top. What do I do with all the remaining sauce that was in the original bowl before I separated the two bowls? I’m in the middle of making this and I’m extremely frustrated. Please help me understand this recipe so I can continue making dinner. I Would appreciate if one of the readers or the authors could get back to me as soon as possible. Much appreciated, Brenda
Hi Brenda, you should not have any sauce left. 2/3 of the sauce or 66% of the sauce went into the chicken and the remaining 1/3 of the sauce or 33% of the sauce is used for the topping. I hope that makes sense.
I was wondering if this could be made and frozen before baking. If yes, would you thaw and then bake or thaw and then bake. Thank you.
Hi, we have always enjoyed that fresh, but I imagine that may work. If you experiment, I would love to know how that goes.
I am going to make these tomorrow. do you really only use 3 ounces of cream cheese out of an 8 ounce package?
Hi Rebecca! That’s right! I hope you love this recipe!
Oh my gosh! It was fantastic! I made my own corn tortillas and used green enchilada sauce. The chicken enchiladas were served with cornbread with poblano chilies. My darling hubby said that I make that any time, so you know it’s been added to my meal rotation.
That is wonderful, Verna! I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
This recipe was fantastic, I just added a little more cream cheese and sour cream plus some jalapenos. I also used corn tortillas….. Yummy AND THANKS
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Thomas!
My Husband and I loved this! I didn’t change a thing, except we didn’t have green chilis. It’s a keeper and going into our rotation…thank you!!
You’re welcome, Linda. Good to know that you both loved it!
Hello! I mix everything together,
With 5 oz of enchilada sauce.Then place 1/2 of the remaining sauce on bottom & top. Sprinkle with cheese.
Yum
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Janette! I’m so glad you loved it!
I loved your crockpot chili and decided to try the enchiladas. It was very easy to make but I was disappointed with the finished product. It was just a big blob with little flavor. I followed the recipe exactly. What did I do wrong?
Hi Jean, it’s supposed to be tasty and not like that. I have never experienced that before, was there anything that was substituted or changed in the recipe? I recommend checking the whole process and list of ingredients again to see if something was not followed exactly.
Delicious! If you have pre-shredded chicken and store bought enchilada sauce, these could not be easier. I made my own easy enchilada sauce because I didnt want to go to the grocery store, and it still was pretty simple. I had the 6” tortillas, and it made 12 enchiladas. YUM!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing that with us, good to know that you enjoyed making this recipe.
My mexican husband makes fun of me because I’m a white girl who can make chicken enchiladas like I was born mexican. LOL-This is all because of THIS recipe! It’s such a hit with the family. Thanks for sharing. Also, is it really 345 calories for only ONE enchilada? That hurts my feelings. LOL
That’s awesome! I’m glad your husband loves this recipe too, thank you for sharing that with us. Yes, but it is so worth it lol.
This is a great recipe. I made it the other night and the family loved it. I mean they bragged about it. It’s actually very similar to a Mexican restaurant recipe I used to make as a kitchen manager during my college years. So simple to make, especially with a rotisserie chicken, and very tasty. A verde sauce version of this recipe would be interesting. Thanks for another keeper, Natasha!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, John! That’s the best when we find new keeper recipes!
Which is better to use, thighs or breasts? If you use thighs, how would cook them before you shred?
Breast is better but either of the two should be okay. Shred pre-cooked chicken or cook your own: Add chicken to a saucepan, completely cover with water and season with 1 tsp salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken with two forks and set aside.
This was delicious! I made two last night for dinner. One chicken and the other vegetarian with vegetarian chicken for my daughter. OMG! So good!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Elizabeth!
Everything about this recipe is great but I’ve always know enchiladas to be made with corn tortillas and burritos with flour tortillas. To me they are burritos.
I love your recipes! I live in New Mexico and enchiladas are never made with flour tortillas. Both here and in Mexico we only use corn tortillas for this dish. Flour tortillas are used for burritos and quesadillas and to accompany carne Adovada, jalapeño roll ups and soups. Thank you for your fun videos!
You’re welcome, glad you’re enjoying them!
This sounds delicious! My son is allergic to chicken (I know, weird!). Always looking for a recipe where I can swap the chicken for another protein.
Hello Joy, I haven’t tried this recipe with anything else other than chicken. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
Love your recipes….however wife allergic to sour cream and cream cheese..😥😥😥 what would work as a substitute in this recipe?
Thank you, Shawn, I think plain Greek yogurt works as a substitute for sour cream. But I haven’t personally tried it to advise.
I use plain Greek yogurt all the time instead of sour cream, no difference in taste.
Love your recipes, I have made quite a few over the years ,keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing that with us, John!
This recipe is amazing!!! I knew it would be because all of your recipes I try are easy to make and taste incredible. I doubled the recipe and put one tray in the freezer. Thank you Natasha!!!
You’re welcome, Sharon. So great to hear that you enjoyed it!
Can I make the filing ahead, roll it up and refrigerate, then top with extra sauce and cheese and put in oven tomorrow?
Hi Kelly, this is a great make-ahead meal and I think that will work.
I must be missing something. It says to divide the mixture into two bowls, to the bowl with 2/3 enchillada sauce, add chicken, etc. What is to be done with the 2nd bowl of mixture?
Never mind; the “jump to recipe” is different from the that at the beginning of the page. Thanks
I’m glad you found that, Gail! I hope you love this recipe!
Hi Gail, we have that listed in the recipe. See step #3. I hope that helps!
My adult kids were visiting and I served this on their last night. They both loved it as do my husband and I and I have just emailed the recipe to them. Definitely a favorite. THANK YOU. We love so many of your recipes, and you are my “go to.”
Hi Calore, I’m glad that your family members are enjoying my recipes. Hope you will love all the recipes that you will try.
How many cups of shredded chicken is 1-1/2 lbs?
Hi Dana, not sure about cups but in grams, it is 680.39 g
I use 2 very
large chicken breasts.
3 cups
Hello Natasha,really love your recipes.they’ve helped me become a really good cook.also kindly could I know if you giving out 2000$ or someone could possibly be scamming people using your pictures with a fake page.
Your response will be highly appreciated
Hi Jasmine, please report accounts like that on Facebook or Instagram. They are not real and they are definitely not me.