Enchiladas are a big favorite in our home. Every one of my kids love Family Favorite Enchiladas! Over the years I’ve made many different types of enchiladas, but this one is always, always, always our favorite.
What makes a great family-friendly enchilada recipe? For most cooks, the recipe has to be: easy to make and popular with the family. The white enchilada sauce in this recipe is so creamy and cheesy the kids won’t notice the onions and green chiles! You can leave the onion and chiles out, but the flavor won’t be quite the same. This recipe is perfect for taking to new neighbors, families with newborn babies or any type of gathering. When we get together with Grant’s family, this is the most often requested birthday dinner menu! We usually serve it with Tomato and Red Pepper Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice, Black Beans, and our new favorite Mexican Street Corn Salad. The dinner isn’t complete without a healthy serving of homemade Guac and Sheri’s Salsa. I’m craving this meal as I write this post!
I inherited this recipe from my dear friend Tessa. She gave me her recipe for chicken enchiladas and it’s been our family “go-to” recipe since.
I’ve made these for everything from Sunday dinners to team dinners. One of those tried and true, never disappoint recipes. The secret ingredient in our Family Favorite Enchiladas? Coriander. It gives the sauce a distinct, but subtle flavor. The sauce is made with sour cream, lots of cheese, sautéed green chiles and chicken broth. If you love white sauce on your enchiladas, you’ll love our Family Favorite Enchiladas.
This is a recipe that’s sure to become your family favorite too! I usually make a double batch and freeze a pan for sharing or a busy night!
Family Favorite Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas regular, not burrito size* at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 cup chopped onion I like sweet onions such as Walla Walla or Vidalia
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 8 oz sour cream regular or low or non fat
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1-4 oz can chopped green chilies not drained
- 3-4 cups grated colby-jack cheese divided
- 3 cups cooked chopped chicken see recipe notes
- olives mushrooms, tomatoes, green onion optional, for topping enchiladas
Instructions
Prepare Sauce:
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Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Place onion and coriander to melted butter and cook for about 5 minutes or until onions are softened. Lower heat to medium and add minced garlic. Cook for an additional minute until fragrant. Be careful to not burn garlic. Add pepper.
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Stir flour into sour cream and add to onion mixture in pan. Stir in broth and green chilies and continue to cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of grated cheese.
Filling and Assembly:
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Put about 1/2 cup of sauce into a 9×13 greased pan, using a spatula spread sauce over bottom of pan.
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Stir 1/2 cup of sauce into chopped chicken in bowl. Place about 1/4-1/3 cup filling onto each tortilla and spread filling to cover length of tortilla, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of grated cheese. Roll up tortilla and place in prepared dish, seam side down. After all tortillas are filled and rolled, top with remaining sauce. Cover pan with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
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Remove pan from oven. Remove foil and top with remaining grated cheese.
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Bake for about 5-10 additional minutes, or until heated through.
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Let sit for 10 minutes before serving to allow cheese and sauce to set up.
Recipe Notes
- Do not purchase no-fat tortillas. They don’t roll well and will break apart in assembly. It is best to have tortillas at room temperature for easiest assembly.
- I have made this recipe using non-fat and low-fat sour cream with great results.
- To cook chicken: I usually prepare the chicken the day before. I place seasoned (salt and pepper) chicken breasts in a crock pot on low for 4 hours. Pour a bottle of green chili salsa (about 8-10 oz) over the chicken before cooking. When I make the sauce for the enchiladas above, I use the juice from the cooked chicken breasts instead of the chicken broth called for in the recipe.
- I also love the method in ABK’s How to Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot recipe.
- If you are in a big hurry, one Rotisserie chicken, chopped works well, or Costco sells chicken, cooked and chopped in their refrigerated section.
- If you double this recipe, it fits into a jelly roll pan.
- This recipe also freezes well. Make up to the point of baking. Freeze, covered tightly with foil. When ready to bake, do not thaw, bake at 325 for about 1 hour 15 minutes, covered in foil. Proceed with last step of removing foil and covering in additional cheese, bake for 5-10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
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Made this for my family of 7, doubled it of course, but it was a hit! Super yummy! Tip: I used the ready made hot whole chickens from the store which saved time and kept hungry hubby and 1 teenager busy while I prepared other ingredients.
chicken enchiladas, made by a mormon mama, with no condensed soup…yippee!! we didn't have green chilis on hand (sacrilege, i know), so i used my father in law's salsa (well he made it, and gave it to us that is…don't want you to think i was out of green chilis AND salsa…how sad:( ) and with stars aligned and fingers crossed, it still tasted really great. thanks for sharing and getting me out of the "chicken enchiladas made with a can of hoo-ha" rut i was in.
LINDSAY KJAR You are one hilariously funny writer! That comment had me laughing and is now officially one of the BEST comments around. (Seriously, though…NO GREEN CHILIES?) 😄
Lindsay, you’re so funny you should start your own blog if you don’t have one already!
I loved this recipe and loved your comment!
Soooo excited to see this recipe! I made this prob 20+ yrs ago and I’ve never forgotten this recipe or how delicious it is and different thanks to the coriander! It was out of my bhg cookbook and it has always been my favorite with the white sauce! This recipe hooked me on ground coriander. Thx so much for posting!!, I’ll be making this again soon !
Lori,
It’s an oldie but a good one! Im making this tomorrow for my son’s birthday. This is one of my most requested recipes from our kids!
Have a great day,
xo
Si
I made this for my husband and I. It was so yummy!! I was missing tortillas so I made some from scratch, I added Sriracha hot chili sauce over the enchiladas totally made them awesome!! I haven’t eaten anything that tasted so good to me in a long time!
Patty,
I’m so glad you loved this recipe – with homemade tortillas! YUM. One of our favorite recipes.
Thanks for reading ABK!
xo,
Si
Where do you buy your green chili salsa? We can’t find it anywhere in our stores.
Brittany,
Look in the Mexican Foods section of your local grocery store – Walmart, Smiths Harmons all have it here. Green Chili Salsa is also known as Salsa Verde. I also found it on Amazon.
I hope you enjoy that recipe. Thanks for reading ABK.
xo,
Si
Si,
Do you have a favorite brand of green chili salsa?
Thanks,
Karen
Karen,
I’ve tried several different brands. Some I like more than others. Oddly, I have found the salsa’s sold in a glass jar seem to better quality than salsa sold in cans!
Thanks for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Target also carries it.
I like the Herdez roasted salsa verde, in a glass jar! At all supermarkets…..
Hello Si, Have you tried this with corn tortillas? Do you think it would work well?
Hi Pat,
I haven’t tried this with corn tortillas, but im sure it would work. Just make sure to grill the tortillas ahead of time on a griddle with a title oil and don’t make them ahead of time. Corn tortillas tend to get soft when left to sit in sauce. Thanks for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Yes, it’s fantastic with corn tortillas, the only way chicken enchiladas are made in Texas, at least by Mexican Grandmas or restaurants.
Our salsa verde here is made with tomatillos and green chilies, but check your label. Tomatillos are easy to grow, or purchase fresh @Walmart and make your own. I’m now buying FROZEN, roasted, chopped, green chilies @ Walmart, delish, although not as good as roasting your own over charcoal, a major pain IMO. If you need to buy salsa verde, Herdez is an excellent brand, committed to fresh ingredients and authentic Mexican cuisine.
Be sure to follow Si’s instructions on heating the corn tortillas so they don’t break when you roll them. Here, cooks often dip them in boiling enchilada sauce, so they have less fat, but it’s very messy and a little tricky, so IMO, follow Si. I roll my chicken mixed with Colby-jack, top with the green enchilada sauce, then more cheese, and bake till bubbly. Top with a dollop of sour cream & green salsa on the side with chopped fresh cilantro, divine. Don’t waste a drop sauce or filling, even if you need an extra pan. They are too yummy, freeze well, and everyone loves them.
Now to the flour tortilla recipe. We can easily buy fresh flour tortillas here, so I can’t wait to try them in Si’s recipe. Although I’m not a big fan of coriander seed, cumin, cominos or whatever they call it in your city, I am however, a huge fan of fresh cilantro, all from the same plant. However, there are so many rave reviews, I’ll keep an open mind and follow Si’s recipe to a T. I’m so excited that this recipe has a sour cream sauce, whoa, I cannot wait. That’s a trick of the very best Mexican cooks! I’ll keep you posted on the cumin… or coriander, or whatever, lol. 🙃 Thank you!
This recipe was fantastic! Usually making a recipe for the first time you need make notes on what to do next time but this recipe nails it! Such good enchiladas, the whole pan was gone at the end of the night!
Thanks Stephanie! So glad you loved this recipe. It’s been a favorite in our home for years.
Thanks for reading ABK,
xo
Si
So delicious! My entire family loved these and I loved making some chicken enchiladas without canned cream of chicken soup! I fell in love with coriander in a spice rub and when I saw it in these…I knew it would be delicious! So yummy!!
Thanks Bethany! We agree, homemade is so much better than a can. And the coriander is definitely what sets this recipe apart. Such a small addition but big flavor change. Thanks for reading Abk,
xo
Si
I’m excited to make this dish tomorrow. Can you tell me what is Sheri’s salsa?
Hi Megan, here is the link to Sheri’s Simple Salsa: https://abountifulkitchen.com/sheris-super-simple-salsa/, thanks for reading ABK!
xo
Si
Wonderful recipe! Thank you! My mother-in-law is a fabulous cook. Whenever she comes to dinner, I make something from your website and she always raves about it, and she always goes home with the recipe. I also made your cilantro lime rice to go with the enchiladas and she took seconds! Thank you so much for the rave reviews I get by making your recipes. But, of course, I always let them know it’s your recipe and I refer them to your website. Thank you so much for making my life easier and more delicious! 😊
You’re very welcome, Nancy, and thank you so much for reading ABK! There’s nothing better than making homemade food for your loved ones.
xo
Si
Let me first say that I am not a cook. However, that being said, these enchiladas made me look like a rock star! I made them for our family Sunday dinner that included 7 adults and 2 littles. EVERYONE loved it! It was amazing! I left out the onion and added onion powder. It was divine! Thank you for making me look good! My family thinks I can cook!
These are now my Families Favorite Enchiladas! I have made these multiple times and they always turn out beautifully! I make them for luncheons or dinners and they are always a hit!
We love enchiladas at our house and this one did not disappoint! No leftovers here! Thanks for sharing!
A new family favorite! So easy to double and make for a large crowd! We prefer this recipe to one we have used for years!
I’ve made these several times and love them. They’re my new go to enchilada recipe.
Every time I make these I have to stop my husband from eating the entire pan. He says without fail, “Is this a new recipe? These are AMAZING!” We are a big fan of the coriander and that there’s no cream of anything soup in the base. Delicious, delicious.
INCREDIBLE!! Hats off to Si @abountifulkitchen. You make this cooking/ baking thing easy for a beginner. Can’t wait to try more recipes ❤️
Thank you Elizabeth!
xo
Si
Your recipes never disappoint! My adult kids love it when I make your recipes! This was delicious, especially with the corn salad. YUM YUM!
I love this recipe and as empty nesters, I cook up 5 or 6 big chicken breasts (with 16 oz green chili salsa) in the crock pot as the recipe says. This makes a nice large batch and I double the recipe for all ingredients. I cook up raw tortillas from Costco and put 4 finished enchiladas in a pan for dinner that night. Then, I get several 9×9 pans (glass or store bought tinfoil) and put 4 to 6 more in those. I cover tightly with foil and freeze. These can be taken to neighbors when needed or as a quick dinner later in the month. Perfect!
Delicious! My family really loved the creamy white sauce. Next time I’ll double the recipe and freeze one for another day. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Camille,
Doubling this recipe is ALWAYS a great idea! Thank you for your positive comments and thank you for reading ABK.
xo,
Si
Love all your recipes!!!!! Quick question…I made this tonite and it was sooo good. However, the sauce was watery once I took the enchiladas out. I’m guessing it’s because I didn’t allow the sauce to thicken enough. The sauce was bubbling but I was worried about the sour cream separating or something. How long do you typically cook the sauce and what consistency should I be looking for. Again, it’s so tasty, I just want ti make sure I get that creamier consistency, thanks for your time!
Hi Sarah,
The sauce does need to thicken, and it is essential that the sour cream and flour be added to thicken the sauce. It sounds odd, but it works! You may also add the flour to the butter and green chile mixture instead and let it as directed, then stir in the sour cream at the end. I’ve been making this for years and the sauce is sometimes thicker or thinner, but never runny. Just make sure to take the time to allow the sauce to thicken before proceeding with assembly!
XO
Si