Recipe Background
Ultimate White Chicken Enchiladas: a comforting reunion dish with rich sauce.
The first time I made White Chicken Enchiladas, I was in the middle of an unexpected reunion with an old college friend. It was one of those impromptu, slightly chaotic dinner invites where I half-panicked at the thought of feeding someone else after so long. As luck would have it, a well-loved rotisserie chicken was sitting in my fridge, practically begging to be transformed. With a can of green chiles I always kept stashed away, inspiration struck. The combination was a bit serendipitous, pushing me to create something comforting and perhaps a touch nostalgic.
As I started to shred the chicken, I reminisced about those weekends of late-night taco runs, years ago. A sprinkle of black pepper brought memories floating back of the mild heat we’d brave together in those dishes. To make things a little more contemporary, I leaned into the richness of Monterey Jack cheese, letting it cascade over the chicken in thick layers. While whipping up a quick sauce, whisking briskly to ensure no lumps in that lovely flour and butter blend, I found peace. The key was patience, letting that sauce thicken just so before swirling in the tangy sour cream and those beloved green chiles.
I felt a small victory as those enchiladas emerged, perfectly golden. As they rested for a patience-testing five minutes, I took a moment to truly savor the aroma. My plain kitchen felt alive, alive with the laughter of old friends and the delightful meld of warm cheese and gentle spices. Sharing that meal, I realized food's true power—transcending time and rekindling connections long dormant.
Ingredients
For the enchiladas:
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded
For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (4-ounce) can green chiles drained
- 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese shredded
- 1 cup Monterey Jack or queso quesadilla blend cheese shredded
- fresh cilantro optional, to taste, torn, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, add the chicken, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper, the garlic, and the olive oil and stir to combine.
- Lay out the tortillas on a clean work surface.
- Divide the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each of the tortillas.
- Sprinkle 2 cups of the Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the chicken mixture on each of the tortillas.
- Tightly roll up each of the tortillas.
- Place the rolled up tortillas in the prepared baking dish, seam-side down.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the flour to the melted butter and cook, while whisking, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth to the flour mixture and cook, while whisking constantly, until a sauce begins to form that is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sour cream, the remaining salt, the black pepper, the green chiles, and the pepper jack cheese to the sauce mixture and stir to combine until the cheese is melted.
- Pour the sauce mixture over the enchiladas in the baking dish.
- Sprinkle the enchiladas with the remaining Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is fully melted and barely starting to brown, about 20 minutes.
- Serve hot garnished with the cilantro.
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