Easy sour cream chicken enchiladas are filled with tender chicken and cheese, then covered with a simple homemade sour cream sauce, more cheese, and baked until golden.
A scalable recipe—make the full 8-serving recipe for the family or a smaller half recipe, perfect for two with leftovers.
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Featured Comment by Judy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"It's awesome. Fairly quick and easy and tastes great! Where's the margaritas??"
🤔 TL;DR — Recipe Summary
What: An easy sour cream chicken enchiladas recipe with chicken and cheese, topped with homemade sour cream sauce and more cheese.
Why: A simple, scalable recipe—make a full batch or a half batch for two with leftovers.
How: Cook the chicken and onion, roll with cheese in tortillas, cover with sour cream sauce, and bake about 20 minutes.
🐓 Ingredients
- Chicken — breast meat, diced or shredded; rotisserie works too.
- Tortillas — flour, 8-inch size rolls best.
- Cheese — Monterey Jack for smooth melt; Pepper Jack for spice.
- Sour Cream — adds the signature creamy flavor to the sauce.
- Onion — diced and cooked with the chicken.
- Green Chiles — canned, mild or hot, stirred into the sauce.
- Pantry Staples — butter, flour, chicken broth, oil, salt, pepper.
👨🍳 Quick Overview: How to Make Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
1. Dice the chicken and onion, then sauté until the chicken is cooked through.
2. Add chicken and cheese to the tortillas, roll tightly, and place seam-side down in a greased baking dish.
3. Make a roux with butter and flour, whisk in broth, and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and green chiles.
4. Pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas and top with more cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 400°F (or 375°F convection) until golden, bubbly, and 165°F inside.
👇 Scroll down for the printable recipe card and complete step-by-step photo instructions—or keep reading for tips and serving ideas.
💡 Tips & Variations
- Cheese swap — Pepper Jack adds a little spice.
- Spice boost — add some cumin, chili powder, or extra green chiles to the sour cream sauce for a deeper, Tex-Mex flavor.
- Tortillas — flour holds up best, but corn works if briefly fried to prevent soggy rolls.
- Precooked chicken — Rotisserie or leftover chicken may be used. Shred the meat, then sauté the onion until it starts to clear. Add the chicken just long enough to warm through before rolling. About 1 pound of raw chicken equals roughly 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken.
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↕️ Scaling the Recipe Size
This recipe makes 8 servings in a 9×13 baking dish. For a smaller meal, make a half recipe in an 8×8 dish for 4 servings—perfect for two with leftovers.
- Half recipe: Use half of all ingredients. Bake at the same temperature, but check a few minutes early.
- Scaling the ingredients: In the recipe card, change the number of servings. Use the amounts in the ingredient list; the instructions do not adjust.
🍽️ Serving
Serve sour cream chicken enchiladas with guacamole and toppings like chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, or salsa. For a larger meal, add Mexican rice or refried beans.
❄️ Make Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead: Roll the enchiladas and refrigerate covered. Make the sauce separately and refrigerate, then warm it before assembling and baking.
- Refrigerate: Store cooked leftovers covered for 2–3 days.
- Freeze: Freeze cooked or uncooked enchiladas, tightly wrapped, for 3–4 months.
❓ FAQs
Yes, but full-fat sour cream and cheese give the creamiest texture and best flavor.
Tortillas absorb sauce as they bake. Warm them before rolling, or briefly fry them in a lightly oiled skillet to help prevent soggy enchiladas.
Some recipes use canned soup, but this recipe uses a simple homemade sour cream sauce instead.
📖 More Mexican Chicken Recipes
📖The Recipe Card
Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1½ lb chicken breast - diced or shredded
- 1 onion - medium
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 flour tortillas - 8 inch each
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese - shredded
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 can 15 oz. chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 ounce chopped green chilis
- salt and pepper to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (375° convection).
- Trim and dice about 1½ pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breast into pieces about ½ inch or smaller. Dice one medium onion.
- Add one tablespoon oil to a large frypan over medium-high heat, and when hot, add chicken and onion together. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Microwave 8 tortillas for 15–20 seconds to soften. Add about ¼ cup chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in the baking dish.
- Roll the short end over the filling tightly. Place them seam-side down in the baking pan. Repeat until done.
- Melt ¼ cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in ¼ cup flour and cook for a few minutes. Add 15 ounces chicken broth, whisking continuously until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup sour cream and 4 ounces chopped green chiles.
- Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Check that the center reaches 165°F; if needed, cover with foil and continue baking until it does.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
Use 1–2 pounds of diced or shredded chicken; 1½ pounds is preferred. Precooked or rotisserie chicken also works. The tortillas will be much more flexible if warmed slightly in the microwave. The base recipe is mild, so feel free to spice it up — see post for options. I like the Monterey Jack cheese here, but use what you want. After cooking, store refrigerated for 2–3 days or frozen for 3–4 months. Can be frozen uncooked for 3–4 months. To refrigerate uncooked, assemble the enchiladas but add the sauce and cheese just before cooking. See the full post for detailed tips, photos, and scaling options.Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Based on a Food.com Simple Sour Cream Enchiladas recipe.
Originally published April 6, 2014. Updated for more options and clarifications.
Charlene says
Oh my, these sound so good! To bad it is midnight now, otherwise we would be eating them for dinner! Maybe tomorrow…….. Thank you so much for all the great recipes you share!
Sue says
have made this substituting plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream - was absolutely delicious.
My husband loves it.
DrDan says
Hi Sue,
Welcome to the blog.
I never thought about using yogurt here but it is a common substitute for sour cream.
Glad it worked well for you.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Rebecca says
I made this recipe for the first time about a year ago. It was such a big hit that we have it at least once a week! I have made it for many friends and family and it is always the talk of the dinner! I follow your recipe exactly and I wouldn’t change a thing! I’ve used both rotisserie chicken as well as cooked my own chicken breasts and shredded them. It tastes amazing either way!!! Thank you so very much for this recipe!! My hat goes off to you!!!
DrDan says
Hi Rebecca,
This is still one of my favorites.
Glad it works so well for you
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Alice Keister says
Used to buy this type enchiladas at El Chico in Nashville, but it went out of business. I was crying! But then I found your recipe and cooked it tonight. I topped it with lots of jalapenos, and it was fabulous! Thank you for saving me! ;-)
Jill M says
Hi Dan: Made this tonight and it turned out really good. This is the first time that I made enchiladas that did not fall apart. Very Tasty. The only problem that I had was that the bottoms got a little overdone, and I apparently rolled them a little too tight and some of the tortillas were a little doughy and not completely done. We have 4 left and I want to have them again tomorrow night with the yellow rice that I prepared and wondered it I should put them back in the oven and cook them a little longer. If so, how? Thanks. Love the dogs.
JoAnne S. says
I love this recipe my difference was in that I cooked the chicken in my slow cooker with a bit of broth seasoned with habanero lime, chili powder and red pepper. After it's done (about 3 hours on high) I took it out but left the juice, shredded the chicken and put it back in with some diced onion and green chili. I served it with homemade black bean and corn salad.
DrDan says
Hi JoAnne,
It sounds great. Thanks for the note.
Dan
Pam S says
I made this today to take to a neighbor with a broken foot. Currently in the oven so I haven't tasted it yet, but it smells amazing! I cooked 4 chicken breasts in the crock pot with a can of green chili enchilada sauce, then used my mixer th quickly shred the chicken, then poured some of the broth it cooked in to keep the chicken nice and moist. I had enough to make at least 2 dozen enchiladas (using the small size of flour tortillas -- about 6 inch diameter, I think), so I doubled the sauce and actually had a lot of sauce left over, so that is going in the freezer along with some left over chicken so I can quickly and easily put this together again another night. Thanks for a great recipe!
Shantell says
I made this receipe and it was hella good I use green bell peppers instead of onions and plus the butter for the sauce I use 2 sticks and a half of stick and two cans of green chilies and it was awesome and I season my chicken with season salt, onion powder and pepper and let my chicken marinated in the ice box for an hour.
matt says
It came out flippin awesome though i did not add onions i added shiitaki mushrooms minced up and i also added oregano inside the tortilla along with salt n pepper see i have a granny who has dementia n oregano helps protect the brain along with the pepper on the side i had mexican rice along with black neans .. the beans also add protection to the brain... now the kicker here os what i added to the beans ... added a dash of tumeric curcumin along woth black pepper... combo is known as a superfood because it increases the bioavailability by 2000x meaning the nutrients from the whole meal is increased by 2000x surpassing the blood n brain barrier kiling off the plaques n bad pritiens caught up in the brain causing alzheimers -dementia... i also added chili powder which habe its health benefits all by itaelf though in the sauce i did add minced jalapenos... the enchiladas came out to be the best fudgin dam enchiladas i had... see i study herbology.... toxicology human anatomy bio chemistry spiritual advancement and bio chemistry i know eating food versus eating a pill is a major difference n what im doing here is fightibg her memory problems aka alzheimers n dimentia ... thankyou for this recipee though i had no microwave it still came out great honestly think it came out better not even throwin it in the microwave i just straight u threw it in the oven at 250 for about 5-7 mins then i cranked it up to 500 took awhile to get their but once it did check up on it every 5-7 mins first 7 mins check up every 5... youl know when its right cause itl look right -_0 anyrate thats all you guys have a good one ty for recipe :) ttyl
Linda Certuche says
I made this for supper. I did substitute boneless, skinless thighs for breast and my own home-canned chicken broth. I also used sharp cheddar. I think this is a good start but next time I will add more chilies. We found it a little bland. I think next time I will chop the chicken more and add a little of the sauce to the filling. We definitely will have this again but I will tinker with it a little. We all enjoyed this dish. I served refried beans with it. My husband says "Make it again, just add more chilies." I think jalapenos would have been a good addition. I especially like that it wasn't made with canned soups which have too much salt.
Bernie says
Can this be made ahead of time? Does it re-heat well without separating?
Lorane says
This is the absolute best sour cream chicken enchiladas recipe I have tried. Followed the recipe almost to the letter but added sharp cheese as well sharp is a favorite here in our household. Turned out perfect! Thanks
Hanna E Pate says
So delicious! I'll have thirds!
Shanna Casey says
This was good I think I would add a bit more broth to make it a little thinner but good
Barbara H says
This is an excellent recipe! I stumbled on your website and just love the concept! I made this last night - trying to do some different, quick after work meals... my husband was surprised how good it was and gave it a 5. I cut back on the butter to 2 tablespoons and used light sour cream, and added black beans to the chicken. Will make this again. Thanks for your good work here!!
Laura R says
I made this and it turned out great! I have celiac so used white corn tortillas, brown rice flour, and a GF brand of chicken broth to make it safely gluten free. I also used 1 lb chicken and a can of black beans on the inside so it would appeal to my husband more. So Yummy! When I make big casseroles like this, I make an 8x8 pan that day, and freeze half in a foil pan for another time. I accidentally bought light sour cream (half fat) and it still turned out good.
DrDan says
Thanks for the gluten free instructions. I do love a good casserole.
Thanks for the note and the rating
DrDan
Pam says
Woo hoo! It definitely looks delicious and rich with all the cheese, butter and sour cream. Yum!!!
DrDan says
It is a tad unhealthy but my wife calls "5" so I will see it repeatedly
Thanks for the note
Dan