Creamy sour cream chicken enchiladas baked with tender chicken, melted cheese, and a quick homemade sour cream enchilada sauce. Comfort food that’s easy enough for a weeknight.
This from-scratch recipe makes a cheesy baked casserole with options for a full pan or half size. No shortcuts needed—just real ingredients, quick prep, and a bubbling, golden finish.
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Featured Comment by Judy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"It's awesome. Fairly quick and easy and tastes great! Where's the margaritas??"
🤔 TL;DR (Quick Answer Box)
What it is: Cheesy sour cream chicken enchiladas baked with tender chicken and a quick homemade sour cream enchilada sauce.
Why you’ll love it: Creamy, from-scratch comfort food that’s weeknight easy and freezer-friendly.
How to make it: Cook chicken and onion, roll in tortillas with cheese, cover in sour cream sauce, and bake about 20 minutes.
Jump to the Recipe Card or keep reading for details and options.
🐓 Ingredients
- Chicken — breast meat, diced or shredded; rotisserie works too.
- Sour Cream — the creamy base for the sauce.
- Onion — diced and cooked with the chicken.
- Tortillas — flour, 8-inch size rolls best.
- Cheese — Monterey Jack for smooth melt; Pepper Jack for spice.
- 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. Cook chicken and onion — dice chicken and onion, then sauté over medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through.
2. Fill and roll tortillas — add chicken and cheese, roll tightly, and place seam-side down in a greased baking dish.
3. Start the sauce — make a roux with butter and flour, whisk in broth, and cook until thickened.
4. Finish the sauce — remove from heat, stir in sour cream and green chiles.
5. Assemble — pour sauce over rolled tortillas and top with more cheese.
6. Bake — cook for 20 minutes at 375°F (or 400°F conventional) 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.
- Make ahead — assemble and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking, or freeze for later.
Add a pinch of cumin to the sour cream sauce for a deeper, Tex-Mex flavor.
🍗 Rotisserie or Precooked Chicken
Rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut. Shred the meat and use it in place of the freshly cooked chicken. Sauté the onion until it starts to clear, then add the chicken just long enough to warm through before rolling.
As a guide: about 1 pound of raw chicken equals roughly 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken. Leftover roasted or grilled chicken works the same way.
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↕️ Full or Half Size Options
This recipe makes a full 9×13 pan for 8 servings. You can also make a half batch in an 8×8 pan for 4 servings.
- Half size — use half the ingredients. Bake at the same temperature, but it may finish a few minutes faster. Check for bubbling edges and a 165°F center.
- Full size — as written, bakes in about 20 minutes at 375°F convection (or 400°F conventional).
👉 Both versions freeze well — bake the half pan for weeknight meals or the full pan for leftovers.
❓ FAQs
You can, but it changes the taste and texture. Full-fat gives the creamiest results.
Yes. Swap some Monterey Jack for Pepper Jack, add more green chiles, or season the chicken with cumin and chili powder.
With a simple roux of butter and flour, whisked with broth until smooth. Then stir in sour cream and green chiles.
Tortillas can soak up sauce. Warm them before rolling, or give them a quick fry in a lightly oiled skillet to create a barrier.
Some recipes use canned soup, but this version is made from scratch with a quick homemade sour cream enchilada sauce. It’s just as easy and tastes fresher.
🍽️ Serving
Serve sour cream chicken enchiladas with guacamole. Add fresh toppings like chopped lettuce and diced tomatoes for color and crunch.
Round out the meal with sides of Mexican rice, refried beans, and a basket of chips with salsa.
❄️ Make Ahead and Storage
- Uncooked — Roll the enchiladas, cover tightly in the baking dish, and refrigerate. Make the sauce ahead and store it separately, then warm before adding to the casserole. Or make the sauce fresh right before assembling.
- Cooked — Cool completely before covering. Refrigerate for 2–3 days.
- Freezing — Freeze either uncooked or cooked enchiladas. Wrap well with plastic wrap and foil, and store for 3–4 months.
📖The Recipe Card
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (Easy & From Scratch)
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
- 15 ounce chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 ounce chopped green chilis
- salt and pepper to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional.
- 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 appears done—about 5 minutes.
- Spray a 9 by 13 baking dish with PAM. Heat 8 tortillas (8 inches) in a microwave for 15-20 seconds to soften. Assemble the enchiladas. Add about ¼ cup of chicken/onion (or more if you've increased the chicken) and about two tablespoons of shredded Monterey Jack cheese on a tortilla. Place filling slightly off-center, about at the ⅓ mark.
- Roll the short end over the filling tightly. Place them seam-side down in the baking pan. Repeat until done.
- In a medium saucepan, melt four tablespoons ( ½ stick) of butter over medium heat. When melted, add ¼ cup flour. Whisk together and cook for a few minutes.
- Add one can of chicken broth, whisk continuously until thickened, and then continue whisking for a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat and add 1 cup sour cream and 1 (4-ounce) can of chopped green chilis.
- Pour the sauce over the assembled enchiladas. Top with 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbling—about 20 minutes. Check internal temperature. If it’s not above 165°F, cover with foil and bake longer until it reaches 165°F.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- I suggest 1½ pounds of chicken. It could be as little as 1 pound or as much as 2 pounds. Diced or shredded. Get your chicken where you can. Cook as directed or use precooked, such as a rotisserie chicken.
- 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.
- Cook to a nice brown top, but also check the internal temperature to be sure the chicken has reached the safe 165° temperature. Cook longer, covered with foil if needed.
- 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, which is the same recipe that appears in many places.
Originally published April 6, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation. Instructions are also reworded to clarify points.
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