Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole has every flavor you want in a Mexican chicken dinner. It is a cheesy, creamy, layered casserole, and you get the taste of enchiladas without messing with rolling tortillas!

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love This Recipe
• Ingredient and Substitution Info
• How to Make Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole
• What to Serve with Enchilada Casserole
• Storage
• Recommended Dinner Recipes
• Recipe
• Reviews

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Crowd-Pleaser: This recipe makes 8 large portions, so it is great for a larger crowd. It's also easy to make a double batch if you need to feed even more people! Just bake them in two casserole dishes. Plus, it has the creamy Mexican food flavors that everyone loves.
• Quick and Easy: It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and assemble this casserole, then it goes into the oven to bake. You don't have any time-consuming tortilla rolling as you would with a traditional enchilada, so it comes together so fast!
• Make-Ahead: You can prep everything ahead of time and then keep it in the refrigerator for up to two days. This is great for busy nights because all of the prep is done, and you can just put it in the oven to heat!
• Great for Leftovers: It reheats wonderfully, making great leftovers for lunches during a busy week.

This creamy chicken enchilada casserole is a family favorite and a great weeknight recipe! For rolled enchiladas, try this Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada recipe!

Ingredient and Substitution Info

Looking for the full recipe? The recipe card at the bottom of this post includes the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions.

Chicken—You can use rotisserie chicken or poached chicken breasts for this recipe. This is a great way to use leftover chicken. Diced chicken can also be used if you prefer.

Jalapeños—Mild heat comes from jalapenos with just a little bit of pickled jalapeno juice. You can also use a 4-ounce can of diced green chiles in place of the jalapenos.

Sour cream—Full-fat or light sour cream will work. You can also substitute plain Greek yogurt. If you use a lower-fat option, your sauce won't be quite as creamy, but it is still delicious!

Cheese—This recipe uses a blend of Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese, which is commonly used in Tex-Mex recipes. You could also use Pepper Jack cheese if you want additional heat. Shred your own cheese for the best melt, as pre-shredded cheese has a drying agent that prevents it from melting well.

Tortillas - Corn or flour tortillas may be used.

How to Make Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole

Make the Sour Cream Sauce

It's great that the hardest part of this recipe takes just 5 minutes and is actually super simple! This sauce is so good that I made a whole post about it! Check out this amazing Sour Cream Sauce recipe!

1. Melt the butter then stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, until it turns from clumpy to smooth.
2. Add the minced garlic and stir in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Once the sauce has thickened, remove it from heat and stir in the sour cream, jalapenos, cumin, salt, and pepper.
4. It's ready to use!

Assemble the Enchilada Stack

1. Spray your 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray, then place 6 tortillas in the bottom of the baking dish. It's okay for them to overlap some.
2. Cover the tortillas with half of the chicken.
3. Pour half of the sour cream enchilada sauce over the chicken.
4. Sprinkle half of the Monterey Jack cheese over the sauce. Then, repeat the layers with tortillas, the rest of the chicken, and all of the sour cream mixture.

Bake the Casserole

• Top with the rest of the Monterey Jack cheese and the Cheddar cheese. Then, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted.

What to Serve with Enchilada Casserole

Before serving, sprinkle diced green onions, black olives, a squeeze of lime juice, diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, or cilantro on top of the casserole.

• Mexican Rice - A side of Mexican rice complements all the creamy flavors in this delicious recipe.
• Tortilla Chips and Salsa - You can make a quick salsa in the blender while your layered Chicken Enchilada Bake is in the oven.
• Refried Pinto or Black Beans - Heat up a can of your favorite Mexican beans to serve with your meal.
• Salad - Light and fresh sides are always a great way to complement a heavier cream-based dinner.
• Margaritas - Any Tex-Mex dinner is even better when paired with a Texas Cocktail! The Texas margarita and Texas ranch water are two of my favorites!

Storage

Leftover enchiladas should be stored tightly covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil or in an airtight container. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or place them in an oven-safe dish and wrap them tightly with foil. Reheat at 350°F (177°C) until heated through. The amount of time it needs to be heated will depend on the quantity of what you are heating.

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