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 having to mess with rolling up tortillas!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Crowd-Pleaser: This recipe makes 8 large portions so it is a great recipe to prepare when you have 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 it up!
- Great for Leftovers: It reheats wonderfully so it makes 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, give this Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada recipe a try!
Ingredients
Chicken - You can use rotisserie chicken or poach 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 can be used. 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. Cheddar-Jack 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.
Instructions
Make the Sour Cream Sauce
It's pretty 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 for it! Check out this amazing Sour Cream Sauce recipe!
- Melt the butter then stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, until it turns from clumpy to smooth.
- Add the minced garlic and stir in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Once the sauce has thickened, remove it from heat and stir in the sour cream, jalapenos, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- It's ready to use!
Assemble the Enchilada Stack
- 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.
- Cover the tortillas with half of the chicken.
- Pour half of the sour cream enchilada sauce over the chicken.
- 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 an additional 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
Serving Suggestions
Sprinkle diced green onions, black olives, a squeeze of lime juice, diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, or cilantro on top of the casserole before serving.
- 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 - Make 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 made even better when paired with a margarita! The Texas margarita and hot honey margarita are two of my favorites!
Recipe FAQs
Store your leftover enchiladas covered tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or in an airtight container. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can reheat the leftovers in the microwave, or place in an oven-safe dish and wrap them tightly with foil. Reheat at 350°F (177°C) until it is heated through. The amount of time it needs to be heated will depend on the quantity of what you are heating.
While the sour cream sauce is my favorite part, and really makes the recipe, you can use cream of chicken soup if you prefer. Just skip the butter, flour, broth, and sour cream, and stir the jalapenos and cumin into 2 cans of condensed soup.
You can add more heat with an additional jalapeno pepper (include the seeds to add the most spice), some hot green chilies, 1-2 teaspoons of hot sauce, 1-2 teaspoons of chili powder, or ⅛-1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Check out the web story for this enchilada recipe!
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Recipe
Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole
Recipe by:Ingredients
Sour Cream Sauce
- ¼ cup butter 28 grams
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour 32 grams
- 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon (Sub ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 2 cups chicken broth 473 ml
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapenos
- 1 teaspoon pickled jalapeno juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Enchilada Casserole
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- 12 6-inch flour or corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Slowly stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream, jalapenos, jalapeno juice, and spices.
Assemble the Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C0. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Line the bottom of the pan with 6 tortillas, overlapping slightly.
- Cover the tortillas with half of the shredded chicken.
- Pour ½ of the sour cream sauce over the chicken, then top with 1 cup the Monterey Jack cheese.
- Repeat the layers, using the remaining tortillas, chicken, and sauce. Top with the rest of the Monterey Jack cheese as well as the cheddar cheese.
- Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
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