These creamy chicken enchiladas were a total experiment and they turned out so good! So many of the things in this recipe were just sort of happenstance. Like, “heck, let’s just try it and see what happens,” and it worked!

NOTES:

I made this recipe so it would yield enough enchiladas to freeze some or feed a crowd. I got 18 enchiladas, which I divided between 4 containers. You can absolutely halve this recipe, but you might as well make the whole batch and freeze some, or invite friends over for dinner. They also taste great the next day.

You will also notice that the chicken is cooked in the crockpot. I suggest doing that first thing in the morning or even the day before so it is ready to go when you begin to assemble the enchiladas.

Here is something you need to know about enchiladas as well: they are pretty darn hard to mess up. Tortillas and chicken and cheese really work so well together. Don’t get too bogged down in specifics. They tend to turn out just fine 🙂

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADA INGREDIENTS:

• Cumin
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Chicken breasts
• Green enchilada sauce
• Olive oil
• Thinly sliced onion
• Thinly sliced medium red bell peppers
• Salsa verde
• Sour cream
• A 15-ounce can of corn
• A 15-ounce can of black beans
• Flour tortillas
• Shredded Mexican cheese
• Optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, guacamole

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS:

• STEP 1: To a small bowl, add cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. 

• STEP 2: Season chicken breasts with cumin mixture. Add the chicken to the crockpot with 8 ounces of enchilada sauce and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

• STEP 3: While the chicken cooks, sauté your onion and peppers and make your salsa verde sauce. For the onions and peppers, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté the onions and peppers until soft. Set aside.

• STEP 4: For the salsa verde sauce, combine sour cream, salsa verde, and salt, and blend. (This part was a total experiment. It is delicious and really puts the creamy in the recipe title).

• STEP 5: Once the chicken is cooked, turn off the crockpot and remove the chicken breasts. Shred the chicken with two forks.

• STEP 6: To the crock pot, add sour cream and remaining enchilada sauce and whisk to combine

• STEP 7: Return the shredded chicken back to the crockpot, along with the corn, black beans, and sautéed onions and peppers. Stir to combine.

• STEP 8: Assemble the enchiladas. Pour a small amount of salsa verde sauce into the bottom of each container you are using. Just enough to coat the bottom.

• STEP 9: Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the chicken filling (approximately 1/2 cup per enchilada, but you don’t really need to measure) then line them up one by one, side by side in your dish(es), seam-side down so they don’t unfold. Get them nice and close together.

• STEP 10: Pour more of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas but not too much – just enough to lightly cover the tops of the enchiladas.

• STEP 11: Cover with shredded cheese.

• STEP 12: Repeat steps 8-11 until you run out of tortillas or filling. If you have extra sauce you can toss it, or store it in a jar for another meal. I think the extra sauce would be delicious over a sweet potato.

• STEP 13: Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes so the cheese can get nice and bubbly.

TO FREEZE: Allow the enchiladas to cool, then cover each container with a layer of plastic wrap (this will help with freezer burn), followed by a layer of foil.  Label the containers, making sure to note the need to remove the layer of plastic wrap before baking.

TO BAKE FROZEN ENCHILADAS: You can defrost overnight in the fridge then bake as directed in step 12 above. Or, bake from frozen by adding 20-30 minutes to the covered cooking time.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (to freeze some or feed a crowd)

Recipe by Kate

I made this recipe so it would yield enough enchiladas to freeze some or feed a crowd. I got 18 enchiladas, which I divided between 4 containers. You can absolutely halve this recipe, but you might as well make the whole batch and freeze some, or invite friends over for dinner. Leftover enchiladas also taste great the next day!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 4 chicken breasts

• 16 ounces green enchilada sauce, divided

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

• 2 medium red bell peppers, thinly sliced (you can sub yellow or orange)

• 24 ounces salsa verde

• 2 cups sour cream, divided

• 1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 18-20 medium (8- to 10-inch) flour tortillas

• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

• Optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, guacamole, etc.

Directions

• To a small bowl, add cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
• Season chicken breasts with cumin mixture. Add the chicken to the crockpot along with 8 ounces of enchilada sauce and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
• While the chicken cooks, sauté your onion and peppers and make your salsa verde sauce. For the onions and peppers, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and sauté the onions and peppers until soft. Set aside.
• For the salsa verde sauce, combine 1 cup sour cream, 24 ounces salsa verde, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and blend. (This part was a total experiment. It is delicious and really puts the creamy in the recipe title.)
• Once the chicken is cooked, turn off the crockpot and remove the chicken breasts. Shred the chicken with two forks.
• To the crockpot, add remaining 1 cup sour cream and remaining 8 ounces enchilada sauce and whisk to combine.
• Return the shredded chicken back to the crockpot, along with the corn, black beans, and sautéed onions and peppers. Stir to combine.
• Assemble the enchiladas. Pour a small amount of salsa verde sauce into the bottom of each container you are using. Just enough to coat the bottom.
• Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the chicken filling (approximately 1/2 cup per enchilada, but you don’t really need to measure) then line them up side by side, one by one in your dish, seam-side down so they don’t unfold. Get them nice and close together.
• Pour more of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas but not too much – just enough to lightly cover the tops of the enchiladas.
• Cover with shredded cheese.
• Repeat steps 8-11 until you run out of tortillas or filling. If you have extra sauce you can toss it, or store it in a jar for another meal. I think the extra sauce would be delicious over a sweet potato.
• Cover the baking dishes with foil and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes so the cheese can get nice and bubbly.

Notes

• I made this recipe so it would make enough enchiladas to freeze some or feed a crowd. I got 18 enchiladas which I divided between 4 containers. You can absolutely half this recipe, but you might as well make the whole batch and freeze some, or invite friends over for dinner. They also taste great the next day.
• You will notice that the chicken is cooked in the crockpot. I suggest doing that first thing in the morning or even the day before so it is ready to go when you begin to assemble the enchiladas.

Other posts you may like:

Parmesan Baked Chicken Warming Chicken Curry {my favorite lunch meal!} No Chop Chili Basic Chicken in the Crock Pot