Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (to freeze some or feed a crowd)
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)
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.
Yum, can’t wait to try these! When freezing do you assemble and let the chicken cool and then freeze or assemble, bake, cool, and then freeze? Thanks!
I do not bake before freezing! You just want the enchiladas to be cooled before you cover them so they don’t steam up under the foil 🙂
Trying these tonight to take to some new mamas! What size tortillas did you use? The medium size (like soft taco size)?
Anywhere from 8-10″ tortillas. It’s not soft taco size, more like a wrap size!
Kate
Hello! Cannot wait to make this. . How many ounces in the Salsa Verde jars? Thank you!
Trish
12 oz. I just updated the recipe as well!
This recipe looks delicious, what’s the approximate serving amount? do you think it’s enough for about 19 people?
I think closer to 12 is a good estimate
Making these tonight ! Just put the chicken in the crockpot and realized I got regular enchilada sauce instead of green sauce by mistake. Here’s to hoping they still turn out! Lol!
Oh I do not doubt they will still be great!
Darn, I read the recipe wrong and baked the enchiladas before freezing them! How would you eat them when I get them out of the freezer? I’m thinking just let thaw overnight in the fridge and microwave portions as needed?
To keep them nice and krispy I would simply oven reheat 🙂 You can still cover then uncover, and would still do it for around 20-30 minutes until cooked through. There’s enough sauce they shouldn’t dry out.
This is delicious! I got about 21 tortillas filled. It’s great to make such a huge quantity so that I have a dinner for another night. Thanks Kate!
Help! The filling turned out really runny. I didn’t have the Frontera sauce but used the same amount in the El Paso brand. Also, it seems to need a little more flavor, are there certain spices you’d recommend adding?
I’m so sorry that it turned out runny, mine usually don’t so you could always try spooning the filling out to allow for less liquid. That’s what I always do. As for seasonings, I would suggest cumin and make sure you do a generous amount of salt. Thank you so much for trying the recipe and hope these suggestions help!
Could you use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for a healthier version?
sure!
what is that slaw in the pic? i need that recipe!!
It’s a southwest salad bagged mix. I get it from Whole Foods!
Can these be left in fridge overnight and baked the next day?
Sure! It could potentially get a little soggy but you may be fine!
Hi! I can’t get the frontera packets. Do you have a substitution you have successfully used?
Siete makes a green enchilada sauce!
Our grocery store didn’t have the Frontera sauce, but I used one 15oz jar and it worked great! I used a little more than half the jar in the crock pot when cooking the chicken and reserved the remainder to mix in later.
Yes I am actually changing the recipe to reflect this, Frontera seems to be discontinued so a 15 or 16 oz jar works perfectly!
I love these enchiladas!! Often make them when I need to feed a lot and they are so yummy. It makes so many, so it’s fun to get to share multiple pans of enchiladas with those in need. Thanks for all the helpful tips you include, Kate! Naptime Kitchen is the BEST! Xo
Love this recipe! Planning to make it for a vegetarian family, how would you adjust this if omitting the chicken? Thank you!
Hmmm I would just skip the slow cooker part. Saute peppers and onions, make the salsa verde / sour cream sauce. Put the peppers, onions, black beans in the tortilla, roll it up. Pour the sauce over it. Add cheese.
how long do you think they stay good in freezer for?
6 months
Is there any way to make this with ground beef instead of chicken? thoughts?
Sure! I would just brown 1lb ground beef with some taco seasoning. Put the beef in the enchilada and pour the sour cream green sauce over it for extra flavor and add sauteed veggies.
Have you made the chicken in the instant pot before? Any thoughts how long to cook in there instead of crock pot?
How long do you bake and what temp for pulling out of the freezer?
I typically prefer to let mind thaw for 24 hours in the fridge before I bake. Assuming you froze them before the baking step, bake at 350 for around 30 minutes, same as listed in the instructions, covered with foil then finished off for 10 minutes without foil. If baking from frozen you will probably need to cook it covered for about an hour.
Once the chicken is cooked and I pull it out to shred, do you add the next ingredients to the rest of the liquid in the crockpot? Or empty the liquid and add everything from there?
Yes add it to the rest of the liquid already in the crockpot!
We LOVE this recipe and just drool over the sauce every time I make it! I’ve shared the enchiladas with a number of friends and family and everyone always asks for the recipe. So delicious!
I could hug you for this recipe! I don’t have young kids at home, but I’m caring for my 84yr old mom who has fallen and broken yet another bone. Anyway, I was looking for a yummy batch cook recipe and I knew this was the one as soon as I saw it. I needed something simple everyone would love and that I could also put in the freezer for future meals.
We all LOVED it! I almost messed it up (is that possible?) due to sleep deprivation, but it came out so delicious. Kate, you’re a Godsend! 🙏🏻🧡🙏🏻
It sounds like you are the Godsend to your mom! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
These are amazing! I didn’t want to run to the store so I subbed a poblano pepper for one of the red, and Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Still delicious! Dinner for us, dinner for another family.
Oh that sounds perfect! Great swaps!
Could I make this with rotisserie chicken? It obviously wouldn’t be cooked with the cumin so not sure if that would make too big of a difference…
Yes! It won’t have quite as much flavor but will still work!
Delicious enchiladas and you can easily use the chicken+veggie filling over greens for a GF taco salad option! The creamy salsa verde sauce was so loved my 3 year old had a meltdown when we didn’t have any “spicy salsa ranch” for salad a few nights later 😅
Thank you for this winning recipe!
I would have a meltdown too! Haha. Thank you so much, Celia!
Wondering if you could skip the skillet step and just put the peppers and onions in with the chicken/crockpot?
You can! Sauteeing just deepens their flavor.
So yummy and love a good batch cooking. Thanks for the recipe
Hi Kate,
I’m planning to make a batch of these to freeze for our beach vacation next week. Did you share a hack for freezing in foil trays at one point? I can’t seem to find it.
Thanks!