Chicken Enchiladas (Creamy Green Chile)
My family votes on dinner once a week. These win so often I've considered rigging the election for variety. Green chile chicken enchiladas have an unfair advantage — they're cheesy, creamy, slightly spicy, and come out of the oven bubbling and golden in a way that makes everyone crowd the kitchen the moment the timer goes off. It's not a fair fight against "Tuesday's leftover soup" or "whatever's in the fridge." The enchiladas win by a landslide every time.
Ingredients
For the Green Chile Sauce
- 2 cans diced green chillies 4oz each
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper
For the Enchiladas
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken rotisserie chicken is perfect
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
- 8-10 flour tortillas 8-inch
- 1/2 cup sour cream mixed into the filling
- Fresh cilantro, diced avocado for serving
Method
Make the Green Chile Sauce
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic — 30 seconds. Add flour and stir for 1 minute (this is a small roux that thickens the sauce). Pour in chicken broth gradually, stirring to avoid lumps. Add the green chillies, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. The sauce should be creamy, pale green, and mildly spicy with visible green chile pieces. Taste it: tangy from the sour cream, warm from the cumin, with a gentle heat from the chillies.
Make the Filling
- Mix the shredded chicken with 1 cup of shredded cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, and a couple spoonfuls of the green chile sauce. The filling should be creamy and scoopable — rich enough to taste good but not so wet that the tortillas go soggy.
Assemble
- Spread a thin layer of green chile sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spoon filling down the centre of each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in the dish. Pack them close together. Pour the remaining green chile sauce over the top — every tortilla should be covered. Top with the remaining cheese.
Bake
- Cover with foil and bake at 175C / 350F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 more minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and starting to brown at the edges. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. The rest is important — molten enchiladas straight from the oven will scald your mouth and fall apart on the spatula. Five minutes of patience gives you cleaner slices and prevents emergency ice water.