Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas are a favorite of mine. This Tex Mex classic is an easy dish to put together for a weeknight meal.

sour cream chicken enchiladas on a plate


An Easy Mexican Chicken Dinner

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for a new way to prepare your basic chicken breast. I think that chicken breasts are wonderful because you can use them in so many ways.

In Texas, we have an abundance of Tex Mex food. I got the inspiration for this recipe from many of the dishes that I so often find in Mexican restaurants.

You can put these enchiladas together in about 30 minutes. Serve them with some refried beans, salsa, and chips. You will have a wonderful quick and easy dinner.

Do you love Tex-Mex food but can’t stand the thought of sitting down to another dinner of bland burritos and tacos? You need a recipe that goes beyond the ordinary and delivers all the taste of authentic Tex-Mex cooking like this one for cheesy chicken enchiladas. The best part of this sour cream and chicken enchilada recipe is how quick and simple it is to make. As a bonus, because the ingredients are so inexpensive, it is a wonderful way to feed a crowd without breaking the bank. So, the next time your kids are craving Mexican night, or you need a budget-friendly potluck dish, whip up these sour cream and chicken enchiladas.

Why Is This Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Recipe Better?

There are many chicken enchilada recipes floating around the internet, but most of them have mile-long lists of ingredients that you can’t find in your locally. Worse, if you manage to get everything you need to cook them, you better plan on spending hours in the kitchen. Unlike those other recipes, this Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas recipe delivers the same mouthwatering taste in a fraction of the time, and with ingredients, you can readily buy in most major supermarkets.

Don’t Be Chicken With Your Chicken Choice

Although this recipe calls for chicken breasts, it works equally well with any kind of boneless chicken. In fact, you can even use leftover chicken if you prefer. To infuse more flavor into the leftover chicken, let it marinate in the enchilada sauce in the fridge for about 30 minutes before warming it up on the stove. Shred the chicken once it is warm.

Be careful not to overcook your chicken, or it will become tough and stringy after shredding it. Don’t be intimidated when it comes to shredding chicken; it’s easy. The best method is to hold an upside-down fork in each hand and place the tines in the middle of each chicken piece. Pull the forks apart to shred the chicken. For this recipe, you don’t want to shred the chicken too finely.

Tips for Making and Storing Chicken Enchiladas With Sour Cream

  • Do you have a gluten-sensitive guest coming to dinner? Substitute corn tortillas for the flour tortillas in this recipe, and everyone will be happy. Heck, corn tortillas are so great you might as well use them instead of flour ones. But if you opt for corn tortillas, toast them on both sides for a few minutes in a dry skillet until they get a few brown spots on each side to improve their flavor.
  • Plan ahead and precook chicken to save time. You can be enjoying a chicken sour cream enchilada in less than 20 minutes if you cook your chicken in advance. Follow the recipe up to the point of shredding the chicken, then stop. The chicken will keep in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for up to two months.
  • A cooked chicken enchilada with sour cream can keep in the fridge for a few days or well wrapped in the freezer for up to two months. To reheat, place in a casserole dish and cover in tin foil. Place it in the oven while preheating to 360 degrees. Heat for ten minutes and remove the tin foil. Continue to cook until the cheese is bubbly, about ten more minutes.

Check out more of our Mexican-inspired recipes on YouTube!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Red enchilada sauce
  • Garlic
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Sliced black olives
  • Large burrito size flour tortillas
sour cream chicken enchiladas ingredients

Ingredient Notes

If you don’t want to use a can of enchilada sauce, or if you can’t find one in your local store, you can use my recipe for El Chico Enchilada Sauce.

For this recipe I am going to cook the chicken breasts right in the enchilada sauce, this helps season the chicken perfectly. You can use leftover cooked chicken if you have some on hand.

I am using flour tortillas, my local grocery store carries flour tortillas that you cook at home. If you don’t have these you can use other flour tortillas.

If you need your enchiladas to be gluten-free, you may want to use corn tortillas. Both flour and corn tortillas work well. When using corn tortillas, I like to cook them a moment or two in hot cooking oil. I find this brings out the flavor of the tortilla.

How to Make Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

  1. Pour enchilada sauce into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Place chicken breasts in the pan with the sauce.
    chicken and enchilada sauce in a pan
  3. Add garlic.
  4. Cook the chicken for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
  5. Remove cooked chicken from the pan.
  6. Shred the chicken and place the shredded chicken in a bowl.
  7. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Add sour cream to the shredded chicken and stir to mix well.
    shredded enchilada chicken and sour cream in a bowl
  9. Place a portion of the chicken mixture on a tortilla.
  10. Roll up the tortilla and place it in a baking dish.
  11. Repeat until you fill a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
  12. Ladle the sauce over enchiladas.
  13. Sprinkle cheese on top.
  14. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
two sour cream chicken enchiladas on a plate

Watch the Recipe Video!

See how easy it is to make these creamy enchiladas.

Love enchiladas? Try these recipes!

Favorite Mexican Recipes

Great Chicken Dinners to Make

Check out more of my easy chicken recipes and the best Mexican food recipes here on CopyKat!

sour cream chicken enchiladas on a plate

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas are creamy, perfectly flavored, and so easy to make.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Chicken Recipes, Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 553kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 28 ounces red enchilada sauce
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 8 large flour tortillas
  • 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

  • Pour enchilada sauce into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
  • Place the chicken in the saucepan with the sauce.
  • Add two cloves of minced garlic to the sauce.
  • Cook the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
  • When chicken is fully cooked remove it from the pan.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Shred the chicken and place the shredded chicken in a bowl.
  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
  • Add sour cream to cooked chicken and stir to mix well.
  • Add about ¼ cup of chicken mixture to a tortilla.
  • Roll up the tortilla and place it in a baking dish.
  • Repeat until you fill a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
  • Pour the sauce over the enchiladas.
  • Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 553kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 2862mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 2285IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 480mg | Iron: 2.1mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jack

    5 stars
    I used a little Buffalo sauce in the chicken mix with the enchilada sauce. Too good! Thanks for publishing.

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