Creamy Chicken Enchiladas With Cream Cheese

These cream cheese chicken enchiladas are so much more than your average enchiladas. This recipe takes shredded chicken and combines it with tangy sour cream, cream cheese, and the perfect balance of spices. Then, all of that deliciousness gets wrapped up in flour tortillas, covered in a rich enchilada sauce and melty cheese, and baked to perfection.

The Best Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

If you love enchiladas, just wait until you bite into these delicious cream cheese chicken enchiladas. My wife has been making these for years now, and I can pretty much guarantee you won't find another enchilada recipe quite like this one.

This recipe has all the same elements as your favorite enchilada recipe - like the chicken wrapped in a tortilla with enchilada sauce and melty cheese on top - but it's made even better with some smooth and tangy cream cheese.

Also, since this recipe comes together so quickly, you'll have plenty of time to whip up some equally tasty side dishes to serve with your cream cheese chicken enchiladas, like these tortilla chips and this copycat Chipotle corn salsa.

Ingredients You'll Need

• Chicken- you'll need cooked chicken breasts.
• Cream cheese and sour cream- to make the addictive creamy sauce.
• Onion powder, chili powder, and cumin- to add a depth of flavor.
• Shredded cheddar cheese- for the delicious cheesiness.
• Green chiles- chopped for a little heat.
• Flour tortillas used medium-sized ones.
• Red enchilada sauce- green enchilada sauce works too.
• Shredded Monterey Jack cheese- optional to make extra cheesy enchiladas.
• Salt

By the way, you can use almost every single one of these ingredients to make this sour cream chicken enchilada casserole next! Or, if you want to try one with ground beef, you can use any extra enchilada sauce and make this beef enchilada casserole recipe.

How To Make Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Step 1: Prep Work

First things first, you'll want to preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Then take out a large skillet, set it over medium heat, and add the chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, a cup of cheddar cheese, and green chiles to it. Mix all of those aforementioned ingredients together with a wooden spoon to fully combine everything, and cook the mixture until the cheese has melted.

Step 2: Fill The Tortillas

Now that everything is good to go, it's time to assemble the enchiladas. So, to do that, place a scoop of the chicken and cheese mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Then, roll the tortillas up, sealing the chicken mixture, and place them seam-side down in the baking dish.

Once you've wrapped up all of your tortillas, pour enchilada sauce over them and add the remaining cheese on top of 'em. By the way, if you're doubling up on the cheese and want to add something like Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese for a little spice, now is the time to add it.

Step 3: Bake The Enchiladas

So, now that your chicken enchilada casserole is good to go you can bake it for about 25 minutes or until the filling is warm and the cheese is nicely bubbly.

Then, once you've got that looking good, you can serve your enchiladas warm with whatever toppings you desire, such as fresh cilantro or a scoop of salsa. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Use any leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken in this recipe to save time.
• Use taco seasoning instead of the seasonings this recipe calls for.
• Try using corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas. You'll just want to heat the corn tortillas in a skillet or in the microwave first to make them easier to roll.
• Don’t overfill the enchiladas. When filling the tortillas, be careful not to overstuff them. Overfilled tortillas can break or be difficult to roll tightly, leading to messy enchiladas. Shoot for about ⅓ cup of filling per tortilla for the perfect balance.
• Serve the enchiladas with a squeeze of lime juice on top and some green onions for more flavor.
• Pair your creamy chicken enchiladas with traditional Mexican sides like Mexican rice, refried beans, or a simple avocado salad and tortilla chips. 

How To Store and Reheat These Enchiladas

To store, cover the baking dish you used with a lid, you can transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate them like that. Stored either of these ways, your chicken enchiladas will last for about 3 days.

Alternatively, if you want your enchiladas to last even longer, you can freeze them in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.

To reheat them, I recommend transferring your enchiladas back to a baking dish and cooking them at 350°F, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until they're fully warmed through.

However, if you want to reheat just a single serving, you can use your microwave. I recommend heating them in 30-second intervals until they reach your desired temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to serve with these cream cheese chicken enchiladas?

They're delicious with tortilla chips, this Moes queso, and this Mexican street corn casserole.

Is it better to use corn or flour tortillas in this recipe?

Either will work and it's totally up to you! I prefer to use flour, but if you're using corn, make sure to heat them up in a skillet so they are warm right before you roll them. Otherwise, they can tear easily. 

Do you cover enchiladas while baking? 

No, you do not need to cover enchiladas when baking. Leaving them uncovered will help them not get too soggy.

More Mexican Recipes

If you're looking for more easy Mexican recipes - just like these cream cheese chicken enchiladas - then we've got you covered! We have a ton more on the blog for you to check out next.

Here are some of our most popular ones:

• Rotisserie chicken enchiladas
• Pork enchiladas
• Burrito casserole
• Chicken taco casserole
• Mexican chicken casserole
• Birria tacos
• Pollo asado