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Here’s an updated recipe for Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Poblano Sauce (AKA White Chicken Enchiladas) a cozy, comforting meal that is full of delicious flavor!  Feel free to swap out roasted cauliflower for the chicken. Vegetarian adaptable! (updated recipe) 

white chicken enchiladas (creamy chicken enchiladas with green chilies )

If you are in the mood for something cozy, comforting and delicious…. this recipe for Creamy Chicken Enchiladas is to die for!  What makes the recipe, is the incredible sauce which can be made with either roasted poblanos- or if in a hurry, a small can of green chilies. Either way, you will looooooooooove this!
The enchilada fillings can be made two ways:  with chicken as the filling, or with roasted cauliflower as the filling. I love them both equally.
Lime zest, melty cheese, corn, fresh cilantro, cumin and coriander give the filling a nice burst of flavor, and these could easily be made gluten-free (see recipe below).

Roasted Poblano Enchiladas with Caulifower! | Video

The secret to this sauce is from fire-roasting poblano peppers, which is easier than it seems. But if in a hurry, use store-bought green chilies, in a can! Just as good! 

How to roast Poblano Peppers! 

Roasting poblanos (or any pepper) can be done a couple of different ways.
  1. On the Stovetop: If you have a gas stovetop, place directly over a medium-low flame, turning often, for about 5 minutes until blistered and blackened. The easiest, fastest way.
  2. Broiled In the oven: turning until they blister, about 10- 15 minutes.  If you don’t have a broil setting, you can still roast in a very hot oven, but it will take a little longer for the skins to blister.
Once the poblanos are charred, place them in a bowl with a towel to cover, so they continue steaming and cooking through. Let them cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Rinse under water to remove all the charred skin, core and seeds. Finely dice them.
To save a step, you can use canned green chiles instead. They will still taste good, but these fresh poblanos incorporated into the sauce actually make me swoon, they are that good!
Today I made half the enchiladas vegetarian using roasted cauliflower. The other half was made with shredded chicken. Here is the roasted cauliflower filling….seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander.
Feel free to play around with the filling if you like by adding corn, sautéed mushrooms, black beans, onions, or spinach.  Basically, you’ll need about 3-4  cups filling, to make 6-8 enchiladas. 

If making this with chicken, use leftover rotisserie chicken, baked chicken breast, shredded chicken, or even this chicken carnitas recipe.

Of course, you can make homemade tortillas from scratch!

You may need to warm the tortillas to make them pliable.  Fill each with 1/2 cup filling.
White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood
Add queso fresco cheese or grated mozzerella.
White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood

For this recipe, I used 8-inch tortillas that were half corn/half flour.

Roll them up and place seam side down in a greased  9×13 baking dish, coated with 2/3 cup creamy poblano sauce.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood

I usually can fit 6-7 enchiladas, but if you make them very tight, you can fit 8.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood
Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood
TIP: If you have a mixed household where some are vegetarian and some are meat-eaters, you can serve up the enchiladas in individual baking dishes like this.
White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood
Bake 20-25 minutes covered with foil, then uncovered for 10-15 minutes.
White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood
Sprinkle with cilantro and scallions.
White Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood
When they come out, these Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas will be beautifully golden and fragrant!
And the lime zest inside tantalizes the taste buds.
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood

What to serve with Enchiladas:

I hope you like these creamy white chicken enchiladas….it’s an older recipe on the blog, but I’ve fiddled with it over the years and did some updating. I think it’s pretty tasty!
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Poblano Sauce- an easy, delicious comfort food meal. These creamy chicken enchiladas will not disappoint! #whitechickenenchiladas #chickenenchiladas #creamychickenenchiladas #enchiladas #comfortfood

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Poblano Sauce (or Cauliflower)

★★★★★ 4.9 from 38 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home Blog
  • Prep Time: 35 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
  • Yield: 8 enchiladas 1x
  • Category: Main, vegetarian
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Mexican,
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (AKA White Chicken Enchiladas) with Creamy Poblano Sauce! Vegetarian adaptable! Sub roasted cauliflower for the chicken! See notes.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Filling ingredients:

  • 3 cups cooked shredded chicken – see notes (or sub 3 cups roasted cauliflower – see notes)
  • 1–2 cups corn – fresh or frozen, or sub spinach, sauteed bell pepper, mushroom or onion
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 scallions, sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon lime zest

Poblano Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 fresh poblano chili roasted, peeled and finely chopped (use half) or sub-4-ounce can green chilies (use half)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
  • 1 shallot, chopped (or half an onion, finely diced)
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock (or veggie broth)
  • 3/4 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

Enchilada Ingredients:

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. Make the Filling: Prepare chicken (or cauliflower/spinach) see notes, and place in a bowl. Add corn. Mix with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, scallions, fresh cilantro and lime zest. Set aside.
  3. Roast the poblano (or use canned green chilies) directly over a gas flame (or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler) turning regularly, until the skins have blackened and blistered. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool. Under running water rub off the blackened skin, carefully tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem and rinse all the seeds away. Dice finely.  (If pressed for time, you can skip this step entirely by substituting 1 small can of green chiles)
  4. Make the sauce: In a medium pot, over medium heat 2 T oil or butter and saute shallot until golden and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add 2 T flour, and toast, stirring 2-3 minutes on med-low heat. Whisk in 1 1/4 cups broth. Stir in the sour cream, and whisk until smooth. If using canned chilies, add 1/2 the can now, along with coriander, salt and pepper. Save the remaining chilies and add to the filling. Alternatively, if using the poblano, add a cautious 1/3 of the diced poblanos to start, tasting for heat. (Most are mild, but some, very occasionally are hot!) Then, according to your heat tolerance, add the remaining poblanos to taste. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Add some to the filling if you  want.
  5. Assemble: Grease one 9 x 13-inch pan. Place 2/3 cup Poblano Cream Sauce in the bottom of the  baking dish, just enough to lightly coat the bottom. If your tortillas are not soft and pliable, which is often the case with 100 % corn tortillas, lightly toast over a gas flame on the stovetop, or place them in a microwave covered for a few seconds, or spread on a sheet pan and place in a warm oven for a few minutes,  or quickly pan-sear.  
  6. Assemble: Add 2-3 tablespoons cheese to the center of the tortilla add about 1/2-3/4 cup filling and roll them up. Place them seam-side down in the pan on top of the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top.  Add more cheese if you like.
  7. Cover with foil, place in a 400 F oven  for 20-25 minutes.   Remove foil. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
  8. Garnish with fresh cilantro and scallions.

Notes

Use leftover rotisserie chicken, or make this simple baked chicken and shred, or this Chicken Carnitas recipe.

If subbing cauliflower/spinach: Preheat oven to 425 F. Chop one head of cauliflower into very small bite-size pieces, toss with olive oil to coat, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander and toss to coat well. Roast on a parchment-lined sheet pan until tender, and edges are slightly crispy. Wilt Spinach: Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, saute 1/2 cup diced onion until tender, add 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach and stir or toss until spinach is just barely wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the cauliflower and spinach in a bowl, mix in cilantro, scallions and lime zest. Add corn if you like, and taste for salt and pepper, adjusting. Use this to stuff the enchiladas.

If making ahead, either bake and reheat, or assemble ahead, leaving the sauce off the top until baking time.

Cotija cheese, a Mexican style cheese is much saltier than queso fresco, so make sure to use queso fresco, not cotija….the packages look similar, but there is a big difference.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: one enchilada - chicken and cheese
  • Calories: 309
  • Sugar: 2.7 g
  • Sodium: 1591 mg
  • Fat: 9.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
  • Fiber: 1.8 g
  • Protein: 22.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 35.6 mg

Keywords: best chicken enchiladas, cauliflower enchiladas, Creamy chicken enchiladas, white chicken enchiladas, chicken enchiladas with green chilies, cauliflower enchiladas

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Comments

  2. This recipe is so flavorful and adaptable! We used our homegrown poblanos, fresh corn and great refrigerated corn tortillas from our grocer. We made a half batch of chicken and a half batch of cauliflower. Both were so very good. Thank you for your excellent recipes – and for your time in perfecting them!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. Lovely dish. The enchiladas were surprisingly delicate and seasoned perfectly. I did roast the poblano chili and used fresh corn. Corn tortillas were wonderful with the chicken and corn filling. Would increase sauce amount next time. Thank you for the recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  4. Just made these for lunch…used cauliflower and spinach. They turned out perfect and looked just like yours…yeah! We felt they still needed some hot sauce or salsa…but loved them. You’re really improving my cooking and I truly appreciate that. Also, I love all your personal comments and glimpses into your world. I consider you part of my world now and look forward to your emails.

    Reply

  5. woweee that poblano sauce is *chefs kiss*… my husband ate four of these and immediately wanted me to make a second batch because he loved them so much! another winner, thank you sylvia.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  6. So delicious and quick….love the sauce-used greek yogurt and it worked great…used pulled pork from previous dinner, sweet potato, corn and goat cheese. Thank you for the good base recipe…saved me tonight:)

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. I did this recipe and we all loved it. I discovered your blog through my daughter and have tried a few so far and we are just in love with everything we tried. We are trying to eat less meat/poultry and i feel I will be able to slowly transition to more of a plant base diet.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Sylvia!

Chef and author of the whole-foods recipe blog, Feasting at Home, Sylvia Fountaine is a former restaurant owner and caterer turned full-time food blogger. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest and shares seasonal, healthy recipes along with tips and tricks from her home kitchen.

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