These cream cheese chicken enchiladas are absolutely delicious! They are made with a creamy white sauce and then covered in a layer of melty gooey cheese. Even the pickiest of eaters will love this dish! And if you like this recipe, here are a few others you may like!
Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas One-Pot Cheesy Taco Rice One-Pot Taco Mac Tamale Pie
Do you have to boil the chicken?
No, you do not have to boil the chicken. In fact, you can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, you could roast one yourself. You could season and pan fry, or you could even buy a bag of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken!
Can you use breasts instead of thighs?
Absolutely! Thighs just happen to be my favorite so that is what I had on hand when I made these. You can obviously use a combination of white and dark meat if you decide to use a rotisserie chicken! No matter what, I am sure these will become a regular on your dinner rotation.
The first thing you want to do is get your chicken cooking. (Unless you are using pre-made chicken of course.) Boil 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken with a whole onion cut into quarters, 1 whole jalapeno (opional), 4-5 whole garlic cloves and a heaping spoonful of chicken broth. This should take 20-25 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, you will work on the sauce. You will mix 2 blocks of softened cream cheese with 1-2 cups of the broth from the chicken.
For full disclosure, I should have used a blender or made this in 2 separate batches because I made a HUGE mess! See the next picture lol. A messy cook is a good cook, right?
I got it cleaned up, covered the food processor with a paper towel and ended up with a smooth, creamy sauce.
Now you want to melt 1 tbs of butter with 1 tbs of olive oil. Add a diced onion and a diced jalapeno and season with salt and pepper. We love spicy food, so I left the seed and membrane, but you can take them out. Or you can leave the jalapeno out all together!
Cook that for about 5 minutes then add in 3-4 minced garlic cloves. Let that cook for about 1 minute, then add a 4 oz can of diced green hatch chilies, and your cream sauce. Mix it together well and set it aside.
The chicken should be done or nearly done at this point. You will want to remove it from the pot and shred it up and let it cool slightly.
Grate your cheeses. I used 1 cup of sharp cheddar and 1 cup of pepper jack.
Toss the chicken and cheeses into a large bowl and mix together.
In a large baking dish, pour about 1.5 cups of the cream cheese sauce.
You can use flour or tortilla shells for this recipe, we just prefer corn. If you do use corn shells, make sure to either wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave for about a minute, or fry them lightly in some oil. This keeps them from falling apart while rolling them.
I find it easiest to just lay the shell directly in the pan, then fill with some chicken and roll them up. You do whatever is easiest for you!
Repeat the process until you have used all of the chicken. (If you have any left, it makes great quesadillas!)
Once all the shells are filled and rolled up, pour the remaining cheese sauce on. Top with another cup each of the grated sharp and pepper jack cheeses. Bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly and allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving!
These are perfectly good served on their own, but we like to have them with some refried beans, mexican rice and chips and salsa!
I also like to top them with some jalapenos and fresh pico de gallo. No matter what, I hope your family enjoys these as much as mine!
Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 White Onion, quartered
- 4-5 Whole Garlic Cloves
- 1 Whole Jalapeno, optional
- 2 tbs Chicken Flavored Bouillon
Cream Cheese Sauce
- 2 Blocks Softened Cream Cheese
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth, heated up I used the broth from the chicken while it was cooking
- 1 tbs Butter
- 1 tbs Olive Oil
- 1 White Onion, diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Jalapeno, diced optional
- 4 oz Can of Diced Hatch Chilies
Other Ingredients
- 2 Cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 2 Cups Grated Pepper Jack Cheese
- 12-15 Corn or Flour Tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large pot boil about 8 cups of water. Add the 1st five ingredients and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked and tender
- Complete this step while the chicken is cooking. In a blender, mix the cream cheese and chicken broth until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and oil. Add the onion and jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 more minute.
- Stir in the can of chilies and the cream cheese sauce. Mix together just until heated up and set aside.
- Get the chicken out of the pot and shred it up and allow to cool slightly.
- Add to a large bowl, season with 1 tbs of chicken bouillon and pepper and add 1 cup each of the grated cheeses. Mix together well.
- If you are using corn tortillas, wrap them in some damp paper towels and microwave them for about 1 minute. OR you can fry them in some oil for about 10 seconds per side. This step is important because they will fall apart while you are assembling them if you skip it. If you are using flour tortillas, there is no need for this step.
- Layer about 1.5 cups of the cream cheese sauce in an 11×13 baking dish. Lay a tortilla in the sauce, fill with a spoonful of the chicken mixture and roll it up. Repeat this process until you have used all of the chicken mixture.
- Pour the rest of the cream cheese sauce on top and spread out evenly. Top with the remaining cheeses. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
