My dream restaurant is one that offers an enchilada combo with three different kinds of enchiladas — maybe one mole, one rojas, one suizas. I want them all. You might say I’m an enchilada enthusiast, which is why I’m always game to try out a new enchilada. So here we have Sour Cream Enchiladas. Borrowing some key aspects from both enchiladas suizas and verde, they’re creamy with just enough zest to kept the richness from being too over the top. Are they traditional? Not really. Are they delicious? Most definitely.
The base of the filling here is shredded chicken because it pairs best with the creamy sauce. You’ll need two cups of cooked, shredded chicken.
You’ll also need chili powder, Monterey Jack cheese, butter, flour, chicken broth, sour cream (you might have guessed that one), diced green chilies, cilantro, onion powder, and garlic powder. There’s no chopping or futzing to be done — just a quick stovetop sauce and some rolling.
Basically, you’re going to season the chicken and fill each tortilla with some of the chicken and a bit of the Monterey Jack cheese and roll them up. Just make sure your tortillas are warmed first, which you can do wrapping them in a damp (and clean!) kitchen towel and microwaving them for about 30 seconds.
Once the tortillas are filled and lined up in your baking dish, it’s time for the best part: the sauce. It starts with a roux — melt some butter and whisk in flour, giving it just a minute to cook out the raw flour taste — and then whisk in chicken broth and let it cook until it starts to bubble and thicken.
Then it’s time to make the sauce special. Whisk in sour cream along with a can of green chilies and season it with some fresh cilantro and some black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. (Salt too, of course.) And then pour it all over those enchiladas.
A little topping of Monterey Jack and it’s ready to bake. The end results are creamy and just cheesy enough with a mild kick from the green chilies. (If you’re not big on spice, you should be able to handle this just fine.) It’s an easy way to enjoy your enchiladas a little differently!
Sour Cream Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated and divided
- 10-12 corn tortillas
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Kosher salt, to taste
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Heat tortillas by wrapping with a damp towel and microwaving for 15-30 seconds. (You can also heat on stovetop or in the oven.)
- To a large bowl, add chicken, chili powder, 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Mix together.
- Roll some of the chicken filling up in each tortilla and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in broth until smooth. Continue cooking, whisking often, until thick and bubbly.
- Stir in sour cream, green chilies, cilantro, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and season to taste with salt.
- Pour sauce over enchiladas, then top with remaining cheese.
- Bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes. If desired, broil for 2-3 minutes to further brown cheese. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Persnickety Plates.