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I’m home!!! I’m home, I’m home, I’m home! And after a fun few weeks traipsing around Europe, a 9.5 hour plane ride with a 1-year-old kicking the back of my seat and crying half of the ride, and a nearly lost luggage fiasco, boy did it feel good to walk in the door to my loft last night. And I had three things on my must-happen-immediately list:
1. a big ol’ glass of ice water
2. a full night to catch up on some zzzz’s in my own bed
3. and MEXICAN FOOD
Oh man. I rarely go 3 days without eating Mexican food, so 3 weeks without my chips and salsa felt like an eternity! We did pass by a few “Mexican” restaurants in Germany and Austria and even considered stopping in one evening. But one peek at their menus full of BBQ wings and New York steaks and shrimp scampi (true story) suggested we might be better waiting until we got home. So we did. And now I fully intend to make up for lost time…beginning with this white chicken enchilada casserole recipe!
It’s kind of a riff on my (red) Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe, which has become a bit of a hit on the blog. But as you can tell, this is the “white”, creamy, green-chile-y, total comfort-food-y version. Although this version is even slightly healthier than traditional white enchiladas, and easy to make by “stacking” the enchiladas into a casserole instead of rolling them all up. Interested? I think you will be… :)
I’ve actually been eating white chicken enchiladas as long as I can remember. Mom used to make them with the cream of chicken soup shortcut when we were kids. Then for years I made them with sour cream. But recently I’ve switched to using plain Greek yogurt in the cream sauce, which provides some extra protein and I can’t even taste the difference! (If you don’t have Greek yogurt, though, you can totally use traditional sour cream.)
But in addition to the yogurt, the key to the sauce is to add an entire can of flavorful Old El Paso chopped green chiles (always a staple in my pantry for Mexi dishes), lots of chicken stock, and cumin. It’s a simple sauce, but surprisingly full of flavor just beyond the typical creamy base.
Then once you’re sauce is ready, it’s time to start assembling your enchilada casserole! This is basically your typical white enchilada recipe, but instead of rolling them all up, you just stack the ingredients layer by layer.
We begin with some halved soft flour tortillas. Then top those with a layer of the sauce.
Then add a layer of cooked shredded chicken (I used rotisserie as a shortcut). Follow that with a layer of white beans, which work great as an extra filler and protein source.
Then add a layer of shredded cheese. If you like milder food, I recommend using Monterrey Jack cheese. But I love making mine with Pepper Jack, or even the Habanero Jack cheese for some extra heat.
Then repeat all of those layers, followed by a final round of just tortillas, sauce and cheese. Bake it all up until it is cooked.
Then top the final casserole with some fresh avocado and cilantro as a garnish. And then serve it up!!!
Seriously, whether you eat Mexican food all the time (like me) or just occasionally, I’m positive this will satisfy any craving. I served it to three different groups of friends, and then all gave it raving reviews before I left for Europe. And now after looking at it, I’m realizing that there’s basically no choice — I must make it again for my Mexican foodathon this week. It’s too good and too easy not to enjoy again.
2 (14-ounce) cans White Northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray, and set aside.
Heat butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add flour, and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 minute until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add half of the chicken stock, and whisk until combined. Then add the remaining chicken stock, green chiles, and cumin, and whisk until combined.
Let the mixture continue heating until it reaches a simmer and thickens slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in Greek yogurt (or sour cream) and whisk until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
To assemble the enchiladas, place 8 tortilla halves in the prepared baking pan so that they cover the bottom of the pan. Spread about 1/3 of the cream sauce evenly on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle half of the chicken on evenly on top of the sauce, followed by half of the beans, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Repeat with a second layer of tortillas, cream sauce, chicken, beans and cheese. Then add a final layer of just tortillas, cream sauce and cheese.
Cover the casserole with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and begins to brown around the edges and the casserole is cooked through.
Remove pan, and sprinkle with avocado and fresh cilantro. Serve warm.
This will be our 3rd time having this for supper and it’s a huge hit for everyone in our house, from the 18 month old to the picky 14 year old. It makes enough so we have leftovers, and these leftover never go to waste. Thank you so much for such a great recipe to add to our list of favorites! I have yet to make a recipe off of this website that wasn’t excellent.
My family absolutely loves this recipe. I’ve been meaning to write a review for a while but always forget. I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count and it’s a favorite amongst my sons (2 and 14) and husband. I make it just like the recipe says and it turns out perfectly every time. My little guy loves sliced olives and avocado on his, my older son loves jalapeño slices on his, and my husband and I love all of the above on ours!
Leftovers are always almost just as delicious as when it’s fresh from the oven. I make this a lot if I’m going to be out and the boys have to “fend for themselves” for dinner. We just love this dish!
I made this tonight. Had to sub some things because I didn’t have flour tortillas so used corn. Also only had black beans and cheddar cheese. I doubled the recipe and made an extra casserole to freeze for later. Y boys are not usually fans of different good but they both had 2 helpings, so mymajor thumbs up! Thank you so much for this recipe!
OMG… this was sooo good! I added 1/2 cup more chicken stock to the sauce just cuz I worry about things drying out. I also dolloped some salsa verda on top since I had some left over… absolutely perfect! This just got added to my arsenal!!!
This is such a great recipe!! I’ve made it several times, and I always love the faces my family makes after the first bite. One of us though doesn’t do well with beans so I have subbed them with diced steamed potatoes. (I make them in the microwave). All the ingredients go together so well. Making it again tomorrow!
Am I crazy or does this only require 12 tortillas, halved, and not 24 tortillas, halved, as stated? I bought 24 tortillas based on ingredient list. Reading through the instructions, I’m layering eight halves three times…12 tortillas. What am I missing??
William G Zamora —
I was thinking same about 24 tortillas also can u use chicken broth ?
This will be our 3rd time having this for supper and it’s a huge hit for everyone in our house, from the 18 month old to the picky 14 year old. It makes enough so we have leftovers, and these leftover never go to waste. Thank you so much for such a great recipe to add to our list of favorites! I have yet to make a recipe off of this website that wasn’t excellent.
anybody know the nutritional information?doing ww want to see how many points
My family absolutely loves this recipe. I’ve been meaning to write a review for a while but always forget. I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count and it’s a favorite amongst my sons (2 and 14) and husband. I make it just like the recipe says and it turns out perfectly every time. My little guy loves sliced olives and avocado on his, my older son loves jalapeño slices on his, and my husband and I love all of the above on ours!
Leftovers are always almost just as delicious as when it’s fresh from the oven. I make this a lot if I’m going to be out and the boys have to “fend for themselves” for dinner. We just love this dish!
Thank you so much for another great recipe!!
I made this tonight. Had to sub some things because I didn’t have flour tortillas so used corn. Also only had black beans and cheddar cheese. I doubled the recipe and made an extra casserole to freeze for later. Y boys are not usually fans of different good but they both had 2 helpings, so mymajor thumbs up! Thank you so much for this recipe!
OMG… this was sooo good! I added 1/2 cup more chicken stock to the sauce just cuz I worry about things drying out. I also dolloped some salsa verda on top since I had some left over… absolutely perfect! This just got added to my arsenal!!!
Still as great the 20th time! Always follow the recipe exactly except no beans or toppings, yum!!!
This recipe is definitely a hit and so easy to make! I’ve also made a variation without beans and it turned out great, as well. Thank you so much!
This is such a great recipe!! I’ve made it several times, and I always love the faces my family makes after the first bite. One of us though doesn’t do well with beans so I have subbed them with diced steamed potatoes. (I make them in the microwave). All the ingredients go together so well. Making it again tomorrow!
Am I crazy or does this only require 12 tortillas, halved, and not 24 tortillas, halved, as stated? I bought 24 tortillas based on ingredient list. Reading through the instructions, I’m layering eight halves three times…12 tortillas. What am I missing??
I was thinking same about 24 tortillas also can u use chicken broth ?