Sour cream chicken enchiladas | Homesick Texan

Sour cream chicken enchiladas recipe

When I was in college, on Saturday afternoons a large group of us would celebrate the weekend by going to lunch at the local Tex-Mex restaurant. We’d toast our break with tall glasses of iced tea and salty chips dipped in salsa, and as we were in North Texas, most of us would order the house special—sour cream chicken enchiladas.

Tex-Mex is the large umbrella phrase that covers what people have determined to be Americanized Mexican food, but it’s a very broad term as a Tex-Mex plate found in North Texas will be very different than a Tex-Mex plate found near the Gulf.

This is what I discovered when I went to college in the small town of Sherman near the Oklahoma border. Green sauce was gone, with sour-cream enchilada sauce to be found in its place. Different, yes, but just as satisfying.

The sour cream enchiladas were stuffed with shredded chicken that had been spiced with generous amounts of salt and black pepper, a simple formula that still yielded plenty of flavor. The sauce itself was a creamy blend of sour cream and chicken broth.

Sometimes, a few pickled jalapeños were added, yet they provided more color than fire, as all that dairy mitigated any heat. What this sauce lacked in piquancy, however, it made up for it in creamy comfort and a taste so smooth I’d always order an extra bowl on the side.

My love for these enchiladas is firmly embedded into those four years I was in college—I hadn’t eaten them before and I had rarely eaten them since. While my tastes have changed since those days, I am still a fool for sour cream (give me a spoon and a carton and I’ll be eating myself silly in no time) so I decided to revisit this North Texas classic.

After following what was purported to be a close approximation of this restaurant’s recipe, I was struck by how bland the sour cream sauce was—I couldn’t believe I used to love it so much! I tried punching it up with some cayenne, garlic, and cumin, but it was still too flat for me—it needed some tang.

Because I was afraid lime juice would curdle the sauce, I pureed it with some tomatillos instead. A handful of cilantro was also added for an herbal boost.

I took another bite. This time, I wasn’t bored! In fact, this sauce was a nod to two long-ago favorites as it was the marriage of my Houston green sauce with my North Texas sour-cream sauce.

But I shouldn’t have been too surprised. While I’ve certainly changed since I was 18, why couldn’t my sour cream sauce change as well? And if I do say so myself, we’re both much improved by the changes made through the years.
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Print
4.92 from 49 votes

Sour cream chicken enchiladas

Course Main Course
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8
Author Lisa Fain

Ingredients

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon safflower oil

Ingredients for the sour cream sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 fresh tomatillos, husked and cut in half or 1 (10-ounce) can tomatillos
  • 2 Serrano chiles, seeded and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Dash cayenne
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Ingredients for the enchiladas:

  • 2 tablespoons safflower oil
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 1/2 medium-sized onion, diced
  • 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Sprinkle the chicken breasts on each side with the salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron or ovenproof skillet set on medium heat. When it shimmers, add the chicken and cook on each side for 3 minutes.
  • Place the chicken in the oven and bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until an inserted thermometer is 165°F. When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven, keeping the oven on since you'll be using it again.
  • Allow the chicken to cool, and then shred it with 2 forks. Taste the shredded chicken and add more salt and pepper if desired.
  • Meanwhile, to make the sauce, in a medium pot melt the butter on medium-low. Add the tomatillos and diced Serrano chiles and while occasionally stirring, cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
  • Whisk in the flour, cumin, salt, and cayenne and cook for 1 more minute or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Pour the chicken broth into the pot, and while whisking, cook until the broth has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the sour cream and cilantro, then remove from the heat.
  • Pour the sour cream sauce into a blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  • To make the enchiladas, In a skillet, heat up the oil on medium-low heat. One at a time, heat up the tortillas in the oil, and then keep them wrapped in a cloth or tortilla warmer until all the tortillas are heated.
  • Pour 1 cup of the sour cream sauce into the bottom of a 9z13 baking dish.
  • To assemble the enchiladas, take each warm corn tortilla and place in the middle 1/3 cup of shredded chicken, 1 teaspoon of diced onions, and 1 tablespoon of cheese (I’m not usually this scientific but if you’ve never made them before and desire exact measurements this would be it!).
  • Roll the tortillas around the filling and place the rolled tortillas seam side down in the baking dish. Cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and cheese and bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until the the top is brown and bubbling.
  • Serve warm topped with chopped cilantro.

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Recipe Rating




169 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Wow. These are out of this world. I had forgotten how good these are. I first made something like this when I worked for Pioneer Flour Mills in San Antonio. We called them Champagne Chicken Enchiladas. I believe you can get a mix at HEB. But, this is so easy and delicious and really simple to make. You will love it! Thanks Lisa for posting this.

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Glenn–Thank you for your feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. And I love the name Champagne Chicken Enchiladas!

      1. Connie Hawkins says:

        5 stars
        I have made these twice now and my husband loves them. I used corn tortillas the first time, but it was difficult to get the enchiladas rolled up. The second time I used flour tortillas and it was much better. This is going to be a regular in our house. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’m also going to be looking for one or all of your cookbooks as well.

        1. Lisa Fain says:

          Connie–Thank you for sharing your modification! I’ve long thought these would also be good with flour tortillas!

  2. Judy Pepper says:

    After softening the tortillas in warm oil and then putting them in the oven with the sauce for the recommended time, the enchiladas completely disintegrated into mush. The flavor was excellent, but looked *nothing* like the photo in the recipe. I’m not complaining. I’m looking for help to make this recipe turn out better! Maybe there was too much sauce?

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Judy–I’m sorry they turned to mush. While I’m not sure what happened, maybe there was too much sauce or maybe they could have cooked in the oil longer. Perhaps instead of doing the tortillas in the oven, which I now do to save time, you could cook each one individually in a skillet with oil instead to insure drier tortillas.

      1. 5 stars
        de this tonight and the sauce is a game changer, SO GOOD! I had the same issue as another person’s comment that the corn tortillas fell apart. I baked/warmed per the instructions. Maybe I need to try a different brand next time. The corn tortillas adds an enhanced flavor from using flour tortillas in other recipes. Looking forward to the leftovers tomorow.

        1. Lisa Fain says:

          Sandy–I’m glad you enjoyed the sauce. The method I included when I updated the recipe for heating the tortillas is meant to save time, but going back to the method of cooking each individually in oil might be best since there’s a longer cook. The oil is what is supposed to keep the sauce from being absorbed by the tortillas.

  3. 5 stars
    Sounds and looks delish! Thank you for sharing.

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Vickie–You’re welcome!

  4. Richard Bacon says:

    5 stars
    A wonderful recipe! I did use more Serranos, and a half cup of Hatch Chile enchilada sauce to give the sour cream sauce a little extra green punch.

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Richard–Hooray for more green chile pepper punch! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!

  5. Mary Louise Williams says:

    5 stars
    I made this with Pepper Jack cheese and flour tortillas, and the enchiladas came out great! The store was out of serrano peppers, so I left those out. Next time I will put them in! My husband loved these, too. We think the cast-iron skillet made all the difference. We have had many a chicken enchilada that was flavorless compared to these!

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Mary Louise–Wonderful! I’m so glad y’all enjoyed the enchiladas!