Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Not only it is a homemade creamy sauce, but it is also healthy and tastes so much better and lighter than the store-bought brands.

No need to add tons of cream cheese!

Love this Enchilada? Try these popular recipes next: Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada, Million Dollar Chicken Casserole and Chicken Enchilada With White Sauce.

There is a skip-to-recipe button in the top left corner along with a clickable table of contents list (just below) that will quickly take you to the part you are more interested in. Enjoy!

• Easy weeknight meal - Everyone needs a great chicken enchilada casserole recipe up in their sleeve to cook during busy weeknights (Or at least one favorite Mexican food recipe). And I think I decided on mine! You guys, With a thick, rich, and full of-flavor sauce, this casserole is a winner chicken dinner!

• It only takes 25-30 minutes!

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• No special Enchilada sauce is needed! The best part, is you don't need it because this recipe is for easy chicken enchiladas and it's made with a 10-minute Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup (can be made ''with gluten'' too!). Homemade and healthy but If you want your dinner even faster, go for the store-bought cream of chicken (not recommended as high in sodium and plenty of other things!).

• No mess and tortilla rolling! Whenever you are craving enchiladas and too lazy to fill and roll all of the tortillas, then this is your quick fix! Instead of the hassle, tortillas are layered between the creamy sauce, chicken, and lots of cheese. Quick, easy, and cheesy!

• Cooked Chicken - for a quick solution, start with rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken from last night's dinner, or slow cooker chicken with or without spices. If you have more time, use fresh chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Boil or bake these in the oven until cooked through. The chicken is ready when a kitchen thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Shred or dice cooked chicken into small pieces.

• Soft Flour Tortillas - both gluten-free (or non-gluten-free popular brands) or corn tortillas. About 4 inches (10cm) diameter. Get mini-size tortillas or cut the desired size yourself from a larger tortilla.

• Amazing Sour Cream Sauce with Homemade Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup - The sauce is made with Gluten Free Cream Of Chicken Soup, BUT it doesn't mean you can't mix things up. Add few tablespoons of Red Enchilada sauce to the mix or use green chili enchilada sauce entirely instead (the last one goes very well with chicken).

• Cheddar Cheese - use a Mexican cheese blend or combine 2-3 cheeses of your choice like Cheddar, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack cheese for example.

• Salt and pepper - depending on which condensed cream you'll be using, make sure to taste for seasonings during cooking. The store-bought cream of chicken soup is usually very salty, so just be careful.

• Jalapenos - traditionally a white chicken enchilada is made with fresh or pickled green chilies. The flavor is somewhat similar in both of these, so you can easily substitute jalapenos with chilis.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter.

Lay 6 tortillas for the base.

In a large bowl add sour cream, gluten free cream of chicken soup, jalapenos, milk, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper, and paprika (and bell pepper if using).

The sauce should be thick but still spreadable between the layers. Depending on the thickness of the cream of chicken soup you might need to add more milk.

Stir with a fork or a whisk to combine.

Spread a chicken layer on top of the tortillas (2 cups), add half of the sauce, and top with half of the cheese blend.

Repeat layers (tortilla, chicken, sauce, cheese).

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celcius) or until golden brown, cheese is melted, and bubbly.

Add your favorite garnishes, green onions, fresh cilantro and sprinkle a pinch of chipotle chili powder on top (optional but gives a little spicy kick and smoky flavor).

Make it a meal! The creamy chicken enchilada casserole recipe is best enjoyed with a glass of white wine or Margarita cocktail.

The sour cream sauce is not the only great thing in this great weeknight recipe, what makes it special, are the toppings!

Like in the Vegetarian Enchilada recipe, you can use similar topping ideas that will work in most Mexican food and dinner ideas.

• Diced avocados

• Green onion, scallions, chives

• Drizzle with Sour cream or plain greek yogurt (also coconut yogurt will taste delish!)

• Pico de gallo (authentic Mexican fresh tomato salsa)

• Chile con Queso - a cheesy dip that consists of melted cheese and chili peppers. Or try my Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce instead - the best flavor and texture for vegan cheese sauce I've tried so far!

• Avocado crema - mix of avocado, sour cream and lime/lemon juice.

• Guacamole

• Hot sauce such as Homemade Buffalo Sauce, if you feeling extra spicy!

• Jalapenos (fresh or marinated/pickled)

• Diced tomatoes

• Cilantro/Coriander chopped or whole leaves or substitute with Parsley

• Lime, lemon wedges

• Black olives (pitted & sliced) - if serving with olives make sure to drain them from water and extra sodium if used by the manufacturer. They are naturally salty and I would use a small amount or use less salt in the casserole.

• Corn (canned or fresh) - Make my Cajun Corn On The Cob with or without the creamy layer and serve with enchilada.

• Cotija cheese or feta cheese

• Pickled cabbage

• Gluten-free tortilla chips

• Or serve a fresh salad such as Marinated Cucumber, Tomatoes and Onion as a side dish.

Want to make it a full meal? Start your dinner with a little aperitive like this mouthwatering Skinny Watermelon Margaritas, Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins or Chocolate Mousse for Dessert and Spicy Watermelon Basil Margaritas (Frozen) for digestive!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas recipe is a super easy dish to make - but I'm going to break it up into a few steps and tips to make the process even easier (and faster).

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas recipe is a super easy dish to makeSour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole is a super easy recipe to make - but I'm going to break it up into a few steps and tips to make the process even easier (and faster.)

There are still plenty of variations when it comes down to making a Mexican chicken casserole:

• When mixing the sauce, I like to add ½ cup of sweet canned or fresh boiled/grilled corn, diced yellow or even green bell peppers, ½ cup of finely sliced (diced) mushrooms (part of your ''5 A Day'' :));

• Cook onion - Add ½ of sweet or white onion (or 2 teaspoon onion powder), diced. If you have more prep time, cook it separately until translucent and transfer it to the sauce mix. Otherwise, just follow the recipe instructions.

• Chicken - substitute with slow cooker pulled beef or cooked ground beef of the same amount (4 cups). Have you tried my Beef Enchilada Casserole yet?

• Pickled jalapenos or mild green chiles - substitute with 4 ounce can of Green chilis. You can change the spice levels easily according to your family's needs. The flavor of this cheesy chicken enchilada casserole is mildly spicy so that the whole family can enjoy this great recipe. You can change the spice levels easily according to your family's needs. Although for very picky eaters I'd leave the peppers out completely.

• Make it hot. Increase the heat level by adding cayenne pepper, chili flakes to taste (mix it with the sauce).

• Traditional enchilada recipes require reheating the flour tortillas for easier rolling and stretchy texture. This is not needed here as we are going to cover them with layers and layers of chicken mixture and Cream of Chicken Soup sauce. I highly recommend making a double batch of sauce and making a chicken noodle soup, chicken pasta, mushroom pasta for dinner the next day.

• Make it vegetarian - substitute chicken with canned beans (I like to use at least 2 different beans here such as red kidney beans and black beans)

• If you find the flavor too creamy or want to try something new next time, add some spices! Old El Paso has great pre-mixes available and adding a couple of spoonfuls of taco seasoning, fajita chicken mix will give this white chicken enchilada a new spin!

If you are a frequent visitor on this site, you've probably noticed that my favorite foods of all time are Mexican recipes and Asian/Indian fusion dishes.

They pack so much flavor and are always nutritious which makes me feel full (without excessive snacking) for long long times. If you're like me, you'll love my other favorite Mexican meals such as Creamy Chicken Tacos, Steak Fajita Tacos, Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas, Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos, Healthy White Bean Chicken Chili.

Also, at the Yummy Bowl, you'll find plenty of tasty chicken recipes that are very popular as well.

And the best part is that they are very easy to make (like most of my recipes!) and all, are suitable for a total beginner.

Some of the gluten-free trending chicken recipes include Crispy Chicken Wrap Recipe, Creamy Chicken Tacos, Creamy Chicken With Spinach, Bacon And Sundried Tomatoes, Chicken Zucchini Casserole, Thai Red Curry Chicken Noodles, Chicken Enchiladas With White Sauce, and many more.

For more easy gluten free Chicken recipes check out my Chicken recipe index here.

You'll find very easy and popular Mexican style recipes including more enchilada recipes that I have made to my taste and liking below:

15-minute Enchilada Sauce

Healthy White Bean Chicken Chili

Beef Enchilada Casserole

Baked Buffalo Chicken Tostada

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

Grilled Vegetarian Tostadas

Easy Steak Fajita Tacos

Cajun Corn On The Cob (Boiled, Baked, or On The Grill)

For enchiladas and enchilada casserole it is best to use a wide and large baking dish, at least 9 x 13 inches. I like to use a dish with deep edges so I can cover my enchiladas with plenty of creamy sauce.

Theoretically speaking, you can definitely freeze enchilada casserole. But creamy chicken enchilada casserole is not your best candidate here. Sour cream and any creamy sauces have a tendency to separate after thawing and simply don’t have the flavor and texture that they used to have once cooked for the first time. Enchilada casseroles made with red enchilada sauces happen to freeze much better.

You are in luck! This enchilada casserole is made with a delicious creamy base that is completely gluten-free. I used my Gluten-Free Cream Of Chicken Soup and sour cream for the sauce, gluten-free tortillas, and other ingredients that are already naturally gluten-free. When in doubt, always look for the appropriate gluten-free labeling on the package of any product you are buying.

For this particular chicken enchilada casserole, we don’t necessarily need to cover the dish with aluminum foil. The casserole will cook rather quickly because we are already using pre-cooked chicken. The only thing that will need to cook through are the tortillas, they will soak up the creamy sauce nicely and become soft. The cheese will melt better and become golden brown if not covered.

I hope you enjoy this easy creamy chicken enchilada casserole recipe, please let me know if you make it!

Thank you,

Julia