Gluten free chicken enchiladas made with a white cream cheese sauce and green salsa verde. Bold flavors and the best enchilada texture thanks to grain free cassava tortillas.
I have for you today the dish you will become famous for making. The chicken enchilada recipe that everyone will request for their birthday and any get together you are in charge of cooking.
These white chicken enchiladas are creamy, garlicy, have a little kick and are sooo cheesy. Like literally one of my favorite comfort food dishes.
But beyond the flavor burst to your taste buds, you know what I think really makes these enchiladas so addicting? For me it's the texture. The soft but chewy tortillas that just do magic when baked in a white enchilada sauce, that will taste and feel just like regular ones full of gluten.
Here are a few other reasons to absolutely fall in love with this dish:
- The quickest ever to assemble. You get to blend everything in a blender and use rotisserie chicken to make it so great for lazy nights in the kitchen.
- It tastes so good the next day. Nothing better than powering thru to lunch knowing you have left over Mexican food to eat, ami right?
- So perfect for topping with whatever your heart desires- splash of fresh lemon, cilantro, sour cream, crunchy lettuce just to name a few!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Tortillas- We like to keep this dish completely grain free and use Siete grain free tortillas, but you can use any gluten free tortilla you like.
- Chicken- I like to use rotisserie chicken to make life super easy. However you can use leftover chicken or make some ahead of time to shred for this meal.
- Cream cheese- This is the main part of the dish. You don't want to leave this out, but if for some reason you wanted to use a low fat version, that would work.
- Salsa Verde- The main star for flavor of the sauce. This is easy to find right next to regular salsa. You could sub in a tomatillo salsa if preferred. Just keep it green not red.
- Cilantro- When I originally wrote this recipe I used freeze dried cilantro. That was a mistake. Fresh is SO much better with this dish. I highly recommended additional for topping the dish after its baked.
- Tapioca starch- This is what is used to thicken the sauce. Arrowroot would work as well, and most likely a gluten free flour, but it hasn't been tested. Tapioca is easy to find at the grocery store by all of the other gf flours, is cheap, and grain free.
- Shredded cheese- Use any cheese you love the most. I like it best with a Monterey or Colby Jack cheese. I always recommend shredding yourself for the best flavor.
Expert tips
A few tips for the best experience:
- Heat Tortillas- Don't skip heating up the tortillas. The tortillas are more pliable when heated a touch. You want them to stay intact when rolling so when you serve, everything stays whole.
- Blender tips- If you don't have a high powered blender you may need to chop your onion a bit. If you don't have a blender you could use a food processor. If you don't have either you can make the sauce by dicing the onions and chopping the cilantro. Then slowly melt the cream cheese and broth together in a medium pan. Whisk until smooth, then add remaining ingredients.
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Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Gluten free chicken enchiladas with a garlicy, cheese, bold sauce that is so easy to come together because you get to blend it all in one step!
Ingredients
- 8 gluten free or grain free tortillas
- 3 cups of cooked shredded and chopped chicken (rotisserie works great)
Sauce:
- 8 ounces of cream cheese
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 1 cup of salsa verde
- ½ white onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup of loosely packed cilantro leaves, no stems
- 3 tablespoons of tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Topping
- 1 cup of shredded cheese
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 400°F
- Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- In a large bowl, add prepared chicken with 1 cup of sauce from blender. Mix well.
- In a 10x6 baking dish, pour ½ cup of sauce evenly into the bottom. Heat the stack of tortillas in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to make warm enough to bend without cracking.
- Place approx. 2 ½ tablespoons of chicken mixture into a tortilla, roll up and place seem side down into casserole dish, on top of sauce. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Pour the remaining sauce on the rolled enchiladas and top with cheese.
- Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until the dish is bubbly and cheese is melted and beginning to brown in spots.
- Enjoy warm and with your favorite toppings like fresh chopped cilantro, sour cream, lettuce, jalapenos, more salsa etc.
Notes
- Picky eater tips: serve them a quesadilla with reserved shredded chicken and cheese, no sauce.
- Feel free to use any cheese you like! I do recommend shredding your self from the block for the best flavor. I suggest colby jack or Monterey jack cheese.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: gluten free chicken enchiladas, white sauce chicken enchiladas, chicken enchiladas with cream cheese
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Katie
My family absolutely gobbled them these up! Even my picky eater kids. We now keep this recipe in our regular rotation!
★★★★★
Loren
THANKS SO MUCH KATIE!
Amber
The sauce is my absolute favorite!
★★★★★
Becky
Curious if anyone has tried to make these and then freeze them. We loved these!
★★★★★
Loren Runion
Hi Becky! I haven't tried to freeze these but I think as long as you let them come to room temperature they should do ok! The sauce may appear a little separated as it thaws but should taste great! Let me know if you give it a try. Thanks so much for leaving a review!