This One Pan Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet gives you all the flavor and deliciousness of hand-rolled sour cream chicken enchiladas without all the work! It's cheesy, creamy, zesty and your family is going to love it!
Alright, folks here's the deal. I love sour cream chicken enchiladas with a giant pink puffy heart, but I hardly ever make them. By the time dinnertime rears its ugly head, the last thing I want to do is attempt to roll up enchiladas (like these delicious green chile and cheese ones) while my toddler plays the part of Godzilla in my kitchen.
Seriously, this kid.
Is it a boy thing? My girls were not climbers and into everything like he is. It's about all I can do every day to keep him from killing himself, let alone make some dang enchiladas.
So, we make skillet chicken enchiladas. They have all the flavor of your normal enchiladas but take 300% less work! Are you sold yet?
How to Make Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Step 1.) Make the Sour Cream Enchilada Sauce
The Sour Cream Enchilada Sauce is what makes this recipe, and it's basically a thickened chicken broth, seasoned up and studded with green chiles and black olives.
Step 2.) Cook and Shred the Chicken
Once the sour cream enchilada sauce is made, you're going to cook the chicken right in it! Place your chicken breasts right into the sauce to cook at a low simmer for about 15 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, you'll take it out of the sauce, shred it up, stir some sour cream into the sauce and put the chicken back in.
Step 3.) Add Tortillas
Enchiladas wouldn't be enchiladas without tortillas, right? You'll cut some corn tortillas into bite-sized squares and add them right into the sour cream sauce and chicken.
Give it a stir.
Step 4.) Add The Cheese!
Top the entire skillet with cheese, cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes until bubbly. Once it's done, you'll have something that looks something like this. Not too shabby, right?
Seriously, if you're a chicken enchilada fan like I am, this One Pan Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet is your new best friend.
Cooking Tips for Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet
I've had a few people comment that this recipe doesn't have enough spice or kick to it. The recipe as written will give you a sauce that is creamy, just lightly seasoned and lets the flavor of the chicken, cheese, and tortillas come through-- like the sour cream chicken enchiladas that I grew up eating! 🙂
This mild sour cream sauce is meant to be just that-- mild! So if you are looking for a more tangy and spicy sauce, like red enchilada sauce, you can substitute 2 cups canned red enchilada sauce for the chicken broth, flour, and butter.
You can still stir in the sour cream to make a creamy sauce if you'd like. You can even make your own Homemade Enchilada Sauce, or just make one of these awesome recipes-- Easy Beef Enchilada Skillet or Chicken Black Bean Enchilada Skillet
Can I Freeze This Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet?
Yes, just like its full-blown enchilada cousin, this skillet freezes and reheats well.
Tools Used for This Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Recipe
- Better Than Boullion: I use a lot of chicken/beef/vegetable broth in my recipes because it adds such nice flavor, but I don’t love keeping cans or cartons of it in my pantry. For this reason (and more) I use this broth base anytime I call for broth in my recipes. It only takes one teaspoon of the base to make 1 cup of flavorful broth and can be stored for quite a while in the refrigerator.
- Anolon Nouvelle Copper Non-Stick Skillet: These non-stick pans are metal utensil safe and last a long time. I've been using Anolon's pans exclusively for the past five years and am still in love with them!
Want More Easy One Pan Meals?
- One Pan Easy Chicken Cacciatore
- One Pan Crack Bean Burritos
- One Pan Smothered Chicken Skillet
- One Pan Cheeseburger Macaroni
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- Barbeque Chicken
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One Pan Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon chipotle chili powder optional
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 4 ounces chopped green chiles
- 4 ounces chopped black olives
- 3 whole boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 cup sour cream
- 12 whole corn tortillas cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups colby-jack cheese grated
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute and whisk in chicken broth. Continue stirring until smooth and thickened-- about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir chipotle chili powder, salt, oregano, green chiles and black olives into the sauce and place chicken breasts into pan. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and cook about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken from pan, leaving the heat on low, and place chicken on a plate to shred into bite-sized pieces.
- Stir sour cream into the sauce and return chicken to the pan along with the tortillas. Stir until combined and top with grated cheese. Cover pan and cook for 5-8 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Kristen Walker says
We love it! I added a bit more kick with Cumin and extra green peppers. We have a diabetic in the family - so I served skillet toasted tortillas on the side so folks could choose their carbs. Well done! Thank you for the recipe!
J’Lynn Elder says
Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe! I made this for supper tonight, with the expectation that my husband would not like it.... well, he loved it!! I followed the directions and used all the ingredients, with the exceptions of not adding the tortillas, but served them on the tortillas like tacos. I did add a small chopped onion while it was cooking and topped with cilantro. We do have a ton of leftovers. I’ll cut it in half next time.
MavsDallTX says
Does the chicken have to be thin? Little worried about the cooking method.
pam says
I used a rotisserie chicken and poured the juice from the cooked chicken into the sauce for added flavor. No worries about cooking the chicken and have leftover meat for another recipe.?
Lanna says
I thought this sounded good but had no clue it would be as good as it is. So very easy and quick to make. delicious!!!
Tina Rodriguez says
Very easy and tasty dish! I somehow missed the black olives, but I will definitely add next time. A quick, easy dish for those busy weeknights!
Susan Angell says
I love sour cream chicken enchiladas and this was quick and delicious! I cut this recipe in half since it was just for me. I used a left over rotisserie chicken and added some chopped jalapeños for a little bite and oh my, I will be making this again and maybe a full recipe!
Marlene Weist says
Hi Heather, I would like to subscribe to your blog but cannot find where to do so.
Marcie says
I can't handle spicy foods so I thought this would be perfect. I read the other comments and tasted as I went. It would have been bland even for me but it was easy enough to add additional seasoning. Great base recipe if people want to add to it.
I did not add the tortillas. I live alone and knew I'd have tons of leftovers and was worried about how the tortillas would hold up after a few days. Any info on that?
Thanks so much for sharing!!
Moliver says
Loved it! Made this for the first time. Used green chili enchilada sauce in place of the butter/flour/broth, and still added green chilis. We put it over steamed rice. My husband said this should be in our regular food rotation. Thank you.
Jeanie says
Wow! ? We LOVE this dish! Thanks a million! We love quick, delicious week nite dinners! This is a fave! (We use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and it works too) Mild is just the way we like it! ?
Wanda Arrington says
Going to make this week.Interested in your broth.You said you don’t like to keep cans and boxes in your pantry.So what do you do? I don’t have a lot of cabinet space nor a pantry.
Heather Cheney says
I use Better Than Boullion brand chicken base. You use 1 teaspoon per 1 cup water to make broth and the jar keeps in the fridge for several months.
Lisa says
Excellent recipe but very mild. Instead of broth I used green enchilada sauce and then followed your recipe. Sometimes I add black beans to it just for fun cause I like them along with my favorite jalapeño rub for super kick. Really great recipe, thank you for sharing it, I make it often!