Name: Chicken and Cream Cheese Enchiladas
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese, softened; 4 ounces diced green chilis, drained; 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded; 2 1/2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided; 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas; 2 cups storebought or easy homemade enchilada sauce

Decadent cream cheese enchiladas with chicken and green chile. Use a rotisserie chicken and quick enchilada sauce and these creamy enchiladas are ready to bake in about 20 minutes.

overhead photo of a a baking dish with chicken enchiladas

Left to my own devices this past weekend I curled up with Julia Child’s memoir, My Life in France, and was so moved by her story that I set my sites on roasting a whole chicken for Sunday dinner. It all felt very French and very Julia until I got to the store and fell prey to the rotisserie chickens sitting in their display hot and ready and already cooked.

I had a moment of shame somehow feeling like I was cheating on Julia, but buying a rotisserie chicken shortened my shopping list and also meant I just got time back to finish Julia’s book instead of prepping and roasting a chicken.

Once I got home with the chicken I decided to make chicken enchiladas with it. It wasn’t a roast chicken, but I think Julia would have approved. I mean, I was in the kitchen cooking, right? If a shortcut helps make that happen, then yay.

So a classic roasted chicken turned into a cozy chicken and cream cheese enchiladas inspired by one of the giants of the culinary world. Inspiration can happen in the weirdest ways sometimes.

With a couple of short-cuts, these creamy chicken enchiladas are easy to prep in about 20 minutes. Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes and you’ll have a cozy and comforting dinner.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Cream cheese
canned diced green chiles
mild cheddar cheese
shredded or cubed cooked chicken
Flour tortillas
Store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce

Using a rotisserie chicken for these enchiladas makes it so easy and you can use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce or try my quick homemade version. With these two short cuts, the prep time is only about 20 minutes.

For the cream cheese, it helps to leave it out at room temperature for several hours to soften it. If you’re like me and forget to do that, you can also cut the cold cream cheese into cubes and use an electric mixer to mix it with the other ingredients.

Assemble the Enchiladas

Spread a thin layer of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.
Combine the cream cheese and green chile in a bowl. Divide the mixture evenly among the tortillas.
Top the cream cheese with the chicken and cheddar cheese and roll up the tortilla. Place each in the baking dish.
Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top of the sauce.
Cover the dish with foil and bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes at 350°F. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Happy enchilada-making!

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