Creamy White Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas
Try this Creamy White Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Creamy White Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 jalapeã±os, seeded and diced
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups chicken broth divided
- 1 cup heavy cream divided
- 1 tsp paprika divided
- 3 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded and divided
- 8 medium sized corn tortillas
- 3 avocados, divided
- Carbohydrate 8.75481555729841 g
- Cholesterol 433.916250052821 mg
- Fat 112.399760311594 g
- Fiber 0.132372227562798 g
- Protein 96.2874308346004 g
- Saturated Fat 45.0508505676394 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (560g)
- Sodium 772.867833376264 mg
- Sugar 8.62244332973561 g
- Trans Fat 7.96766472396116 g
- Calories 1446 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet saute the onion and jalapeño in the oil, over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the shredded chicken and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in ½ cup of chicken broth, ½ cup of heavy cream, ½ tsp of paprika, and ½ tsp of salt. Stir, and heat through. Remove and set aside.
- In a separate large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. While whisking the butter in the pan, slowly sprinkle in the flour. Continue to whisk until it becomes clumpy, then slowly drizzle in the remaining 1½ cups of chicken broth. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth and starts to thicken slightly.
- Pour in the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream and sour cream; stir.
- Add 2 cups of Monterey Jack cheese, the remaining ½ tsp of paprika and stir until the cheese is melted. Peel and dice 2 avocados and add them to the cheese sauce; stir. Set aside.
- Heat the corn tortillas in the microwave until they are soft and flexible. Place a small portion of the chicken mixture in the center, top with a couple slices of the remaining avocado, then roll up. Place seam side down in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Repeat until tortillas and chicken mixture are used up.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the enchiladas, and sprinkle with the remaining 1½ cups of Monterey Jack cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- (optional: top with a little sour cream, and a side of salsa) Enjoy!
Building the Sauce and Managing Avocados
Building a cream sauce requires continuous mechanical agitation to prevent scorching as dairy proteins coagulate. When folding diced fresh avocados directly into the Monterey Jack cheese sauce off the heat, residual thermal energy softens the fruit without breaking down its delicate cell structures into an unappealing puree. Substitutions alter this balance significantly; using pre-shredded cheese introduces anti-caking starches like cellulose or potato starch, which inhibit a smooth melt and result in a grainy sauce rather than the velvety emulsion produced by freshly grated block cheese. Corn tortillas demand specific handling because amylopectin starches within the masa harden rapidly as they cool, making microwave heating essential to render them flexible enough to roll tightly without cracking along the seams.
Baking Dynamics and Structural Integrity
Placing rolled enchiladas seam-side down in a nine-by-thirteen-inch casserole dish uses gravity and thermal expansion to keep the tortillas closed during baking without requiring toothpicks. Baking the assembly at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty to twenty-five minutes allows heat to penetrate the dense layers of shredded cooked chicken and cheese without boiling the heavy cream separation point, which occurs if the dairy overheats and curdles. Utilizing raw jalapeños provides a bright, capsicum-driven heat that mellows during the baking cycle, whereas pickled alternatives introduce unwanted acetic acid that would clash with the rich sour cream and butter emulsion.
