Easy Sour Cream Enchilada Sauce Recipe
This sour cream enchilada sauce recipe is quick, easy and packed with flavor! It’s the perfect, creamy white sauce for my sour cream enchiladas! And it’s soooo versatile–you can even serve it over pasta or heck, just dip some bread or tortilla chips in it! It’s THAT yummy!
Mexican food or “Taco Tuesday” is a night my whole family can get on board with! Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, you name it and we’re on board!
If you have never had white chicken enchiladas, AKA: enchiladas with sour cream sauce, YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!
This delicious sauce can be poured over pretty much anything and make it amazing but it’s especially made for the best sour cream chicken enchiladas!
This white sauce is so fast, you will be shocked at how easy it is to make homemade enchilada sauce!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Smooth, creamy sauce that’s packed with flavor!
- Easy recipe--you can whip this sauce up in a few minutes!
- Perfect homemade sauce for my sour cream enchiladas!!
- Sooo versatile! You can use this sauce for so many other recipes!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this perfect Sour Cream Enchilada Sauce Recipe:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Sour Cream: I have used both full fat and reduced fat and both have worked just fine!
Chicken bouillon: You can also use 1 teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon or 1 tsp of chicken bouillon powder. Don’t skip this ingredient! It gives the sauce such a rich flavor!
Green Chilis: Some people like to use the entire 4oz. can of diced green chilis in this sauce. I prefer to only use 1 tablespoon–I think it’s a good balance of acidity and flavor. You can absolutely use more if you wish!
Chicken Stock: Regular chicken broth also works.
HOW TO MAKE SOUR CREAM ENCHILADA SAUCE: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together chicken stock, chicken bouillon and garlic powder.
Step 2: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. When butter is melted, add flour, stir and cook for one minute.
Step 3: Slowly add chicken stock mixture, whisking or stirring as you add it. Continue to cook for for 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Step 4: Turn heat down to LOW and add sour cream and green chilis. Cook the sauce 1-2 minutes more until just heated through. Sauce should be creamy and smooth.
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- When adding in the sour cream, ensure that your skillet is on LOW HEAT. You don’t want the sour cream to get too hot, or it will curdle and separate. Just keep your skillet on low, add the sour cream and continue stirring until the sauce is heated through.
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Store this sour cream enchilada sauce in an airtight container (mason jars work great) in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezing: Because the sour cream has a tendency to separate, I do not recommend freezing this sauce.
- Reheating: This sauce will thicken a bit as it sits. You can reheat it in a medium saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes. If sauce is too thick, add a splash of chicken stock to thin it out a bit.
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Chicken Stock: Vegetable stock can be used, although the flavor will be slightly different.
- Heat/Spice: To add a bit of heat to this sauce, add in a dash of cayenne pepper, hot sauce or chili powder.
- Cheese: If you want this white sauce to be a CHEESY white sauce, stir in 1/2 cup of your favorite shredded cheese to the sauce along with the sour cream…and voila! You have a delicious homemade cheese sauce!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This sauce was made for my sour cream enchiladas. However, there are SO MANY other uses for it:
1. Pasta: Pour this sauce over pasta and add chicken or shrimp, too! It’s fantastic over gnocchi!
2. Burritos: Pour it over a burrito and make a pseudo wet burrito!
3. Fish: Pour this sauce over fish — so yummy served with rice pilaf or even Mexican rice!
4. Black Beans: Pour it over black beans for a fancy “sour cream.”
5. Tacos: Pour this sauce right on your tacos…it acts as your “sour cream” but wayyy more flavorful!
When sour cream gets too hot it will curdle and separate. The key is to add the sour cream and keep your pan on a very low heat, so you warm the sauce through, without bringing it to a boil. The result will be a smooth, creamy sauce.
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OTHER RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
I hope you love this Sour Cream Enchilada Sauce! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Easy Sour Cream Enchilada Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled or 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder or 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp butter salted or unsalted
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp canned diced green chilis
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat or reduced fat
Instructions
- In a large measuring cup or small bowl, stir together chicken stock, crumbled chicken bouillon cube (or chicken bouillon powder or Better Than Bouillon ) and garlic powder; set aside.
- In a large skillet (or large saucepan) over medium heat, melt butter. When butter is melted, whisk in flour and cook for one minute.
- Slowly add chicken stock mixture, whisking or stirring as you add it. Continue to cook for for 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Turn heat down to LOW and stir in sour cream and green chilis. Make sure you keep the heat super low and stir the sauce frequently so it doesn't boil. If the sauce boils, the sour cream has a tendency to split and curdle. Cook the sauce 1-2 minutes more until just heated through. Sauce should be creamy and smooth (See Note 1)
- Serve sauce over Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce or any of the serving suggestions in the post above!
Can this sauce be added to enchilladas and frozen ahead of time? or frozen on its own and defrosted for use at a later time?
Hi Stevie! I’ll be honest, the sauce doesn’t freeze well. I would make the enchiladas and freeze them, then on the day you are ready to eat, whip up the sauce–it’s super quick! You can even make the sauce a few days before and store it in the fridge 🙂 Hope that helps! xo
This was delightful! We really enjoy it with tacos as well!
I really enjoy this recipe because of how easy it is to make. I love enchiladas and this is the perfect sauce to use with them. It had a nice texture and flavor.
This was a very versatile sauce! I love it so much!!!
This sauce was fool proof and so good! Thank you! 🙂
This is the perfect sauce! I licked the spoon it was that good! Thank you!
I can’t have flour. Can this be thickened with cornstarch? Thank you for any input!
Yes, that should work!
I love enchiladas, but had never had them with a creamy sauce before! Love this, plus it was so easy!
I love, love chicken enchiladas with a sour cream sauce, and this recipe was delicious! It was perfectly rich and creamy, and it was super simple to whip up. Definitely worth making!
I could lick the plate clean this sauce is so good!
I used to live near a restaurant that made the best sour cream enchiladas that I could never replicate. I never thought to use sour cream in the sauce like this before – SUCH a great idea – can’t wait to try it out!
This was so creamy. Thanks for the awesome recipe!