Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Shells with Sour Cream Sauce

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Cheesy chicken enchilada stuffed shells bathed in a white sour cream and cheese sauce are such a delicious and hearty meal. They are part Tex-Mex, part pasta and all amazing!

There is something extra fun about stuffed shells. They look amazing and there are so many possibilities for fillings.

A while back I posted a recipe for chicken Parmesan stuffed shells and they were an instant hit. It had me instantly wanting to stuff more shells with nontraditional fillings.

We absolutely love the cheesy sour cream sauce that makes our favorite pulled pork enchiladas over the top amazing. So a twist on that seemed absolutely necessary.

Creamy White Enchilada Sauce

To make the sauce, start by making a quick roux. Just melt some butter in a pan and add some flour.

Cook it for a few minutes, stirring frequntly. It doesn’t take long, it shouldn’t take on any color just cook enough to get the flour taste out.

Now whisk in your chicken broth and cook until it starts to bubble. Those bubbles mean the flour is doing its job and thickening up the liquid.

Once the base starts to thicken, you can stir in the cheese until it melts. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream.

The chopped green chilies are optional but delicious. They add just a bit of zip and interest to the mix.

Pour your creamy sauce over the prepared shells and its ready for the oven. Because everything is already cooked, it won’t take very long before you are ready to eat.

The Filling

These beauties can be stuffed with leftover chicken if you have some. Just chop it or shred it and you are ready to go.

You can even use some rotisserie chicken if that makes it better for you. Do whatever makes getting dinner on the table possible, there is no judgment here.

I just cooked some chicken breasts in an instant pot. I used chicken broth for the cooking liquid and then used that extra chicken-y broth in the sauce.

It was a great way to use it all and infuse the most amount of flavor. Then just shred the chicken breasts and you are ready to go.

Stir in some cheese and a little bit of seasoning and the filling is done. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

The Pasta

Prepping the jumbo shells is nice and easy as well. Just use a large pot and plenty of water.

Cook the shells to al dente. They should be soft enough to work with, but not over done. The pasta will cook more in the sauce.

Drain the water and give them a quick rinse. That will help to cool them down to make working with them easier as well and rinsing off the extra starch and keep them from sticking together.

Gently fill each shell with some of that shredded chicken and cheese filling. Place them in a greased 9×13-inch pan and you will bre ready for the sauce in no time.

Not in the mood for stuffing pasta shells? Make creamy chicken enchiladas instead!

Prepping Ahead

If you want to get the prep work ahead of time, it is totally possible. Just get everything ready to go and cover the pan.

Place it in the refrigerator for up to a couple of days. Then pull it out when you preheat the oven to take the chill off.

You will want to add an extra ten minutes or so to the bake time to make sure everything is heated through. But you will be ready to dig in with almost no effort.

Side Dish Ideas

These stuffed shells would be very good with just a nice simple green salad. Or serve it with a corn, black bean and avocado salad.

You could also serve traditional Mexican restaurant side dishes like refried beans and salsa rice. If you want to double down on the pasta, you could even whip up some enchilada pasta salad.

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