Two grand events coincided to bring you today’s avocadolicious post.
First, I had the most amazing chicken and avocado enchiladas for lunch yesterday, topped with a killer avocado cream sauce. And as I was finishing the final bite, the I-could-totally-make-these-at-home lightbulb went off.
Second, this is the kick off week for the “California Avocado 4th of July Blast“, hosted by blogger friends Kristen (Dine & Dish) and Dara (Cookin’ Canuck). These girls are celebrating some serious avocado love by encouraging bloggers and home cooks to share their favorite avocado recipes, which I cannot wait to see!
So of course, the stars aligned and it seemed only fitting that I should whip up some chicken and avocado enchiladas today! I happened to see some gorgeous poblanos at the market today, so decided to add them to the chicken and cheese filling. But the rockstar of the recipe is without a doubt the avocado cream sauce. It pretty much is like guacamole in a sauce — delicious avocados, fresh cilantro, lime juice, sour cream, and a few other saucy ingredients. And while you could definitely add in some jalapenos or serranos to give it an extra kick, my tastetester-friend Sarah and I agreed that the sauce was actually pleasantly mild and fresh. Definitely a good recipe to serve to a crowd (or kids) that might not like a ton of heat.
For other great recipes, be sure to check our the “4th of July Blast” and share your own avocado favorites!
Chicken & Avocado Enchiladas
Ingredients
Enchilada Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 poblano peppers, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (remove seeds for less heat)
- 8-10 (6-inch) flour tortillas
- 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2-3 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
- optional garnish: fresh cilantro, sour cream, and/or shredded cheese
Avocado Cream Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 2 California avocados, peeled and pitted
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- juice of one lime
Instructions
To Make The Enchiladas:
- Prepare the “Avocado Cream Sauce” as listed below. Preheat the oven to 375? F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, poblano and jalapeno, and saute for 5-6 minutes until the onions are cooked and translucent. Remove from heat.
- To assemble the enchiladas, place a tortilla on a flat surface. Spread a tablespoon or two of the avocado sauce down the middle of the tortilla. Then layer on some of the vegetable mixture, shredded chicken and cheese. Carefully roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Drizzle the top with about half of the remaining avocado cream sauce, then cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, or until tortillas are heated through and begin to harden.
- Remove from the oven, then serve individual enchiladas drizzled with the remainder of the avocado cream sauce. You can also garnish with additional cilantro, cheese, and/or sour cream.
To Make Avocado Cream Sauce:
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the flour, whisking until golden and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly whisk the broth into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, cumin, salt, garlic powder and pepper, whisking if necessary to remove any lumps. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Add avocados, cilantro and lime juice, and pulse until smooth and well-blended. (Be very careful blending hot liquids — the heat will expand! So be sure to remove the lid occasionally so that the heat can escape.) Season with additional salt or pepper if needed.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Join Dine & Dish and Cookin’ Canuck for the California Avocado 4th of July Blast, sponsored by the California Avocado Commission.
Just made these for dinner and it was a hit!!! We added green peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. We also added a drizzle of chili sauce on top. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
this looks so yummy! thanks!!
Made this tonight. Delicious! My new favorite enchilada recipe. Thanks for sharing this!
I made this for our family tonight and it was AWESOME!!! I’ll definitely be adding this recipe to my favorites file. Thank you!!!
Yummo! I can’t wait to make these tomorrow night
I came upon this recipe very recently and couldn’t wait to try it. Being a vegetarian I am always looking for recipes that can easily be converted. I made this last night for my family and oh man WOW!!!!! I made chicken for my husband and red bean for myself. Fantastic!!! Although my five year old passed on it, we will be making this recipe for the rest of our lives!! Thank you!!!!
I can’t wait to try this tonight but i need to know do i use two small avocado’s or the big ones? I feel silly asking this but I have never made anything with avocado.
I followed this recipe to a “T” and OMG……it was AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing. I look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
How far in advance could you prep the Avocado cream sauce?
How far in advance could you prepare these?i don’t want the Avacado sauce to go brown!!!!