This easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole is a cheesy, flavorful, comforting, family-friendly meal that’s easy enough to make on a weeknight! Added bonus: it’s perfect to make-ahead and freezes beautifully.
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Video
- How to Make This Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Recipe Tip
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Favorite Casserole Recipes
- Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe
- Recipe Contributors
This recipe is…
Chicken enchilada casserole is one of those dishes that really brings me back to childhood. It was one of my mom’s go-to dishes, which was absolutely fine with us because we loved it so much! The beauty of enchilada casserole is that you get all of the flavor of enchiladas without the work. If you’ve never made enchiladas before – it can be a long process that involves dipping tortillas in hot oil, rolling them around cheese and chicken and hoping they don’t tear, then topping with sauce and cheese and baking.
Instead of going through all of that work (and mess) this chicken enchilada casserole is made lasagna-style! You’ll layer the sauce, add tortillas, chicken, cheese, more sauce, and repeat. For a fun little spin on the traditional casserole, we also topped it with diced avocado, a sour cream lime sauce, and cilantro. That’s the stuff of Tex-Mex dreams!
We love a good casserole over here. If you do too, be sure to check out our Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole, BBQ Chicken Casserole, King Ranch Chicken Casserole, and Chicken Divan Casserole recipes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s not fussy – as mentioned above, this recipe is as easy as they come. Traditional rolled enchiladas can be pretty time consuming to make, but this enchilada casserole checks all the flavor boxes without the fuss!
- It’s family-friendly – who doesn’t love the bold Tex Mex flavors here?! This casserole is one that the whole family will ask for more of.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
You’ll make your own enchilada sauce for this dish, so be sure to add those ingredients to your list, plus the chicken, tortillas, and cheese. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Shredded chicken – keep things super simple by shredding a rotisserie chicken for this recipe, or, if you have chicken breasts or thighs on hand already, simply cook and shred about 2 pounds of that instead following one of these easy methods: slow cooker shredded chicken, Instant Pot shredded chicken, or shredded chicken from frozen in the Instant Pot.
- Enchilada sauce – while this recipe calls for a handful of ingredients to make homemade enchilada sauce (and it’s worth the extra effort if you have the couple of minutes it takes to pull it together), you can absolutely buy your favorite store-bought sauce instead, if you’d like.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Change the sauce – salsa verde or a classic Tex-Mex chili gravy are both great options, as is a store-bought enchilada sauce, if you’d prefer.
- Use a different protein – feel free to use any shredded meat you love here! You can absolutely sub the shredded chicken for shredded pork or shredded beef.
- Add beans – mixing a can of black beans in with the chicken would be a wonderful addition.
- Add veggies – if you want to get your daily serving of veggies in with this casserole, you can easily add in some spinach, diced bell peppers, onions, or even shredded zucchini!
- Make it dairy-free – to make this recipe dairy-free, simply sub the regular sour cream for a non-dairy alternative. You can also skip the sour cream drizzle altogether!
- Make it grain-free – to make this recipe grain-free, simply use grain-free Siete tortillas instead of corn.
- Make it gluten-free – as long as you’re making this recipe with corn tortillas (vs. flour), this recipe is gluten-free.
Video
How to Make This Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This recipe is incredibly easy! Follow along below for the full how-to.
Step 1: While you can use a pre-made enchilada sauce, this one comes together super fast with pantry staples and adds tons of flavor. You’ll simply add some tomato paste, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and spices to a bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 2: To start assembly, spoon a bit of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish.
Step 3: Next, break the corn tortillas in half, and spread 10 tortilla halves across the bottom of the dish to cover it.
Step 4: Next, layer on the chicken, then the shredded cheese, then repeat the layers (enchilada sauce, tortillas, shredded chicken, and cheese) to finish. Once assembled, bake the enchilada casserole at 350°F for 30 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
Step 5: While the enchilada is baking, add the sour cream and lime juice to a small bowl, and whisk until well combined.
Step 6: Top the finished enchilada casserole with avocado, cilantro, and the sour cream sauce, and dig in!
Recipe Tip
If you have a busy week ahead, consider making this recipe over the weekend and just reheating on the night-of.
This is also a great recipe to make ahead and stock your freezer with. It’s reheats from the freezer beautifully – just pop it in a 350°F oven, covered, for 45 minutes, then uncover it and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until fully warmed through.
This casserole all makes for an incredible meal train dinner. Pair it with a simple arugula salad and a batch of chewy chocolate chip cookies to round the meal out.
How to Serve
This chicken enchilada casserole is delicious and complete as-is, but if you want to round it out with a green veggie, you can’t go wrong with this lemon arugula salad or, for something festive and different, this Mexican street corn and kale slaw.
How to Store and Reheat
Store your leftover chicken enchilada casserole either in the casserole dish (covered with a lid or aluminum foil) or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, simply pop the casserole back into the oven until warmed through, or microwave one serving at a time for about 1 minute, until warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can definitely use salsa instead of enchilada sauce here. You may lose a little bit of that signature “enchilada” flavor without the enchilada sauce, but it’ll still be really flavorful and delicious.
Sure! This enchilada casserole can be made with either corn or flour tortillas – you pick whichever you like best. Do note that flour tortillas tend to get a little bit soggier than corn tortillas, but the end product is still really delicious.
This may surprise you (because restaurant enchiladas are often not the healthiest choice), but if you can tolerate dairy, this recipe is actually a pretty balanced, well-rounded meal. With corn tortillas, shredded chicken, and cheese, you’ll get a healthy dose of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.
More Favorite Casserole Recipes
Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 2, 8- ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups shredded chicken*, or about 2 pounds chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 10 corn tortillas, torn in half
- 4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1 large avocado, diced, for garnish
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk together the tomato sauce, tomato paste, chicken broth, salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and pepper, until smooth.
- Spread ½ cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart, 9×13 inch pan, then layer 6 tortilla halves over the sauce, until it is fully covered. Layer 2 cups shredded chicken over the tortillas, then pour over 1 cup of enchilada sauce, and 2 cups shredded cheese.
- Repeat step 3 to build the next layer, using up the rest of the tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese, then bake the casserole at 350°F for 30 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbling. Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and sour cream, then drizzle it over the casserole. Garnish with the avocado and cilantro, then serve!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Sooooo good and easy! I added black beans and used almond flour tortillas which turned out great. I love how easy and clean the enchilada sauce is in this recipe. Makes a casserole taste so fresh. Adding this to the meal rotation for sure!
We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed, Catie! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback and thoughtful substitutions with us! -Team FF
Is this a good meal to make ahead of time to freeze?
You can absolutely make ahead and freeze. To do so, prepare the casserole up to step 3 (you can skip preheating the oven since you won’t bake it until you’re ready to eat it), then cover, label, and freeze. Enjoy!
Hi. Excited to try. Can this be frozen and cooked for a meal when you need it? We’re loving pulling from pre-made freezer meals to either pop in the oven or our insta-pot. Curious? Does corn v. Flour tortillas hold up better in the freezer? Cheers.
Made this for dinner tonight, and oh my is that enchilada sauce good! My husband licked his plate clean, which is always a good sign!
Hi. Excited to try. Can this be frozen and cooked for a meal when you need it? We’re loving pulling from pre-made freezer meals to either pop in the oven or our insta-pot. Curious? Does corn v. Flour tortillas hold up better in the freezer? Cheers.
Hi Amber! This can absolutely be frozen (it’s a favorite for many as a make-ahead freezer meal). I have found that corn tortillas hold up better in the freezer as they tend to not get as soggy as flour tortillas. I recommend reheating in the oven at 350 covered for 50 minutes, then uncovered an additional 10-15 minutes. Enjoy! -Melissa
Made this for dinner tonight, and oh my is that enchilada sauce good! My husband licked his plate clean, which is always a good sign!
Forgot to rate the recipe!
Thank you so much! We appreciate you taking the time to do so. 🙂 -Melissa
Do you make any dished that are low sodium? I need meals with 400 MG or less.
Hi Latoya! We do not have any specific low-sodium recipes, but my general recommendation would be to try to sub fresh ingredients for sauces or pastes (as those can carry a higher sodium content) and up the spices in any recipe to help cut down on the sodium content. For this recipe, I would use fresh tomatoes/salsa for the tomato sauce and tomato paste and a low-sodium chicken broth and up the chili powder, cumin, and and oregano. You can also decrease the amount of cheese. I hope this helps!
I’m sorry I don’t have more concrete recommendations overall, but would love to continue to help with specific recipes as you have recipes if you email support@fedandfit.com. ~Melissa
Do you know if this can be frozen? Before or after cooking?
Thanks!
Definitely! I’d freeze after fully assembling but before baking it. Everything should be cooked at that point, anyway!
This was delicious!!! My family loves when I make enchiladas, which is super time consuming, so this was a much easier version with the same great flavors!
Wahoo! So glad to hear that, Colleen!
This was a delicious and quick recipe!
So glad to hear that, Maria! Thank you for sharing!
Sooooo good and easy! I had all of the ingredients on hand or in the freezer so perfect to whip up for a yummy weekday meal. Definitely going to make this again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Catie! Thank you for commenting to let us know!
So delicious plus it’s easy and quick to throw together! Hubby liked it too!
Score!! So glad you both enjoyed it, Alison!
Can you freeze leftovers?
Definitely!
Can you make this dairy free?
Sure! Omit the cheese (or use your favorite dairy-free cheese) + either leave off the sour cream sauce or sub the sour cream with full-fat coconut milk. Enjoy!
I have made this recipe, froze this recipe and given it away as meals to friends in need. It’s a hit every time and couldn’t be easier. It’s on my regular monthly rotation. I use half the salt listed in the sauce because my chicken broth has salt in it already.
So glad you love this one, Michelle. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!