This crave-able green chile enchilada casserole is the best variation on the internet! It’s creamy, dreamy, tangy, and, if you already have shredded chicken on hand, there’s ZERO cooking involved. You read that right. Just mix your filling, layer with tortillas and shredded cheese, and bake. That’s it! It’s the perfect recipe for the busiest of humans and totally delicious!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Green Chile Enchilada Casserole
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Favorite Casserole Recipes
- Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Casserole Recipe Recipe
This recipe is…
I’m a BIG fan of casseroles, especially in this particularly busy season of my life with work and two littles at home. I don’t have a lot of time to fuss with a laundry list of ingredients or steps to prepare an elaborate meal, but still want something super nourishing and tasty for my family. Enter this casserole! It is seriously the casserole my dreams are made of.
A lot of the traditional green chile casseroles had cream of chicken soup in the filling. I wanted to protect the creamy nature of the filling, but have a really viable gluten-free option that didn’t involve making your own cream-of-something soup and that was versatile enough to also make dairy-free with a few tweaks.
Enter two of my favorite loves, sour cream and cream cheese. The combo of the two makes the filling extra creamy, with just the right amount of tang from the green chiles and lime juice. Everything mixes together in one bowl (no need to dirty any extra dishes), then gets layered in the casserole dish, and baked to bubbly perfection. It’s so easy, I’m confident you’ll find yourself coming back to it over and over again as a dinnertime staple!
Looking for more delicious casserole recipes? We’ve got a ton. Start with this King Ranch Chicken Casserole, Confetti Chicken Casserole, and this Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy and delicious – this cheesy, creamy casserole goes from the starting line to the dinner table in under an hour, leaving you plenty of time to live your life.
- It’s simple to modify – whether you are gluten-free or dairy free I have made this enchilada casserole recipe super easy to modify to your taste.
- It’s basically a no-cook dinner – use up leftover chicken or purchase a rotisserie chicken. All you have to do is assemble and bake!
Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
The list is short but the flavors are all there in this chicken enchilada casserole recipe. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Shredded Chicken – use leftover, cooked chicken or by a rotisserie chicken to keep this recipe “no-cook.”
- Green Chiles – you can choose whichever heat level of canned green chiles you prefer to keep the flavors mild or spice it up more.
- Cream cheese and sour cream – this creamy duo replaces the need for canned cream soups you often find in casserole ingredient lists.
- Corn tortillas – use your favorite brand of store-bought tortillas. I call for corn, but flour or grain-free (like Siete) tortillas would work just as well here if you prefer.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it dairy-free – to make this casserole dairy-free, use a dairy-free sour cream (Kite Hill or Forager make great options) and dairy-free cream cheese (I like Kite Hill), and omit the cheese. Add an extra layer of tortillas on the top and top with a green Chile salsa or enchilada sauce.
- Make it spicy – the green chiles on their own are not inherently spicy, so if you’d like to add a kick to your casserole, add a bit of cayenne or chopped jalapeños in with the creamy chicken mixture, or use spicy green chiles instead of regular canned green chiles.
- Add black olives, black beans, or corn – any combination of these three (or even just one of them) would be really delicious tossed in the casserole itself. Simply stir corn, black beans, and/or black olives in with the chicken mixture.
- Play with garnishes – get creative with your garnishes! Sour cream and thinly sliced jalapeños would both be really delicious adds.
How to Make Green Chile Enchilada Casserole
This chicken enchilada casserole recipe is as simple as assemble and bake. To find out how to make it yourself, follow along below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, cream cheese, lime juice, spices and green chiles until well combined (it doesn’t need to be completely smooth). Add the chicken and stir making sure to fully coat the chicken in the cream cheese mixture.
Step 2: Line the bottom of a 9-by-13 inch baking dish with a single layer of 6 corn tortillas.
Step 3: Add half of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas, spread into an even layer.
Step 4: Sprinkle half the cheese over top the chicken layer.
Step 5: Repeat the same process for the second layer.
Step 6: Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Garnish with cilantro, then serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Use a rotisserie chicken to make things really easy on yourself.
- Don’t pull your casserole out of the oven before the cheese has a chance to get nice and browned and bubbly. Melted cheese is great, but browned and bubbly cheese really takes the flavor of this dish up a notch.
How to Serve
While this casserole is a filling, balanced meal all on its own, I want to create a little bit of a spread if time allows! Think Mexican street corn and kale slaw, black bean and corn salad, and a fresh margarita.
How to Store and Reheat
To store: Store your leftover casserole in an airtight container (or covered casserole dish) in the refrigerator.
To reheat: Reheat individual portions in the microwave (or oven). If you stored your casserole in the casserole dish and want to reheat the whole thing, feel free to pop it in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can absolutely prep your creamy chicken enchilada casserole in advance! To do this, you can either:
Fully bake and store the whole thing – follow the recipe as written for assembly and baking instructions, but pull the casserole out of the oven before the cheese has a chance to brown. Let it cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. When you’re ready to enjoy, pop the whole casserole dish in a 350°F oven (uncovered) until heated through, browned, and bubbly.
Assemble and bake later – follow the directions in the recipe card to assemble your casserole, then store it (before baking) covered in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to enjoy, pop the whole thing (uncovered) in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
We used corn tortillas in this recipe, but you could absolutely use flour if you’d prefer. Go with what you have/what you love!
More Favorite Casserole Recipes
If you tried this Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Casserole recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Creamy Green Chile Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3, 4-ounce cans green chiles
- 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- 12 corn tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream, cream cheese, lime juice, spices, and green chiles until well incorporated (it's ok if its not completely smooth! The cream cheese will melt while baking).
- Add the chicken to the mixture and stir to coat.
- Line the bottom of a 9×13 dish with a single layer of 6 corn tortillas. Add half of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas, spread in an even layer, and then sprinkle two cups of cheese over top of the chicken. Repeat the same process for the second layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly. If the cheese isn't browning, you can turn on the broiler for a couple minutes to brown the top.
- Garnish with cilantro, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make it dairy-free – to make this casserole dairy-free, use a dairy-free sour cream (like Forager or Kite Hill) and dairy-free cream cheese (like Kite Hill), and omit the cheese. Add an extra layer of tortillas on the top and top with a green Chile salsa or enchilada sauce.
- Make it spicy – the green chiles on their own are not inherently spicy, so if you’d like to add a kick to your casserole, add a bit of cayenne or chopped jalapenos in with the creamy chicken mixture, or use spicy green chiles instead of regular canned green chiles.
- Add black olives, black beans, or corn – any combination of these three (or even just one of them) would be really delicious tossed in the casserole itself. Simply stir corn, black beans, and/or black olives in with the chicken mixture.
- Play with garnishes – get creative with your garnishes! Sour cream and thinly sliced jalapeños would both be really delicious adds.
Nutrition
This was so good!
Aww yay! We are so happy you enjoyed it, Kristin!