Enchilada Casserole with Chicken and Cheese
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Enchilada Casserole is a delicious easy to make dinner that can be prepared ahead and frozen for convenience.
Enchilada casserole is one of the first recipes I made and published here way back in 2009. And while it’s undergone some revisions for simplification, the end result is still the same delicious chicken enchilada casserole! We love to serve it with some sour cream, yellow rice and black bean soup!
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Enchilada Casserole
Enchilada Casserole with Chicken and Cheese
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Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
- Flour tortillas – You’ll want the large soft tortillas. You could also use large soft corn tortillas as well.
- Tomatoes – We used canned diced tomatoes to simplify the recipe, but fresh could also be used. Or try subbing in our fresh pico de gallo recipe!
- Chicken breasts – Part of the process for this recipe is cooking the chicken before assembling the casserole, but if you’re in a hurry you could use precooked chicken.
- Onions – I like to use sweet yellow onions, finely chopped.
- Minced garlic – Fresh garlic will give you the most bang for your buck, but pre-minced garlic from a jar will work as well.
- Green peppers – I like to use fresh green peppers and cook them with the chicken and onions (as described in the recipe), but if you’re wanting to make quicker work of it you could use frozen chopped peppers and onions. They will be softer from the freezing/thawing process and can be added directly to the casserole without cooking first.
- Enchilada sauce – We use the red enchilada sauce for this recipe, but feel free to play with it and try other flavors as well!
- Shredded cheese – We use Mexican blend shredded cheese (sometimes referred to as Fiesta Blend).
How do you make enchilada casserole?
Step-by-step
⭐ First, add peppers, onions, garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil to a large roasting pan. Toss gently. Lay chicken breasts over top of peppers and onions, season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil and bake .
⭐ Next, drain off excess liquid (or save to use as the broth base in Black Bean Soup or Tortilla Soup!), and place peppers, onions, and garlic in a large bowl.
⭐ Then, shred chicken, then add to the bowl along with some cheese, and the drained tomatoes. Stir so ingredients are evenly distributed.
⭐ Then, When your dish is full and you’re out of stuffing/tortillas (no worries if it’s a tight fit!), Pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over top. Use a spoon to coax it into the nooks and crannies.
Can you freeze chicken enchilada casserole?
Yes, you can freeze chicken enchilada casserole! This recipe serves about ten, so if you’re cooking for a small group, it’s a great idea to make the casserole in two smaller casserole dishes, then freeze one. I like to freeze ours before baking.
If you’re cooking for a crowd or have a giant family like mine, go ahead and double the recipe.
How long do you bake chicken enchilada casserole?
Once everything is cooked and assembled (we use already cooked chicken, peppers, and onions), then you’ll bake the casserole for about an hour. The cook time, if you start with raw ingredients, is two hours but this can be cut down significantly if you start with pre-cooked chicken and frozen/thawed vegetables. I like to have cooked chicken on hand all the time, but a rotisserie chicken would work in a pinch as well.
What goes well with chicken enchiladas?
There are several things that go well with chicken enchiladas, but we like to serve them with fresh pico de gallo, or roasted salsa, sour cream, yellow rice, and cilantro garlic sauce.
Also, corn or sweet corn soup! Can you tell I love soup? Mmmmmm.
More delicious Mexican inspired recipes
Black Bean Soup | Roasted Restaurant Style Salsa | Mexican Stuffed Peppers | Chicken Nachos | Chicken Taco Casserole | Easy Taco Salad
| See all our takes on Mexican recipes!
More chicken recipes to love
Honey Mustard Chicken | Teriyaki Chicken | Chicken Enchilada Casserole | Chicken Parm Hoagies | Coconut Chicken | Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Bacon | See all our chicken recipes!
More Casseroles you need to try
Breakfast Casserole | Easy Sweet Potato Casserole | Green Bean Casserole Recipe | Shepherd’s Pie Casserole | Classic Tater Tot Casserole | See all our weeknight casserole recipes!
Tools we love
- Roasting pan – This is the Ikea roasting pan that you see us use on the live show all the time, and it’s pictured here too in the image with the chicken and peppers. Love this pan!
- Garlic Press & Chopper – Best tool evvvvah. Love this garlic press, it’s so nice for making super quick minced garlic. No more mincing with a knife for me!
- Stainless Steel Spatula – There’s nothing worse than trying to grab the perfect serving of casserole from your dish and having the plastic spatula bend. Stainless steel spatulas are where it’s at!
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls – Classic, basic, mixing bowls that everyone should have in your kitchen. You’ve seen me use them on the cooking show at least seventy bajillion time. Ish.
- Solid wood cutting board – P.S. I love cutting boards. I have a massive collection of cutting boards. Loveeee them.
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How to Make Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Enchilada Casserole with Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 - 12 large flour tortillas
- 2 cans diced tomato drained
- 4-5 chicken breasts
- 4 small yellow onions chopped
- 1 heaping TBS minced garlic
- 5 green peppers cut in strips
- 1 can red enchilada sauce 15 oz
- 1/2 lb Mexican shredded cheese mix
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Add peppers, onions, garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil to a large roasting pan. Toss gently. Lay chicken breasts over top of peppers and onions, season with salt and pepper.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake on center rack of oven at 425 degrees for about 1 hour, until chicken is cooked through and peppers and onions are soft.
- Drain off excess liquid (or save to use as the broth base in Black Bean Soup or Tortilla Soup!), and place peppers, onions, and garlic in a large bowl.
- Shred chicken, then add to the bowl as well. Also add 2/3rds of the cheese (you want to reserve 1/3 for the top of the casserole), and the drained tomatoes. Stir so ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Lightly grease your casserole dish with olive oil, then stuff each tortilla with an even amount of enchilada filling. I like to make mine very full, and tuck the ends in burrito-style so the filling doesn't ooze out. Place in casserole dish.
- When your dish is full and you're out of stuffing/tortillas (no worries if it's a tight fit!), Pour the entire can of enchilada sauce over top. Use a spoon to coax it into the nooks and crannies.
- Top with the remaining cheese and pop back in the oven at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream, fresh pico de gallo or roasted salsa, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Enchilada Casserole with Chicken and Cheese
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01.13.09
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Looks and sounds delish!!! I love mexican food. Great recipe!!
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~Tabitha~
freshmommyblog.com
I make a similar dish except that instead of rolling the tortillas, I just layer the tortillas and filling like a lasagna. It’s a hit at my house.
I love one dish meals that are big enough for a crowd–this looks great! I’m boiling some chicken in some broth, cumin, and chili powder and shredding it for tacos tonight–hubby loves mexican food!
Those look really yummy.
Looks absolutely delicious!
Good job! Perfect for any dinner party.
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Oh my gosh! That looks fantastic!
If I were to make this for 5 do I cut it all on half? My hubby is the cook in my family and would love to surprise him with this recipe. It's looks so yummy!!!
This recipe is awesome! I have made it twice and the second time I baked it for 20 mins or so and the cheese was nice and gooey! Thanx so much for this. It's a huge hit!
Mari Rivera
Looks like a great dish to have tucked away in the freezer for those nights where you can’t even think of cooking. The flavours on totally on point!
These look so good – totally a meal my whole family would enjoy!!
I made this for my family tonight for supper and it was a hit! I followed the directions pretty closely since it was my first time making it.
I precooked the chicken, onions & peppers with garlic, salt and pepper on Monday to save time tonight (Wednesday). I just drained the liquid after cooking in a colander and stored it in the fridge in a gallon zipper bag. Tonight I removed the bag, poured it into a large bowl, added the can of tomatoes (1-28 Oz) and added the cheese. Laid out the tortillas and distributed the filling evenly among 16 tortillas that more then filled a 10×15 casserole pan and had 3 wraps/rolls in a second dish.
We will be eating the leftovers over the weekend and I put 6 into the freezer for a future meal! Three meals in one for a family of 3 large eaters. Easy to make. Tasty! Highly recommend! This recipe is a keeper!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed!