Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make with delicious homemade sauce, tender chicken, tortillas, and loaded with cheese.
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👍Why you will love this recipe
- Made the best homemade enchilada sauce you will ever taste.
- The crock pot does all the work—cooking the chicken while simmering the homemade sauce for wonderful flavors.
- All of the ingredients are flexible to your preferences.
- It is low-caloric and low-fat, so it fits most healthy diets, including a gluten-free diet.
This is a crock pot variation of my Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes — a stovetop-to-oven layered recipe that uses fresh chicken and wonderful homemade enchilada sauce to braise the chicken before shredding.
👨🍳How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas
- Trim skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut them into three pieces each.
- Add tomato sauce and spices in a smaller crock pot—mix well and add the chicken.
- Cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours to an internal temperature of about 165° to shred well.
- Remove the chicken and mix in chopped corn tortillas.
- Shred the chicken and add it back to the crock pot with shredded cheese.
- Top with more cheese, cover and cook for 1 more hour on low.
🐓Ingredients
- Chicken—Skinless boneless chicken breasts, but thighs or precooked rotisserie chicken can be used.
- Enchilada Sauce—tomato sauce, chili powder, paprika, onion powder or chopped onion, garlic powder or crushed garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper optional
- Tortillas—corn tortillas are recommended
- Cheese—A shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese is preferred, but you may use what you want.
- Optional additions include green chilis, sliced black olives, canned black beans, or corn.
✔️Tips
- Raw skinless boneless chicken breasts are used, but skinless chicken thighs would be fine but need 15-30 minutes more cooking time since they should be at about 180° to shred well.
- To use leftover rotisserie chicken, you need about 3 cups, approximately 1 ½ pounds. The sauce needs to cook for about 1 hour before adding the precooked chicken and other ingredients. So total cooking time is decreased.
- The easy homemade enchilada sauce is the highlight of this recipe. But you can use canned enchilada sauce or green enchilada sauce if you wish—both are more watery and will make for a more liquid result.
- Corn tortillas will hold up better to the cooking. You may use flour tortillas, but they tend to get mussy, especially with leftovers.
- Add beans or corn for different flavors, or heat it up with some cayenne pepper.
↕️Crock Pot Size and adjusting the recipe.
This recipe is already "for two" friendly, making only 6 cups—which is dinner with leftovers assuming 1 ½ cup servings. And it stores and freezes well
A crock pot should be no more than 75% full to cook well. This recipe will fit in a 2-quart mini crock pot, BUT with no additions or added chicken. I suggest a 2 ½ quart or larger slow cooker would be better.
A double recipe makes 12 cups which is 3 quarts. The absolute minimum size is 4 quarts but without additions or errors. I prefer a 5 quart or larger.
To adjust the recipe size:
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to your desired amount.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- Cook for the same amount of time.
❓FYIs
Top with your favorite toppings like fresh cilantro, black beans, sliced green onion, refried beans, sour cream, salsa, or pico de Gallo. A splash of lime juice adds some extra flavor.
For side dishes, refried beans, Mexican rice, and tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole.
Yes, it should be, but like all things gluten, check all ingredient labels. Some canned enchilada sauce has gluten. Shredded cheese, especially the taco-seasoned ones, may have gluten. Packaged seasonings usually have some gluten, and some corn tortillas can have some or be cross-contaminated.
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
📖Tex-Mex Casseroles
Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes
Excellent Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Casserole
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Use skinless boneless chicken breast, but you may use thighs or pre-cooked chicken—instructions in the post.
Trim two skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut them into 2 or 3 pieces each. Aim for about 1 ½ pounds, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
In a 2 ½ to 4-quart crock pot, add one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder (or ½ chopped small onion), ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves crushed garlic), ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
Add the chicken into the sauce covering it. Cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours to an Internal temperature of about 165° to shred well.
Chop 6 corn tortillas (6 inches) into bite-size pieces. Stir into the crock pot when you remove the chicken for shredding. Mix well to coat all sides and break apart any that stick together.
Remove the chicken to the cutting board and shred with forks.
Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, add ½ cup shredded cheese—mix well and the smooth top.
Top with 1 ½ cups of the same cheese.
Cook for one additional hour, then serve with toppings of choice.
Recipe
Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts - 2 breasts
- 2 cup shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese - lower-fat suggested
- 6 corn tortillas - 6-inch
- Toppings of choice.
Homemade enchilada sauce. May use 2 cups of canned enchilada sauce instead.
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder - or ½ chopped small onion
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder - or 2 cloves crushed garlic
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
Optional ingredients-add with raw chicken
- small can of green chilis
- small can of sliced black olives
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup canned corn drained
Instructions
- Use skinless boneless chicken breast, but you may use thighs or pre-cooked chicken—instructions in the post.
- Trim two skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut them into 2 or 3 pieces each. Aim for about 1 ½ pounds, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
- In a 2 ½ to 4-quart crock pot, add one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder (or ½ chopped small onion), ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves crushed garlic), ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
- Add the chicken into the sauce covering it. Cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours to an Internal temperature of about 165° to shred well.
- Chop 6 corn tortillas (6 inches) into bite-size pieces. Stir into the crock pot when you remove the chicken for shredding. Mix well to coat all sides and break apart any that stick together.
- Remove the chicken to the cutting board and shred with forks.
- Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, add ½ cup shredded cheese—mix well and the smooth top.
- Top with 1 ½ cups of the same cheese.
- Cook for one additional hour, then serve with toppings of choice.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This is for a crock pot of 2 ½ to 4 quarts. A double recipe works well in a 5 to 6-quart crock pot or bigger.
- You can use precooked chicken. If you do, cook the sauce on low for about 1 hour, then add the tortilla and chicken.
- You can use canned sauce, but really you don't want to do that. Mine is much better.
- This is not spicy, and you could add a touch of cayenne pepper.
- Toppings of your choice, but we use sour cream and some chopped green onions.
- If you use thighs, you will want to get them to about 175° or more to shred well.
- Nutrition is calculated on lower-fat cheese and chicken breasts.
- Skipping the added salt will decrease the sodium by about 300mg per serving.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published April 22, 2018. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Holly
Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Holly,
Welcome to the blog.
Yes, but the texture will not be as nice.
Dan
Cathy
If I use precooked chicken in the crockpot chicken enchiladas
recipe, what is the total cooking time? Is this what you would do: Cook 1 hour on low for sauce, then add chicken, tortillas, 1/2c cheese and cheese topping. Then cook another hour on low? Thanks so much!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Cathy,
Welcome to the blog.
Cook the sauce on low for 1 hour to help the flavors come to gather. Than add the chicken, tortilla and cheese. Mix. Top with cheese then 1 more hour.
Dan
Dennis McMullan
Dr Dan,
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your site. It has helped me so many many times. I'm retired and have been cooking for my wife and myself. I also cook for a program at my Church called Thursday Meals This is for the sick and shut-in's, most cases I prepare food for 60 to 65 individuals. Before I retired I also fixed meals for my Team at work 25 to 30 individuals Including Managers and Directors, on Thursday. Well to make a long story short They nick named me Chef Bubba. so again Thank you and thank all who make this site so great Thank you, Dennis McMullan (Alias Chef Bubba)
S. Eckels
Dr.Dan, what temperature do we cook the sauce on in the crock pot before inserting the chicken, high or low for one hour?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
The sauce will cook with the chicken. So, no need to precook the sauce.
Dan
Miranda
Have you tried using a hand mixer directly in the crock pot to shred chicken? It’s super fast but does produce a finer shred.
DrDan
Great handy hint. I have not tried it but if it is finer shred, my wife would not be happy. When you look at any of the pictures of shredded meat on the site, it is more of a "chunky" shred which is as far as she will go.
Thanks for the note
Dan
Anne
Thanks for another great recipe, Dr. Dan! I made this the day after you posted it, using my 2.5-quart Casserole Crock Pot. We loved it. For the two of us, it yielded two dinners and one lunch. I did make a couple of minor changes based on what was in my kitchen (as cooks do), but I followed your basic recipe and couldn't have been happier with the result. This one's a keeper!
DrDan
Hi Anne,
Sorry for the delayed reply.
This one is just supper easy. I use my 3.5 qt. most of the time anymore but a 2.5 should work most of the time.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
MartinSlult
Hi All im rookie here. Good art! Thx! Love your stories!
Dutch67
Dear Doc,
First, I enjoy your site and weekly emails. Second, I'm with you on the length of time the chicken breast needs to cook. Dried out breasts are awful! Less time, better results.
Third, this recipe is similar to one my wife makes starting on the stove top and finishing in the oven. She calls it "Deconstructed" Cabbage Rolls. All the flavors of the Balkans and Central Europe are there, but it's much less laborious/fussy to execute yet tastes just as good as the official version. I expect your similar style enchiladas will be easier to make yet just as enjoyable.
Finally, keep up the good work, Dr Dan! It's a labor of love--that's obvious.
DrDan
Sorry for the delayed response.
The overcooked chicken is just careless and 9 in 10 seem to do it. I think they all just copy. Now that cabbage roll thing sounds interesting I may look into it.
Thanks for the compliment and thanks for the note.
Dan