The easiest Chicken Enchilada Casserole you will ever make. Full of tender chicken, homemade sauce, and lots of cheese. No rolling enchiladas or standing at the stove. Let your crock pot do the work for some great healthy Mexican tonight.
Introduction
Like all home cooked recipes, make it like you want. Add beans or corn for different flavors, or heat it up with some cayenne pepper. Use corn tortillas to stay gluten free but check all labels as always.
I love when my wife suggests a recipe which happened with this recipe, but this is not even close to that inspiration recipe. I will not name that recipe due to some issues with it.
I ended up with a crock pot variation of my Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes — a stovetop to oven recipe I love that recipe which uses fresh chicken and wonderful homemade enchilada sauce to braise the chicken before shredding.
👨🍳How to this recipe
- The recipe will fit in a 2 ½ to 4 quart crock pot. A double recipe needs bigger than 5 quart.
- Start with about 1 ½ pounds of chicken breasts but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds will work. Trim and cut into serveral large pieces. The use of thights or pre-cooked chicken like rotissorie chicken is covered in the FYI secton below.
- The homemade enchilada sauce is highly recommended but you can substitute canned sauce for convience.
- Add all ingredients except tortillas and cheese. Cook on low until chicken breasts reach 165°— 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- Remove the chicken and shred. Add back the chicken along with some cheese and chopped tortillas. Top with more cheese and cook for one more hour.
🐓Ingredients
- Chicken - Skinless boneless chicken breasts, but thighs or precooked rotisseri chicken can be used.
- Enchilada Sauce - An excellent homemade enchilada sauce from tomato sauce and pantry spices is in the recipe. You may use canned red enchilada sauce.
- Tortillas - corn tortillas are recommended but flour tortillas or nacho chips may be used.
- Cheese - A shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese is prefered but you may use what you want.
- Optional additions: green chilis, sliced black olives, canned black beans, or canned corn.
❓FYIs
Skinless chicken thighs would be fine but would need 15-30 minutes more cooking time since they should be at about 180° to shred well.
Pre-cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken can be used. You need about 3 cups, which will be approximately 1 ½ pounds. The sauce needs to cook for about 1 hour before adding the pre-cooked chicken and other ingredients. So total cooking time is decreased.
Top with your favorite toppings like fresh cilantro, black beans, chopped onion, refried beans, sour cream, salsa, or pico de Gallo.
For side dishes,refried beans, Mexican rice, or chips and salsa.
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
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 three 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. Internal temperature needs to be 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 cup of the same cheese.
Cook one additional hour, then serve with toppings of choice.
📝Recipe
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
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
- 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 three 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, ½ 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. Internal temperature needs to be 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 cup of the same cheese.
- Cook 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 6-quart crock pot or bigger.
- You can use precooked chicken. If you do, cook the sauce on low then 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 just use sour cream and some chopped onions.
- If you use thighs, you will want to get them to about 175° or more to shred well.
- Nutrition calculated on lower fat cheese and chicken breasts. Serving size of about 1 cup. Full-fat cheese will add 10 grams of fat and 90 calories per serving. Do not use non-fat cheese.
- 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