Meow Recipes: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Life is real, and that’s why 5-ingredient meals are a thing. This cheesy layered chicken enchilada casserole is a real-life dinnertime wonder: just chicken, beans, sauce, cheese, and tortillas.

Chicken enchilada casserole on a spatula.

This is a Chicken Enchilada Casserole, and it’s sososososo delicious.

It’s like taking all the goodness of an enchilada, but making it easier by stacking it up, and making it all even more cozy, if that is possible, baking it under a layer of cheese. It’s also incredibly easy.

Hello, did you see that there are only FIVE ingredients here? As I was writing the recipe out I kinda couldn’t believe it. This enchilada casserole presents like something that took a really long time to make. It’s like free work or something.

Piece taken out of chicken enchilada casserole.

How to Make a Yummy Enchilada Casserole

Here’s whatcher gonna do.

Put some sauce down. Now layer away. We’ve got tortillas, beans, chicken, cheese and sauce all up in there. Go for it.

Now let’s top it all off with ze cheese. You pick! I used Mozzarella because I had it on hand – as one does.

But, more normally for an enchilada casserole, you could use Monterrey Jack or Provolone or Colby Jack or Mexican flavored cheese or anything you want. It’s a baked Tex Mex situation, okay? Lots of cheese is necessary.

Chicken enchilada casserole with bite taken out.

Let’s Talk Enchilada Sauce Options

Make your own enchilada sauce! I might recommend this blender enchilada sauce for something homemade, yummy, extremely easy, and ready in approximately five minutes. I also like Cookie and Kate’s enchilada sauce which is also delicious – it’s just a bit more involved.
If you are BUYING enchilada sauce, that’s cool, too. I really like the Frontera brand for all things pre-made Mexican and Tex-Mex, including enchilada sauce.

Yummy Variations for Your Enchilada Casserole

Use green enchilada sauce instead of red enchilada sauce.
Use ground beef instead of chicken.
Use vegetarian taco meat or veggies like sautéed mushrooms, peppers, or onions instead of meat (veg lovers unite!)
Use vegan cheese and aforementioned veggie filling to make this a vegan enchilada bake.
Use flour tortillas instead of corn (they’ll be softer and more melty / mushy – personal preference).

If I’m being honest, I ate this enchilada casserole goodness at 9am on a Sunday morning while Bjork was still asleep.

And that, my friends, is the definition of food blogging.

Piece of chicken enchilada casserole on spatula.

More Enchilada Goodness:

Easy Veggie Enchiladas
Simple Enchiladas Verdes (that homemade verde sauce!!)
Roasted Tomatillo Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Breakfast Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Sauce (because obviously enchiladas for breakfast)
Butternut Squash & Mushroom Enchiladas

Check out our video for how to make Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

★★★★★

4.8 from 43 reviews

Author: Pinch of Yum
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 10-12

Print Recipe

Description

A 5-ingredient stacked enchilada casserole layered with tortillas, beans, and chicken and covered with cheese and enchilada sauce.

Ingredients

2–3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 ½ cups enchilada sauce (store bought or homemade)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
6–8 small flour tortillas (corn works too)
1 can refried beans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place a few spoonfuls of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a glass square baking dish (mine was 9×9) to prevent sticking.
Place 2 tortillas in the bottom of the dish, overlapping to cover the entire surface.
Layer the beans, chicken, cheese, sauce, and tortillas; repeat once to make a total of 2 layers. (For me this was about 1/3 cup refried beans, 1 cup of the chicken, ½ cup cheese, and about 3/4 cup enchilada sauce in each layer.)
Cover the top with the remaining enchilada sauce and 1 cup cheese. Cover the baking dish with well-oiled aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is starting to brown and sauce is bubbling.
Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes so it can firm up a bit before cutting and serving. Top with cilantro, lime, sour cream, or avocado.

Notes

To get each layer completely covered with tortillas, I cut 2 additional tortillas into fourths and used them to cover the corners. This is not necessary but it helps when you layer your ingredients.

My favorite refried beans are Amy’s Refried Black Beans!