Use your slow cooker to make this incredibly easy and so delicious Chicken Enchilada Casserole!
Cheesy and easy, everyone loves this casserole!
Okay, I admit it, it is a bit difficult to take and attractive photo of this yummy crockpot chicken casserole!
But that is true of a lot of cheesy, gooey delicious foods.
Or maybe you're looking at the photo and thinking, "What? It looks amazing to me!" And you would be right, it is amazing.
Amazingly delicious and amazingly easy.
Ingredients:
What I love about this recipe is that I almost always have these ingredients in my pantry and fridge. All simple ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store.
Onion - use white or red or even shallots if that's what you have.
Black beans - canned. I found organic on sale, but beans are one of those ingredients that I do buy non organic.
Enchilada Sauce - I love geen chile enchilada sauce (more than the red) so I always have cans of this in the pantry. If you have any enchilada sauce leftover - this Summer Squash Enchilada Casserole is also made in the slow cooker and uses green enchilada sauce!
Monterey Jack Cheese - you could also use a pepper jack if you want to kick up the heat a bit.
Chicken - cooked chicken. I shredded the breast meat from a roasted chicken, you could also cut it into cubes. You want about 2 ½ to 3 cups of chicken. If you buy a rotisserie chicken to make this and have leftover chicken - be sure and check out my round up of Rotisserie Chicken Recipes!
Tortillas - buy your favorite brand of corn tortillas.
Sour cream - you can use low fat.
Cilantro - optional for garnish and flavor.
Prep your ingredients by shredding the cheese, dicing the onion and slicing the tortillas into strips.
I had shredded my chicken right after roasting it the night before. I always plan a menu for the week, so I knew that I was going to use the chicken breasts for this recipe, so I simply shredded them and had them ready to go.
You also want to drain and rinse the black beans at this time.
If you're like me, you're tempted to skip any pre cooking when using the slow cooker, but really I find it only takes a few minutes and adds so much flavor.
You want to gently soften the onions by heating them in one tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. They will soften and get a little brown around the edges.
While the onions are softening, pour about ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the slow cooker. Tilt the insert a few times to spread the sauce in an even layer on the bottom.
Now you are going to begin making your layers of tortilla strips, sauce, onions, chicken, beans and cheese.
I find it easiest to divide them into sort of equal portions to help make the layers easier. You'll need the tortillas divided into 4 piles, the cheese into 4 piles and the beans, chicken and onions into 3 piles.
You're going to make 3 layers of tortillas and filling and topped with a final tortilla layer, sour cream and cheese.
Add about ¼ of your tortilla strips to the bottom of the slow cooker.
Just kind of arrange them so that you cover most of the bottom.
Add about a quarter of the enchilada sauce.
Sprinkle about a third of the onions over the top.
Add about ⅓ of the shredded chicken, dropping it evenly over the top.
Sprinkle about ⅓ of the beans over the top of the chicken.
Finish the first layer with about a fourth of the cheese on top.
Repeat the layers 2 more times.
After the final cheese layer, top with the last of your tortilla strips.
Spread the sour cream as evenly as you can over the top. Top with the last bit of your cheese.
Cover and cook in the slow cooker on high for 2 hours or low for 4-5 hours.
The shorter cooking time makes this perfect for prepping after lunch!
I sprinkled mine with a little minced cilantro for serving. I love the flavor of cilantro and it added a little color to the casserole!
This enchilada casserole was so good! Creamy, cheesy but not too heavy.
I love how easy it was to assemble, easier than enchiladas, don't you think? I served it with an Avocado Mango Salad.
More slow cooker recipes to try:
Recipe
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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion diced
- 32 ounce canned green enchilada sauce
- 12 corn tortillas 6 inch, cut into 4 strips each
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or cut into cubes
- 4 cups Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
- 14 ounce black beans canned, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups sour cream
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened about 5 minutes.
- Divide the tortillas and cheese into 4 piles and the onions, beans and chicken into 3 piles. (This makes it easy to make the layers.)
- Pour ½ cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the slow cooker insert. Tilt to spread it around.
- Place a layer of tortillas in the insert. Add ¼ of the rest of the sauce. Then add one pile of the onions, beans and chicken and top with the cheese. Repeat these layers two more times ending with a cheese layer.
- Finish the layers with a final tortilla strips, sauce and cheese layer.
- Spoon the sour cream over the top.
- Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4-5 hours.
Dannii says
I am always looking for more ways to use my slow cooker and this looks delicious. Super comforting.
Emily says
Wow, this enchilada casserole really hit the spot! The flavors were amazing and it was easier to make than I thought. Will definitely make again!
Andrea Metlika says
I love quick, easy crockpot meals like this. Perfect for a family dinner!
Kate says
This is amazing - all the brilliant flavours of enchiladas with none of the hassle, just perfect! Thanks so much.
Suzanne says
Can you make this and put in the oven rather than use the slow cooker?
Pam Greer says
I don't see why not. You would probably want to cover it for at least part of the baking to keep it moist and then uncover to let it brown some.
Jen says
Wow, this is so easy to make using the slow cooker! I know this is going to be a hit with my kids.