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This chicken enchilada casserole is creamy cheesy perfection and it’s so easy to throw together since everything is layered together instead of rolled. Perfect for a busy weeknight and ready in 30 minutes.
This enchilada pie is pure comfort food! It’s basically my favorite cream cheese chicken enchiladas in pie form.
Chicken Enchiladas without the work!
We love a good Mexican-inspired meal – and let’s be real, my Midwestern concoctions are not ‘real’ Mexican food by any stretch, but they are darn good.
My family loves enchiladas, so it’s no surprise that this chicken enchilada casserole is every bit as big of a hit as our taco lasagna and burrito casserole.
The filling is packed with shredded chicken all mixed in th most flavorful, creamy sauce that’s made of a combo of sour cream, cream cheese (!!!), and enchilada sauce. We toss in some green chiles for a little pizazz without making things too spicy for the kids and we throw in some corn for a little sweetness and texture.
This all gets layered between flour tortillas, much like a lasagna, and it’s so much easier than rolling out individual enchiladas. Not quite as easy as our lazy enchiladas, but close enough. 😉
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Cheesy Layers: We love all the different layers in this casserole! You’ve got layers of tortilla, creamy filling, chicken, enchilada sauce and cheese. It’s pretty much pure comfort food and we love it!
- Easy: Like most casserole recipes this one is quick and easy to prepare and will feed a crowd! Just a bit of mixing and then layering the ingredients in a baking dish and that’s all the prep work there is. It’s ready in 30 minutes!
- Versatile: If you’ve got a preference for different ingredients in your enchilada casserole feel free to change things up! You can use spicier chiles, our crockpot ground beef or Instant Pot barbacoa in place of the chicken, a variety of cheeses, and a mix of veggies. Mix it up however you like!
Ingredient Notes:
Shredded Chicken – You’ll start with some already cooked, shredded chicken. We usually make crockpot shredded chicken ahead of time for recipes like this, but you could also just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store.
Enchilada Sauce – You can use canned red or green enchilada sauce here or make your own homemade enchilada sauce! We sometimes use red and sometimes use green. Both are delicious.
Sour Cream – It’ll add creamy flavor and it helps keep the enchilada casserole from drying out while baking.
Corn – I’m using frozen corn for this because it’s quick and easy. You could use canned corn or fresh corn if you prefer. No need to thaw the frozen corn, you just add it right into the casserole!
Green Chiles – You can find canned green chiles in a few varieties including mild and hot. We use the mild ones to keep it kid friendly.
Cheese – You’ll need some softened cream cheese along with freshly grated cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses. It’ll melt much better when you grate your own but you can use pre-shredded if necessary.
Spices – You don’t need much here for spices just some ground cumin and chili powder! You’ll get plenty of flavor from the enchilada sauce and other ingredients too.
Tortillas – We use 8 inch soft flour tortillas.
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
Add cream cheese, sour cream, a half cup of enchilada sauce, frozen corn, green chiles, spices, and a half cup each of cheddar and Monterey jack cheese to a mixing bowl. Stir well to combine!
Place a tortilla in the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish. Top with 1/4 of the filling and 1/3 of the chicken. If you’re not using 8 inch tortillas, you can just tear them to fit the pan in a mostly even layer.
Repeat the layers and then spread the remaining enchilada sauce over the top tortilla and sprinkle on the cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The filling should be hot and the cheese should be melty and gooey.
Serving Suggestions:
This recipe can make a meal all by itself but it’s also great along with some of my other favorite homemade Mexican inspired recipes!
This easy Mexican rice is definitely a winner, and it wouldn’t hurt to serve it up with some homemade refried beans too!
Some air fryer tortilla chips and homemade queso dip are also excellent sides to go with chicken enchilada casserole.
We also really love this air fryer street corn!
Freezing & Storage Instructions:
If you’ve got leftovers you can keep them stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3 to 4 days. It’s best reheated in the oven or microwave.
This chicken enchilada casserole recipe can also be frozen for up to a few months! Let the casserole cool completely before wrapping individual portions in plastic wrap and foil.
To reheat thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven or microwave.
Recipe FAQs:
Corn tortillas are traditionally what would be used for enchiladas but I personally like the flour tortillas more myself so that’s what I went with here. You can try corn tortillas instead if you prefer!
Cheddar and Monterey Jack are both excellent cheeses for melting and that’s exactly what we’re using here, along with some cream cheese! Use freshly grated cheese for the best quality and melt.
Nope! You do not need to cover the dish when baking. Leave it uncovered so that the cheese can get all nice and hot and melty!
MORE MEXICAN CASSEROLE RECIPES!
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup enchilada sauce divided
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
- 4 ounces canned green chiles
- 1 cup freshly shredded monterey jack cheese divided
- 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 4 8-inch flour tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, corn, green chiles, 1/2 cup of monterey jack, 1/2 cup of cheddar, cumin, and chili powder to a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
- Place one tortilla in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with 1/4 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the chicken.
- Repeat the layers. The top layer will have just a tortilla and the filling. Spread remaining enchilada sauce over the top layer and sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
Amanda says
This is one of my family’s favorite dinners. My middle son loves to have this after practice and looks forward to it when he knows it’s coming. I follow the direction exactly. A winner that never fails us! Thanks for the great recipe (and so easy).
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Amanda! I’m so glad this is such a hit!
kathy threadgold says
i used flour tortillas as i like the taste better ,fry in a bit of oil till crispy drain on papertowels, i use those on the bottom and as a mid layer and i crushed up tortillas chips as an extra crunch and protection against mush..put them on top of tortillas worked perfect!!!!also helps it hold its shape when cutting, i also omotted the cor and used 80zs of cream cheese and two cans of chilis and a few jalapenos and drizzeled sause not mixed in .
Diana says
Wanted to see if I could freeze the leftover since I am alone?
Thank you
Karly Campbell says
I think it would freeze fine but I haven’t tried myself.
Midge Rezba says
I want to make this dish. Question: Howdo I make Enchilada sauce?
Karly says
Hi Midge! We use canned sauce. I don’t have a recipe for homemade, but there are plenty online if you’d like to search. 🙂
PamIam says
This is a great recipe. My husband loved it. I did make a few changes. I spiced it up a bit by adding a couple of pinches of crushed red pepper, a teaspoon of garlic salt, a small can of olives, a small bunch of cilantro, diced onion and a jalapeno sliced with seeds removed. I did not use the corn. I also toasted the tortillas as mentioned by someone else here. I think next time I’ll try it with corn tortillas. I think the filling would also make a great dip!
Thank you, Karly
Karly says
Sounds like some tasty changes! 🙂
Pam Marcellino says
This recipe is a big, big favorite in my home. Absolutely delish!
Karly says
Love to hear that! Thanks, Pam!
Judith Nichols says
I loved this recipe!
Karly says
So glad to hear that!
Cindy Hessel says
Do you think this recipe can be made early in the day and refrigerated until ready to cook? I’m hoping to still cook for my family on nights I work – so they just have to pop in the oven.
Karly says
I’d be a little worried about the tortillas getting really mushy if they were sitting all day. I’m not sure how it would hold up, honestly.
Cindy says
That’s what I was thinking too. I’ll just mix the filling and leave instructions for them on building the layers. It looks like such a delicious recipe!