This delicious layered Enchilada Casserole is super easy to make in the slow cooker using shredded leftover chicken.

Enchilada Casserole

This is one of those super-easy weeknight meals that everyone should have in their arsenal since its cheap, easy to make and tends to be a crowd favorite. Who doesn’t love layers of cheese and tortillas???

A quick google search for enchilada casserole will give you an endless assortment of variations and they’re probably all amazing. They’re probably also amazingly adaptable. You really can’t screw this one up. For one thing, there is no such thing as too much cheese. For another, even if your slow cooker is a little uneven like my old one use to be and you “burn” said cheese it really just becomes browned and crispy which, tbh, is my favorite way to eat this dish anyway.

As I said, this one is really easy to customize. I took a quick poll in my Instagram stories a few weeks back asking what kind of filling I should use and the response was overwhelmingly in favor of chicken. I’m showing the recipe with cooked shredded chicken — this can either be from leftovers or from a store-bought rotisserie chicken or you can use one of my easy methods to cook chicken in a slow cooker or Instant Pot before starting the recipe.

Of course, if you don’t have chicken (or don’t like chicken) this recipe is just as amazing without. We tend to make this one meatless by adding an extra can of black beans and some chopped kale. You could also sub in cooked ground beef or turkey if thats more your jam. Like I said, this one is easy to adapt.

Easy Ingredients

So this easy Enchilada Casserole recipe only requires a handful of ingredients: Cooked Chicken (or not), cheese, tortillas, store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce, a can (or two!) of black beans, cumin, chili powder and a cup of shredded kale (you could also use frozen corn which is more traditional but since my kids are weird about corn I do kale and no one complains, so there).

You simply combine the chicken, beans, and corn or kale in a big bowl with half of the enchilada sauce and the ground cumin and chili powder. Then start your layers in the slow cooker by spreading a couple tablespoons of enchilada sauce on the bottom, then adding a layer of tortillas (you can use flour or corn and if they are smaller than your slow cooker cut and overlap them to cover the entire bottom). Then add a layer of the chicken mixture and a handful of cheese. Repeat with more tortillas, chicken and cheese until you’re out of chicken. Top with a final layer of tortillas, the rest of the enchilada sauce and a final layer of cheese and let that baby cook.

Speaking of enchilada sauce, did you know you can make your own using tomato sauce and a few spices you likely have in your pantry right now? Seriously, this takes ten minutes, taste amazing and has far less sodium than the canned stuff.

Melty Goodness

If you set your slow cooker to high heat, this baby is basically ready as soon as the cheese melts (an hour or two at best). If you want it to go longer set it on low and it’ll still be ready in 4-6 hours. I use my Instant Pot on the slow cook setting — a word of caution — I also tried making this on the “Pressure Cook” setting but the bottom burned and the pot gave me an error message. I don’t think theres enough liquid in this recipe to work with pressure cooking. But even on slow cook, you can have this one done pretty quickly, so I recommend sticking to slow cooker method.

Toppings are Tops

Now, lets be clear. Half of the fun of this recipe is the toppings. You don’t want to skimp on them because they really, really make this a meal. Treat this Enchilada Casserole like you would your favorite taco or nacho platter and load em up. Avocado, sour cream, chopped cilantro, your favorite salsa or hot sauce or taco sauce. Go nuts.

Featured Products:

Instant Pot/Slow Cooker