Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole layered with corn tortillas, refried beans, and cheese, made extra convenient with frozen veggies, rotisserie chicken and jarred sauce. The ultimate dump and bake weeknight meal the whole family will love! This feeds a crowd and is packed with flavor, fiber, protein, and cheesy goodness. It's on repeat at our house! Gluten free.
My very first chicken recipe, wowza! Look how far we've come. If you read my post about my journey to eating meat again, you know that I'm in a place where very easy, "beginner" level chicken recipes are my jam. Don't try to get technical with me!
Soul-nourishing layers of punchy enchilada sauce, ooey gooey cheese, refried beans, veggies, and shredded chicken...that's what I'm talking about. But make it easy!
This recipe made introducing meat feel waaaaay more accessible. Truly anyone can successfully make it, no crazy carnivore experience necessary.
You'll find a dozen variations of this recipe on the internet but this is mine. It's special to me because even thought it's just a simple recipe, it's been a gateway to finding my true self again.
Ingredients
If you've been itching to break lose but the thought of raw chicken gives you the heebie jeebies, I gotchu!
- Chicken breast: Cook from raw chicken or use pre-cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken. You'll need about 1 ½ pounds or 3 cups shredded chicken.
- Enchilada sauce: It wouldn't be enchilada sauce without it!
- Salsa: Choose whatever spice level you like. I love the combo of salsa and enchilada sauce for extra moisture. You could also sub more enchilada sauce.
- Cheese: Shredded cheddar, Monterey jack, colby jack...they're all yummy. Yes, it's ideal to grate a block of cheese for superior texture but I'm not gonna lie and said I did that. This is a time-saving recipe after all!
- Refried beans: A can of refried beans adds delish flavor and a fiber boost. You can omit them if you hate beans.
- Peppers and corn: Texture and veggie goodness. Bonus points if they're fire-roasted!
- Chiles: An added layer of tang and flavor.
Behind the scenes of recipe testing
I've made this recipe approximately 97 times. Sometimes I use fresh veggies, sometimes I use no veggie. Sometimes I use pre-cooked chicken, sometimes not.
On a mission to make a chicken enchilada casserole that could become a weeknight staple, I tested this a bunch of times and landed on this version. Here's the why behind it all:
- The more cheese the merrier, no secret there. When I made it with less cheese and it's just not as good. This isn't a dish I recommend trying to "health-ify."
- Diced green chiles add a little something extra flavor-wise. I don't recommend skipping them!
- You can use more enchilada sauce in place of salsa, but don't use more salsa in place of the enchilada sauce (sauce has a more concentrated flavor). Green and red both work, just make sure you like the flavor.
- I really thought refried beans are superior here compared to black beans. They're already seasoned so it just makes it more flavorful.
- Corn and peppers add much-needed texture! Without them, it's rather mush-forward. But we have lots of options with veggies; you can use spinach or broccoli or whatever you love. Just be sure to cook them first or else the casserole will be watery.
- It tastes the same with rotisseries chicken or chicken you cook at home, just be sure to season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder if you cook from raw. Season every layer always!
Let's make it!
Cook frozen bell peppers and corn until softened.
Top with half the cooked veggies, half the beans, half the chiles, half the chicken, and ½ cup cheese. Add half the salsa.
Place ¾ cup enchilada sauce in the baking dish. Top with 4 tortillas.
Repeat with 4 more tortillas (8 halves), remaining veggies, beans, chiles and chicken, another ½ cup cheese.
Top with salsa, remaining tortillas and enchilada sauce. Add ¾ cup of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
How to serve
I like serving this beaut with extra salsa and guacamole on the side. Tortilla chips are an added bonus for crunch!
A bright green salad with pepitas on the side is divine to round out the meal.
Let me know in the comments if you make this one! I hope it can be an equally easy and delish meal you come back to time and time again.
PrintFoolproof Chicken Enchilada Casserole (with veggies!)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole layered with corn tortillas, refried beans, and cheese, made extra convenient with frozen veggies, rotisserie chicken and jarred sauce. The ultimate dump and bake weeknight meal the whole family will love! This feeds a crowd and is packed with flavor, fiber, protein, and cheesy goodness. It's on repeat at our house! Gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced frozen bell peppers (or pepper and onion blend)*
- 1 cup frozen corn (I love fire-roasted)
- 1 12oz jar enchilada sauce
- 12 corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded chicken**
- 1 16oz jar mild or medium salsa
- 1 5oz can diced green chiles
- 1 ¾ cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby Jack, Mexican etc)
- 1 14.5oz can refried beans or black beans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9x13 in baking dish with cooking spray. Cut stack of tortillas in half. Drain and rinse beans.
- Spray a medium pan with cooking spray. Add frozen bell peppers and corn and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Have all ingredients lines up for easy assembly. Place ¾ cup enchilada sauce in the baking dish and swirl around so the bottom is completely covered. Top with 4 tortillas (8 halves), see photos for reference.
- Top with half the cooked veggies, half the beans, half the chiles, half the chicken, and ½ cup cheese. Add half the salsa (about 1 cup) and use a spoon to spread it evenly.
- Repeat with 4 more tortillas (8 halves), remaining veggies, beans, chiles and chicken, another ½ cup cheese. Top with remaining salsa.
- Top with remaining tortillas and enchilada sauce, spreading it evenly over tortillas. Add ¾ cup of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot, topped with chopped cilantro and avocado or guacamole and dig in!
Notes
*you can also use 1-2 fresh bell peppers. You could also add a handful of spinach for more veggies!
**If you want to cook the chicken, use 1 ½ pounds chicken breast. I like to use the Instant Pot. Place 1 cup water in Instant Pot then insert trivet and place breasts on top. Season liberally with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Cook on Manual for 10 minutes then quick release. Cool and shred!
Erin DeBold says
Tasty! Took me a while to put together but I also had to ensure everything was perfectly, evenly spread lol. Will add jalapeños next time to spice it up.
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Lol love it! You could also do spicy salsa! Thanks, Erin 🙂
Holly E Carver says
I have a terrible time getting my nephews to eat veggies. Not this time. I love that it's not too dry either. I was out of chili's though. Next time, I'll use fresh pepper and onions, too!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Heck yes, thanks Holly! Yes, fresh is always ideal but frozen is so nice when you want to cut down prepping 🙂 Cheers!
Dylan says
This is such a good weeknight recipe. It's super quick and easy, but still delish and nutritious!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Yayyy so thrilled you loved it, Dylan!!
Alexis Joseph says
So so glad!!