Crock-Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This Crock-Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole is a delicious and easy one-pot meal made with enchilada sauce, tender chicken, black beans, shredded cheese, and tortillas. With simple ingredients and easy steps, this is a recipe your whole family will love!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What Makes This Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole Great
If you have a slow cooker, you know how wonderful it is to dump your ingredients, turn on the appliance, and go! A few hours later, the house is filled with the aroma of a home-cooked meal, and you have dinner on the table without any fuss!
This recipe is no exception! My crockpot enchilada casserole is everything you love about enchiladas without any stuffing, rolling, and baking. All of the same delicious flavors, tons of cheese, and a result so good your family will be requesting it once a week! If you love Mexican food, this is an easy recipe that you must try!
The best part is there are simple ingredients, minimal prep and cleanup, and it can be customized to your liking! Swap the meat, and change the toppings, it’s super versatile!
And if you love using your slow cooker as much as I do, try my Copycat Chick Fil A Tortilla Soup or this Healthy Mississippi Pot Roast!
Recipe Highlights
- Gluten Free
- Made with simple ingredients
- Perfect for Taco Tuesday
- Ideal for busy weeknights
- All the flavors of chicken enchiladas with 1/2 the effort
- Easiest one-pot recipe
Ingredient Notes
Enchilada Recipe
- chicken breasts: I like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts. It soaks up the enchilada sauce and then shreds into tender, juicy, and flavorful shredded chicken! I recommend thawing frozen chicken breasts so that the sauce is not too watery.
- enchilada sauce: You can use your favorite jarred enchilada sauce or follow my homemade recipe below.
- grain-free tortillas: You can also use corn tortillas or, if you are not gluten-free, whichever tortillas you prefer. However, I don’t recommend flour tortillas because they get much softer in the casserole than other options.
- black beans
- shredded cheddar cheese: You can also use the Mexican blend of shredded cheeses, or Monterey Jack cheese if preferred. The cheesy goodness is the best part of this casserole in my opinion!
- chopped cilantro: For garnish, optional
- plain Greek yogurt or sour cream: For garnish, optional
Red Enchilada Sauce
- chili powder
- cumin
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- paprika
- salt
- pinch cayenne
- tomato paste
- chicken broth
- arrowroot powder
- water
How To Make This Crock-Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Gluten Free Enchilada Sauce
- To make the enchilada sauce, heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
- Add in the tomato paste and spices and whisk until fragrant.
- Pour in the broth and whisk until smooth over medium heat.
- Combine the arrowroot powder and water in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Pour it into the sauce and continue whisking over medium heat while it bubbles and begins to thicken. Set aside.
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of the pot.
- Pour the enchilada sauce over top.
- Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Shred the cooked chicken in the pot.
- Add in the cut-up tortillas, black beans, and half the shredded cheese and stir.
- Flatten the chicken mixture, then add the rest of the cheese on top.
- Cover and continue to cook on high for another 30 minutes so that the cheese is melted and the tortillas are cooked!
- Serve topped with fresh cilantro and sour cream, if desired. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Meat Alternatives: You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, or even cubes of steak. Feel free to use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, as well.
- Crock-Pot Chicken for Enchiladas: If you don’t want to make the full casserole, this is a super easy way to make chicken for enchiladas! Complete steps 1-8 and use the chicken for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, salads, and more!
- Tortillas: You can use grain-free tortillas, corn tortillas, or even leave out the tortillas and serve these slow cooker chicken enchiladas with tortilla chips!
Serving Tips
- Serve these crock pot chicken enchiladas warm in a bowl or plate with forks and your favorite toppings and sides!
- Toppings: You can serve this crock-pot chicken enchilada casserole with sour cream, fresh cilantro, black olives, green onions, or whatever your favorite enchilada toppings are!
- Side Dishes: I serve this as is, and it is a filling, complete meal. A small side of Mexican Rice, refried beans, or a salad would be great if you want a side dish.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or larger portions over the stovetop.
- To freeze, store in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm over the stovetop to firm up the tortillas.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken, or even steak!
You can use green enchilada sauce. However, I don’t recommend it. It has a thinner consistency than red sauce and can change the casserole’s texture.
Nope! Crock-Pot is actually just a name-brand of a version of slow cookers. If you have a slow cooker from a different brand, that’s the same thing and will absolutely work! If you have an Instant Pot pressure cooker, there is a “slow cooker” function on there, and that will work too!
It’s possible that your sauce is too watery. If you used frozen chicken breasts and didn’t thaw them first, this could be part of the reason. But don’t fret! You can save it by adding a serving to a pan over the stove and frying it up a bit to make it firmer.
More Crockpot/Slow Cooker Recipes
Crock-Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts
- 2 cups enchilada sauce, see recipe below for homemade
- 8 grain free tortillas, I used Siete Cassava Tortillas, cut into 1-2 inch squares
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, use dairy free shreds if desired
- chopped cilantro, for serving
- plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, for serving
Enchilada Sauce
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch cayenne
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 3 tbsp water
Equipment
Instructions
- To make the enchilada sauce, heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
- Add in the tomato paste and spices and whisk until fragrant.
- Pour in the broth and whisk until smooth over medium heat.
- Combine the arrowroot powder and water in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Pour it into the sauce and continue whisking over medium heat while it bubbles and begin to thicken. Set aside.
- Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of the crock pot. Pour the enchilada sauce over top.
- Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Shred the chicken in the pot.
- Add in the cut up tortillas, black beans, and half the cheese and stir. Flatten the mixture then add the rest of the cheese on top. Cover and continue to cook on high for another 30 minutes.
- Serve topped with fresh cilantro and sour cream, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Meat Alternatives: You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, or even cubes of steak.
- Crock-Pot Chicken for Enchiladas: If you don’t want to make the full casserole, this is a super easy way to make chicken for enchiladas! Complete steps 1-8 and use the chicken for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, salads, and more!
- Tortillas: You can use grain-free tortillas, corn tortillas, or even leave out the tortillas and serve these slow cooker chicken enchiladas with tortilla chips!
Serving Tips
- Toppings: You can serve this crock-pot chicken enchiladas casserole with sour cream, fresh cilantro, black olives, green onions, or whatever your favorite enchilada toppings are!
- Side Dishes: I serve this as is, and it is a filling, complete meal. A small side of Spanish rice or a salad would be great if you want a side dish.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or larger portions over the stovetop.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 13, 2023 and updated with new copy on November 13, 2023.
50 Comments on “Crock-Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole”
This recipe was SO dang easy and yet so delicious! This is for sure going in my rotation of meals!
For ease of use I used Trader Joe’s premade enchilada sauce and also topped with lettuce and a side of crunched up chips.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Tatiana!
If you use cooked ground beef/turkey, would you still use the initial cook time of 6-7 hrs on low? I could definitely use that time but wasn’t sure if it would change things since the meat will already be browned. Thanks!!!
You could probably get away with 3-4 hours!
This recipe was SO good! Super flavorful and very easy to make. My 3 y/o even asked for more. Definitely adding to my weeknight recipe rotation. 😋
Thanks Lyssette!
10/10 recipe and so easy!!! I had already had leftover chicken taco meat in the freezer so I popped that in the crockpot and followed all other directions and turned out so good. Definitely will become part of our weekly rotation.
Thanks Corinne!
A big hit for the whole family!
Thanks Julie! Glad to hear it!