Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Get all the flavors you love with traditional enchiladas without having to do all the work by making this easy Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

Why this recipe works:

The hardest part about making traditional enchiladas is rolling them. The process can be messy and also frustrating if the tortillas tear.

An enchilada casserole uses the same exact ingredients as traditional enchiladas, except the tortillas and filling are stacked rather than rolled.

This recipe is made especially easy because it is cooked in the slow cooker. You can set it to high if you're ready for dinner or let it cook on the slow setting if you'd like to prepare it earlier in the day.

Here's how to make it:

1. Gather up all of your ingredients including red enchilada sauce (not shown below), black beans, corn, cooked chicken, tortillas and cheese.
2. Combine half of your enchilada sauce with the corn, beans, and shredded chicken. You will then take some of the remaining enchilada sauce and spread it around the base of the slow cooker and then cover that with the first tortilla.
3. To layer the casserole, you will alternate layers of the chicken filling, cheese, and tortilla. The top of the casserole should be the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese over the final tortilla.
4. This casserole will take 1-2 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low to cook.

Cooking tips:

• This recipe can be made extremely easy by using canned enchilada sauce and pre-cooked chicken. Or, you can go the extra mile and make your own homemade red enchilada sauce and use some meat from a slow cooker chicken.
• My preference is to always use a block of cheese and grate it yourself, however for this recipe pre-shredded cheese works perfectly fine.
• You can use corn or flour tortillas for this recipe, but my preference is actually to use wheat flour and corn blend. They taste a lot like corn tortillas but aren't as dry.
• If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I highly recommend the Cuban Style Black Beans. They have a lot more flavor than plain black beans because of the added onions and peppers.
• This recipe tastes great, if not better, the next day because it really gives all the flavors time to mix.
• Serve with olives, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, etc. 

Related recipes:

• Easy Ground Beef Enchiladas
• Green Chile Enchilada Casserole
• Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
• Green Chile Chicken Lasagna - similar to enchiladas but with pasta noodles

Did you make this recipe? Please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Stack

Get all the flavors you love with traditional enchiladas without having to do all the work by making this easy Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Stack.

5 from 6 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Scale: 6 servings

Recipe Created By: Krissy Allori

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups enchilada sauce (equivalent to one 15-ounce can )
• ▢ 15 ounces black beans (one 15 ounce can, drained)
• ▢ 1 cup frozen corn kernels (can use fresh or drained canned corn as well)
• ▢ 8 ounces cooked chicken (approximately 2 small breasts or thighs, shredded)
• ▢ 6 8-inch corn-flour tortillas
• ▢ 12 ounces Mexican blend cheese (combination of cheddar, jack, etc., shredded)

Instructions

• In a medium sized bowl, combine about 1 cup of enchilada sauce (reserve the other half for later), beans, corn, and chicken. Stir to combine.
• Spread half of the remaining enchilada sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker. Set the first tortilla on top.
• To layer the casserole, you will take a spoonful of the chicken mixture and spread it out across the tortilla an then top with a handful of cheese. Continue layering with a tortilla, filling, then cheese. Continue to repeat the process and portion the ingredients such that the top of the casserole has your last tortilla, the remaining enchilada sauce, and a big handful of cheese.
• Cover and cook on high 1-2 hours or on low 4-6 hours.

Notes

Cooking tips:

• This recipe can be made extremely easy by using canned enchilada sauce and pre-cooked chicken. Or, you can go the extra mile and make your own homemade red enchilada sauce and use some meat from a slow cooker chicken.
• My preference is to always use a block of cheese and grate it yourself, however for this recipe pre-shredded cheese works perfectly fine.
• You can use corn or flour tortillas for this recipe, but my preference is actually to use wheat flour and corn blend. They taste a lot like corn tortillas but aren't as dry.
• If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I highly recommend the Cuban Style Black Beans. They have a lot more flavor than plain black beans because of the added onions and peppers.
• This recipe tastes great, if not better, the next day because it really gives all the flavors time to mix.
• Serve with olives, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Calories: 469kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 1179mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 920IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 420mg | Iron: 3.2mg

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This recipe was originally published in February 2016 and has been updated with more helpful information and cooking tips. Don't worry - I didn't change the recipe!