Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
818 Comments Jan 19, 2021
Updated Aug 04, 2024
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Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole is the easiest one-pot recipe you will find for enchiladas. Made with tender chicken and plenty of cheese.
Forget take out and make enchiladas at home, we love to make a big pot of Slow Cooker Refried Beans too! Want an even easier recipe? Try my lazy enchilada recipe that is made with taquitos or try my vegetarian crockpot enchiladas.
Table of Contents
- How to make Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
- What kind of tortillas do I use?
- How to assemble the casserole:
- Can I use a different kind of meat?
- Can I use green sauce?
- What to serve with Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
- More of my favorite slow cooker chicken recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe
This recipe for slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole is a one-pot meal (yay!). To make this recipe, I cook the chicken with a big can of red enchilada sauce, all day in my slow cooker. If you love green sauce, try my sour cream chicken enchilada casserole.
Then when I get home, I shred the chicken, stir in corn tortillas strips, add some cheese and olives, stir, add a little more cheese and olives on top, cook for one more hour, and wow! Easy enchiladas and I don’t have the huge mess all over my kitchen from frying tortillas and rolling the enchiladas.
How to make Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
This recipe has become a viral success on the blog and that is for good reason. So many people have tried this recipe and had great results. I don’t think there is an easier meal for the slow cooker.
Ingredients
- Enchilada sauce
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Corn tortillas cut into strips
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Black olives
Step-by-Step Directions
- Add chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
- Pour over a large can of red enchilada sauce. (DO NOT ADD THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS YET. The first step is only the chicken and sauce).
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
- Shred the meat with 2 forks.
What kind of tortillas do I use?
- Use corn tortillas for this recipe cut into strips (see photo above). These are not chips, these are tortillas that are soft.
- Flour tortillas will make this dish doughy.
- Though, if you accidently buy tortilla chips, I’ve had many reviews that they work fine. They soften up in the casserole.
How to assemble the casserole:
- Add the corn tortillas (that have been cut into strips), half of the cheese, and half of the olives, stir and flatten out into a casserole.
- Add more cheese on top and olives. Cook on low for 40-60 minutes or until the center is hot.
- Serve and enjoy!
Can I use a different kind of meat?
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – These work great if you love dark meat.
- Ground beef – One of the most popular questions I get asked is if ground beef can be used. The time can be cut in half if cooked ground beef is used.
- Cubed beef stew meat – The is great if you love beef enchiladas and the beef flavors the enchilada sauce very well.
- Pre-cooked chicken or turkey – If you only have cooked chicken or turkey you still can make this recipe. Cut the initial cooking time in half. Rotisserie chicken works great in this recipe.
Can I use green sauce?
- Green enchilada sauce can be substituted.
- Though the consistency of the sauce will be more liquidly and make the enchiladas soggy.
What to serve with Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
- This meal I OFTEN make with NO SIDES! Yes, it’s that good on it’s own. If you are making this for a party or crowd make a side or two.
- Spanish Rice – This is my go to recipe from Lil’ Luna.
- Refried Pinto Beans – You can make these in another slow cooker or in the instant pot.
- Sour cream – A small dollop on top goes a long way.
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes on the site. Easy to throw in the crockpot and has great results.
More of my favorite slow cooker chicken recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enhilada Pasta
- Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon Gravy
- Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
- Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
- Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- Slow Cooker Seasoned Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans
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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless raw chicken breasts, (don't use any more than 1.5 pounds, the casserole will seem dry if you do).
- 28 oz. can Red Enchilada Sauce, I use El Pato Brand or Los Palmas
Add these items at the end:
- 10 corn tortillas, I use a 10-12 oz. package of soft corn tortillas.
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
- 3.8 oz. can black olives (drained), divided
Instructions
- Put the chicken breasts and the enchilada sauce in your slow cooker.
- Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks right in the slow cooker.
- Cut the tortillas in to strips, add to chicken and sauce. Stir.
- Add 1/2 cup of cheese and half the olives into the sauce and chicken mixture. Stir again.
- Flatten the mixture.
- Add the rest of the cheese and the olives on top.
- Cook on low for about 40 – 60 minutes longer.
- Top with sour cream (optional)
How to Video
Sarah’s Notes
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – These work great if you love dark meat.
- Ground beef – One of the most popular questions I get asked is if ground beef can be used. The time can be cut in half if cooked ground beef is used.
- Cubed beef stew meat – The is great if you love beef enchiladas and the beef flavors the enchilada sauce very well.
- Pre-cooked chicken or turkey – If you only have cooked chicken or turkey you still can make this recipe. Cut the initial cooking time in half. Rotisserie chicken works great in this recipe.
- This meal I OFTEN make with NO SIDES! Yes, it’s that good on it’s own. If you are making this for a party or crowd make a side or two.
- Spanish Rice
- Refried Pinto Beans
- Sour cream – A small dollop on top goes a long way.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
I loved this Chicken Enchlida recipe it was as good as the long way of making them…I am handicapped so things take quite awhile to put together…This was pretty easy and it was sure worth it….Thank you
I’ve made this recipe many times and also used pork or beef and they’re all delicious and so easy to make. It’s a family favorite and we never grow tired of it.
Sounds great except that I am not big on olives. The green chilis sound really good along with chopped onions maybe.
Yes, both onion and green chiles are great additions.
This was an easy dish to make and turned out great. It was delicious, however, I would recommend adding taco seasonings to give it more flavor.
Very tasty. Cooking chicken in the sauce for so long really adds flavor. For fun, I added green chilies initially then black beans and frozen corn before that final 40min cook time. The only thing I didn’t like was that it was a bit loose for my texture preferences. Maybe adding some cooked rice with the finished product will tighten it up. Regardless, so easy, so good! Thanks for sharing.
I made this last night and loved it! . I only had 2 chicken breast but they were pretty good size. I added jalapeños but next time I will add corn, green chilies and black beans. Thanks!
Thanks to your review, I added green chilies while the chicken was cooking then blacks beans and frozen corn right before that final 40min cook. Fabulous additions.
I usually use frozen, and it still works great – but if you’re cooking on low, you’ll likely need the full eight hours, definitely not just six. When cooking on high, four hours still works fine.
This is a wonderful starter recipe that can be adapted to your personal preferences. I sautéed onions and garlic and added them in with the homemade enchilada sauce I made and chicken thighs in the beginning. I also added some prepared dried black beans. I added pepper jack, frozen corn, green chiles, and cut up corn tortillas in the last hour. Not everyone likes black olives here, so I had them on the side to add on top. It was absolutely delicious.
Does it still need to cook for 2 hrs the chicken in the sauce, when using cooked chicken?
Yes, it will take quite a long time to heat up the sauce, and it needs to be hot before making the casserole.
I made this and it was delicious!!!! We think it’s our new Fav!!!!!
I made this tonight for dinner and we LOVED it!!! Will definitely make it again and again!!!! Can’t wait to make ut again! SO easy and So good!!!! I give it 5 stars!!!!!!!