This creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole calls for chicken breasts, green enchilada sauce, salsa verde, fire roasted green chiles, and a few other simple ingredients. Enchilada recipes like this are perfect for busy weekends, potlucks, or even game days. It’s an authentic Tex-Mex meal the whole family is sure to enjoy.
Enchilada recipes are so easy to cook in the crock pot. If you want to try even more variations, you’ll love my Slow Cooker Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole or Slow Cooker Lazy Enchiladas.
Why this sour cream chicken enchilada casserole recipe works
Chicken enchiladas are a pretty popular Mexican dish but they’re not always the easiest to make if you’re using your stovetop or oven. When using your slow cooker, making this delicious meal is pretty easy. With little to no prep, this recipe makes it easy to whip up shredded chicken and amazing sour cream sauce for a versatile meal packed with lots of flavors.
This easy chicken enchilada casserole is a great weeknight recipe to try ASAP! Although it has a long cooking time, it’s something you can start during the day and have on the dinner table by the evening.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are the best to use for this recipe, and you only need a 2-3 pack to get enough shredded chicken.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder add the perfect amount of taste to the cooked chicken and sauce.
- Salsa Verde: This ingredient helps add some of the Mexican tang to the casserole dish.
- Green Enchilada Sauce: You’ll need at least 2 cans of this sauce. It’s also another component to this easy dinner recipe.
- Sour Cream: Using sour cream helps add taste, texture, and color to this delicious recipe.
- Fire Roasted Green Chiles: The best part about making easy chicken enchiladas is that most of your ingredients will come from the can, especially when it comes to something like the flavor of fire roasted chopped green chiles.
- Green Onions: These add another element of taste and texture to this casserole dish.
- Cheese: Monterey jack cheese is the cheese of choice for this recipe, although you can use any Mexican cheese of your choice.
- Corn Tortillas: Corn tortillas hold up better in a casserole dish and add the perfect topping. You’ll need about 10 of them.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the salt and pepper.
Step Two – Pour over the salsa verde. Cove and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Step Three – When Cooking time is complete, pour in the green enchilada sauce.
Step Four – Remove the chicken onto a plate and shred it with two forks.
Step Five – Discard the salsa and juices that were in the crockpot and pour in the remaining ingredients.
Step Six – Add the shredded chicken into the sour cream mixture and stir until well combined.
Step Seven – Cut the tortillas into strips (I cut them into eight pieces each) and place them on top of the casserole mixture. Stir the tortillas into the mixture.
Step Eight – Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and tortilla mixture.
Step Nine – Place the lid back on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or until the enchilada casserole is hot and melty. Sprinkle with remaining green onions. Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with enchilada casserole?
- Since this casserole has all of the basic enchilada elements, you can easily serve it as is. Simply put a nice helping on a plate and serve warm.
- When it comes to toppings, you can add additional cheese such as sharp cheddar cheese, pepper Jack cheese, or any shredded cheese of your choice.
- As for toppings, you can add extra sour cream, diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro, more green chilies, sliced black olives, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, and jalapenos.
- Make it the best sour cream chicken dish by serving it alongside refried beans, tortilla chips, or Mexican rice.
Recipe FAQs
If you don’t have chicken breasts on hand, you can use canned chicken, chicken thighs, or store bought rotisserie chicken.
Cream cheese can often be used as a replacement and still yield a great recipe.
I haven’t tried red sauce with this particular recipe, but you can try it as a topping or in replacement of the green sauce.
Yes, enchilada casseroles freeze very well.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 4 days. Heat the leftover chicken on the stovetop or in a baking dish until warmed throughout. You can also reaheat in the microwave.
Some people like to create a layered chicken enchilada casserole with a layer of sour cream enchilada sauce corn tortillas and repeat.
You can use low fat sour cream instead of the full fat sour cream.
Want to make more magic in your crockpot? Stay up to date and subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik Tok, and YouTube.
Slow Cooker Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 16 oz. salsa verde
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
For the casserole:
- 20 oz. green enchilada sauce (two 10 oz. cans)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup green onions
- 5 oz. can fire roasted green chiles
- 2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
- 10 corn tortillas
Instructions:
- NOTE: This is an 8 hour recipe; 6 hours to cook the chicken and 2 hours to cook the casserole after it is assembled. Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Pour over the salsa verde.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.
- When the cooking time is up. REMOVE the chicken on to a plate and shred with two forks.
- DISCARD all the salsa and juices in the slow cooker, this is TOO runny to use for the enchiladas.
- Add the shredded chicken to the dry slow cooker.
- Add the green enchilada sauce, green onions, green chiles and sour cream. Stir. Next, cut the tortillas into strips (I cut them into eight pieces each). Add the tortillas to the chicken mixtures and stir. Spread out into an even layer. Sprinkle over the cheese. (If desired you can layer this like lasagna instead).
- Place the lid back on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 hours longer. Or until the enchilada casserole is hot and melty. Sprinkle with remaining green onions.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes:
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 4 days. Heat the leftover chicken on the stovetop or in a baking dish until warmed throughout.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Seems like an additional 2 hours on high (approx. 4 hours on low) to basically reheat already cooked chicken/tortilla strips and melt cheese, is excessive, no?
It takes a long time for it to reheat in the middle, especially with the sour cream added. If you feel it needs less, definitely stop it.
Would Greek yogurt be okay to sub for the sour cream?
I’ve steered away from adding greek yogurt to hot recipes, it turns to water.
Not sure why you say to discard the salsa verde sauce. I used mine to make rice.
Yes, you can of course use it in another recipe.
Can ingredients be assembled in the crock pot ahead of time?
I prepare Meals for the Ronald McDonald House in Morgantown, West Virginia. I prepare a hot meal on the day that I’m there cooking and another meal to be either and/or assembled and baked 2 days later.
This one may be harder to prepare ahead of time since you have to add other things at the end of the cooking time. You could prepare it all and in the last steps put it into a casserole dish and have them bake it the next day.
I love Mexican food! Want your easy recipes!