Gluten-free Chicken Enchilada Casserole is a cheesy and satisfying dinner that delivers all the flavor of classic chicken enchiladas with none of the hard work. Easy, make-ahead, and perfect for busy weeknights!
“This is my husband’s favorite meal! I’ve made it countless times, and it’s delicious every time.”
Raise your hand if you don’t feel like cooking dinner tonight?
That makes two of us!
If you can spare a little energy and a few minutes of active cooking time, my lazy girl’s Chicken Enchilada Casserole is going to make your night.
Forget the tedious rolling required for classic chicken enchiladas. Instead, mix all the ingredients together, then bake in the oven. The result is a cheesy, satisfying casserole that your entire family will devour!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Quick. We’re talking 20 minutes of prep time before sending the casserole into the oven to bake hands-off.
- Easy. Get all the craveable flavor of homemade chicken enchiladas with none of the hard work required.
- Reheats well. Microwave leftovers for hot and satisfying lunches.
- Make-ahead. Assemble the casserole a few hours ahead of time, then bake when you’re ready to eat.
Main Ingredients Needed
- Chicken breasts: chopped into bite-sized pieces.
- Corn tortillas: chopped into squares.
- Red Enchilada Sauce: you simply must use my homemade enchilada sauce recipe for this dish. Nothing from the store compares!
- Jarred salsa: I like Clint’s or Tostitos Restaurant-Style Salsa.
- Canned black beans: or pinto beans.
- Frozen corn: no need to thaw first.
- Sour cream
- Chopped green chiles: mild or hot, it’s up to you.
- Shredded Mexican cheese blend: for ooey-gooey cheesy goodness.
- Toppings: minced onions, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, avocado, sliced olives, pickled jalapenos, shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and guacamole make excellent chicken enchilada casserole toppers.
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This easy casserole recipe is blissfully simple. Stir > pour > bake. That said, here are a few things to keep in mind before cooking:
- Prepare enchilada sauce. Prepare the homemade red enchilada sauce up to 5 days ahead of time so the casserole comes together quickly.
- Corn tortilla count. Depending on the brand, corn tortillas are typically sold in packs of 10 or 12 (or more). As written, this recipe can be made with 10 or up to 12 tortillas, so you don’t have a couple random leftover corn tortillas to deal with.
- Thick-cut cheese. I like using a thick-cut Mexican cheese blend for this recipe so each bite of casserole tastes extra-cheesy. It really makes a difference!
Serve with Restaurant-Style Salsa
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Saute the chicken.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then spritz with extra virgin olive oil or nonstick spray. Add chicken breasts that have been cut into bite-sized pieces then season with salt and pepper and saute until the chicken is cooked through.
Turn the heat off then set the chicken aside to cool slightly.
Step 2: Stir the remaining ingredients together.
While the chicken is cooling, add canned black or pinto beans that have been drained and rinsed, frozen corn, sour cream, red enchilada sauce, jarred salsa, and chopped green chiles to a very large mixing bowl then stir to combine.
Like I said, there is nothing better than my homemade enchilada sauce. Every so often I’ll try a new small-batch option from the grocery store, and I’m always disappointed!
Gluten Free Enchilada Sauce
Next add the cooked chicken, white corn tortillas that have been chopped into bite-sized squares, plus shredded Mexican cheese blend, then stir to combine.
Step 3: Bake the casserole.
Scoop the mixture into a nonstick-sprayed 9×13″ baking pan then sprinkle the top with more shredded cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbly.
Scoop onto plates then serve with the toppings of your choice. This part is fun and lets everyone customize their own dinner to their liking.
How to Store and Reheat
Store Chicken Enchilada Casserole leftovers in the refrigerator for 4-5 days then reheat individual scoops in the microwave until hot.
How to Make Ahead of Time
Assemble the casserole up to a few hours ahead of time then cover with foil and store in the refrigerator. Bake covered for the first 15 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake until the casserole is hot and bubbly.
I hope you love every bite of this simple and satisfying Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe. Enjoy!
More Easy Tex-Mex Recipes
- Beef and Veggie Enchilada Skillet
- Chicken Burrito Skillet
- Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper
- Restaurant-Style Ground Beef
- Cheese Enchiladas
- Large Batch Taco Seasoning
- Best Ever Chicken Fajitas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 15 oz can black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup (8oz) sour cream
- 1 cup gluten-free red enchilada sauce
- 1 cup jarred salsa
- 4 oz can chopped green chiles
- 10-12 gluten-free white corn tortillas, cut into squares, see notes
- 8 oz shredded Mexican Cheese Blend, divided
- Toppings: minced onions, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, avocado, sliced olives, pickled jalapenos, shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, guacamole
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then spray a 9×13” casserole dish with nonstick spray and set it aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then spray with nonstick spray or mist with extra virgin olive oil. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, then saute until the chicken is cooked through. Turn off the heat then set the chicken aside to cool slightly.
- To a very large mixing bowl add the beans, corn, sour cream, enchilada sauce, salsa, and green chiles then stir to combine. Add the slightly cooled chicken, tortillas, and half the cheese then stir to combine.
- Scoop the mixture into the prepared baking dish then top with the remaining cheese and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbly. Scoop onto plates then serve with optional toppings.
Notes
- White corn tortillas are typically sold in packages of 10-12. This recipe works with 10 or up to 12 tortillas.
- To make ahead: Assemble the casserole up to a few hours ahead of time then cover with foil and store in the refrigerator. Bake covered for the first 15 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake until the casserole is hot and bubbly.
- This recipe has been modified from the original in the following ways: 1 cup salsa instead of 3/4 cup. 8oz cheese instead of 4oz. Added a can of beans.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
I saw “This is 40” in the theaters, and a girlfriend and I rented it this weekend and watched again. It is SO funny – definitely one of those movies I will be watching over and over and over!
Love this recipe – so easy! Can’t wait to try :) Also, very jealous of the 2/$1 Chobani! I’ve never seen them priced that well here in DC!
2/$1 Chobani!???? Good golly how I do miss Hy-Vee!
Oh my goodness that looks YUMMY. My least favorite part of enchiladas is having to roll them all up and I fail miserably at it. This is so quick and easy! I’ll have to make this for the boy.
I also want to see that movie so bad, ever since I saw the previews. It looks so hilarious and that couple is so funny!
I didn’t like the going on 40 movie. Maybe it was because I watched it by myself when I was really tired haha. I also thought it was really long! Over 2 hours!
What’s with the bump blocks? Come on, show it off! :)
I loved “This is 40”, it was SO funny!
Going to make this for sure! After making your lazy girl lasagna a couple weeks ago, this one sounds great too. I love “lazy” meals like this!
I wish I had your notes on what to register for! I live in KC now and don’t have any close friends that have kids. Registering this weekend should be interesting… I have ideas, but I doubt we will get through it all in an hour and fifteen minutes. That is impressive!
They will have a checklist for you when you start scanning items – I think that will be really helpful! I should also type up the list she gave me, it’s truly a great resource. I’ll see what I can do in the next couple of days!!
That would be awesome, if you get around to typing up the registry help list. I’ve looked at the list Babies-R-Us has and even that is overwhelming to me :)
I would LOVE a list too! I’m registering this weekend also and feel so clueless and overwhelmed! Do you mind me asking why you registered at both Babies R Us and Bye Bye Baby? Do they carry different things?
We registered at both for convenience for our shower guests (if they have one closer to them than another for instance) but also because you get a percentage off whatever is left on your registry if you don’t receive it as a gift. It’s just nice to have the discount at both places!
I would love the list too if you happen to get it typed up. I don’t have any family members or many friends that have had little ones either so we’re looking for all the advice we can get! Thanks for the easy recipe too! :)
Are you working from home now, Kristin? Full-time blogging? I remember the switch from Meredith to Living History Farms, but hadn’t remembered reading about moving on from there. Congrats if you are! And congrats on that little baby…. how exciting!!
Hi Bridget! Yes, I blog full time and freelance write/blog/recipe develop for several other companies. Busier than ever, but happier, too! :)
How awesome for you personally, professionally and your growing family! Congrats!
I’ve been wondering this same thing too, but didn’t want to seem too nosy. Hurray for doing what makes you happy!
23 weeks pregnant here and I said this weekend, no more takeout for this gal. I cooked a whole chicken yesterday, just so I could shred it for other meals throughout the week. With a 4 1/2 year old in Karate, baseball, and swim lessons, it’s almost impossible to make dinner throughout the week since my husband and I both work full time. Not to mention the total lack of motivation due to pregnancy. Thanks for a quick and easy meal idea!
I make something VERY similar to this! And as an added benefit – it freezes beautifully. Simply take the prepared (but not baked) casserole and freeze it. When you’re ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake like normal.
Recipes like this are helpful when you’re pregnant! Make two – eat one – freeze the second. Then you’ll have something waiting in the wings for the next time you’re too tired to cook or for after the baby comes!
I’m definitely making this for dinner one night soon. At 24 weeks pregnant, I don’t feel like cooking more often than I do. And I love cooking! Last night my husband was going to “save” the day and pick up some chinese, but we’d already had takeout once and I wanted to be “good”. I found some of your crock pot spaghetti sauce in the freezer, cooked some pasta and mixed in some frozen veggies. Almost as quick as takeout, much healthier and budget friendly :)
That’s the same boat I’m in right now too! I should start stocking the freezer with pre-made sauces, etc so I can have quick meals ready to go like you!
I have to say i’m impressed that you whipped up that dinner when you didn’t feel like cooking! My “don’t feel like cooking meal” typically consists of cereal or PB & J! Much to the dismay of my husband. :)
Mine usually does too! I’ve been bad lately with eating not-so healthy/really random meals when I don’t feel like cooking though, so this week I’m trying to get back on track!