This scrumptious Chicken Enchilada Casserole is layered with corn tortillas, chicken, Poblano peppers, enchilada sauce, and cheese. It's a hit with everyone who tastes it.
This chicken enchilada casserole is a super easy recipe to make. It's packed with flavour, spice and cheese.
I had so much fun making this recipe. It's a Mexican inspired recipe using a 4-Cheese Mexican Blend, as well as corn tortillas, Poblano peppers, and chicken thighs.
Mexican cuisine is always my go-to for family gatherings. This particular recipe is always a hit for potlucks, family dinners and special events.
Since I love the taste of chicken thighs I knew they would bring a really intense flavour to this dish.
I bought skinless chicken thighs from the butcher and cut the meat off myself. Doing it myself meant controlling the size of the pieces perfectly.
My favourite skillet came out of the cupboard so I could cook up the chicken, along with some onions, Poblano peppers, and red peppers. I love using a skillet to saute chicken and vegetables. Works perfectly, and I love the even cooking it provides.
I made some Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce for this recipe. Making your own is easier than you think, plus you can flavour it the way you like.
This whole thing came together in about an hour or so. If you're pretty adept in the kitchen you can make it in around an hour.
If you plan well you can cut your cooking times down considerably. Always read every recipe a couple of times.
Ingredients:
- Oil - I used olive oil for this casserole but you can substitute grapeseed, vegetable or canola.
- Chicken - Bone in chicken thighs are the best for flavour but you can substitute boneless skinless chicken breast if you prefer.
- Chile Peppers - This recipe uses Poblano and I highly recommend using them. Or you could use Anaheim peppers.
- Peppers - I used red bell peppers but you can also use yellow, orange or green.
- Onion - Sweet onions are used in this recipe. I love Vidalia onions but if sweet onions aren't available use Spanish onions.
- Salt and Pepper - The enchilada sauce is pretty spicy so you can go easy on adding spices to this recipe. Honestly, a little salt and pepper is all you need.
- Sauce - I made my own Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce but you can use store bought sauce if you don't want to make your own.
- Tortillas - Corn tortilla are preferred but I know they can be hard to find. I live in a small town and tracking them down here can be difficult. So substitute if you must.
- Cheese - I used a Mexican cheese blend but in all honestly use whatever cheese works for you.
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then, cut all the meat off the chicken thighs, discard any skin and bones, cut meat into small, even pieces.
- Next, cut up the veggies.
- Now, in a large skillet heat oil over medium heat and cook chicken till juices run clear.
- Then, add the poblanos, red peppers and onions and cook until meat is brown and veggies are soft. Add salt and pepper. Set chicken aside.
- Next, heat up the enchilada sauce.
- Place a first layer of tortillas in a casserole dish. Add one third of the chicken, ⅓ of the sauce and ⅓ of the cheese over top.
- Next, repeat for the second layer.
- And then repeat again for the third layer.
- Then, place the casserole dish in the oven and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Next, remove from the oven and slice.
- Finally, serve it up and enjoy!
Recipe for making your own enchilada sauce:
OTHER KICK ASS CASSEROLE RECIPES:
- Sloppy Joe Casserole
- Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake with Sausage and Peppers
- Smoked Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
- Easy Chili Cornbread Casserole
- Frito Pie
- Goulash aka American Chop Suey
- Other Great Casserole Recipes
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Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs trim all the skin and bone and discard (3 pounds of chicken thighs should equal just over 1 pound of meat)
- 2 medium Poblano peppers diced
- 2 medium red peppers diced
- ½ medium sweet onion diced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 10 ounces enchilada sauce
- 6 corn tortillas
- 8 oz Mexican blend shredded cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut all the usable meat off of your chicken thighs. Discard any skin and bones. (tip: save chicken bones to make chicken stock or soup) Cut into small, even pieces.
- Cut up all the vegetables.
- In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the juices run clear. Add the diced poblano peppers, diced red peppers, and diced onions to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the chicken starts to brown and the vegetables are soft. Add salt and pepper, stir until well combined. Remove the chicken mixture from the pan. Set aside.
- Heat up the enchilada sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside.
- In a casserole dish line two corn tortillas on the bottom, they can overlap slightly if needed.
- Spoon ⅓ of the chicken mixture over the corn tortillas.
- Pour ⅓ of the enchilada sauce over the chicken mixture.
- Sprinkle ⅓ of the cheese over top the enchilada sauce.
- Repeat all layers two more times.
- Place casserole dish in the oven and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and slice immediately.
- Serve with a big old cheese loving smile!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting today!
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Have a delicious day!
Toodles! xx
Citra Kale @Citra's Home Diary
This seems something that my husband would has for our weekend lunch. I save also your homemade enchilada sauce for later to make. thx for sharing
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes
I love Sargento cheese! This is a great idea for a weeknight meal. I love the idea of homemade enchilada sauce.
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks Ashley. It was fun to make. Hubs wanted a spicier version so I'm making another one this weekend. Ha!
Bri
So cheesy!! Looks delicious. I bet the shredded cheese is a big time saver. Yum!
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much Bri. I love buying it pre-shredded when I'm busy. Just makes life so much easier.
Molly Kumar
There's nothing compared to a delicious cheesy chicken casserole. This looks so delicious, I just wanna dig right in 🙂
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much Molly. I feel the same way about cheesy casseroles.
Ludmilla
This recipe is awesome! My family usually groans when I make enchilada casserole, because I've been on a never-ending quest for the very best recipe. The quest is over--this is it!
Kim Beaulieu
We have the same struggle here. Hubs wants a spicier version this weekend so I'm making another one. Ha, it never ends. I like mine a bit mild, but he's into spicy food.
Immaculate
Oh I love mexican food…this sounds soooooo good. I so want to make it. I think there’s nothing better for breakfast than these enchiladas! Yum!
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much. And I'm with you, enchiladas for breakfast are everything!
Sabrina
My husband loves enchiladas! This would be a great and easy way to make them for the whole family!
Emily @ Life on Food
This dish looks delicious. We love enchiladas but sometimes all of the rolling seems like too much effort. I love that you just layer all of the goodness like a lasagna. That gooey cheese gets me every time.
Kim Beaulieu
Comments moved from TapInfluence widget so it could be removed on Sept 24/2017:
Heather
over 1 year ago
this is just fabulous!! we love enchiladas, and in casserole form is perfect for serving everyone and having leftovers for lunch
Brandy | Nutmeg Nanny
over 1 year ago
This is one cheesy looking dish! That's cheesy in a good way 😉 I love making enchiladas but there is a lot of work with all the rolling and what not. LOVE that you get all that flavor in a delicious casserole.
Kirsten Kubert
over 1 year ago
Chicken enchiladas are one of my favorite things! I've got to be honest and say that even though I love them, I hate, hate, hate having to fill and roll those little suckers up one by one. I really love that you did a lasagna-like casserole and didn't skimp on the cheese!
Angie | Big Bears Wife
over 1 year ago
I am so excited about this enchilada casserole and I love that you used chicken thighs!! YUM! Love that Sargento Shredded Cheese too!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings
over 1 year ago
I love using chicken thighs for recipes like this - they just taste better. Looks delicious! All that gooey cheese...
Swayampurna Mishra Singh
over 1 year ago
This is so so delicious! would be perfect for week nights..and Gosh..just look at all the cheese! WANT!
Chrisy Elliott
over 1 year agoSo love cheesy dishes like this 😀 It would be a total hit at our house!
Liz Weber Berg
over 1 year ago
Oh, yeah, sign me up for this cheesy casserole! These would be a smash hit at my house!!!
Marye Audet-White
over 1 year ago
This looks so good, I have been wanting enchiladas! I believe this casserole would satisfy that craving very well!
Adriana Martin
over 1 year ago
Such a comforting dish and who doesn't love loads of cheese =)
Sandra L Garth
Ok, you've convinced me that I should try it and I can't wait!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
I absolutely love chicken enchilada! I gotta try this dish!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Carolyn Ingram
This looks amazing! I have to try making this for dinner!
Megan @ C'mon Get Crafty
I am always a fan of enchilada ANYTHING! I especially love a bake that makes dinner that much easier!! #MM
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much Megan. I'm all for easy recipes.
Beth
Does the 4 cheese blend have any spices added to it? We like a milder casserole taste. Thanks!
Kim Beaulieu
Hi Beth. I believe it does. I wish I had some in my fridge right now so I could look for you but I'm cheese-less at the moment. I like mild cheese and I liked this one. If you like a specific cheese you love you can totally substitute it. I'm a cheddar and colby girl myself for Mexican food. For Italian food I'm partial to Mozzarella and Parmesan so I'll sub those in for cheese I don't like.
Same goes for the enchilada sauce. Go mild if that works for you. I'm all for adapting recipes to your taste buds.
Also sorry for the delayed response. My daughter is in the military and she blew in for a short visit.
Carol Suzuki
By sight, these red peppers appear to be red BELL peppers as opposed to red chili peppers, is that right?
Kim Beaulieu
Hi Carol. Sorry, this got lost in a spam folder. Yes, they are red bell peppers.
Maura
I've recently been trying out Hello Fresh dinners and they always come with Poblano peppers instead of sweet peppers. Most of the time they are mild, but the last recipe I tried, it was super duper hot. Do you know any tricks on how to tell a mild from a hot poblano just by looking at it?
Kim Beaulieu
Hi Maura. Were they red or green? Typically the red ones are WAY hotter than the green ones.
I believe they are green when they are young, and picked when they are that colour. Then they can continue ripening after they are picked and turn red.
I've also heard the stem matters. Straight stems mean the pepper is more mild. Curved stems mean the pepper is on the hotter side. I have no idea if this true but I've heard it from some local farmers. Usually they are great with advice but I've never dug into the interwebs to verify if it's true.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
I keep wanting to try Hello Fresh but I tend to be bad at planning ahead. Ha!
Valerie
Maura, I have never seen Red Poblano Peppers, but I do buy the green. My experience has been that the smaller peppers are hotter and the larger ones are milder.