As the weather is cooling off, I’m starting to migrate to a lot more soups and stews. This ‘Creamy’ Chicken Enchilada Soup is a new family favorite. It’s easy to make and takes no time at all in the handy-dandy instant pot. It’s perfect for a Tex-Mex inspired dinner option. Especially on these busy weekday nights!
Not only is it super delicious – think cream chicken enchiladas in the form of a soup, but it’s also gluten free and low carb too. Plus, I love that I have complete control over how spicy or how not spicy this soup is. You’ll be hard pressed to find a soup that is this creamy without having any gluten in it.
This is the easiest Chicken Enchilada Casserole you will ever make. Using fresh chicken and your own homemade sauce, you get some of the best Mexican you will ever enjoy. Plus it is healthy with 7 gr of fat and less than 300 calories per serving.
Jump to:
Introduction and My Rating
I love it when my wife suggests a recipe, and that hap,pened with this recipe, but this is not even close to that inspiration recipe. I will not name that recipe due to some issues I have with it.
I ended up with a crock pot variation of my Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes which is a stovetop/oven recipe.
I do love that recipe. I use fresh chicken and make my own enchilada sauce (which I love) to braise the chicken in before shredding.
And by using lower fat cheese, corn tortillas, and well-trimmed chicken, that recipe had under 300 calories and 7 grams of fat per serving.
Before I made enchiladas with a rolled method. It was much fussier and messier. The oven recipe recipe solved that issue, but this version is half the work.
My Rating
A lower five from my wife first and then I joined in. I would really say high 4 or low 5. I prefer the oven version slightly but this is minimum work.
🐓The Chicken
I suggest skinless boneless chicken breasts. Anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds will do.
If you want to use skinless thighs, it will work, but you need to get to the 180° internal temperature range to shred well. Probably about 3 to 3 1/2 hours before shredding.
You can use pre-cooked chicken. You need about 3 cups, which will be about 1 1/2 pounds. The sauce needs to cook a bit (about 1 hour should do) before adding the pre-cooked chicken.
⏰Cooking Time
This is the biggest issue with most of the online crock pot recipes with chicken. Those recipes typically cook the chicken for 8 hours before shredding on low and 4 hours on high. Well, I have been around the block a few times, and I see no reason to kill the chicken a second time. Generally, chicken breast in chunks will take 2 1/2 to 3 hours on low.
While a whole breast may take a bit longer, it won’t be that different. Mine are generally done in 2 1/2 hours, but some pots may run a bit cooler and need 3 hours.
The thing about casseroles is that most people what some browned cheese on top, and think you can’t do that in a crock pot. But cheese browns fairly well in a crock pot. It takes about an hour.
✔️Tips
You could also use can sauce, but really do you want to do that?
You can use 1/2 of a smaller onion for the onion powder. 2 cloves of fresh crushed garlic for the garlic powder.
I used a lower fat but not fat-free cheese to stay on the lower fat theme. You can use full fat.
This is not spicy, and you could add a touch of cayenne pepper.
Some green chilis and black beans would be good additions.
Toppings of your choice, but we just use sour cream and some chopped onions.
Chicken thighs would be fine but would need 15-30 minutes more cooking time since they should be at about 180° to shred well.
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
📖Tex-Mex Casseroles
Taco Casserole
Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes
Excellent Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Casserole
🔪Instructions
I suggest raw chicken breast but you can use thighs. You can use pre-cooked chicken. You need about 3 cups which will be about 1 1/2 pounds. The sauce needs to cook a bit (about 1 hour should do) before adding the pre-cooked chicken.
Trim two skinless boneless chicken breast and cut into three pieces each. Aim for about 1 1/2 pound, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
In a 2 1/2 to 4 quart crock pot add one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
Add the chicken pushing into the sauce to cover a little. Cook on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Internal temperature needs to be about 165° to shred well. 180° if using thighs.
Chop 6 corn tortillas (6-inches) into bite-size pieces. Stir into crock pot when you remove the chicken for shredding. Mix well to coat all sides and break apart any that stick together.
Remove the chicken to cutting board and shred.
Return the shredded chicken to crock pot, add 1/2 cup shredded cheese and mix well. Smooth top.
Top with 1 1/2 cup of the same cheese.
Cook one additional hour then serve with toppings of choice.
Do you want more recipes from 101 Cooking for Two? Sign up for the newsletter and get all posts delivered straight to your inbox!
If you enjoyed this recipe, the pleasure of a rating on the recipe card below is requested.
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This is the easiest Chicken Enchilada Casserole you will ever make. Using fresh chicken and your own homemade sauce, you get some of the best Mexican you will ever enjoy. Plus it is healthy with 7 gr of fat and less than 300 calories per serving.
I suggest raw chicken breast but you can use thighs. You can use pre-cooked chicken. You need about 3 cups which will be about 1 1/2 pounds. The sauce needs to cook a bit (about 1 hour should do) before adding the pre-cooked chicken.
Trim two skinless boneless chicken breast and cut into three pieces each. Aim for about 1 1/2 pound but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
In a 2 1/2 to 4-quart crock pot add one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
Add the chicken pushing into the sauce to cover a little. Cook on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Internal temperature needs to be about 165° to shred well.
Chop 6 corn tortillas (6-inches) into bite-size pieces. Stir into crock pot when you remove the chicken for shredding. Mix well to coat all sides and break apart any that stick together.
Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred.
Return chicken to crock pot, add 1/2 cup cheese and mix well. Smooth top.
Top with 1 1/2 cup of the same cheese.
Cook one additional hour until browning. Then serve with toppings of choice.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
This is for a crock pot of 2 1/2 to 4 quart. A double recipe works well in a 6 quart crock pot or bigger.
You can use precooked chicken. If you do, cook the sauce on low then for about 1 hour then add the tortilla and chicken.
You can use canned sauce but really you don’t want to do that. Mine is much better.
This is not spicy, and you could add a touch of cayenne pepper.
The sodium is a bit high for some people. You can cut the salt in half and not notice it much.
Some green chilis and black beans would be good additions.
Toppings of your choice but we just use sour cream and some chopped onions.
If you use thighs, you will want to get them to about 175° or more to shred well.
Nutrition calculated on lower fat cheese and chicken breasts. Serving size of about 1 cup.
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Chicken Enchiladas, Crock Pot Chichen Enchiladas
Check Out Other Great Recipes
HAVE A QUESTION? – Look in the full post.Make it Perfect First Time and Every Time. Don’t miss out, check the full post above. Almost every recipe includes easy step by step photo instructions so you can visualize yourself cooking this recipe along with helpful tips and options.
ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 276Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Cholesterol 80mg27%
Sodium 1156mg48%
Potassium 761mg22%
Carbohydrates 18g6%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 36g72%
Vitamin A 978IU20%
Vitamin C 6mg7%
Calcium 197mg20%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally Published April 22, 2018. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos and a table of contents to help navigation.
Easy chicken enchilada casserole features homemade enchilada sauce, fresh chicken, plus it is done 60 minutes. That equals a great Mexican recipe for a healthy dinner “from scratch.” No pre-cooked chicken or canned enchilada sauce needed.
Jump to:
Introduction and My Rating
So, are you bored with your New Year’s diet yet? I’m here to rescue you from boredom at only 300 calories per serving.
We all love good Mexican, but it can be evil on the health-o-meter. But it doesn’t have to be. By using lower fat cheese, corn tortillas, and well-trimmed chicken, this recipe comes in at about 276 calories and 8 grams of fat per serving.
My wife will give me hints about what to cook next. Mild hint requires looking at her Pinterest posts. Strong hints I will refer to as “Yum-o-grams,” which are emails starting with the Y-U-M phrase.
The best yum-o-grams will have a link to a blog I usually read anyways. This one linked to Jo Cooks, a blog I have enjoyed. Similar recipes have been around the blogs, and all use canned enchilada sauce. I much prefer my homemade enchilada sauce. So I adapted the recipe to my tastes and made it a little healthier at the same time.
I usually make enchiladas with a rolled method. Much fussier and messier. This is so much easier.
My Rating
A 5 from my wife. I was between a four and a five, but I’m good with the 5. She even said she might make it herself, so you know it’s good.
📋Ingredients
Chicken
I suggest using fresh skinless boneless chicken breast for this recipe. I then trim and simmer the chicken in the homemade sauce until 165°. Shred, and you are ready to proceed with your chicken and sauce, both ready to use.
You can also use chicken thighs, but that destroys the “low fat” part of the recipe.
You can use precooked chicken. If you’re aiming for low calorie, obviously use chicken breasts. You need about 3 cups, which will be about 1 1/2 pounds. If you do the precooked chicken, you only need to simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes before assembly.
Sauce
Most similar recipes will suggest canned enchilada sauce – that is disgusting. We are going to make our own with my Homemade Enchilada Sauce, which is as easy as it is tasty.
One huge positive is that you can cook the chicken in the simmering sauce. I do love a recipe that flows.
If you insist, you can use the canned sauce, but please don’t do that.
Cheese
I suggest using lower fat Mexican blend cheese. The lower fat cheese saves about 4 gms of fat per serving, so about 36 calories. That is not a huge amount, but I was aiming for low fat here.
So, use the cheese you want, non-low-fat is fine. I never suggest fat-free cheese. It never acts right in cooking.
✔️Tips
Tortillas: I suggest corn tortillas, but flour is fine.
Add-ins: corn, black beans, or whatever you want.
Storage: Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. It should also freeze well when sealed well for 3-4 months.
📖Tex-Mex Casseroles
Taco Casserole
Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Excellent Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Casserole
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
🔪Instructions
Start by preheating the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
Trim two skinless boneless chicken breast and cut into three pieces each. These vary a lot in size. Aim for about 1 1/2 pound, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
In a medium saucepan, add one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, one tablespoon chili powder, one teaspoon paprika, one teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well. Add the chicken and bring to boil over medium-high heat—cover and decrease to simmer for 20 minutes.
Check the temperature of the chicken to be sure it is 165° or more. Remove to cutting board and shred. Divide into three equal piles.
Prep an approximately 10X7 baking pan with PAM. Spoon two tablespoons of the sauce over the bottom of the baking pan—layer two 6 inch corn tortillas over the sauce.
Add 1/3 of chicken. Then 1/3 of the sauce (about 2/3 cup). Then 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat this layering twice more.
Bake until a golden brown top – about 20 minutes.
Do you want more recipes from 101 Cooking for Two? Sign up for the newsletter and get all posts delivered straight to your inbox!
📖 Recipe
Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes
Easy chicken enchilada casserole features homemade enchilada sauce, fresh chicken, plus it is done 60 minutes. That equals a great Mexican recipe for a healthy dinner “from scratch.” No pre-cooked chicken or canned enchilada sauce needed.
Prep Time40mins
Cook Time20mins
Total Time1hr
Author: Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Servings/Adjust Amount: 6
Ingredients
2skinless boneless chicken breasts
15oztomato sauce
1tablespoonchili powder
1teaspoonpaprika
1teaspoononion powder
1/2teaspoongarlic powder
1/2teaspooncumin
1teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonpepper
6corn tortillas – 6 inch
2cupscheese – Lower fat suggested
US Customary – Convert to Metric
Instructions
Start by preheating the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
Trim two skinless boneless chicken breast and cut into three pieces each. These vary a lot in size. Aim for about 1 1/2 pound, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
In a medium saucepan, add one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, one tablespoon chili powder, one teaspoon paprika, one teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well. Add the chicken and bring to boil over medium-high heat—cover and decrease to simmer for 20 minutes.
Check the temperature of the chicken to be sure it is 165° or more. Remove to cutting board and shred. Divide into three equal piles.
Prep an approximately 6X9 baking pan with PAM. Spoon two tablespoons of the sauce over the bottom of the baking pan—layer two 6 inch corn tortillas over the sauce.
Add 1/3 of chicken. Then 1/3 of the sauce (about 2/3 cup). Then 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat this layering twice more.
Bake until a golden brown top – about 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
Easy to double in size using a standard large casserole dish or cake pan.
You need anywhere from 1-2 pounds of chicken depending on how much meat you want.
I call for fresh skinless boneless chicken breasts but thighs will work.
You can use precooked chicken. You will need about 3 cups. Don’t add it to the sauce and cut the simmering of the sauce down to 10 minutes.
You could use canned sauce but please don’t do that.
You can add some drained cooked beans or corn.
You can use flour tortillas if you want
Use cheese of your choice.
Will be good refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months.
HAVE A QUESTION? – Look in the full post.Make it Perfect First Time and Every Time. Don’t miss out, check the full post above. Almost every recipe includes easy step by step photo instructions so you can visualize yourself cooking this recipe along with helpful tips and options.
ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 276Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 8g40%
Cholesterol 64mg21%
Sodium 1071mg45%
Potassium 493mg14%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 20g40%
Vitamin A 1255IU25%
Vitamin C 5mg6%
Calcium 308mg31%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally Published February 3, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
Read more about data collection for ads personalisation our in our Cookies Policy page