This Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole is an easy recipe the whole family will enjoy. It features tender, shredded chicken with red enchilada sauce, diced onion, spices, black beans, corn tortillas, and your favorite enchilada toppings. It may just become one of your favorite slow cooker recipes!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This recipe is the perfect meal for a busy week night. All you have to do is dump the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning or afternoon and it will be ready to go by dinner time.
- No need to spend time filling and rolling tortillas—think of this recipe as easy enchiladas!
- This recipe uses simple ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen.
- It is a one-pot meal which makes for easy clean up!
- It is a delicious meal for any night of the week.
Ingredient Notes
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts - we recommend using raw chicken breast to make tender chicken for this slow cooker enchilada casserole rather than something like rotisserie chicken. You can use thawed or frozen chicken breasts, but note that the liquid content will be a little bit higher with the use of frozen chicken breasts. This also means that the flavors can get watered down, so taste the chicken after you shred it. If the flavors are not very strong, add a little more salt, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder until the flavors are at your preferred strength.
- Red enchilada sauce - you can use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce or homemade enchilada sauce. Make sure you use an enchilada sauce that you enjoy! Some are more bitter or spicier than others, so select one that has a flavor you like. If you are cautious with the level of spice, make sure you choose a mild enchilada sauce.
- Diced onion - you will only need half of an onion for this recipe.
- Cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, kosher salt - these are the spices that make the flavors sing in this recipe! You will essentially be making your own taco seasoning.
- Black beans - any can of black beans will do! We prefer to both drain and rinse the beans before use to get rid of the sticky liquid that often gets caught with the beans in the bottom of the can.
- Corn tortillas - we recommend using corn over flour tortillas for this recipe. Flour tortillas won't hold up as well. You could also eat this slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole with tortilla chips instead of putting corn tortillas in the enchilada mixture.
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese or cheddar cheese - you can add a cup of cheese to the top of these easy slow cooker chicken enchiladas, but if you are one of our dairy-free friends, the chicken enchilada recipe is still delicious without the cheese!
- Favorite toppings: you can try adding sour cream, cilantro, green onions, avocado, black olives, or a squeeze of lime juice to top your crockpot chicken enchilada casserole. The toppings give it a nice fresh flavor.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Equipment You’ll Need
- A slow cooker/crockpot*
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Two forks
- A knife and cutting board
Step by Step Directions
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step 1: Add the raw chicken breasts, red enchilada sauce, diced onion, and spices to the bottom of the crockpot. Set the crockpot to either low for 6 hours, or high heat for 4 hours depending on the time you have available.
Step 2: Once the chicken is done cooking in the crockpot, use two forks to shred the chicken into small pieces.
Step 3: Cut the corn tortillas into small pieces. Add the black beans and corn tortillas to the crockpot and mix until just combined.
Step 4: If you choose to add cheese, sprinkle the cheese in an even layer on top of the chicken mixture. Turn the crockpot back on to low heat and cover with the lid. Let the enchilada mixture cook for 15-30 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted on top and the tortillas are softened.
Step 5: Serve with your favorite enchilada toppings such as sour cream, avocado, or fresh cilantro.
Tips & Variations
- You can spray the sides and bottom of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray for easy clean up.
- If you're wanting to mix up your meat option, you can try swapping out the chicken breast with the same amount of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, ground beef, ground turkey, or cubed beef stew meat. Please note that the cooking time may differ depending on the meat you use.
- If you prefer traditional enchiladas or tacos over this casserole, you can follow the instructions above to cook the chicken and then wrap it in your favorite tortilla.
- If you use frozen chicken breasts, please note that you may need to increase the amount of spices you use. The water released from the frozen chicken breasts may water down the flavors. Try a little chicken after you have shredded it and add more salt, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin as needed.
FAQ
If you use green enchilada sauce, note that it may have a runnier consistency and the end result may be more soggy. You can try adding one or two more tortillas to help soak up more of the liquid.
Yes, you can use frozen chicken breasts but note that the end result may have more liquid. If you find that the end result is more soggy than you want it to be, you can try adding one or two more tortillas to help soak up more of the liquid.
We recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can simply reheat in the microwave!
Yes, this can work as a freezer meal too! Follow the steps to cook the chicken and then freeze the chicken on its own. Once you are ready to make the meal, thaw the chicken in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the crock pot or on a large skillet over the stove until the chicken reaches a temperature of 165 degrees. Then add the black beans, tortillas, and cheese as noted in the recipe.
The only difference is that Crock-Pot is a specific brand of slow cookers. If you have an instant pot, you can use the slow cooker feature.
This recipe is gluten-free as long as the tortillas used are gluten-free as well as the red enchilada sauce. This red enchilada sauce from Siete is gluten-free. This recipe can be dairy-free with the omission of the cheese. It is not vegetarian or vegan.
If you like this recipe, check out…
- Slow Cooker Sweet Pork Enchiladas
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Easy Skillet Lasagna
If you make these easy crock pot chicken enchiladas, please let us know how they turn out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!
Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce
- ½ white onion, diced
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder (adjust depending on your spice tolerance)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 7-8 small corn tortillas, cut into squares (5-inch tortillas)
- ½-1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese, optional
- Optional toppings: chopped cilantro, avocado, or sour cream
Instructions
- Add the whole chicken breasts, red enchilada sauce, diced onion, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt to the crockpot. Set the crockpot to either low for 6 hours, or high for 4 hours depending on the time you have available.
- Once the chicken is done cooking in the crockpot, use two forks to shred the chicken into small pieces. Cut the corn tortillas into small pieces. Add the black beans and corn tortillas to the crockpot and mix until just combined.
- If you choose to add cheese, sprinkle the cheese in an even layer on top of the enchilada mixture. Turn the crockpot back on to low heat and cover with the lid. Let the enchilada mixture cook for 15-30 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted on top. Serve with sour cream, avocado, or fresh cilantro if desired.
Notes
- If you use frozen chicken breasts, please note that you may need to increase the amount of spices you use. The water released from the frozen chicken breasts may water down the flavors. Try a little chicken after you have shredded it and add more salt, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin as needed.
- We recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can simply reheat in the microwave!
- This recipe is gluten-free as long as the tortillas used are gluten-free as well as the red enchilada sauce. This red enchilada sauce from Siete is gluten-free. This recipe can be dairy-free with the omission of the cheese. It is not vegetarian or vegan.
NUTRITION
The recipe can be found on My Fitness Pal by searching "BWB Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas." The nutrition is calculated with the cheese included.
The nutrition content provided for each recipe is an estimate created through the My Fitness Pal database. Please be aware that the nutritional content of each recipe may vary based on the products you use, the precision of your measurements, and the source you use to obtain nutrition data. While we try to provide accurate information, we give no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the nutritional information provided.
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Taya
I made these for a big family dinner and everyone loved them!! Definitely making these again!
Begin With Balance
Yay so glad to hear it! Thanks for trying them and letting us know:)