It’s easy to make this yummy layered chicken enchilada casserole, filled with chicken, corn tortillas, creamy sauce, onions, green chiles, and cheddar cheese.
I received this recipe for a Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole from my Mom’s best friend over 35 years ago. It is a family favorite meal to this day. It’s a recipe I have made countless times over the years, and during my 30+ years of heading to work every day, really appreciated how quickly it can be assembled, cooked, and enjoyed!
I love Mexican food, and typically eat enchiladas with the traditional red sauce. However, this recipe has a white sauce, with onions and green chiles, so the very first time I made it years ago, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it. I was wrong. This is a hearty casserole that can easily serve 8-10 people. It’s not too spicy, but has a wonderful flavor from the layers of chicken, corn tortillas, green chiles, onions, white sauce, and cheese. It is absolutely delicious (especially the second day, for leftovers!), and is a snap to prepare.
Since the baking time is only 30 minutes, it is easy to prepare early in the day, cover and refrigerate it until ready to cook, then slam it (such a nice verbal picture, huh?) in the oven, and enjoy it a short time later. Here’s a few pics to show you the “ho-to’s of making this easy casserole:
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Preparing The Sauce
Cook the onions and green chiles in a large skillet to begin making the sauce for this casserole.
The remaining sauce ingredients are added to the skillet, and now the sauce is cooking happily.
Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole Is Assembled, One Layer At A Time
3 layers are added, consisting of tortillas, chicken, sauce and cheddar cheese. Once fully layered, the casserole is ready to bake! This layering is easy to do, because you don’t have to fill and roll the tortillas, as you need to do with traditional enchiladas! You just have to tear the tortillas into pieces and LAYER them!
Here is the layered chicken enchilada casserole ready to eat, with a small salad on the side. Cheesy, chicken enchilada casserole… for the win!
Hope you will give this layered chicken enchilada casserole a try. It’s EASY and DELICIOUS. I REALLY think you will like it, and the leftovers can be EASILY reheated, too!
Looking For More CASSEROLE Recipes?
You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have several casserole dishes, including:
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Original recipe source: Sandy Rohrbacher
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) , boiled and cubed (save the broth!)
- 12 corn tortillas
- 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
- 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 small brown onion , chopped
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- Melt the tablespoon of butter in large skillet. Add the chopped onion and green chiles. Saute these for 3-4 minutes, or until onion is translucent and tender. Add the chicken broth and the contents of both cans of soup to the skillet. Mix well to combine. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Layer the ingredients in this order: 1) 4 tortillas, torn into small pieces, 2) 1/3 of the chicken pieces, 3) 1/3 of the sauce, 4) 1/3 of the grated cheese.
- Repeat the layers 2 more times, ending with the grated cheese.
- Bake casserole, uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated all the way through.
- Remove casserole from oven. Let stand for approximately 5 minutes or so, to enable the cheese to firm up a bit (this will make cutting it and serving it up MUCH easier!)
- Enjoy!
A whole rotisserie chicken can also be used as a substitute for the cooked chicken breasts, if you're pinched for time. Easy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
I’ve been making a very similar recipe since about 1982 when I was 15 years old. It’s now 2024 and I am 57. It’s one of the very few casseroles that I make absolutely love this recipe! The difference is I add a cup of milk and a chicken bouillon instead of the chicken broth from cooking the chicken, and I also add about a cup of sour cream, double the green chilies, and I lightly fry my corn tortillas. The thing about this recipe is I don’t really measure anything because it’s a no-brainer. I also use cheddar jack cheese. This freezes really well also. You could make two small 8×8 pans and wrap them in foil and plastic and then just bake them until they look melty and done. SO DELICIOUS!
WOW!! It was so delicious and all my friends ask for the recipe. Thanks so much
Thanks for writing, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It is one of our favorite casseroles! Have a great day.
Always a favorite for my family. Will you add me to your mailing list? Thanks!
I have been making this for about 30 years but with just a few adjustments and additions. I use flour tortillas instead of corn, hot baked chicken from the supermarket to save time, add a half cup of milk, 4 cups of shredded cheese instead of 2 and add half can of cream of celery soup (the rest is the same as yours above). This is one of my family’s favorite meals. It’s how I get my girls to come over for dinner.
Since the 2000’s I have been looking for a delicious chicken enchilada casserole like this one except a substitute for the soup. Im at a loss. Do you have any suggestions?
My mom has made this with sour cream added to a can of creamer of chicken soup. Maybe they using g sour cream instead of the soup and some chicken broth.
Please add me to your email list. I live on Vancouver Island on the West Coast of Canada. Our family and friends really enjoyed your delicious easy to prepare recipe for Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole. Also like Jeff’s idea for the addition of black olives. Another flavour layer & colour. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Cookie… thank you for writing and the note about the casserole. As for the newsletter, I need to have you join the email list by using the Newsletter signup form, which shows up on each blog post (either in the sidebar or at the bottom, depending on what device you are using). This way I can conform to government regulations regarding our lists, etc. Sorry- I know it’s an extra step, but all you need is to input your email and check off a box, and you will be automatically added. Have a great day.
One of my all time favorites and love to add sliced green spring onions on mine for added color and flavor. Also, a little sprinkle of cayenne pepper in the sauce.
Please add me to your newsletter list! I love your casseroles including this one and Easy Chile Relleno dish. Thank you so much!
Hi there, Gig… will do! Thank you for your kind note. Yes… this one AND the chile relleno casserole are two of our most favorite ones, too! Take care, and enjoy your day.
Sounds like mom’s receipe, although she added chopped black olives to the sauce with whole black olives on top. Cover top with foil and bake for 30min. Remove foil and bake another 15min. Let stand for 10min.
Hi, Jeff… thanks for the tip on another add-in people might enjoy! Take care, and have a good day.
This looks exactly like the recipe my Aunt Wanda Jo came up with decades ago in Arkansas. I grew up eating this in the 80’s and 90’s.
Hi, Kristi! Thanks for writing. It seems like a LOT of us grew up eating this yummy casserole! Have a great day.
Please add me to your list
Good morning, Glenda. I have manually added you to my newsletter e-mail list that comes out on the 1st and 15th each month. You should receive it beginning Nov. 15, 2019. Thanks for writing, and have a great day.
I’m going to make this for a celebration of life,at our church, Saturday. There are supposed to be 75-100. How many times should I double/triple the recipe?
Hi, Khris- As far as how much you would need to make that many servings, the easiest thing I can tell you to do is go to that blog post and scroll down to the printable recipe at the bottom of the page. There is a box titled “Servings” telling how many servings in the recipe, when made as written. You can type in the amount of servings you need in that box, and it will convert the entire recipe to show you how much of each ingredient will be needed for your required number of servings. I hope that helps (and I sure hope you have help cooking for that many people). Since the original recipe serves 10, I suppose you would have to make 10 times that amount to feed 100 folks. Thanks for writing.