Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Published 8/29/2022 • Updated 8/28/2023
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This Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole will change your life! Throw everything in your slow cooker and in only 3 hours dinner is served.
Not only is this crockpot enchilada casserole recipe delicious the day you make it, but it makes killer leftovers just like our slow cooker honey garlic chicken.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Please tell me that your mouth is watering just looking at the photos of this slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole!
It’s true that we love quick and easy recipes here on Fit Foodie Finds. We also LOVE tex-mex recipes. So when we were brainstorming recipes to make in the slow cooker, we knew that we had to make a chicken enchilada casserole recipe.
things we love about this recipe
- We used minute brown rice instead of regular rice.
- You have an option to use homemade enchilada sauce or store bought enchilada sauce (we love Frontera Enchilada Sauce).
- The vegetables in this recipe are super basic. Peppers and onions. However, you are more than welcome to throw in your favorite veggies. More peppers or perhaps some mushrooms? The sky is the limit!
Featured Ingredients
- Chicken breast: chicken breast is affordable and easy to find. Feel free to use chicken breast or chicken thighs for this recipe.
- Minute rice: we used brown minute rice but feel free to use white, too.
- Bell peppers: a variety of colors is fun and gives the dish color, but if you can only find green bell peppers, that’s ok.
- Enchilada sauce: feel free to use homemade enchilada sauce or store bought enchilada sauce.
try this
homemade enchilada sauce
If you have all the ingredients at home, try making this homemade enchilada sauce. It’s so flavorful and easy to store in the refrigerator.
Quick Directions
- Place all ingredients for the chicken enchilada casserole into your slow cooker. Mix well and make sure chicken and rice are submerged under all wet ingredients.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours OR cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken from the slow cooker and cut into small chunks. Place back into your slow cooker and mix.
- Serve with Greek yogurt, avocado, cheese, or any topping of your choice!
FAQ
Yes, chicken thighs will add a bit more flavor and richness to this recipe.
You can add mushrooms, corn, or any other vegetables that you generally like in your enchiladas.
We love to serve our chicken enchilada casserole with tortilla chips, cheese, and guacamole.
Check it out!
6 Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Looking for more crockpot chicken recipes? Look no further! Check out 6 similar recipes below. And for an added bonus, check out our Crockpot Freezer Meals post where we teach you how to turn all of these slow cooker recipes into freezer meals.
What do I eat with my Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas?
The day you make this enchilada bake, I would serve it right out of the slow cooker and top it with some greek yogurt, lime juice, and cilantro. However, you can only eat so much casserole in one week. We’ve brainstormed some other ways you can eat this slow cooker chicken enchilada recipe.
Chicken Enchilada Nachos- On day two or three of meal prepping this enchilada bake, throw some tortilla chips onto a baking sheet and sprinkle your enchilada bake over the top. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes!
Chicken Enchilada Casserole Buddha Bowl- Warm up your casserole and serve it next to our pineapple coleslaw and some arugula or kale. Top it with a little cotija cheese and you’re golden!
Chicken Enchilada Casserole Burrito- Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Throw your chicken enchilada casserole into a big tortilla, throw in some cheese, perhaps add a splash of your favorite hot sauce and wrap up a couple burritos for the week.
our fav
slow cooker
There is no better kitchen appliance than a slow cooker. If you’re in need of a new slow cooker, we love our Crock Pot.
Storage
Store this enchilada casserole in an airtight container after it is completely cool. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 15 oz. canned pinto beans, strained and rinsed
- 2 cups minute brown rice
- 1 large green pepper, chopped
- 1 large yellow pepper, chopped
- 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 cups enchilada sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Frank’s hot sauce, or apple cider vinegar
- salt, to taste
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients for the chicken enchilada casserole into your slow cooker. Mix well and make sure chicken and rice are submerged under all wet ingredients.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours OR cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, remove chicken from the slow cooker and cut into small chunks. Place back into your slow cooker and mix.
- Serve with Greek yogurt, avocado, cheese, or any topping of your choice!
Tips & Notes
- The spiciness of this dish depends on how spicy your enchilada sauce is.
- We have only tested this recipe specifically with minute brown rice and no other grains.
- Feel free to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water at the end for a saucier casserole.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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So, I cooked off a turkey that was taking up valuable freezer space. Would it be possible to use cooked frozen turkey as substitute for chicken? Also can frozen veggies work?
Hi Cher — you can definitely use frozen veggies, but I would recommend thawing the turkey and shredding it and then adding it near the end of the cook time since this recipe calls for raw chicken. Hope this helps!
Love this! Super easy, yummy, and all of the family approved 🥰
This is absolutely delicious and so easy! I am 5 weeks post partum and looking for easy crock pot meals to have in our dinner rotation and this is a winner! My husband loved it too and there will be leftovers we can easily have for lunch. We’ll definitely be making this again!
I loved this so much! It made a large amount that I brought to coworkers! I do think it needed more flavor, I added Spanish rice instead or brown and added more salt, garlic powder and hot sauce which really helped! Added avocado on top as well!
Not very good. Pretty bland flavor and rather mushy. Won’t make again.
Do u cook the minute rice before u put it in the crock pot
You do not need to precook the rice!
Hi! I am prepping for a soon to be new mom. Can this meal be prepped, frozen, and cooked in the slow cooker later?
It sure can! We have freezer directions for this recipe in this post: https://fitfoodiefinds.com/6-crockpot-freezer-meals/
Delicious! Also it got me to talk to a neighbor and learn something.
I live in Washington Heights, which is a heavily Hispanic section of NYC. I went to 3 different grocery stores looking for Enchilada sauce with no luck. I finally asked the owner of one of them. He handed me a jar of salsa and said, ‘I lived in Mexico for 24 years and I never heard of enchilada sauce. But this should work for your enchiladas. Maybe sauté it a bit to make it thicker.’
So, if anyone else is having trouble finding enchilada sauce, this works well!
Well that’s awesome and such a great idea!
Can this be done on slow cook for people at work all day?
When we cooked this on low, it was done closer to 6 hours…so just be mindful of that! I wouldn’t want you to have overcooked quinoa because you left it in too long!
Am I able to freeze after I cook in the crockpot?
Yes you are! I suggest transferring into a disposable casserole dish and freezing it in that so that when you want to reheat it, you can let it thaw and reheat right in the oven!