6-Ingredient Chicken Enchilada Casserole
I’m the oldest of 5 kids, and my mom was a largely stay-at-home mom for the majority of my childhood. My dad traveled a lot too, so she handled much of the household on her own. And somehow, every day at 6 PM, she would have a well-balanced, home-cooked family meal on the table (often with homemade dessert, too). Oh, and we never ate leftovers (with a family our size there rarely were any…). Now being a parent myself and seeing how much work it is to get dinner on the table every night with a toddler clinging to your legs and demanding your undivided attention, I’m just in awe of what she was able to accomplish every day—and make it look easy. This easy chicken enchilada recipe was a staple in our house growing up, and now I see why: it’s delicious, appeals to the masses, and requires minimal hands-on time. Absolute gold in the Mom Book.
I grew up in the 90s, where packaged and convenience foods were really big. My mom was, on the scale of other parents at the time, relatively concerned with a healthy, balanced diet. Much to the dismay of us kids, we were never able to have things like Dunkaroos or Lunchables or those Kool-Aid burst drinks that came in those awesome plastic squeeze bottles. You children of the 90s know exactly what I’m talking about. We got homemade lunches with a sandwich, snack, fruit, and usually a small dessert like a cookie (homemade of course) or piece of chocolate. For us a balanced dinner meant a protein, a carbohydrate side, and always a vegetable (with a glass of milk). Now she went for simple carbs like white rice or roasted potatoes instead of brown rice and a superfood like sweet potatoes, but she did a good job offering us balance (even today she’s a very healthy eater). She even went crazy with organic foods when I was a baby, long before organic foods were widely available. But she did opt for semi-prepared foods to expedite dinnertime, like blueberry muffin mix, Stovetop stuffing, or condensed soup, to name a few. Things I like to consider “halfway homemade.” Now as a mom strapped for time I totally get the appeal, and I kind of miss the days when people considered you a “good mom” because you put a casserole made from condensed soup on the table for your family at dinner time (I still feel that’s a win!).
We know so much more today about healthy eating, which is great, but it definitely adds some parental stress to the already-stressful daily dinnertime scramble. I know many of you have probably felt it, too. At times I feel really discouraged that somehow I’m coming up short on the mom scale if every meal I put on the table isn’t ultra-packed with veggies and superfoods. Plus finding meals that will appeal to my husband and I as well as our ultra-picky toddler is hard work, and finding ones that I can get on the table quickly after a day at work while entertaining a busy toddler? Even harder.
So I took a classic easy dinner staple from my 90s upbringing and made a few small tweaks to bring it into the 21st century and make it something I feel good about serving my family. Originally as my mom made it, this recipe had a can of condensed cream of chicken soup and half a jar of sour cream. I found that it loses nothing if you omit the condensed soup and swap the sour cream out for plain Greek yogurt. It’s just as delicious but way more nutritious.
You can also add mix-ins like corn or black beans or even other veggies if you’d like. I’ve done it before like a lasagna alternating layers of tortilla and thinly sliced zucchini strips. The result was still really fulfilling but used half the amount of tortillas as the traditional recipe. With my (updated) classic easy enchilada recipe preparation, I usually serve it with salsa, Greek yogurt or sour cream, avocado, and a vegetable or salad. But don’t feel like you have to stick to the book on this one—it’s an easy dinner recipe to update and enhance as you see fit for what your family will eat.
I can’t wait to hear your stories about how you were able to keep your sanity and win dinnertime with this recipe. And please share all your variations as well!
Quick 6-Ingredient Crowd-Pleasing Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken I use a rotisserie chicken
- 1 packet low-sodium taco seasoning
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- 2 cans red enchilada sauce 15 oz cans
- ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt I prefer Fage
- 8 8-inch flour tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, taco seasoning, and 1 cup Mexican cheese.
- In a separate small mixing bowl or graduated measuring cup, whisk together the enchilada sauce and Greek yogurt.
- Add 1 cup of the enchilada sauce mixture to the chicken mixture. Stir to combine.
- Spread ½ cup of enchilada sauce mixture onto the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish.
- Fill a tortilla with approx. ⅓ cup of the chicken mixture, spreading it in a straight line along the bottom third of the tortilla. Then roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas until all the enchilada mixture has been used and the baking dish is filled.
- Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas, making sure to cover them fully. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with your favorite toppings and a vegetable.