Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe is a lighter version of the original.

I’m a firm believer that everyone should make Mexican food for dinner at least once a week. We love it at our house, and I think most people do! This Chicken Enchilada Casserole is always a big hit for dinner. It’s slightly lightened up to save on fat and calories, and it’s a comfort food dish that feels a little less guilty to eat.

Ingredients needed:

• chicken breasts
• onion, garlic, green onion
• beer
• canned tomatoes, chiles and olives
• flour
• cayenne pepper, salt, cumin, coriander
• milk and sour cream
• corn tortillas
• egg whites
• Mexican blend cheese
• salsa

How to make Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

First you’ll cook the chicken breasts in a pan and then shred the chicken. Then you’ll cook the onion and garlic, and then you’ll add the shredded chicken/beer/cayenne and tomatoes. Then you’ll stir in green onion, olives and chiles to complete the chicken mixture.

Next, you’ll make the white chicken enchilada sauce. Milk is heated in a pan, and then flour/salt/cumin/coriander and heat and stir until thickened. Then you’ll mix the hot milk mixture with egg whites to thicken it further and complete the enchilada sauce.

To assemble the casserole, you’ll spread some of the sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish. Tortillas are placed on top of the sauce, then some of the chicken mixture, then more sauce and cheese. The layers are repeated, ending with the sauce. And then the casserole is baked.

After baking for 40 minutes, the remaining cheese is sprinkled on top- along with some green onions and olives. And then it’s ready to serve!

Cut your Chicken Enchilada Casserole into pieces (8 or 12). I suggest serving this casserole with rice or salad, and you can always have seconds if one slice doesn’t feel like enough.

Save the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Time to make some Chicken Enchilada Casserole for dinner!  Enjoy…

The Best Mexican-Themed Chicken Recipes:

• Beer Marinated Chicken Tacos
• Grilled Chicken Burrito Bowls
• Chicken Tortilla Sausage Soup
• Baked Chicken Taquitos
• Instant Pot Chicken Mole
• Three Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Chicken Fajitas

4.50 from 2 votes

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

By RecipeGirl.com

A lower-fat family favorite!

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ 1½ cups chopped onion
• ▢ 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ ½ cup beer (can substitute chicken broth)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• ▢ One 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained
• ▢ ½ cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
• ▢ Two 2.25-ounce cans sliced olives, drained (divided)
• ▢ Two 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles, drained
• ▢ 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ 2 cups 1% low fat milk
• ▢ 2 large egg whites, beaten
• ▢ 1½ cups reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese (or blend cheddar and Monterey Jack)
• ▢ Six 6-inch corn tortillas, cut in half
• ▢ ½ cup light sour cream
• ▢ ½ cup salsa

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 2½-quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.
• Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Place the pan over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side, or until done. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let cool. Shred the chicken with 2 forks; set aside.
• Re-coat the skillet with nonstick spray; place over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add the shredded chicken, beer, pepper and tomatoes; cook 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the green onions and 1 tablespoon of the olives for garnish. Stir in the remaining green onions, olives and chiles into the chicken mixture; set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, cumin and coriander. Gradually whisk in the flour mixture, until blended; cook for 7 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Put the egg whites in a medium bowl, and very gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg whites, stirring briskly until incorporated. Set aside.
• Spread ½ cup of the white sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish. Arrange 4 tortilla halves over the sauce; top with 2 cups of the chicken mixture, ½ cup of the sauce and ½ cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers twice, ending with the sauce. Set aside the remaining ½ cup of the cheese.
• Bake, uncovered for 40 minutes (or until hot and bubbly). Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining ½ cup of cheese, reserved green onions and olives; bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with sour cream and salsa.

Notes

• To spice things up a little more, use Ro-Tel tomatoes.
• If you aren't worried about keeping the recipe light, melt one tablespoon of butter in the pan when making the sauce- and then add the milk. And use full-fat, regular cheese and sour cream instead of light.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 319kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 66mg, Sodium: 1013mg, Potassium: 778mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 670IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 417mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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