Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This recipe turns enchiladas into a straightforward, creamy casserole. Tremendous straightforward to place collectively, and the avocado cream sauce makes this one particular. Significantly, you’ll need this sauce on the whole lot. I like to avoid wasting slightly additional and scoop it up with some tortilla chips—so good!

For extra enchilada love, attempt our Beef Enchiladas or our Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.

Why Our Recipe

• The creamy avocado sauce is motive alone to make this recipe!
• Corn tortillas maintain this casserole from changing into soggy.
• Use rotisserie or leftover rooster to whip up this dish with minimal prep work.

This recipe happened as a result of I wished to make one thing for my grandma. She wanted one thing gentle to eat, and I like stunning her with taste. And thus, this casserole was born! We love this recipe as a result of it’s gentle, not soggy, and creamy, however not bland. Plus, you possibly can simply spice it up a bit extra with that jalapeño or some pink pepper flakes.

Ingredient Notes

• Lengthy Grain Rice: Use an excellent high quality lengthy grain rice for one of the best texture, like Jasmine or Basmati. The generic luggage labeled as simply “lengthy grain white rice” usually tend to find yourself mushy.
• Rooster: Rotisserie rooster works nice on this recipe, or use leftovers. If you happen to’re utilizing uncooked rooster, cook dinner it completely earlier than including it to the casserole.
• Rooster Broth: Utilizing a low-sodium choice permits you to finest management the flavour. It’s an incredible chef tip.
• Jalapeño: Completely non-obligatory! Recent jalapeños add a pleasant spicy crunch, or use pickled for rather less warmth.
• Salsa Verde: Seize a jar of your favourite delicate or medium salsa verde. Use no matter warmth stage you want.
• Avocados: You need an avocado that’s completely ripe. Strive urgent on the very high of the fruit, the place the stem was. If it offers slightly, it needs to be ripe.
• Bitter Cream: Plain Greek yogurt is a good substitute when you don’t have (or don’t like) bitter cream.
• Corn Tortillas: We use corn tortillas for his or her agency texture, however you possibly can completely use flour tortillas when you want.
• Mozzarella Cheese: You possibly can simply substitute with a Mexican cheese mix or pepper jack cheese for slightly kick.

Rooster Choices

This recipe requires shredded cooked rooster. You’ve obtained a number of choices to select from, so take your choose! We’ve used all of them.

Rotisserie Rooster – many grocery shops these days promote cooked rotisserie chickens you can purchase and shred. Professional tip: it’s often bought as a “loss chief,” which means they promote it for lower than it prices, making it one of the best bang on your buck on the subject of rooster. Some shops are additionally now providing the rotisserie rooster pre-shredded and packaged, too, which is fairly handy.

Frozen Cooked Rooster – take a look at the freezer part of your grocery retailer for pre-cooked rooster strips and chunks bought in luggage.

Bake Your Personal Rooster – lay rooster breasts out right into a calmly greased 9×13 pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 levels for 25 to half-hour till cooked by way of. Chop into chunks and use straight away, or freeze for later use.

Fast Skillet Rooster – warmth a big heavy skillet over medium-high warmth. Add in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place rooster breasts into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Prepare dinner 5 to 7 minutes per facet. Let cool after which shred.

Spice it Up or Down

If you happen to’re searching for extra warmth, seize a medium or sizzling salsa for the sauce and add in that jalapeño! You may also high with contemporary jalapeño slices for an additional kick. Higher but, sprinkle some pink pepper flakes on high for some coloration and warmth!

For a milder choice, stick to delicate salsa. Take away the seeds and stem from the jalapeño, including half as a substitute of the entire pepper. Or, omit the pepper utterly.

Make-Forward Directions

This enchilada casserole can simply be made forward. Assemble and refrigerate earlier than baking, as much as 1 day upfront. You’ll want to retailer it lined with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to forestall it from drying out. Take away the masking and bake when able to eat.