These Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas are a fun twist on the classic dish. Layers of tortillas, a creamy chicken filling, melted cheese, and zesty enchilada sauce cook together to create this stacked enchilada casserole.
Love enchiladas? You’ll want to try my Shredded Beef Enchiladas and Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas too!
You might not immediately think of reaching for your slow cooker when you want enchiladas on the menu. But, with this recipe, you can get that classic enchilada flavor with simple ingredients and a just little bit of prep.
Chicken enchiladas have always been a family favorite so I was determined to find a way to make them in my slow cooker. I combined the ease of rotisserie chicken with a semi-homemade enchilada sauce to create seriously yummy casserole-style enchiladas that are slow cooked to tender, cheesy perfection.
This is one of the recipes from my cookbook, The Foolproof Family Slow Cooker, that has remained one of my favorites.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken filling: Shredded rotisserie chicken breast, sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, a can of diced green chiles, salt, and pepper.
- Enchilada sauce: This sauce recipe turns a can of red enchilada sauce into a sauce that tastes homemade. My favorite store-bought sauce is Hatch Mild Red Enchilada Sauce. You’ll also need a little oil, all-purpose flour, low-sodium beef broth, and ground cumin.
- Tortillas: After a ton of testing, I found the very best tortillas to use for slow cooker enchiladas are the 50/50 blend tortillas made with both corn and flour or wheat. They are more sturdy than flour tortillas but don’t break down as much in the slow cooker as corn tortillas would. The best of both worlds!
- For the layers: The enchiladas are layered with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and thinly sliced green onion.
For The Easy Enchilada Sauce
- Make the roux. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over low heat,whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for a minute or two until the mixture is just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Whisk in the broth, enchilada sauce, cumin, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, whisking now and then, until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat. Reserve and set aside 1 cup of the sauce and keep the remaining sauce in the pan.
How to Make the Chicken Filling
- Add the chicken, sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese and diced green chiles to a large bowl. Season the mixture with the salt and pepper.
- Stir until well combined.
How to Asssemble the Chicken Enchiladas
- The tortilla layer. Place two tortillas side by side on the bottom of a greased slow cooker. Slice another tortilla in half and place the halves over the two tortillas to cover the empty spaces.
- The chicken filling layer. Spread one-third of the chicken mixture evenly over the top and sprinkle with one-quarter of the green onions, ½ cup of shredded cheese and one-third of the sauce remaining in the saucepan (save the reserved 1 cup for later).
- Finish layering. Repeat this process in the same order to create two more layers. Then, top the enchiladas with the three remaining tortillas (in same manner as above). Pour the reserved enchilada sauce over the top and smooth it out with the back of a spoon to cover the tortillas.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cook. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Sprinkle with the remaining green onions and let the casserole rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving
Variations
Green Enchilada Sauce: You can substitute a can of green enchilada sauce for the red, if you’d like. I do this for my Green Chile Chicken Smothered Burritos and it’s wonderful!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce: Make your own Red Enchilada Sauce in advance and use it for this recipe.
Ground Beef: Substitute cooked ground beef seasoned with a little Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix for the shredded chicken.
Storage Tips
Package the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. For longer storage, this recipe can be frozen for up to 2 to 3 months. Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas reheat very well in the microwave. Great for an easy lunch the next day!
Serving Suggestions
You can slice the enchiladas neatly with a knife or just scoop out individual servings with a large spoon. Complete your meal with any of these Mexican-inspired recipes.
- Rice: Salsa Rice, Restaurant Style Mexican Rice, or Cilantro Lime Rice.
- Beans: Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans or warm a can of drained black beans or pinto beans to make it so easy!
- Guacamole: Chipotle Guacamole (copycat recipe), Corn Guacamole, or Fully Loaded Guacamole.
- Salsa: Blender Salsa or Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.
- Toppings: Sliced black olives, diced avocado, chopped tomato, and cilantro are some of our favorite toppings for enchiladas.
- For serving: Set out sour cream, hot sauce, and tortilla chips when serving.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
Equipment
Ingredients
Easy Red Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- 15 ounce can red enchilada sauce, use Hatch brand if you can find it
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Enchilada Filling
- 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast, skin removed
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Layers
- 12 6-inch 50/50 blend corn and flour tortillas, like La Tortilla Factory or another brand
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheese, divided (a combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Optional Toppings
- Sliced black olives, cilantro, avocado, diced tomatoes, hot sauce
Instructions
Make the Easy Enchilada Sauce
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over LOW heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for a minute or two until the mixture is just beginning to turn golden brown. Whisk in the broth, enchilada sauce, cumin, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to MEDIUM-HIGH and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat enough to keep the mixture at a low simmer, and whisk lightly until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat. Reserve and set aside 1 cup of the sauce and keep the remaining sauce in the pan.
Make the Filling
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese and diced green chiles. Season the mixture with the salt and pepper and set aside.
Assemble the Enchiladas
- Coat the insert of a 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place two tortillas side by side on the bottom of the slow cooker. Slice another tortilla in half and place the halves over the two tortillas to cover the empty spaces. Spread one-third of the filling evenly over the top and sprinkle with one-quarter of the green onions, ½ cup of shredded cheese and one-third of the sauce remaining in the saucepan (save the reserved 1 cup for later). Repeat this process in the same order to create two more layers. Finish by topping the enchiladas with the three remaining tortillas (in same manner as above). Pour the reserved 1 cup of enchilada sauce over the top and smooth it out with the back of a spoon to cover the tortillas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Turn the slow cooker off, remove the cover and sprinkle with the remaining green onions. Let the casserole rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
- Slice or scoop individual servings and garnish them with your toppings of choice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
I love the flavors in this recipe. Thanks Valerie
These enchiladas are amazing! Made these for the second time this evening, they are amazing. Not sure why, but I always felt intimidated by making homemade enchiladas. From the slow cooker taco chicken to the oven baked enchiladas, the recipe is so easy. Thank you for taking the mystery out of making enchiladas!
Hi Valerie,
I absolutely love Mexican food, but since I have been going out a lot less, I’ve been in search of good recipes to make at home. This one looks awesome! I can’t decide whether to make this or your Chicken Tamale casserole first. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
We are huge Mexican food fans here as well! Hope you enjoy the recipes 🙂
I made the chicken taco recipe for Taco Tuesday which was a great success in itself. Froze the leftovers to have this dish within the next 2 weeks. Due to food shortages and not being able to find enchilada sauce we had to wait longer then planned but worth the wait. Probably the best chicken enchiladas I have ever made…maybe ever eaten. I usually don’t get chicken enchiladas in a Mexican restaurant because the chicken always seems bland, but these are full of flavor! This will be on regular rotation at our house!
Appreciate any suggestions how much diced hatch chiles to a can of red enchilada sauce (not Hatch), to get that great taste? We don’t have the Hatch brand enchilada sauce.
Hatch is definitely my favorite but you can sub any other brand and get a good result.
Valerie I made this last night for my Family and were very happy with the results. They said it has now got to be a regular meal at least once a month. Thank you for sharing. My family is very picky, but I didn’t have one negative comment only Rave reviews.
That’s great to hear, Pamela! So glad it worked out so well for you. 🙂
Hi there. I made the crock pot chicken and the enchiladas yesterday and got rave reviews from my family. Husband said it was the best thing I ever made. So thanks, Valerie! I’ll definitely be trying some of your other recipes soon.
That’s fantastic, Jane! I’m so glad it worked out so well for you. That chicken has been made more times than I can count in my kitchen!
These look delicious Valerie! 🙂 Now I’m thinking I might need to make enchiladas for dinner…