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Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole

Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole features all the flavors of authentic enchiladas in the form of an easy chicken and rice casserole! This healthy dinner recipe requires little prep and is amazing for meal prep!

Top down image of cheesy enchilada casserole with a wooden spoon about to serve.

If you tried my Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice Casserole I posted several months ago, I’m back with a brand new version 2.0!

For those of you who love enchiladas with red enchilada sauce and are looking for the easiest, most comforting Mexican casserole, this Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole was made with you in mind.

It boasts a big enchilada flavor without all the hassle of making actual enchiladas. Truly, even the novice cook can excel at preparing this goof-proof casserole! It’s just one of those incredibly easy recipes.

In addition to the delicious authentic Mexican flavors infused in this simple casserole recipe, I love how quickly it comes together and how easy it is to make.

We simply dump all of the ingredients into a large casserole dish, give them a stir, then bake!

In the words of Ina Garten, how easy is that?

Ideal for weekly meal prep for busy weeknights, for serving friends and family, or for any special occasion, this well-seasoned cheesy casserole is an absolute dream and amazing comfort food.

Casserole with a wooden spoon about to take a scoop.

Let’s discuss the simple healthy ingredients needed to make this delicious chicken and rice casserole recipe.

Ingredients for Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole:

Onion, Bell Pepper, and Garlic: The veggies used in this easy casserole recipe! The combination of onion, bell pepper and garlic brings a great deal of flavor and adds to the authentic Mexican enchilada flavors.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: We chop up a couple boneless chicken breasts for lean protein and deliciousness! The combination of rice and chicken in this cheesy casserole recipe makes for a highly satiating and palatable meal. Use chicken thighs instead of breasts if you’d like! If you happen to have rotisserie chicken on hand, you can easily swap out the breasts for shredded chicken.

Chili Powder: A little chili powder is used to help season the meal with yummy flavor. Swap it out for homemade taco seasoning if you’d like.

White Rice: Rather than using flour tortillas or corn tortillas, this casserole recipe uses rice as the starch and the element that brings everything together nicely in a flavor factory of bliss. We use white rice because it doesn’t require very much time to cook, making it ideal for a dump and bake casserole recipe like this.

Stick with white rice, as brown rice requires more baking time. If you truly want to use brown rice, you can cook 2 cups ahead of time and add the cooked rice to the casserole.

If you go this route, you can reduce the chicken broth to ½ cup as the rice will already be cooked and won’t need to absorb as much liquid.

Enchilada Sauce & Chicken Broth: The combination of enchilada sauce and chicken broth acts both as the delicious flavorful sauce to give the casserole that iconic enchilada flavor, and as the liquid to cook the rice. Because the rice is tossed in the casserole dish uncooked, it requires liquid for absorption to become soft.

Use store-bought canned red enchilada sauce (this is what I do) or make homemade enchilada sauce. Green enchilada sauce works too!

The chicken broth can be swapped for cups of water but a little of the rich chicken flavor will be lost.

Cheese: Not only does cheese add utter undeniable deliciousness to everything it touches, but it also brings a gooeyness and a glue-ness to the casserole. It helps hold everything together, similar to lasagna so you end up with easily scoopable, thick and delectable delicious cheesy chicken and rice.

The recipe calls for three cups of grated colby jack cheese, but you can use cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, white cheddar, or your favorite melting cheese.

You can also scale the amount of cheese up or down according to your personal taste. The more cheese you use, the more flavorful and enticing (and calorically dense) the casserole will be.

Salt: Seasoning the casserole with salt helps enhance all of the individual flavors so that the meal turns out teeming with flavor. Add black pepper to taste.

Top down photo of whole enchilada casserole fresh out of the oven with slices of avocado and cherry tomatoes on top.

Optional Additions:

  • Add 1 can of black beans, green chiles or corn (or both) if you’d like.
  • Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of garlic powder or onion powder for even more flavor.
  • If you have leftover chicken and leftover cooked rice on hand, you can employ them in this casserole recipe. Simply omit the chicken broth and bake the casserole just until everything is thick and bubbly (about 30 to 40 minutes).

For Serving:

Pick and choose any of your favorite toppings or enjoy the casserole as it. It’s delicious on its own! Avocado, cilantro, sour cream, salsa are amazing options for topping the casserole. 

Hearty chicken for protein, starchy white rice for carbs, and plenty of ooey-gooey melty cheese for flavor, this win of a recipe will surely please the whole family. Plus, it is also easily adjustable for those who track their macros for specific fitness goals.

Now that we’re experts on the ingredients for this easy chicken enchilada casserole, let’s make it!

How to Make Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole:

If you’re making your own Homemade Enchilada Sauce, you can do so up to 5 days in advance.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add the chopped onion, bell peppers, garlic, chopped chicken, chili powder, white rice, and corn to a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish or baking dish.

Ingredients for chicken casserole in a casserole dish

Stir in the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, and sea salt and stir well. Similarly, stir in half of the cheese (1 ½ cups).

Pouring enchilada sauce and broth into the casserole dish
Half of the grated cheese stirred into the casserole

Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, give everything a stir, then sprinkle with the remaining (1 1/2 cups) of grated cheese. The casserole will appear very liquidy at this point – this is normal!

remaining grated cheese sprinkled on top

Turn your oven on the high broil setting and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is golden-brown.

Serve the chicken and rice enchilada casserole with tortilla chips and any additional favorite toppings, such as cherry tomatoes, avocado, lime wedges, cilantro, sour cream, etc.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also cover the casserole dish tightly with plastic wrap. 

Chicken and rice enchilada casserole fresh out of the oven

Like most casserole recipes, this chicken enchilada casserole recipe tastes even better the next day!

And that’s it! A delightful hearty casserole with blow-your-mind flavor that you’ll want to keep coming back to over and over.

Wooden spoon taking a big scoop out of the casserole to serve.

If you love healthy casserole recipes, also check these out!

More Healthy Casserole Recipes:

The next time you’re craving enchiladas but want dinner on the table in under an hour, whip up this chicken and rice enchilada casserole!

Casserole with a wooden spoon about to take a scoop.
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4.41 from 25 votes

Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole

All the flavors of classic Mexican enchiladas but without all the hassle! This easy dump and bake casserole recipe requires little prep and is so cheesy and delicious! Amazing comfort food for the whole family!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Chicken Main Dishes
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 380kcal
Author: Julia

Ingredients

For Serving (Optional):

  • Avocado
  • Cilantro
  • Sour Cream
  • Salsa

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the chopped onion, bell peppers, garlic, chopped chicken, chili powder, white rice, and corn to a large (13” x 9”) casserole dish or baking dish.
    Ingredients for chicken casserole in a casserole dish
  • Stir in the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, and sea salt and stir well. Similarly, stir in half of the cheese (1 ½ cups).
    Pouring enchilada sauce and broth into the casserole dish
  • All of the casserole ingredients stirred up in the dish
  • Half of the grated cheese stirred into the casserole
  • Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, give everything a stir, then sprinkle with the remaining (1 1/2 cups) of grated cheese. The casserole will appear very liquidy at this point – this is normal!
    remaining grated cheese sprinkled on top
  • Turn your oven on the high broil setting and broil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is golden-brown.
    Chicken and rice enchilada casserole fresh out of the oven
  • Serve the chicken and rice enchilada casserole with tortilla chips and any additional favorite toppings, such as cherry tomatoes, avocado, lime wedges, cilantro, sour cream, etc.

Notes

*You can use 1 cup of frozen corn (which is what I do) or one can of drained corn.
**I use basmati white rice. Use long-grain white rice for best results.
***Use your favorite cheese such as cheddar, mozzarella, jack cheese, etc.
If you’re making your own Homemade Enchilada Sauce, you can do so up to 5 days in advance.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also cover the casserole dish tightly with plastic wrap.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (of 8) | Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g

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Recipe Rating




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Kelly

Tuesday 1st of August 2023

My whole family loved this! If I make it again I will cook the onions ahead of time - I found them a bit crunchy even with adding 10 min to cook time. Loved how easy this is though!

Julia

Thursday 3rd of August 2023

I'm so happy to hear you and your family enjoy the recipe, Kelly! I bet a little extra enchilada sauce or a little less bake time would do the trick :) Thanks so much for sharing your experience!

Lisa G.

Saturday 15th of April 2023

This looks amazing! Question, can you also add black or pinto beans? If so, does the measurement of liquid need to increase (enchilada sauce and/or broth)? I'm making this week!

Julia

Sunday 16th of April 2023

Hi Lisa! You can definitely add either black beans or pinto beans! I would simply drain the beans and add them in with no other changes :) Hope you enjoy! xo

Laura

Thursday 9th of March 2023

Is the rice pre cooked in the chicken rice enchilada dish?

Julia

Monday 13th of March 2023

Hi Laura! Use 1 cup of uncooked white rice :)

Amy

Wednesday 18th of January 2023

This has become a staple! We’re dairy free so I just leave the cheese out entirely, and add that extra garlic and onion powder. (We tried using a commercial dairy free cheese, but it wasn’t a positive addition.)

As long as I serve it with plenty of guacamole on the side, it’s nicely balanced and delicious.

Julia

Thursday 19th of January 2023

I'm so thrilled you like it, Amy! Love the idea of serving it with guacamole! Yum!

HALEY

Sunday 11th of December 2022

Hey! So the chicken is raw when putting it in the casserole right? Or do you cook the chicken ahead of time?

Julia

Monday 12th of December 2022

Hi Haley! That's correct, the chicken is raw. You can also use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken but if you're making the whole thing from scratch, the chopped chicken breasts go in raw :) Let me know if you have any other questions! xo

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