Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

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This Chicken Enchilada Casserole came to me one night when we needed to go grocery shopping and we didn’t have much to work with. I had pulled out chicken the night before thinking I’d just find something to do with it the next day.

So that morning I looked through the cabinets and decided to try a blend of Mexican and Italian. This dish immediately became one of our favorite meals. It’s tasty, cures an enchilada craving, and is super easy to put together.

I’m a big fan of the slow cooker because I can set it and forget it till dinner time. It makes getting dinner on the table a lot easier. Additionally, it’s a great filling meal that leaves leftovers the next day for our family of 3.

Variations For Chicken Enchilada Casserole

While in this recipe I use Penne noodles I have used shells and stuffed them with the chicken before covering them with the cheese. It takes a little bit longer to make but it’s still fantastic. The shells are great for a fancier meal that you might be serving guests or family. 

You can use any enchilada sauce that is your favorite, or even homemade. As usual, I cook from the heart so I don’t have measurements for the spices. Use as much or as little as you see fit for your meal. Just keep in mind, noodles will often dull spices.

Great sides that would go with this meal would be an easy dinner salad or even this no-knead crusty bread. If you are serving 6 I might include both for a meal.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This casserole is delicious, easy to make, and will feed a family of 4 easily on it’s own, or a family of 6 with a side dish. You can easily bulk this recipe up by adding an additional chicken breast.

Ingredients

• 1 Chicken Breast
• 2 10 oz Cans Enchilada Sauce
• 1 16 oz Box Penne 
• Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
• Garlic Powder
• Cumin
• Onion Powder
• Black Pepper

Directions

1. Place your chicken breast in your slow cooker with the 2 cans of enchilada sauce and seasoning levels of choice and cook on low for 6-8 hours. I typically start it in the late morning and then whenever we are ready to eat I move on to the next steps.

2. When you are ready to put your dinner together, preheat your oven to 375F. Fill a pot with water and start it to boil. Cook the box of penne till done. Drain your noodles and add to a casserole dish. I use a 9×13 glass pan.

3. While you are waiting for your noodles to cook, take two forks and shred your chicken breast. 

4. Using hot mitts to hold the crock of your slow cooker pour the chicken and sauce over your noodles in your baking pan. Mix the ingredients together until the noodles are coated in the sauce. I like to also mix in a bit of cheese throughout as well.

5. Sprinkle your Mexican blend cheese over the top of your casserole and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I love how easy this meal is. We typically have at least enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Like I previously mentioned you could likely use any noodles that you like for this, we just prefer penne or shells.

Have you tried this recipe? Did you make any changes? Let me know your variation in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite dinner boards.

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