This healthy chicken enchilada casserole gives you everything you love about enchiladas without the fuss of rolling each one. It’s tender shredded chicken, soft corn tortillas, and melty cheese, all layered in a zesty, creamy green enchilada sauce. And it starts in the Instant Pot!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Ready In: 60 minutes
- Serves: 10 servings
- Calories: 355 cal
- Protein: 36.5g
- Fat: 8.5g
- Carbs: 26.9g
- Why You'll Love It: This Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole is an easy way to enjoy everything you love about enchiladas without having to deal with the fuss of rolling each one. It’s made with tender shredded chicken, soft tortillas, and melty cheese, all layered in a zesty, creamy enchilada sauce.
If you love enchiladas but want an easier way to feed the whole family, this is IT. All the taste of your favorite enchiladas baked into one easy, cheesy, creamy bake.
It’s also great because you can adjust how you serve it depending on your macros. I always eat mine on top of a pile of lettuce, and my kids devour theirs with a pile of chips. One casserole and everyone is happy! It’s one of my favorite easy casseroles for dinner.
Is Chicken Enchilada Casserole Healthy?
It can be! This one uses lean chicken tenderloins, cauliflower rice, and a creamy sauce made with ⅓ less fat cream cheese and low-fat Greek yogurt, so the fat stays lower and the protein stays high. One serving (1/10th of the casserole) has 355 calories, 36.5g protein, 8.5g fat, and 26.9g carbs. Want it lighter? Serve it over lettuce like I do.
Can You Make Chicken Enchilada Casserole in the Slow Cooker?
YES. Add the chicken, onion, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, garlic, spices, and enchilada sauce to the slow cooker and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is nice and shreddable. Carefully remove about a cup of liquid, add the cream cheese and yogurt, and shred the chicken with the lid off. Cook on high for at least 15 minutes to reduce the liquid, then turn it off and stir in the cilantro, green onion, and half of the tortillas. From there, layer and bake it the same way as the Instant Pot version. Love your slow cooker? Try my easy low-fat slow cooker crispy carnitas too.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken tenderloins: they shred up nice and tender. Chicken breasts or boneless thighs work too, but you’ll need to adjust the cooking time.
- Frozen onion, bell pepper, and cauliflower rice: I love frozen for convenience, plus it saves SO much chopping time. Fresh works if that’s what you have.
- Green enchilada sauce: use any one you love, mild or spicy, depending on your family’s spice preference.
- Cream cheese and Greek yogurt: together they make this bake creamy while keeping the fat lower and the protein high. For dairy-free, use dairy-free cream cheese and dairy-free yogurt or plant-based sour cream.
- Corn tortillas: you’ll need 16, cut into strips or squares. I like Mission Extra Thin Corn Tortillas. Larger tortillas will change the macros. For gluten-free, make sure they’re certified gluten-free.
- Cheddar or jack cheese: I think freshly grated tastes and melts the best, but any shredded cheese works. Use plant-based cheese or skip it for dairy-free.
- Cilantro: or any other fresh herb if you hate cilantro.
Before You Start Cooking
- Grab your Instant Pot and a big dish. You’ll need an Instant Pot (I use this one) and a very large casserole dish, or two smaller dishes.
- Plan for about an hour. That’s 30 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, plus a 10 minute natural release and at least 15 minutes of simmering to reduce the sauce.
- Pick your shredding method. Use two forks, a meat masher, or your stand mixer. You can also CAREFULLY use a hand mixer right in the pot.
- Cut the tortillas ahead. Chop 10 of them into strips or squares and keep the other 6 whole for the top.
- Log it the easy way. One serving is 320g, or 1/10th of the recipe. Search “Lillie Eats and Tells Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole,” or here’s how I add a recipe to MyFitnessPal.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Sauté the veggies. Set the Instant Pot to sauté and mist with olive oil. Add the onion, bell peppers, and cauliflower rice and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softening.
- Pressure cook. Add the garlic, chicken, spices, and enchilada sauce and stir. Turn off sauté, seal the lid, and cook on manual high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Release and get creamy. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, then release the rest of the steam. Turn on sauté, add the cream cheese and yogurt, and shred the chicken.
- Reduce the sauce. Let it boil on sauté for at least 15 minutes while you keep mixing. Turn it off and stir in the cilantro, green onion, and the 10 chopped tortillas. It will still be pretty soupy. That’s ok!
- Bake. Transfer everything to your casserole dish. Dip both sides of the remaining 6 tortillas in the saucy chicken, lay them on top, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375°F for 10 to 15 minutes, then broil for a minute or two for more color.
Want to keep it all in one pot? Just add the remaining tortillas and cheese right to the pressure cooker. It’ll be more of a soupy situation!
What to Serve with Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
We love ours topped with avocado, sour cream, and some cilantro lime ranch if I’ve got it in the fridge!
It’s great on its own, or serve it with my Mexican skillet potatoes. For a lower-carb side, try Mexican cauliflower fried rice. A corn avocado salad or Mexican chopped kale salad is a fresh option too.
How to Freeze Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This is one of my favorite macro-friendly freezer meals because it makes a big batch.
- Bake the casserole in two smaller dishes instead of one large one, and freeze one for later! Or let it cool and portion it into individual containers.
- Wrap or cover it tightly and label with the date and grams (one serving is 320g).
- Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat covered at 350°F until it’s hot all the way through.
- Add your avocado, sour cream, and cilantro lime ranch fresh after reheating.
- Keeps up to 3 months.
Want more Mexican-inspired dinners? Try my cauliflower rice enchilada skillet, skinny creamy chicken enchiladas, creamy green chili chicken bake, creamy Mexican chicken bake, or Mexican spaghetti squash boats.
If you like having dinners planned out, my macro-friendly meal plans send a new high-protein, family-friendly menu every Thursday with a categorized grocery list and complete macros on every recipe. You can try it free.
Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole Calories and Macros
One serving (320g, or 1/10th of the recipe) of this healthy chicken enchilada casserole has 355 calories, 36.5g protein, 8.5g fat, and 26.9g carbs, with 2.8g fiber. Toppings are extra. The full nutrition is in the recipe card below.
Never Miss a Recipe! Sign Up for My Emails!
If you enjoy having macro-friendly recipes that are delicious and easy to track, then make sure to sign up for my email list!
Come say hi on Instagram, I share what we’re eating all week.
Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 10 oz frozen diced onion or 1 medium onion, diced (284g)
- 20 oz frozen chopped bell pepper or 3 large fresh (567g)
- 10 oz frozen cauliflower rice 283g
- 6 frozen garlic cubes or fresh minced cloves
- 3 lb chicken tenderloins 1344g
- 2 Tbsp cumin 34g
- 2 Tbsp chili powder 34g
- 1 Tbsp paprika 17g
- 1 Tbsp oregano 17g
- 2-3 tsp kosher salt 17g
- 2 tsp onion powder 12g
- 1 tsp black pepper 6g
- 15 oz can green enchilada sauce 420g
- 4 oz ⅓ less fat cream cheese 112g
- ½ cup low fat Greek yogurt 120g
- 1 cup cilantro chopped (45g)
- ¼ cup green onion chopped (15g)
- 16 corn tortillas divided (416g)
- 1 ½ cup cheddar or jack cheese grated (120g)
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Spray with a mist of olive oil and let it heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and cauliflower rice. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the veggies are aromatic and softening. Add the garlic, chicken, spices, and enchilada sauce. Give everything a good stir. Turn off the sauté setting, close the lid and seal the valve, and set on manual high pressure for 12 minutes.
- When it’s done, allow the pot to naturally release for ten minutes (or longer if you’re busy!) Then open the valve to release the rest of the steam. Remove the lid and turn on the sauté setting. Add the cream cheese and yogurt, and use the sauté feature to help cook down some of the liquid. In the meantime, shred the chicken. You can use two forks, or I like to use my meat masher. You can also transfer the chicken to your standing mixer to shred, or CAREFULLY use a hand mixer right in the pot.
- Let the mixture boil on sauté for at least fifteen minutes to reduce the liquid while you continue to mix the shredded chicken, cream cheese, and yogurt. Turn the pressure cooker off, and stir in your cilantro, green onion, and 10 of the corn tortillas, chopped into strips or squares. It will still be pretty soupy. That’s ok!
- At this point, you can transfer everything to a very large casserole dish (or two smaller dishes) and top with the remaining 6 tortillas. Make sure they’re not dry by “dipping” each side in your saucy chicken mixture. Top tortillas with grated cheese. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Broil for an extra minute or two for more color.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add the chicken, onion, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, garlic, spices, and enchilada sauce to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 3-4 hours until chicken is nice and shreddable. Open the lid and carefully remove about a cup of liquid. Add the cream cheese and yogurt. Let that cook with the slow cooker open while you shred the chicken. You can use two forks, or I like to use my meat masher. You can also transfer the chicken to your standing mixer to shred.
- Cook on high in the slow cooker for at least fifteen minutes to reduce the liquid while you get the chicken shredded and the cream cheese and yogurt mixed in well. Turn the slow cooker off, and stir in your cilantro, green onion, and half of the corn tortillas, chopped into strips or squares. It will still be pretty soupy. That’s ok!
- At this point you can transfer everything to a very large casserole dish (or two smaller dishes if needed). You can leave behind a little juice if it seems excessive. Top with remaining tortillas. Make sure they’re not dry by “dipping” each side in your saucy chicken mixture. Top tortillas with grated cheese. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Broil for an extra minute or two for more color.
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Tag @LillieEatsAndTells on Instagram with #LillieEatsandTells! We’d love to see your creations!
2 stars for the absolute misleading prep and cook time- made this on a weeknight and ended up having to bring my kids to practice without feeding them. 30 minutes of prep and 30 minutes to cook, yet there are 67 minutes of cook time listed in the actual instructions (I included 10 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure but we all know it can take longer than that!)
Needs water.
Not sure how anyone else made this without mentioning the burn notice. Liquid needs to be added (water, broth) to avoid burn notice on IP
SAME!!! I have made this several times and I ALWAYS get the burn notice on the instant pot. Other than that it’s delicious and the macros are awesome!
Delicious! I was skeptical about using 3lbs of chicken on a recipe I had never tried before but this was excellent. Served with light sour cream and a few crumbled tortilla chips for some crunch. I used all green peppers. Could have easily skipped the top layer of corn tortillas and the cheese. Enough flavor on its own.
So freaking good!!!! Yum
This was a 10 out of 10! My husband told me it was restaurant quality! And the macros were on point. You’d never know this was healthy! We will have this on rotation!
The recipe is good, but it takes sooo much longer than it says. By the time you use the pressure cooker for 12 minutes, sauté it for 15 minutes after, and then BAKE it for 10-15, it’s over an hour of cook time (with the time the pressure cooker takes to heat up). The majority of these recipes are just not conducive to those of us that have small children and older children in sports.