This creamy Mexican chicken bake is an easy high-protein dinner made with tender chicken, enchilada sauce, green chiles, and lots of melty cheese. It’s ready in about 30 minutes with 29.7 grams of protein per serving!
If you’re looking for an easy, family-friendly dinner with BIG flavor and very little effort… this is it. The chicken bakes in a creamy enchilada sauce with green chiles, warm spices, and plenty of melty cheese. It’s the ultimate comfort food dinner, and it only takes simple pantry staples.
I love how versatile it is. Serve it over rice or cauliflower rice, scoop it up with tortilla chips, stuff it into burritos or tacos, or use the leftovers for meal prep all week. If you love a cozy bake like this, my creamy green chili chicken bake and creamy Rotel chicken bake are must-tries too.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Serves: 8 servings
- Calories: 207 cal
- Protein: 29.7g
- Fat: 7.4g
- Carbs: 2.5g
- Why You'll Love It: This Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake is an easy high-protein dinner made with tender chicken, enchilada sauce, green chiles, and lots of melty cheese. Ready in about 30 minutes and packed with tons of bold Mexican-inspired flavor!
What Is a Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake?
It’s cubed chicken baked in a creamy sauce made from cream cheese, red enchilada sauce, green chiles, lime juice, and spices, then topped with melty cheese. Think chicken enchilada filling without the tortillas, all in one casserole dish.
Is Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake Spicy?
Not very. It has plenty of Mexican-inspired flavor without being overly spicy, so it’s kid-friendly. You control the heat with the enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or hot). Want it spicier? Swap the green chiles for diced jalapeños or hot green chiles.
Can You Make It with Whole Chicken Breasts?
YES. You can keep your chicken breasts or tenderloins whole instead of cubing them. Just make sure you bake until they’re done. Whole breasts will probably need about 20 to 25 minutes total cook time.
Is It Dairy-Free?
Not as written, but it’s an easy swap. Use a plant-based cream cheese and shredded cheese to make it dairy-free.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- 1/3-less fat cream cheese: it makes the sauce creamy with fewer calories. Full-fat cream cheese works too if you prefer.
- Red enchilada sauce: canned or jarred. Pick mild, medium, or hot depending on your spice preference.
- Canned diced green chiles: sub diced jalapeños or hot green chiles if you like things spicier.
- Fresh cilantro and lime juice: the cilantro is optional, but I love the freshness it adds to balance the creamy sauce. The lime juice adds a pop of acidity.
- Freshly grated cheese: it melts best. Mexican blend, Monterey Jack, cheddar, pepper jack, or Colby Jack all work well.
Before You Start Cooking
- Preheat the oven to 400F. The chicken gets a quick 5-minute head start before the sauce goes on.
- Grab a casserole dish. The chicken is seasoned and baked right in it, so there’s just one dish plus a bowl for the sauce.
- Mix the sauce while the chicken pre-bakes. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir in everything else.
- Plan for about 30 minutes. That’s 15 minutes of prep and 15 minutes in the oven.
- Weigh your empty dish if you track macros. One serving is 156g. Here’s how I add a recipe to MyFitnessPal. This one has been on my macro-friendly meal plans too, where every recipe comes with complete macros and is preloaded into MyFitnessPal, Macros First, and Lose It.
How to Make Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake
- Pre-bake the chicken. Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread the cubed chicken in a casserole dish, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and bake for 5 minutes.
- Make the sauce. Microwave the cream cheese for about 30 seconds to soften. Stir in the enchilada sauce, green chiles, cilantro, lime juice, and spices until fully combined.
- Combine. Carefully pour off any excess liquid from the chicken. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the chicken and stir.
- Add cheese and bake. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melty and the chicken is cooked through.
- Top and serve. Finish with a handful of green onions and/or more cilantro.
What to Serve with Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake
Enjoy it over rice or cauliflower rice, with chips, or in tortillas! It’s also great tucked into burritos or tacos, or alongside roasted vegetables like my basil roasted veggies. A drizzle of avocado cilantro cream on top is SO good.
For a fresh side, try my corn avocado salad, cowboy caviar salad, or a simple salad with jalapeño avocado dressing.
How to Freeze Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake
This one is on my list of macro-friendly freezer meals. It’s excellent for meal prep and tastes even better the next day as the flavors develop. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave, or reheat in a covered baking dish in a 350F oven.
- To freeze, let it cool completely, then portion into containers and label with the date and grams (one serving is 156g).
- Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Keeps up to 3 months.
Want more Mexican-inspired dinners for the freezer? Try my Instant Pot chicken enchilada casserole, skillet Mexican potatoes with ground beef, cauliflower rice enchilada skillet, or skinny creamy chicken enchiladas. My sweet potato chipotle rotisserie chicken skillet is another easy weeknight favorite.
Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake Calories and Macros
One serving (156g) of this creamy Mexican chicken bake has 207 calories, 29.7g protein, 7.4g fat, 2.5g carbs, and 0.3g fiber. That’s just the chicken bake, so add whatever you’re serving it with. The full nutrition is in the recipe card below.
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Creamy Mexican Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breasts or tenderloins cubed (922g)
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 4 oz 1/3-less fat cream cheese 112g
- 1/2 cup canned or jarred red enchilada sauce 120g
- 4 oz canned diced green chilis
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped- optional (25g)
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice 30g
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 cup grated cheese 75g
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Chop chicken into cubes and spread into a casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic and bake for 5 minutes.
- Add cream cheese to a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 30 seconds to soften. Add enchilada sauce, green chilis, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and spices, stirring until fully combined.
- When the chicken has baked for 5 minutes, carefully pour off any excess liquid if you have it. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the chicken and combine. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melty and chicken is cooked through. Top with a handful of green onions and/or additional cilantro. Enjoy this served over rice or cauliflower rice, with chips, or in tortillas!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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My whole family devoured this! So delicious and made for great leftovers. Could you swap the cream cheese for something else with more protein? Greek yogurt? Blended cottage cheese? Or is it best to stick with the reduced fat cream cheese?
yay! yes you totally could!
This was a real hit at our house with everyone (which never happens). It is quick and easy to make, very flavorful and delicious, has a bit of spicy zing(but not too much), and will definitely be on repeat here. The only other comnent is to say it did take a little longer to cook the chicken through (maybe 5-10 minutes), but it may be I didn’t cut the chicken small enough. Thanks for the great recipe!
so glad you liked it, martha!
Easy to make and tasty! I did sprinkle extra cumin powder & smoked paprika on the chicken. Enjoyed with crushed tortilla chips on the top
YAY! so happy you liked it!