Crockpot Enchiladas are packed with flavor and make for easy prep. Let the slow cooker do all the work so you can enjoy a fantastic dinner.
Chances are you’ve got a few kitchen servants at your disposal to help you save time in the kitchen. I know I do. A dishwasher. An instant pot. A Crock-pot.
Or should I say Crock-pots?
One day I splurged and bought us the casserole edition, bringing our Crock-pot count up to five. Ahem.
Apparently, my husband noticed, for he texted me a day later, presumably after checking our Amazon account, and asked, “Do we really need another Crock-pot?”
Yes, yes, we do.
Having a Crock-pot or other slow cooker on hand can be tremendously helpful, especially on busy days. You can assemble dinner in a few minutes before you go to work and come home to a delicious meal.
Perfect crockpot recipe for home and away
This recipe for Crockpot Enchiladas is a great one to take to plug in before work or church or the school play or other group event and within 2-4 hours, it’s ready. And it’s so good!
Crockpot Enchiladas aren’t as fancy or as pretty as the rolled kind, but these stacked enchiladas are major comfort food at our house with minor effort.
And yes, I do make them in the casserole Crock-pot, too. So yummy!
Ingredients needed for these crockpot enchiladas
The best part of this meal is that it requires just a few simple ingredients
- enchilada sauce
- tortillas
- cooked shredded chicken
- cheddar cheese
How to make these enchiladas in your slow cooker
- Prep: Spray the crock of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
- Stack: Pour 1/4 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of crock. Place a tortilla on top of the sauce. Spread a handful of chicken and a handful of cheese over tortilla. Repeat with sauce, tortilla, chicken, and cheese until ingredients are used up, ending with sauce and cheese on top.
- Cook: Cover and cook on low for 2 to 4 hours.
Do I need to roll the tortillas for these slow cooker enchiladas?
Nope. Unlike traditional recipes, like this Cheese Enchiladas Recipe or this Homemade Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted ChilesThat’s what makes this a great weeknight meal. It comes together super fast!
What type of tortillas should I use for this crockpot enchilada casserole?
We used corn tortillas but flour tortillas would work as well. And if you’re feeling ambitious, try making your own homemade corn tortillas!
Can I make this as a freezer meal?
You can’t freeze the stack, but you can make a batch of Crockpot Enchiladas even more “make ahead.”
Prepare the shredded chicken beforehand and store it in the freezer alongside a container of Homemade Enchilada Sauce, a package of corn tortillas, and a bag of shredded cheese. Then on the day before serving, yank those items from the freezer and you’re good to go.
(While we love Las Palmas enchilada sauce, we’ve found that we love homemade even more. Make a big batch for the freezer, so making enchiladas can be as easy as opening a can thawing a container of sauce!)
When ready to serve…
When it’s ready, serve this like a casserole and don’t forget the toppings. Here are a few suggestions:
- Fresh toppings: Black olives, avocado, cilantro, fresh tomatoes, or sliced jalapenos
- Sauces: sour cream, Pico de Gallo, or Easy Homemade Guacamole
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Crockpot Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 24 oz red enchilada sauce
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 cup chicken (cooked and shredded)
- 8 oz cheddar cheese (shredded) (2 cups)
Instructions
- Spray the crock of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour 1/4 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of crock. Place a tortilla on top of the sauce. Spread a handful of chicken and a handful of cheese over tortilla. Repeat with sauce, tortilla, chicken, and cheese until ingredients are used up, ending with sauce and cheese on top.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 to 4 hours.
Nutrition
Melissa says
Your recipe is so simple!! I’m definitely going to give it a try. Thanks!
Alea says
I love how easy your recipe is! Even better, I think I have all of the ingredients in the pantry or freezer. This will be on next week’s menu.
Wendy (The Local Cook) says
My recipe is for homemade hummus – great to bring to a party to serve with pita chips or veggies. Homemade is so inexpensive, tasty, and healthy!
Joyful says
Thank you so much for this recipe swap.
There are so many wonderful recipes to try.
Mary Ann says
This looks really yummy. In fact, I concocted something very similar the other day using flour tortillas.
Several years ago, I made a crockpot recipe almost identical to this. The tortillas turned to mush so the finished product was like nachos instead of layers. Come to think of it, every time I’ve used corn tortillas for enchiladas or burritos (crockpot and oven), they’ve pretty much disintegrated. I’ve tried frying them a little before baking and so on as advised by friends, but still the same results. Have you or anyone else experienced this with corn tortillas? Any ideas?
Jessica Fisher says
I actually like that about stacked enchiladas. But, if you’re rolling them, tradition says to fry them in oil and then in the sauce (or vice versa, depending on how traditional you want to be). The frying helps the tortilla hold up better. Drain on paper towels.
Mary Ann says
@Jessica Fisher, Thanks! I’ll have to give corn tortillas another try. Maybe I just didn’t fry them right before. 🙂
The taste of the stacked enchiladas was great; the texture was not what we were expecting. We ate it like nachos with chips for dipping.
Liz@HoosierHomemade says
Looks yummy! Thanks so much for hosting!
~Liz
Melissa says
This looks delicious and easy! I don’t know if Las Palmas enchilada sauce is available here on the East coast, but I’ll look for it.
Allison says
I do not like the taste of canned enchilada sauce so I googled homemade enchilada sauce and made my own. Oh my goodness, it taste so much better! Give it a try, don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
http://www.food.com/recipe/enchilada-sauce-31811
Jessica Fisher says
Thanks for the link. I’ll have to check it out. The canned kind I use is chile-only, no tomato sauce, so I’m on a hunt for one to make myself.
Susie's Homemade says
My favorite things to bring to pot luck dinners are my dinner rolls!! They are fantastic!
Stephanie Polen says
I did the link wrong above. 🙁 I have a recipe for Chicken Carbonara on my blog….So easy and So yummy!!!!
http://twylyth.blogspot.com/2010/02/chicken-carbonara.html
In the Bag says
I’ve been making enchiladas in the traditional way for years, but never thought about stacking them and putting them in a crock pot. I can imagine that the thin corn tortillas that roll so nicely would turn to mush in a slow cooker, but I bet thicker ones would have more substance. I’ll have to try this. Thanks for sharing!
Donna says
Your enchiladas will probably take the place of taco salad at our house this weekend. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Nina T. says
What an awesome idea!!!! I never even thought to do that in the crockpot! Thank you so much! I will definitely give this a try!
Jacky Hackett says
Glad to find your site, great stuff, look forward to staying tuned!
Becky says
I love the idea of these. I made them yesterday, but the middle layers were almost inedible. I used flour because my husband doesn’t like the taste of corn. I could eat the outside, top and bottom layers, but not the insides. My husband ate it all, and loved it though.
suggestions? My grocery store doesn’t carry soft corn…just crunchy ones. I’ve never bought them becuase they looked like giant round tortilla chips. Maybe this is what I need? Thanks in advance for any advice. This was a snap to make, I just wish I could make it work.
Jessica Fisher says
So you used flour tortillas? Does that mean that the inside got all gummy?
Personally, I think flour tortillas have no business in casseroles or enchiladas. So, I think that is the problem. Not sure what to tell you. Your husband loved them with corn and you would probably like it with corn. You could use tortilla chips if you can’t find corn tortillas. I’m not sure how it would work with tostada shells (what you’re describing that your store carries.) Good luck, though!
Julie@teachinggoodeaters.com says
Since the corn ones are a little tough to work with when rolling, I’ve used Chi Chi’s Cafe Style Corn (which are actually mostly wheat) I love them for enchiladas… though, I guess, I don’t mind a little “gumminess” 🙂
Sherri says
Hi
I loved your page, there is so much good stuff here. Love the recipes
Sherri
Julie@teachinggoodeaters.com says
I keep saying that I need to use my crockpot more, but I just haven’t…. I have a layered green enchilada pie that I make in the oven… I’m thinking it may work in the crockpot!
Ingredients:
8 oz. fresh baby Spinach
1 4 oz. can green chilies
1 can or @ 1 ½ cups homemade cream of mushroom soup (See Appendix)
¾ cup sour cream of plain Greek yogurt
@ 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 t. cumin
1 package corn tortillas
Combine all ingredients (except cheddar cheese and tortillas) in a food processer and blend until smooth.
Spoon approximately 1/3 of spinach mixture into the bottom of a cast iron skillet (or crock pot!!). Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheddar cheese over the top of the mixture. Place a layer of corn tortillas over the top of the cheese (you will need to break some of the tortillas to completely cover the mixture). Repeat this procedure 2 more times, however, for the third layer do not add the tortillas (there will only be two tortilla layers).
Bake for 20-30 minutes @ 350° until the “pie” is hot and bubbly! (or try crock pot directions for recipe above?)
Allow to cool and “firm-up” for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Julie@teachinggoodeaters.com says
oops… just realized it says “see appendix” for cream of mushroom soup… I copied this from my e-book since the recipe itself wasn’t on my blog… you can use a can of soup or google homemade cream of mushroom- it’s pretty easy.
sarah taylor says
Is this recipe also gluten free?
Jessica Fisher says
You’ll have to make sure that the enchilada sauce you use as well as the corn tortillas are gluten-free. Some manufacturers use gluten in those products.
Alisha says
Since you have 5 crockpots I’m guessing you use them often? I love the idea of the crockpot and use mine for soups or beans but that’s about it. Everything else ends up with a weird texture or the meat gets really dry. Most of the time I’m pretty disappointed in any crockpot meals I make. This recipe looks similar to an enchilada lasagna I make and the texture is fine. I’ll add this to my summer rotation. Hoping to see some more GOOD crockpot recipes in time for summer! 🙂 I just ordered another one of your cookbooks, it’s your first I think. I use your last one so often I wanted the other one too!
Jessica Fisher says
I think “good” crockpot recipes are tricky because texture suffers. The tortillas in this do become very soft. One of my kids doesn’t like them. So, keep that in mind. Have you checked GCE? https://goodcheapeats.com/category/slow-cooker/
Debi Z says
How would this change if you wanted to double or triple it? I have 10 kids still at home 😉
Jessica Fisher says
I’ve never tried that big a batch, but I think you should be fine just doing so. The wider base crockpot would be best. Either the casserole style, or a really wide oval. Hope that helps!
Ali says
Simple and Amazing! Made this last night for dinner and oh-my-goodness we ate it all up. Followed your recipe exactly and it was super yummy. I liked how I was able to adjust the sauce a bit as my kids do not like too much spice but the adults do. Once it was all plated I then scooped out the bottom of the crockpot on top of our plates which contained the sauce and cheese/chicken that had “oozed out” while it cooked. Since the first layer was sauce, this part had the spicier goodness to please the adults! Yummy from top to bottom. Thank you for posting this, another recipe from you added to our favorites.
Jessica Fisher says
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!