Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas

These Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas are easily one of my favorite slow cooker recipes. They’re so flavorful and easy to make!

Tender shredded chicken, red bell pepper, green chiles, and onions all cooked in a red enchiladas sauce – you really can’t go wrong. Add in some corn tortillas with some olives and (more) cheese on top and you’ve got the best one-pot meal ever!

If you love this recipe, you’ll really enjoy this easy Cheesy Mexican Chicken and Rice, Chicken Tortilla Soup, and these easy Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas!

I LOVE Mexican food. It’s easily one of my favorite cuisines. We honeymooned at a resort in Mexico and the food was just out of this world. Very often, I try to bring a piece of my travels into the kitchen and to say that at first bite, this took me back to my time in the Riviera Maya – it’s an understatement.

This chicken enchilada recipe is not only delicious but it’s such an easy recipe to make. It’s perfect for any night of the week, especially taco tuesday (I know they’re not tacos, but it’s a fun way to have something a little different).

You simply throw everything together in a Crockpot slow cooker and call it a day! I love slow cooker recipes because you can literally set it and forget. And the notion holds true with this slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole.

The whole family will love these easy enchiladas. Set it in the Crockpot slow cooker and have an easy dinner on the table with no fuss. Pile it all on a plate and add your favorite toppings (mine are black olives, sour cream, and salsa) and enjoy!

Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe

• It’s a set it and forget it recipe made in my favorite kitchen gadget – the crockpot slow cooker, specifically this Crockpot™ 7-Quart Cook & Carry™ Slow Cooker. I can put them meal together and literally have dinner on the kitchen table with literally no fuss.
• It’s SO flavorful! This will quickly become a family favorite!
• This recipe is easily customizable and has ingredients that you can find easily at your local grocery store.
• The cooking time can be adjusted depending on how much time you have!

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: I like using boneless skinless chicken breasts but you can also use chicken thighs

Red Enchilada Sauce: if you prefer making your own homemade enchilada sauce, you can pour that into the Crockpot slow cooker. I opted for canned!

Onions: I like to use green onions and red onion for garnish. The fresh ingredients always add beautiful pop of freshness to the dish.

Garlic: I love using fresh garlic cloves but garlic powder also does the job!

Seasonings: you’ll need chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Many people use taco seasoning too, so if you’re short on any of these seasonings, use taco seasoning instead. You can also use my chicken taco seasoning blend for this recipe too!

Black Beans: I love using black beans in this chicken enchiladas recipe, it makes it so hearty and filling.

Lime Juice: it adds so much brightness to the dish.

Tortillas: I prefer corn tortillas, but if you love flour tortillas, you can use those too! You can also use tortilla chips, just note that they may not be as crunchy. The kind of tortillas you use is totally up to your preference.

Cheese: Ok, what’s an enchilada without cheese? I used a Mexican blend cheese but you can also use Monterey jack cheese too. Both are delicious!

Toppings:

• Fresh Cilantro: if you’re one of those people who think that cilantro tastes like soap, just omit the cilantro. My entire family loves it so I’m always adding a ton of it to this recipe!
• Sour Cream: you can also use greek yogurt
• Red Sauce: you can pour more of the enchilada sauce on top of the finished dish – it’s so good.
• Salsa / Salsa verde: you can use whatever kind you like! green chilies are delicious on top as well. I love getting creative with different flavors for this chicken recipe.
• Tortilla strips: I love adding this on top for a nice crunch.
• Sliced avocado or guacamole

How to make Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas

• Season and place chicken breast on the bottom of the Crockpot slow cooker. Pour enchilada sauce on top of the chicken and add onions, garlic, and black beans. Add salt and black pepper and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or on high heat for 3-4 hours.
• Shred chicken and scoop out about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture into your tortilla. Roll it tightly and place into a casserole dish. Repeat until all of the mixture is used. (try to make one even layer) Add lots of cheese on top.

• Broil in the oven until the top is nothing but gooey cheese. Top with olives, cilantro, and sour cream. (Pro tip: mix together a little of the sauce from the crockpot with sour cream to make a delicious sour cream mixture / topping that is SO creamy and pairs really well with the cheesy top!)

Substitutions

• If you prefer to use green enchilada sauce, feel free to swap that out in place of the red enchilada sauce.
• Don’t have enchiladas sauce? You can use taco sauce or tomato sauce instead.
• If you don’t have boneless chicken breasts, you can also use boneless chicken thighs. You can also use rotisserie chicken and simply mix everything together, roll it in the tortilla and cook in the crock pot on high for an hour.
• Looking to add more whole grains into your diet? Swap out flour tortillas for whole wheat tortillas!
• Use a different protein like my slow cooker pork roast, or even chuck roast in oven recipe!

What to serve with Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas

These easy slow cooker chicken enchiladas are the perfect complete meal. However, if you’re looking for a little something extra, these go great with:

• brown rice / white rice
• Pineapple pico de gallo
• refried beans
• chips and salsa (I always get this with my enchiladas at my fave Mexican restaurant)
• corn salsa
• guacamole
• Mexican coleslaw

Storing, Freezing, Re-Heating

To store this crock pot chicken enchilada casserole, you’ll want to place any leftover chicken in an airtight container for next time. (Of note, these make for great meal prep dishes throughout the week!) When you’re ready to re-heat them, place in an oven safe dish and place in the oven for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle extra cheese on top if you’d like!

You can freeze for up to 2 months and when you’re ready to re-heat, allow it to thaw and follow the same instructions as above.

Enchilada Chicken FAQs

More Slow Cooker Recipes!

• Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
• Crock Pot French Onion Chicken
• Homemade Apple Butter
• Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs
• Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

This blog post and recipe was made in partnership with Crockpot! My thoughts and opinions are genuine always. Thanks for your continued support