Creamy Hen Enchilada Casserole

This recipe turns enchiladas into a straightforward, creamy casserole. Tremendous straightforward to place collectively, and the avocado cream sauce makes this one particular. Critically, you’ll need this sauce on all the things. I like to save lots of slightly additional and scoop it up with some tortilla chips—so good!

For extra enchilada love, strive our Beef Enchiladas or our Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.

Why Our Recipe

• The creamy avocado sauce is cause alone to make this recipe!
• Corn tortillas maintain this casserole from turning into soggy.
• Use rotisserie or leftover rooster to whip up this dish with minimal prep work.

This recipe took place as a result of I needed to make one thing for my grandma. She wanted one thing delicate to eat, and I like shocking her with taste. And thus, this casserole was born! We love this recipe as a result of it’s delicate, not soggy, and creamy, however not bland. Plus, you possibly can simply spice it up a bit extra with that jalapeño or some pink pepper flakes.

Ingredient Notes

• Lengthy Grain Rice: Use a very good high quality lengthy grain rice for the perfect texture, like Jasmine or Basmati. The generic baggage labeled as simply “lengthy grain white rice” usually tend to find yourself mushy.
• Hen: Rotisserie rooster works nice on this recipe, or use leftovers. In the event you’re utilizing uncooked rooster, prepare dinner it totally earlier than including it to the casserole.
• Hen Broth: Utilizing a low-sodium choice means that you can greatest management the flavour. It’s an awesome chef tip.
• Jalapeño: Completely optionally available! Contemporary jalapeños add a pleasant spicy crunch, or use pickled for rather less warmth.
• Salsa Verde: Seize a jar of your favourite gentle or medium salsa verde. Use no matter warmth stage you want.
• Avocados: You need an avocado that’s completely ripe. Attempt urgent on the very high of the fruit, the place the stem was. If it offers slightly, it needs to be ripe.
• Bitter Cream: Plain Greek yogurt is a superb substitute for those who don’t have (or don’t like) bitter cream.
• Corn Tortillas: We use corn tortillas for his or her agency texture, however you possibly can completely use flour tortillas for those who choose.
• Mozzarella Cheese: You’ll be able to simply substitute with a Mexican cheese mix or pepper jack cheese for slightly kick.

Hen Choices

This recipe requires shredded cooked rooster. You’ve received just a few choices to select from, so take your decide! We’ve used all of them.

Rotisserie Hen – many grocery shops these days promote cooked rotisserie chickens which you could purchase and shred. Professional tip: it’s often offered as a “loss chief,” which means they promote it for lower than it prices, making it the perfect bang on your buck in relation to rooster. Some shops are additionally now providing the rotisserie rooster pre-shredded and packaged, too, which is fairly handy.

Frozen Cooked Hen – try the freezer part of your grocery retailer for pre-cooked rooster strips and chunks offered in baggage.

Bake Your Personal Hen – lay rooster breasts out right into a evenly greased 9×13 pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 levels for 25 to half-hour till cooked by means of. Chop into chunks and use straight away, or freeze for later use.

Fast Skillet Hen – warmth a big heavy skillet over medium-high warmth. Add in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place rooster breasts into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Prepare dinner 5 to 7 minutes per aspect. Let cool after which shred.

Spice it Up or Down

In the event you’re in search of extra warmth, seize a medium or scorching salsa for the sauce and add in that jalapeño! It’s also possible to high with recent jalapeño slices for an additional kick. Higher but, sprinkle some pink pepper flakes on high for some shade and warmth!

For a milder choice, persist with gentle salsa. Take away the seeds and stem from the jalapeño, including half as a substitute of the entire pepper. Or, omit the pepper utterly.

Make-Forward Directions

This enchilada casserole can simply be made forward. Assemble and refrigerate earlier than baking, as much as 1 day prematurely. You should definitely retailer it lined with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to forestall it from drying out. Take away the masking and bake when able to eat.