recipes

Ultimate Easy Enchilada Casserole

Name: Ultimate Easy Enchilada Casserole
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 cup finely chopped white onion (from 1-8 ounce small onion); ¾ cup finely chopped bell pepper (from 1-8 ounce pepper); 1 small jalapeno, stemmed and trimmed, finely chopped; 1 large clove garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 teaspoons ground chili powder; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon ground paprika; 1 teaspoon sea salt; ½ teaspoon ground black pepper; 2-10 ounce cans red enchilada sauce, divided; 2 ½ cups shredded chicken; 1 cup pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed (from 1-15 ounce can); 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese; 3 cups shredded pepper jack or monterey jack cheese, divided; ¾ cup sour cream; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 large lime); 12, 6-inch corn tortillas, cut in half

by Laura Kanya | November 19, 2025

Enchilada Casserole in Souper Cubes Baking Dish with topping like avocado, cotija cheese and jalapeno around

Table of Contents

Baked casserole surrounded by toppings like jalapeno and avocado

Introduction

Jump to the recipe

This Enchilada Layered Casserole is the ultimate comfort food and everything you love about classic enchiladas, just easier. Corn tortillas, hearty filling, and melty cheese are layered and baked to perfection for a cozy, crowd-pleasing meal but instead of rolling each tortilla, you will simply layer the ingredients. The best part? It freezes beautifully and heats up perfectly. This is a great option, whether you’re feeding your family tonight or stocking up your freezer for busy days ahead for this effortless homemade meal.

Why You'll Love This Ultimate Easy Enchilada Casserole

Easy & efficient - No need to roll! This recipe layers tortillas, chicken filling and cheeses, saving your time without sacrificing flavor.

Family-friendly - This is a crowd-pleaser that everyone will love.

Perfect for leftovers or meal prep - Since you are assembling in perfect portions for baking later in Souper Cubes trays this is a perfect option for meal prep.

Customizable - This easy enchilada casserole lends itself to swaps and customization. Add more veggies, swap proteins, or try a mix of your favorite cheeses. Don’t have corn tortillas, swap flour tortillas!

Freezer-friendly - Choose to store it baked or unbaked, then reheat for a fresh meal anytime.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Main ingredients

Corn Tortillas - Classic for flavorful enchiladas and hold up well in the casserole. Pro tip: Wrap tortillas up in a damp paper towel and place in the microwave for about 45 seconds for less breakage.
Shredded Chicken - This recipe calls for shredded chicken, but if you prefer you can use ground beef, turkey or black beans. Pro tip: Drain the fat from your beef or turkey so the final dish is not greasy
Beans - This ingredient is optional but the addition gives the casserole more depth and textures. Pro tip: Rinse your beans before adding to the dish
Red Enchilada Sauce - Use 2 cups of our Go To Red Enchilada Sauce or use store-bought as it indicates in the recipe. Prefer Green Enchilada Sauce, use that!
Shredded Cheese - This enchilada recipe uses Jack & Cheddar cheese but you can spice it up with the jalapeno jack or different blends

Up close of baked casserole topped with jalapeno, cotija cheese and cilantro

Optional toppings

Ripe diced avocado
Fresh chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced jalapenos
Lime wedges
Pickled jalapenos
Cotija cheese

Step-by-Step Process

large saute pan with beans, chicken, sauce and vegetables all mixed together

Prep the chicken filling - Cook onion and peppers and cook until tender, then add jalapeno, garlic, cocoa, chili powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, until fragrant. Stir in chicken and beans, until combined. Reserve ½ cup of the red enchilada sauce and pour the remaining sauce into the skillet (about 1 ½ cups), until warmed through.

Prep the cheese layer - Combine cheddar cheese, jack cheese, and sour cream in a bowl, until combined.

Photo overhead looking at the assemble of the casserole

Layer the casserole - Pour reserved sauce in the trays. Place the 1-6 inch corn tortilla in the well of each tray, then spread about ⅓ cup chicken mixture, ¼ cup cheese mixture. Repeat the process 1 more time to end up with a cheese layer on top and top with remaining 1 cup Jack cheese over the final layer, ending at the fill line.

Pro Tips for the Ultimate Easy Enchilada Casserole

Tortilla Trick - Lightly toast tortillas in a skillet on high heat for about 15 seconds per side for more stability and flavor. You can also wrap your tortillas in a damp paper towel and place in the microwave for 45 seconds so they hold their texture and won’t fall apart when assembling.

Make it spicy - Like a little more spice? Add some spicy enchilada sauce or sprinkle some crushed red pepper to turn up the heat.

Change up the cheese - Keep to the 4-cup ratio of cheeses but consider using pepper jack and cotija cheeses for an extra boost of flavor.

FAQ

Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn? Yes, you can! Flour tortillas have a softer texture and may become a bit wetter after baking. We suggest toasting your flour tortillas first so they hold up better.

How do I make this vegetarian? Swap 2½ cups meat with any type of bean and sautéed zucchini and squash.

2, 2 cup Souper Cubes Trays stacked on top of each other with the lid off one, showing the unbaked, unfrozen casserole

How long does it last in the fridge? Store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

How to freeze Enchilada Casserole? Our favorite way to freeze the Enchilada Casserole is with Souper Cubes trays by building and freezing the casserole in two Souper Cubes 2-cup Trays .

First, layer the ingredients in 4 compartments of the Souper Cubes tray up to the desired fill line. Place the lid on top once the food has fully cooled. Label the lid with our labeling tape or water-based paint makers.

4 -2 cup cubes frozen in a labeled plastic bag

Set the tray flat in your freezer and stack remaining trays on top, freeze overnight for up to 3-4 months. Once the food is solid, you can leave your meal in the Souper Cube trays, but then that ties up your trays for freezing other meals until you use the components of the Enchilada Casserole. We suggest transferring the components of each well to a freezer-safe zippered bag, reusable bag, or vacuum sealed bag for longer storage.

2 -2 cup Souper Cube Trays with someone putting 1 block into a baking dish

How long can I freeze Enchilada Casserole in the freezer?

We say 3-4 months for optimal freshness. However, as long as it has been consistently frozen, it’s safe to eat indefinitely. For longer term storage transfer frozen cubes to a vacuum sealed bag for best results and to prevent freezer burn.

How to reheat frozen Enchilada Casserole?

When it’s time to reheat the Enchilada Casserole, you will want to pull the tray from the freezer and transfer it to the fridge to thaw, to cut down on the reheating process. However, if you forget to thaw in advance, that’s okay too, because you can bake from frozen! Then decide how you want to warm your meal, either in your microwave or oven.

Ultimate Easy Enchilada Casserole

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Servings

4

Prep Time

25 minutes

Cook Time

12 minutes

This Enchilada Layered Casserole is the ultimate comfort food and everything you love about classic enchiladas, just easier. Corn tortillas, hearty filling, and melty cheese are layered and baked to perfection for a cozy, crowd-pleasing meal but instead of rolling each tortilla, you will simply layer the ingredients.

Image of Ultimate Easy Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped white onion (from 1-8 ounce small onion)
¾ cup finely chopped bell pepper (from 1-8 ounce pepper)
1 small jalapeno, stemmed and trimmed, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2-10 ounce cans red enchilada sauce, divided
2 ½ cups shredded chicken
1 cup pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed (from 1-15 ounce can)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded pepper jack or monterey jack cheese, divided
¾ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 large lime)
12, 6-inch corn tortillas, cut in half

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Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet or cast iron pan, on medium-high, until shimmering; cook onion and peppers and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add jalapeno, garlic, cocoa, chili powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Reserve ½ cup of the red enchilada sauce and pour the remaining 1 ½ cups sauce into the skillet, along with the chicken and beans; stir until combined. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Combine cheddar, 2 cups jack cheese, sour cream and lime juice until combined, in a large bowl.
Spread 2 tablespoons of reserved enchilada sauce in the bottom of each Souper Cubes 2 -cup Trays. Line the bottom on top of the enchilada sauce with 1-6 inch corn tortilla, taking two halves and overlap in the well of each tray, then spread about ⅓ cup chicken mixture, 1/4 cup cheese mixture. Repeat the process 1 more time. Top the last cheese layer with a final overlapping tortilla, ¼ cup cheese mixture and divide remaining 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese (¼ cup per well) on top of the cheese mixture.

Assembly & Storage

Build the layers of casserole directly into the wells of your Souper Cubes 2 -cup Trays. For this recipe you will need two Souper Cubes 2-cup trays, which will give you 4 portions.
Place the trays with labeled lids in the freezer overnight to fully freeze.
Allow the trays to stand on the counter for 5 minutes before removing the lid and pop out the frozen cubes. This will allow the cubes to pop out much easier for you.
Optional: Pop-out the cubes and transfer them to freezer-safe bags. Label and return back to the freezer.

Reheating

In the oven: When you are ready to bake, remove your enchilada casserole from the freezer to thaw in Souper Cubes 5-inch baking dish, covered, ideally for a few hours to overnight. Preheat the oven to 350F, then bake until the thermometer registers 165F and is bubbling on the edges, for about 30 minutes.
Alternatively, you can bake from frozen, for best results, simply place the frozen casserole into a Souper Cubes 5-inch baking dish, and put on the lid and place into the microwave at 50 % power, until slightly thawed, about 3 minutes. Then place the semi-thawed enchilada casserole in a preheated oven to 350F, then bake until the thermometer registers 165F and is bubbling on the edges, for about 40 minutes.
In the microwave: When you are ready to bake, remove your enchilada casserole from the freezer to thaw in your Souper Cubes 5-inch baking dish, ideally for a few hours to overnight. Place in the microwave on HIGH, then heat until the thermometer registers 165F and is bubbling on the edges, for about 5 minutes.
Alternatively, you can reheat from frozen, simply place the frozen enchilada casserole into Souper Cubes 5-inch baking dish, place in the microwave, covered with the lid, on 50 % and heat until thawed, about 3 minutes. Then heat until the thermometer registers 165F and is bubbling on the edges, for about 4 minutes.

Recipe Note

This Enchilada Layered Casserole comes together quickly and freezes beautifully in our trays for an effortless dinner anytime. The touch of cocoa powder is optional, but adds a subtle richness and depth that balances out the tangy tomato and heat of the chiles in the enchilada sauce. For best results, use an unsweetened natural or Dutch-processed cocoa.

Use about 2 1/2 cups of cooked chicken, whatever you have on hand works great. Leftover roasted chicken, shredded thighs or even a rotisserie chicken will work.

You can easily roll these into traditional enchilada, if you prefer, but layering saves time and still delivers all the same flavor. Check out our other freezer-safe meals and learn how to handcraft more delicious freezer-friendly meals with our variety of tasty recipes.