Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole – all the makings of a chicken enchilada but with rice. It’s simply delicious!
By now I’m sure you’ve figured out that I love my Chicken Enchiladas. It is in fact my favorite Mexican food and it usually is my dish of choice whenever I make it to a Mexican restaurant, which lately is not often.
While you can already find many different chicken enchilada recipes here on my blog, in no way does it deter me from coming up with new recipes for chicken enchiladas.
Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
However sometimes my imagination lacks … well, imagination. I mean how many different ways can you roll up a chicken enchilada? But you know the saying I had a dream? I really did have a dream. About chicken enchiladas nonetheless! But not wrapped in a tortilla, but a rice casserole type of dish, with all the ooey gooey flavors of the enchilada.
So the next day after my big dream, off to the kitchen I went and started my enchilada adventure.
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
I prefer to use Basmati rice, I simply love the flavor of it, so I decided to cook 2 cups of rice. Normally I only cook 1 cup of rice, so I don’t think I was expecting 2 cups of dry rice to give me so much cooked rice. But it’s all good, this is a good recipe, one that I don’t mind taking for lunch every single day of the week.
Of course you cannot have chicken enchiladas without the actual chicken. I used 3 chicken breasts, but feel to free to use any part of the chicken you prefer, and shred it.
After you took out your frustrations on that chicken and shredded it, smother it in some enchilada sauce. Now I buy my sauce, but if you prefer to make your own, feel free.
Because most chicken enchiladas will have refried beans, I was really on the fence about this ingredient. I just really didn’t know if it was going to make the rice all mushy and gross, but I also really wanted the flavor of some refried beans. So I went with it, I mixed in some refried beans and I did not look back.
Of course one also needs lots of cheese with an enchilada, otherwise it’s no enchilada! I decided to use a white cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. I used a cup of each which I mixed together, then threw in a cup in the rice mixture and left a cup for the top of the casserole.
As you can see I also topped the casserole with some corn kernels, cause they’re so purrty, and I love corn!
How to Bake Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
Bake the casserole for 30 minutes at 350 F degrees. After you bake this baby, I dare you to wait until it cools off a bit before you dig in.
It smells good, it’s got all the flavors of a chicken enchilada and it’s a gorgeous casserole. Not to mention I just made enough to feed the entire neighbourhood (yes I’m Canadian and that’s how we spell neighbourhood).
Now all you need for this yummy meal is a good cold pitcher of a Sangria!
Check out the video for these awesome Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole from my book:
LOOKING FOR MORE MEXICAN INSPIRED RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup?
- Quick and Easy Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Mexican Rice and Beef Casserole
- One Pot Chicken and Sausage Rice Enchilada
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- White chicken enchiladas
- Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Bake
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Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati rice uncooked
- 1 cup white cheddar shredded
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- 3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 20 oz Enchilada sauce I used Old El Paso
- 16 oz refried beans I used Old El Paso
- 11 oz corn kernel drained (1 can)
- cilantro for garnish
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Cook the rice. I cooked it with 4 cups of water and 1/4 cup of butter.
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Mix the 2 cheeses together.
- In a large bowl mix the shredded chicken with the enchilada sauce, refried beans and half of the cheese. Add rice, season with salt and pepper if needed, and mix well. Pour rice mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with corn then with remainder of cheese.
- Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese melts and is bubbly.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm.
Nichole Thurman says
Silly question but what is the best way to cook the chicken in order for it to be shredded?
jo says
The best and easiest way is to probably boil it. 🙂
Melissa says
My entire family loves this recipe!
Ariel says
This is one of my all-time favorites now. SO GOOD!
Liz says
If I premake this and stick it in freezer how long would I bake it for -after taking out of the freezer
jo says
I would take it out of the freezer the night before and stick it in the fridge to thaw overnight, so the next day it should be fine to bake.
Kim Garza says
Can you use ground chicken in this recipe. I have 2 pounds of it in my freezer and don’t know what to do with it.
Nicole Beaulieu says
Yes you can!
Niki Zink says
Currently in the oven! Will this freeze well? I already know it’s gonna be way too much!
Nicole Beaulieu says
Yes it does! Reheat covered with foil in a 325F oven until heated through. You can also freeze portions individually and microwave to reheat 🙂
Mary Swanger says
recipes sound great. Going to try today…Easy Chicken Enchi Casserole. Rice one later this month. Thanks
Caleb says
My family and I love this dish so much. and we are actually MEXICAN, and there’s never anyone that’s like “thats not authentic enough, blah blah blah”. We ALL legit love it, so thank you!
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure! I’m so happy to hear this. I know it’s not an authentic dish, but it has those flavors, which is what’s important. 🙂
Melissa says
This was so simple and absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making this again. I’ve already shared this recipe with 4 other so they can try it out.
Abbey says
One of our favorites! I also make this for others when I want to bring a meal to a family and it’s always a hit!