Shredded Chicken-Enchilada Casserole

Oh my goodness. I’ve been away from my favorite Mexican restaurants back home (with their glorious tradition of complimentary chips and salsa that we will never ever take for granted again) for going on eight months now. And while I had wondered whether the Mexi cravings would begin to subside with time, they instead seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Which means that the friendly owner of the Latin American grocery (where I make special trips to stockpile tortilla chips) now knows me by name, our food processor has now become known as the “salsamachine”, all of our Spanish friends have officially been introduced to our favorite margs, and I find myself digging back into the blog’s archives weekly to make my favorite Mexican dinner recipes. And the latest fave?!

This easy chicken enchilada casserole recipe.

I’ve tweaked and updated the recipe a tad on my own over the years. So today, I thought I would bump this chicken enchilada bake back to the top of the blog and give it a quick refresh with some new photos and recipe tweaks. Because in case you’ve never tried it…it’s time. 🙂

Prep Time : 30 min, Cook Time : 45 min, Serves : 12, Difficulty : Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 spray(s) cooking spray
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cup(s), chopped uncooked onion(s), divided
• 1 pound(s) cremini mushroom(s), sliced 1/4-in thick
• 2 medium uncooked zucchini, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/4-in thick
• 1 1/2 tsp table salt, divided
• 28 oz canned diced tomatoes, fire-roasted (undrained)
• 1 item(s) canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped (optional)
• 4 clove(s), medium garlic clove(s), smashed
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 12 oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), shredded with two forks
• 18 small corn tortilla(s), 4-in each
• 6 oz low fat shredded cheddar cheese, or jack cheese
• 3/4 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream

How To Make it:

Preheat oven 425°F. Coat a 9- X 13-in baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add 2 cups onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, zucchini and 1/2 tsp salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 15-20 minutes.
While vegetables cook, make sauce. Put tomatoes, chipotle, remaining 1 c onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and remaining 1 tsp salt into a blender; puree.
Transfer cooked vegetables to a medium mixing bowl; stir in chicken and 1 cup tomato sauce.
Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce in bottom of baking dish; top with 6 overlapping tortillas. Sprinkle with half chicken mixture and 1/2 cup cheese; top with 6 more tortillas, remaining chicken mixture and 1/2 c cheese. Top with remaining 6 tortillas; spread remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until golden and bubbling, 15-20 minutes.
Remove from oven; let sit 5-10 minutes. Serve each piece with 1 Tbsp sour cream.
Serving size: 1/12th of casserole and 1 Tbsp sour cream

Nutritional Estimates Per Serving (1/12):

230 calories, 4.5 g fat, 24.6 g carbohydrate, 5.6 g fiber, 22.9 g protein and 5 points plus, 5 WW SP