Enchilada Casserole Recipe

Did you doubt I’d have a Tex-Mex influenced dish for Cinco de Mayo? Since the 5th is Tuesday and everyone knows that Tuesdays are reserved for Tuesdays with Dorie postings, I’m posting my Cinco de Mayo recipe today … and maybe to give anyone who wants to a chance to make it for their own Cinco de Mayo dinner.

I love enchiladas, but I’m lazy enough that I hate to take the time to assemble and roll them. So Instead I just make a layered casserole; some people have called this a Mexican lasagna, and that’s probably a good description. Whether you call it an enchilada casserole or a Mexican lasagna … It’s absolutely super easy, fast and tastes great. Another tip about this casserole is that it can be made several days in advance and kept in the fridge or even several weeks in advance and frozen.

Start with a can of chicken breast meat, drained. Or you can use an equivalent amount of chicken breast meat that you’ve cooked and chopped yourself. The canned chicken is great stuff when you’re pressed for time.

Add a can of black beans, drained and rinsed. Or, again, an equivalent amount of black beans you’ve cooked yourself. I used plain black beans here, but you can also use canned beans with added seasonings (in which case, don’t rinse them first).

Add in about 2 cups of salsa. This is the stuff I made homemade a few days ago, but you can use a jar of Pace or, well, pretty much anything else. You can even use a can of Rotel if you want – and live in a part of the country where you can get it – just drain a little of the liquid first so your casserole isn’t too wet. This is also where, if you want, you can add a can of diced green chiles for a more New Mexico/Colorado kind of flavor. I didn’t, just because I didn’t happen to have a can available.

Now set that mix aside and pull out a rectangular casserole dish. I used my CorningWare dish, which is sorta 9×13 but with rounded corners. Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan (this keeps the casserole from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

Add a layer of corn tortillas. You’ll want to cut a couple of tortillas in sections to fill in the holes. I used 3 tortillas per layer here – 2 whole ones and 1 cut into strips.

Add half of the chicken/bean/salsa mixture.

Now, here, if you want, you can add a layer of cheese. It’s really incredibly good with layers of cheese (what isn’t), but it also adds a lot of calories and fat. I choose to not include the cheese in the layers when I’m making this for home.

Add more corn tortillas and more enchilada sauce.

Then finish off with the rest of the chicken/bean/salsa mixture, and the final layer of corn tortillas and sauce. NOW you can add the cheese. I like to add a layer of Queso Fresco, which you can find in your grocery store in the dairy section. It’s a white crumbly cheese, very similar to feta in texture. It melts nicely and has a mild, slightly salty taste. If you want, you can also add a layer of cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese for a little added flavor. (This is what I do – it satisfies my cheesy craving w/out the calories and fat.)

Bake this in a 400 F oven for 20-30 mins or until the cheese on top is browning and the casserole is heated through. If you make this in advance, put the cold casserole dish in the COLD oven and let both of them come up to temperature at the same time. Otherwise you’ll put the cold casserole into the hot oven and crack your casserole dish (not that I’ve done that before …. no!). You can even put this in the oven straight from the freezer, but set the oven to 350 F and, again, start the casserole in the cold oven.

If you want, you can also add a layer of cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese for a little added flavor. (This is what I do – it satisfies my cheesy craving w/out the calories and fat.)

This will make 6-8 servings depending on the appetite of the people you’re feeding.

Nutritional info (based on 6 servings with cheese): Cals: 454. Fat: 13.3g. Sodium: 1448mg. Carbs: 47.7g. Fiber: 9.5g. Protein: 36.6g. (Note: the sodium values are based on using canned, unrinsed products. Using homemade versions and rinsing beans, chicken, etc. will greatly reduce the sodium content.)