Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake
This Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake is like a cross between flavorful enchiladas, a hearty casserole, and an artfully layered lasagna (with tortillas in place of pasta). The flavors and textures are fantastic. I love the sweet kernels of corn with the zippy enchilada sauce and between the chicken, tortillas and two kinds of beans, this casserole is super filling. Plus, it’s easy to make and you don’t have to roll any enchiladas – bonus!
If you love Mexican flavors and you are looking for a meaty, cheesy, saucy casserole that will fill you up and satisfy your cravings, this Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake is for you. Plus, it’s only 339 calories or 8 Green, 5 Blue or 5 Purple Weight Watchers SmartPoints per serving – no one will ever guess it’s light! This is a great dish to serve the whole family or to make for guests, because it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Looking for more lightened up Mexican comfort food flavors? Check out the Mexican category in my recipe index for recipes like Spicy Beef Taquitos, Mexi Meatloaf Muffins, Cheesy Taco Pasta, Beef Enchilada Quinoa Bake, Mexican Lasagna Roll-Ups, Shredded Mexican Chicken, Fiesta Hummus, Spicy Taco Gnocchi Skillet, Cheesy Amazing Mexi Rice, Chicken Tamale Bake and many more!
Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake
Ingredients
- 2 (10 oz) cans red enchilada sauce, divided
- 9 (6 inch) yellow corn tortillas , (I use Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas)
- 1 (16 oz) can fat free refried beans
- 4 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 ½ lbs raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into small bite-sized pieces (about ½”)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup drained and rinsed canned black beans
- ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
- 6 oz 50% light sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Drizzle about 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce across the bottom of the dish and spread around with the back of a spoon to lightly coat the bottom of the dish. Arrange 4 ½ of the tortillas across the bottom of the dish to cover the majority of the space (my arrangement is pictured above). Use a spatula to spread the refried beans evenly across the tortillas, forming an even layer across the whole dish. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or saute pan, bring the oil to medium heat. Add the chopped chicken and diced onion and stir to coat in the oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are softened (6-10 minutes). Drain the liquid from the pan if necessary. Add all the remaining enchilada sauce, the black beans and the corn and stir together. Remove from heat.
- Spoon about half of the chicken and sauce mixture evenly across the top of the refried bean layer in the casserole dish. Sprinkle about half of the cheddar cheese evenly across as well. Arrange the remaining 4 ½ tortillas in a similar style to step 1 (I did the same but flipped the layout so any small missing spots from layer 1 would be covered and vice versa). Spoon the remaining chicken and sauce mixture evenly across the newly laid tortillas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.
Notes
8 per serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below)
This was great!
Great
Delicious! Husband loved it too. Next time I will use 1 can mild enchilada sauce and 1 can hot enchilada sauce. I was conservative and used 2 cans of mild.
I’m glad it was a hit!
This was very good, but it was lacking something….maybe some jalapenos? or something to spice it up. Great basic recipe, but I would recommend adding some more spice to jazz it up a bit!
Does this freeze well?
Recipe was followed exactly, but his was completely flavorless and mushy. I would not recommend this to anyone.
Looked exactly like the picture. My SO and I liked it. My 6 yr old said it was spicy despite the fact that I used mild enchilada sauce lol.
This was SO yummy! Both of my boys LOVED it! Thank you!!!!!
I made this last night with some left over grilled fajita chicken and it was so good! I did modify my recipe a bit because I didn’t need to go to the store so I cooked rice instead of the tortillas and I used a can of petite diced tomatoes to carry over the additional can of enchilada sauce I didn’t have on hand. SO Good!!! With some light sour cream and fresh avocado on top it was a family hit!
This recipe rocks 🙂 I made it tonight and it is delicious. Has anyone tried freezing the extra servings? I don’t think i’ll be able to finish it all this week and want to freeze a few of the servings for next week.
This recipe is soooo yummy. I couldn’t stop at one serving the 1st night. I ate 2 servings. I was glad I had extra points so I could.
Omg so good
Wow, went to a WW meeting today and a friend passed me your info. I’ve been on for hours. You rock! BETTER than skinny taste and others. Been there – done that. Your recipes are new and refreshing!
Does this freeze well? Anyone know?
I made this for dinner last night and OMG, SO good! This is definitely a MUST try!
Thank you so much for this recipe. While visiting my family I printed a few of your recipes. This one was made for a family event. Everyone loved it! The recipe is now a keeper for family get togethers. I did cheat a little. I went to Costco and got their package of cooked rotisserie chicken (all white meat) and used that instead of cooking the chicken. It was delicious! THANK YOU!
This recipe is wonderful. I have re-joined WW and my husband does the cooking. We both love this recipe and because of great ideas like this we have both lost over 10 pounds each so far. We love this recipe because it gives us a week’s worth of delicious meals and the flavor is wonderful.
Made this tonight – using medium enchilada sauce so it would a little spicy and a mix of fat free amd reduced fat shredded cheese (because that’s what we had in the fridge!) and it’s a keeper! My husband usually hates refried beans but they really add to the taste of this meal! Thanks Emily!!
I really don’t like refried beans. What could I use in place of them?
For me I would try pinto beans in place of refried beans.
I’m making this recipe tonight. I too used pre-cooked chicken because I really hate cooking chicken at home. For anyone who shops at Wegmans, they sell grilled lemon chicken breasts in the prepared foods area and it is so delicious. It’s pricier than cooking yourself but I trust that my recipe will come out tasting better because of it (fingers crossed)! Assuming you have to cook this uncovered since there wasn’t an instruction to cover it up? I’m worried it will get a little dry but I wanted to follow the recipe to a t because I am definitely no chef!
I always cook it uncovered 🙂
I hope you love it!
If you substitute the chicken with ground turkey is this recipe still 5 SP with the new Freestyle program? I think that chicken and turkey are both 0 points with the new Freestyle program?
Has anyone had any success freezing this recipe?
Thanks
I used 1 lb. ground chicken and added canned green chiles. Turned out awesome. Thanks so much!!
My husband and I absolutely loved this! We subbed shrimp for the chicken, and it was fantastic! One of the best dishes I’ve made. My husband couldn’t stop raving about it, and that says a lot coming from him. Thank you thank you thank you!
This was sooo yummy! I added some Siracha sauce to give it some kick & the flavors are spot on!! Only problem is I made way too much and don’t know how to store this. Anyone have any success freezing & re-heating? Thanks!
It was very good. I noticed some previous comments about the need for spice so I added a little cumin and garlic salt while cooking the onion and chicken. I also added a couple of tablespoons of diced green chilis – it gave it some “heat”. My entire family liked it and were surprised when I told them it was a WW recipe 🙂
This was delicious! I used a can of enchilada sauce and a can of tomatoes w/green chiles. I also added 3 TBSP of sour cream and 1/2 package of taco seasoning to the chicken mixture.
Followed recipe to a tee..COMPLETELY MUSSY!! Gonna take left overs and use for a dip with nacho chips.
Can this be made a couple of days in advance?
I have made this recipe a couple of times and I needed to comment that this is a GREAT recipe. Even better the next day.
My husband is not a chicken fan so I make half ground beef and half chicken (they do not run together). Husband asked again “is this a WW recipe”?
Haha, it is! Thank you Emily!
My entire family (picky eaters included) love this recipe. I may try to add some spice next time!
Just made this and it was absolutely delicious! Made a few tweaks. Used 1 can enchilada sauce and one can tomatoes with chilies. Just the right amount of kick! Would highly recommend. Very excited for the leftovers.
Keep up the good work, Emily!
This was so quick to throw together on a weeknight and it was DELICIOUS! I used one can regular red enchilada sauce and one package of the Frontera chicken taco skillet sauce (the flavor of this particular sauce is so delicious and multi-dimensional— perfect for this dish). I followed everything else as directed and served it with fresh avocado on top. I will 100% make this again. I do take some issue with the serving size being 1/8th of the casserole. With main dishes made in a 9×13 dish, I feel like the standard serving size really should be 1/6th of the casserole. I would not consider 1/8th of this to be a full meal for me and this certainly would not fill up my husband. this isn’t a recipe-deal-breaker by any means, I just know that when I make Emilybites casseroles I need to plan for the extra points and calories because there is no way I am getting 8 servings out of it (maybe my husband and I just eat larger servings than most people?)
I really enjoy your recipes, decided to try this one tonight and was another winner at our house. I actually put my 1/6 serving piece on a bed of lettuce, topped it with some zero point greek yogurt, and added a little zero point salsa. Perfect dinner size. Thank you for another recipe i can serve the whole house!
I made this last night pretty much by the recipe. I used leftover rotisserie chicken 😉 Along with the onion, I sauteed a finely chopped jalapeno as well. Both my husband and father in law(age 85) loved it. My husband even posted pics on his manly hunting forum! I served it with a crispy shredded lettuce salad with a homemade greek yogurt texmex ranch dressing which helped offset the pit of spice from the dish. We declare this a repeat especially during this dang ol’ nasty winter!
I loved this the day I made it but I am loving the leftovers two days later even more! Cheesy and satisfying. So easy to make too! I also made your Teriyaki Chicken Rice Casserole. Another winner!!! Both are going into my rotation for regular meals and I’ll be looking at your site for what to make next. I love that you’ve figured out the points too. Thank you! ❤️
This was excellent!! So quick and easy! A hit with my family! I will definitely make this again!
Made it last night and found it bland. Need to add some flavor next time.
Delicious! The next time, I’m going to add Rotel with green chilis & maybe black olives. Everyone really liked it!! Thank you!
This looks so good! What a much easier way to get the flavors you want without the fuss!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Can you swap out the cheese for mozzarella? Mozzarella is the only cheese that doesn’t hurt my stomach.
I like making this without the tortillas (I find they get mushy). I mix it all together, top with the cheese and bake. I serve it with baked tortilla chips. I also use one hot enchilada sauce and one mild which gives it a nice heat. Rotisserie chicken works well.
This is my favorite recipe on WW! I haven’t found an Emily Bites recipe that I don’t like so far!
Using an iPhone, I keep getting an error that blocks the web page: Sorry, the video player failed to load.
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We loved this! Topped it off with some avocado and red onion. Delish! Thanks for the great recipe!
Delicious and easy!
amazing and the family loved it . I added extra cheese for them 😉
My family enjoyed this recipe! My husband said he cannot wait until we have it again. Thanks for posting, easy to follow and delicious!
I’m not on WW but I want to try to lose weight with their recipes. I calculated by points as 29 based on my age, height, weight and gender it said 29. I don’t know what Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 5 SmartPoints/ Purple: 5 SmartPoints
means. Can you tell me how many points this meal is per serving? Thanks.
Really good with low points