This is so good. I'm so excited to publish this easy chicken enchilada rice casserole. It's packed with flavor, it can be easily made ahead, and it is a giant comforting serving of cheesy goodness. My surprisingly kind-of healthy easy chicken enchilada rice casserole needs to be on your next meal plan.
Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This recipe uses one pound of cooked chicken which is a great way to use rotisserie chicken. Now that the school year is in full swing, I have been relying heavily on my Costco rotisserie chicken. If you want to make chicken breast on your own, my Simple Chicken Seasoning Blend makes a great all purpose seasoning for chicken. If you want a little extra spice, check out my Smoky Chipotle Marinade.
Having prepped chicken or a rotisserie chicken on hand is my favorite way to prepare for the week. It helps me stay organized and helps keep dinner recipes quick for weeknight meals. If you are the type that worries about cooking chicken, I have a full how-to guide here.
Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole Weight Watchers Recipe
This healthy and Easy Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole is 558 calories per serving with a whopping 38g of Protein and 11 g of Fiber. For those that follow Weight Watchers, each serving is 13 points on Green, 10 points on Blue, and 5 points on Purple using whole grain rice. Each serving is 11 ounces which is a bit more than 1 1/3 cup and it is served as a whole, filling meal. Split this up into 10 servings, and it will be 10 on Green, 8 on Blue, and 4 on Purple.
Can this be made healthier? Sure. For starters, I used white rice and you can easily switch to whole grain--if you switch, adjust the rice cooking time. I used full fat cheese in this recipe which equates to about 1 oz. of cheese per person. Feel free to substitute low fat or fat free cheese. Although you can substitute low fat cheese, nothing beat the real deal for meltiness and taste.
If you choose to use cauliflower rice, I do suggest still using half regular rice and treating cauliflower rice as an addition rather than substitution. To use cauliflower rice, add cauliflower with the beans and corn.
Beef Enchilada Casserole and Other Substitutions
As you can tell from that last paragraph, this is an easily adaptable recipe. If your house prefers using ground beef, cook the beef with the onions, peppers, and garlic before adding. This would be amazing with my pulled pork or slow cooker pork carnitas recipe.
My experience with vegan cheese is rather limited, but this can be easily adapted to being a vegetarian dish if not vegan. You could substitute the chicken broth for vegetarian, double (or triple) the black beans and even add leftover roasted chipotle sweet potatoes for a hearty vegetarian meal. For vegan cooking, you will need to swap out the cheese and make sure you pick up a vegan enchilada sauce.
Easy Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
This hearty, cheesy, and easy chicken enchilada rice casserole is the perfect weeknight recipe. It is packed with flavor and cheesy goodness. My chicken enchilada rice casserole is a recipe using rotisserie chicken and it makes an excellent make ahead meal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups onion, diced
- 1 cup red pepper, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups uncooked white rice, rinsed and drained
- 3 cups of enchilada sauce, divided
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed
- 1 cup of frozen corn (I prefer roasted corn from Trader Joes)
- 1 lb. cooked and shredded chicken
- 8 oz Colby Jack cheese, shredded
- kosher salt to taste
- Cooking spray/Olive Oil
- Garnish: cilantro, jalapeno, sour cream
Instructions
- Saute onions and pepper in a pan on medium heat until onions are soft and translucent. (about 5-7 minutes)
- Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add rice, enchilada sauce, and chicken broth. Mix and bring to a boil.
- After pot is boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes.
- Once rice is done, fluff up rice and taste to see if fully cooked. Rice should be cooked all the way--if there is still a hard bite to it, cover and simmer longer.
- In a greased casserole dish, add rice mixture, beans, corn, chicken, and 2 oz. cheese (doesn't have to be exact). Mix well.
- Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Optional: finish with a broil until bubbly.
- Serve with jalapeno, sour cream, cilantro.
Notes
If making ahead for later, assemble casserole and cover with aluminum foil, uncooked. Heat while covered at 350°F for 30 minutes, remove foil, and cook until bubbly.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1/8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 558Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 703mgCarbohydrates: 83gNet Carbohydrates: 72gFiber: 11gSugar: 4gProtein: 38g
Notes and tips
You could cook this all in the same pan, but I chose to transfer the rice into a separate dish. I did this because the rice could have stuck to the pan while baking, creating a huge mess during clean up.
I love using Trader Joe's frozen Roasted Corn. It adds an extra level of smokiness to this dish.
You'll see that this is not heavily seasoned and relies on good chicken stock and good enchilada sauce. Make sure you taste after the rice is cooked to adjust the seasoning.
Looking for other great and healthy rotisserie chicken recipes? I got you covered.
Below are some of my favorite ways to use already cooked chicken breast or rotisserie chicken:
Liz
THIS. IS. AMAZING.
We are only a household of two so I halved the recipe, subbing half the rice and liquid for cauliflower rice. I can’t remember the last time we ate something so quickly! It’s so filling and so easy to make. It would also be perfect to bring to a potluck or family event! I can’t wait to make it again!