Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- 1 cup sour cream
- 6 large flour tortillas
- 3 large chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 1 1/2 cups salsa (your favorite)
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 large bag shredded mexican cheese
- 1 -10 oz can red enchilada sauce
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- Carbohydrate 90.9170496803768 g
- Cholesterol 11.7216666729857 mg
- Fat 18.6584371529164 g
- Fiber 7.78619763287853 g
- Protein 16.3939507476531 g
- Saturated Fat 5.50972920542076 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (287g)
- Sodium 1676.36426576074 mg
- Sugar 83.1308520474983 g
- Trans Fat 1.68001266373283 g
- Calories 600 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked and shredded chicken, salsa, black beans, corn, cumin and chili powder. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Layer 2 tortillas on the bottom of greased pan. NOTE: You may need to trim 1 tortilla to fit the gaps left by the two tortillas on each level.
- Place half of the chicken mixture on top of tortillas and evenly spread across.
- Sprinkle about 1/2-2/3 cup shredded cheese (about 1/3 of the bag)over chicken mixture.
- Next pour 1/3 of enchilada sauce evenly over cheese.
- Repeat layers of tortilla, chicken mixture, cheese and enchilada sauce then top with one last layer of tortillas. Evenly spread remaining enchilada sauce over the top level of tortillas.
- In a small bowl, combine sour cream and can cream of chicken soup. Stir together completely. Evenly spread over the top tortilla layer.
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake for an addition 10 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and casserole is heated through.
Should the tortillas overlap or rest side by side at the base of the pan? Trimming them to fit flush against the 9x13 edges prevents thick, gummy pockets of unhydrated dough while maintaining structural integrity for serving. Stacking flour tortillas directly against moisture-rich fillings requires managing steam transfer so the starches gelatinize properly instead of dissolving into a paste.
Combining the sour cream and canned soup creates a rich top barrier that protects the final tortilla layer from scorching during the initial 35 minutes under aluminum foil. Trapping moisture inside the pan forces the ambient heat to penetrate the dense center of the shredded chicken and bean filling before the exterior cheeses separate or burn.
Removing the foil for the final 10 minutes exposes the surface to direct radiant heat, evaporating excess surface water and allowing the milk solids in the Mexican cheese blend to brown. Watch for bubbling edges and a golden-brown surface as the definitive visual indicator that the interior has reached a food-safe uniform temperature throughout.
Allowing the baked dish to rest for ten minutes off the heat lets the starches in the tortillas and the proteins in the dairy cool and set. Slicing immediately causes the layered components to slide apart because high heat keeps the internal sauces fluid rather than viscous.
