This Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole is an easy way to enjoy everything you love about enchiladas without having to deal with the fuss of rolling each one. It’s made with tender shredded chicken, soft tortillas, and melty cheese, all layered in a zesty, creamy enchilada sauce.

About This Recipe

If you love enchiladas, but are looking for an easier way to feed the whole family, this Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole is the perfect recipe!

It has all the taste of your favorite enchiladas baked into one easy, cheesy, creamy bake! This enchilada casserole is delicious on its own, or we love to top it with avocado, sour cream, and some Cilantro Lime Ranch if I’ve got it in the fridge!

It’s also great because you can adjust how you serve it depending on your macros! I always enjoy eating mine on top of a pile of lettuce, and my kids like to devour theirs with a pile of chips. One casserole and everyone is happy!

Enjoy this dish on its own or serve with a side of my Mexican Skillet Potatoes or Mexican Cauliflower Fried Rice for a lower-carb option!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Frozen veggies: You’ll want to grab some frozen onion, frozen chopped bell pepper, and frozen cauliflower rice. You can also use fresh if that’s what you have on hand, but I just love using frozen for convenience, plus it saves so much chopping time!
Garlic: Always frozen garlic cubes for me, but fresh minced also works!
Chicken tenderloins: I really like to use chicken tenderloins for this one so they shred up nice and tender, but you could also use chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs. Just note you’ll need to adjust cooking time if using something besides tenderloins.
Seasonings: Cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, kosher salt, onion powder, and black pepper.
Green enchilada sauce: Use any green enchilada sauce you love! You can use mild or spicy, depending on your family’s spice preference.
Cream cheese and Greek yogurt: The combination of the reduced-fat cream cheese and nonfat Greek yogurt helps to give this bake its creamy consistency while keeping fat lower and protein high.
Cilantro: Fresh cilantro (or any other fresh herb if you hate cilantro).
Corn tortillas: You’ll need 16 corn tortillas that you will cut into strips or squares. I like to use the Mission Extra Thin Corn Tortillas, but you can use any corn tortilla you prefer (just note that using larger corn tortillas will change the macros).
Cheese: Freshly grated cheddar or jack cheese to sprinkle over the top and give this bake a nice, cheesy finish. I always think freshly shredded cheese tastes and melts the best, but any shredded cheese will work.

Dietary Adaptations

GF: Just make sure your corn tortillas are certified gluten-free.

DF: Use dairy-free cream cheese, dairy-free yogurt (plant-based sour cream), and plant-based shredded cheese (or can omit).

How To Make

Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Spray with a mist of olive oil and let it heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and cauliflower rice. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the veggies are aromatic and softening. Add the garlic, chicken, spices, and enchilada sauce. Give everything a good stir. Turn off the sauté setting, close the lid and seal the valve, and set on manual high pressure for 12 minutes.
When it’s done, allow the pot to naturally release for ten minutes (or longer if you’re busy!) Then open the valve to release the rest of the steam. Remove the lid and turn on the sauté setting. Add the cream cheese and yogurt, and use the sauté feature to help cook down some of the liquid. In the meantime, shred the chicken. You can use two forks, or I like to use my meat masher. You can also transfer the chicken to your standing mixer to shred, or CAREFULLY use a hand mixer right in the pot.
Let the mixture boil on sauté for at least fifteen minutes to reduce the liquid while you continue to mix the shredded chicken, cream cheese, and yogurt. Turn the pressure cooker off, and stir in your cilantro, green onion, and 10 of the corn tortillas, chopped into strips or squares. It will still be pretty soupy. That’s ok!
At this point, you can transfer everything to a very large casserole dish (or two smaller dishes) and top with the remaining 6 tortillas. Make sure they’re not dry by “dipping” each side in your saucy chicken mixture. Top tortillas with grated cheese. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Broil for an extra minute or two for more color.

Slow Cooker Instructions:

Add the chicken, onion, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, garlic, spices, and enchilada sauce to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 3-4 hours until chicken is nice and shreddable. Open the lid and carefully remove about a cup of liquid. Add the cream cheese and yogurt. Let that cook with the slow cooker open while you shred the chicken. You can use two forks, or I like to use my meat masher. You can also transfer the chicken to your standing mixer to shred.
Cook on high in the slow cooker for at least fifteen minutes to reduce the liquid while you get the chicken shredded and the cream cheese and yogurt mixed in well. Turn the slow cooker off, and stir in your cilantro, green onion, and half of the corn tortillas, chopped into strips or squares. It will still be pretty soupy. That’s ok!
At this point you can transfer everything to a very large casserole dish (or two smaller dishes if needed). You can leave behind a little juice if it seems excessive. Top with remaining tortillas. Make sure they’re not dry by “dipping” each side in your saucy chicken mixture. Top tortillas with grated cheese. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Broil for an extra minute or two for more color.

Helpful Tips

One pot variation: If you want to keep the whole process in the pressure cooker for ease, you can just add the remaining tortillas and cheese to the pot. It will just be more of a soupy situation!
Serving suggestions: We love to eat ours topped with avocado, sour cream, and some Cilantro Lime Ranch if I’ve got it in the fridge! I like to serve mine with a pile of lettuce, and my kids love to eat theirs with a pile of chips.

For More Delicious Recipes

If you enjoy having macro-friendly recipes that are delicious and easy to track, then make sure to sign up for my email list!