Enchilada casserole is something I learned from my Aunt. I often use the hatch green or red enchilada sauce which is more kid friendly. This time I made it with the Bueno Foods frozen red chile. You can find this at Alberstons, however I flew back with mine the last time I visited home because they sell them at Sunport Airport. The sauce is very easy to make. You just heat it with water, garlic, cumin and oregano. My sauce was medium hot and had just the bite of heat I was looking for. If you want more, add some cheyenne.
How do you eat your enchiladas? Rolled or flat? I thought that all enchiladas were flat until I moved to Los Angeles because New Mexicans tend to leave their enchiladas flat. This recipe layers the enchiladas, thus making a casserole. I absolutely love a naturally gluten free casserole!
The recipe calls for shredded chicken. Sometimes I will crockpot some chicken to shred the day before or day of. Other times I will just buy a rotisserie chicken and shred up the chicken that way. Don’t worry about measurements for this recipe. I’m giving you some for those who just can’t function without, but you will use more or less depending on your liking. I don’t hold back on anything with this recipe and that is why it is cheesy and delicious!
It can get messy while putting this together so I suggest getting mise en place (all your ingredients set up in bowls near your cooking area). This includes having at least the 2 cups of mozzarella in a bowl near you. I used probably close to 3 cups if not more. When you are layering the tortillas, I usually end up having to cut up some corn tortilla so there are not large spaces. A little overlap is fine too.
This recipe is cheesy deliciousness, with a little heat!
Red Chile Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
Instructions
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Prepare red chile according to container instructions. Add cumin to first step.
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While the chile preps, shred the rotisserie chicken and put aside about 1 1/2 cups
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When your chile is ready, turn off the heat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and drizzle a little red chile sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish.
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Now you are ready for your first layer. Add tortilla to the bottom, make sure you cover all spaces and top with half the shredded chicken, dollops sour cream, 1/3 of the mozzarella, and the top with sauce.
Keep in mind that you are doing 2 layers of chicken and 3 layers of cheese -
do the same thing to the second layer: Tortilla, chicken, sour cream, cheese and top with red chile sauce
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for your top layer add tortillas then place some dollops of sour cream on top and spread with the back of the spoon then add the rest of the cheese. Top with red chile sauce.
You will likely not use all the sauce, but can use as much or little as you like depending on how "saucy" you like your enchiladas! -
Cut a piece of foil to fit the casserole dish, spray the inside with cooking oil so the cheese doesn't melt then cover the enchiladas. Bake at 350 for 15, remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes.
Notes
If you can't find the Bueno chile, use 2 cans of the hatch chile enchilada sauce