If you’re a fan of Mexican food, you’ll LOVE this Mexican Lasagna recipe! Flour tortillas layered with tons of cheese, shredded chicken, las palmas green chile enchilada sauce, black beans, corn, and lots of seasonings!!
Although we love our traditional Mexican dishes—like tacos, enchiladas, and burritos—it’s fun to switch it up now and then with a dish like this Mexican lasagna!
a classic meal – mexican style!
As you probably know by now, my family are HUGE fans of Mexican food! We make it all the time for typical weeknight dinners, and you can pretty much guarantee that it will make an appearance at nearly every extended family gathering. In fact, it was actually my mom who found this recipe for Mexican Lasagna years and years ago in the LDS Living Magazine.
Let me preface by saying that this dish looked a lot like a casserole, and I’m not the biggest casserole lover. But I decided to try it anyway, and to my surprise it was one of the best recipes I had tried in a LOOOONG time!
It’s called Mexican Lasagna because all of the ingredients are layered, similar to a traditional lasagna. Except they are all ingredients you would find in Mexican food! Tortillas instead of noodles, chicken in green chile sauce instead of beef in tomato sauce, black beans instead of spinach… You get the picture!
How to make mexican lasagna
TORTILLAS. Cut tortillas in half, and set aside.
CHICKEN MIXTURE. Mix shredded chicken, sour cream, black beans, enchilada sauce (store bought or homemade), corn, half of your cilantro and all the spices into a large bowl.
LAYER. In a prepared 9×13 pan, scoop ⅓ of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the pan, spreading it evenly. Place one layer of cut tortillas over the chicken mixture. Top the tortillas with ⅓ of your shredded cheese. Repeat layering the chicken mixture, tortillas and cheese two more times. So in the end, there will be 3 layers of the chicken, tortilla, and cheese sequence.
(Tip: place the tortillas with the straight edge where you cut it against the side of the pan, and then fill in the remaining hole in the middle.)
BAKE. Bake at 350° for 22-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. The dish should be cooked all the way through.
SERVE. We like to serve our Mexican Lasagna with additional sour cream and cilantro, but this is totally optional!
Bottom line, it’s sooooo cheesy and delicious, plus it’s extremely simple to put together! Trust me, this Mexican Lasagna recipe will not leave you disappointed.
Additions and Substitutions
- Extra Ingredients: Try adding olives, diced onions, sliced jalapenos, or chili peppers.
- Tortillas: Substitute the flour tortillas with similarly sized corn tortillas.
- Chicken: If you don’t have time to make shredded chicken, you can use canned chicken or a rotisserie chicken and shred with fork.
- Cheese: Using a different cheese bend can certainly change up the flavor. We recommend a Mexican cheese blend but you can try a ry grated marble colby jack, or a cheddar and pepper jack blend.
Making ahead and storing
Make ahead of time: Before baking your Mexican lasagna, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Remove plastic and bake according to recipe directions.
Left overs: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in an oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F and bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on the quantity of leftovers.
Freezer: Cover uncooked dish with plastic wrap adding foil over the top sealing in the edges tightly. Label and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before heating. Bake according to recipe directions
This dish is perfect for large gatherings because it can easily feed a crowd. We like to make it for Cinco de Mayo whenever we have a party! Try Mexican Lasagna for your next get together, it will not disappoint. 😉
what to serve with mexican lasagna:
For more easy Mexican dishes, check out:
- Baked Taquitos
- Red Cheese Enchiladas
- Green Chili Smothered Burritos
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Creamy Refried Beans
- Beef Enchiladas
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Taco Casserole
Mexican Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken cooked and shredded
- 1 (16-ounce) tub sour cream
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (19-ounce) can Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada sauce
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can corn drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 12 small flour tortillas
- 8 ounces Mexican blend cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut tortillas in half and set aside.
- Mix chicken, sour cream, black beans, 1 ½ cups enchilada sauce, corn, half of the cilantro, and spices into a large bowl.
- In a 9×13 pan, scoop ⅓ of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread evenly. Place one layer of cut tortillas over the chicken mixture. Top with ⅓ of shredded cheese. Repeat with chicken mixture, tortillas, and cheese. In the end, there will be 3 layers of the chicken, tortilla, and cheese sequence. For the third layer, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortilla layer and then sprinkle the cheese on top.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly or the dish is cooked all the way through.
- Serve with additional sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro if desired.
Has anyone done this with corn tortillas?
I have not tried, but it’s a great option 🙂
We made this tonight with corn tortillas. While the flavor was amazing, the top layer of tortillas dried out in the oven and were a little tough to cut through. I’d recommend maybe covering it with sprayed aluminum foil for most of the cooking time then uncovering it at the end. Again, it’s delicious and we’re definitely going to make it again. 🙂
Thanks for sharing that!
Delicious!!! I did not have the the green chile enchilada sauce so i made recipe with the reD enchilada sauce. My family loved it!!! Tgis rexipe is a keeper!
That works too 🙂 Thank you for sharing that!
This recipe was so good I made a second batch the next day. Not because my family and I eat it all my dog got on the stove and finished off the remaining eight pieces!!!!
He’s obviously a big dog, couldn’t resist🙄
I added green chilies, black olives, mushroom and onion, super yummy.
Also in response to the person’s question about making it vegetarian I found using veggie ground beef works great in these recipes
I’m so glad you and your family AND your dog liked it too! 😉 All of those additions sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing what you do!
This was great, we made enough to feed 82 people at a local community feeding program. We took advantage of donations of grilled chicken and tortillas from a local catering company and some fresh sweet corn from some university test plots and house made salsa verde from some green chilies donated by a local CSA. We didn’t have sour cream but used our stash of cream cheese whipped with lime juice. Baking time for full size steam table pans was 50 minutes at 375. All the volunteers took some home which doesn’t happen very often.
Wow! That is incredible! I’m so happy to hear that the recipe could be used for such an awesome cause. Thanks for sharing!
PS We baked the steam table pans covered with foil sprayed with cooking spray so the cheese wouldn’t stick. We took the foil off to brown them for the last 10 minutes. We also made a vegetarian version with our house made faux chicken made from tofu and wheat protein.
Very interesting, fed my family twice! Definitely not something I’ve ever had before and it was very creative.
Jump to video, it says, so I do, and it takes me down to where it says video, but we can’t click on it. It surely would have been nice to see a video, before I make this. Disappointing.
Wonderful! I always used to make my lasagna with ground beef until I found this recipe. It is amazing and so easy to make. I love using the chicken and green sauce, but the one change I made was to use corn tortillas – they are what I had on hand and it turned out just fine. I would say that they may not need as much liquid as flour shells, but we still love it! This is going into my recipe box and into my menu rotations. Thanks for sharing!!
Delicious! Best Mexican lasagna recipe I’ve found!
So good! We always add the suggested jalapeños. This is a favorite.
This looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it. I love Mexican food.
This recipe sounds so good. Can’t wait to try it
I have made this recipe a few times now. My family loves it!
Delicious and so easy. Thank you for sharing! I love so many recipes of yours! 🙂
My mouth just waters at looking at the photo. You make everything seem so easy to do. I don’t know which one I’ll try to make first, the mexican lasagna or the chocolate tres leche cake. Yum!!
Ooh both are great options! Hope you enjoy!
This was so good. Made w. Mix of Mexican cheese but one lady I added slice pepper jack to slice it up a bit more . Was so good! Also substituted pinto beans for the black beans (my family doesn’t care for them) it was simple to make and tasted delicious. Will make it again
Can’t wait to try this. Sounds delicious and easy to make.
I think I did something wrong. It was very watery. Flavor good but soupy.
Made this twice and will keep making it. Thanks. PS: I used corn tortillas instead of flour.