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Ditch the noodles and embrace the spice! This Mexican lasagna recipe layers tortillas with cheese and green chile enchilada sauce for a fiesta in your mouth.
a Classic Meal – Mexican Style!
It should be no surprise we are HUGE fans of Mexican food! With our family being Hispanic, we’ve gotten to enjoy it our whole lives, which we are very grateful for.
One recipe our mom found in a magazine years ago was this recipe for Mexican Lasagna. Sure, it may not be authentic Mexican cuisine, but it’s become a favorite dinner idea.
With layers of tortillas replacing lasagna noodles and smothered in a green chile enchilada sauce and melty cheese, this recipe is a twist on a classic lasagna. !
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Family-Pleasing Fiesta. This feeds a crowd and is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at any potluck or gathering.
- A Fun Twist on a Classic. Put a south-of-the-border spin on a familiar favorite! This Mexican lasagna recipe offers an exciting change-up from traditional lasagna while still being recognizable and comforting.
- Make ahead and freezer-friendly. This hearty casserole is perfect for prepping ahead of time and for freezing for later.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 25 minutes
- 1 pound cooked and shredded chicken – The chicken can be substituted with shredded or ground beef, shredded or ground turkey, or ground vegetarian meat. Whichever you choose, be sure that it is precooked before adding it to the recipe.
- 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 – or use similarly sized corn tortillas.
- 8 ounces Mexican blend cheese shredded – A Mexican cheese blend that includes shredded Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, asadero cheese, and queso cheese. Create your own blend using those cheeses or including mozzarella cheese, Colby Jack, or pepper jack cheese.
- optional garnish – top with sour cream, diced tomatoes, cilantro, diced green chiles, Sweet Salsa Verde, Homemade Salsa
How to Make Mexican Lasagna
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut 12 small tortillas in half and set aside.
- FILLING. Mix 1 pound shredded chicken, 1 (16-ounce) tub sour cream, 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, 1½ cups enchilada sauce, 1 (15.25-ounce) can corn, ¼ cup cilantro, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1 teaspoon salt into a large bowl.
- ASSEMBLE. In a 9×13 casserole dish, scoop ⅓ of the chicken mixture into the bottom of the baking dish. Spread evenly. Place one layer of cut tortillas over the meat 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 + ENJOY! 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, homemade Guacamole, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro if desired. It also tastes great with a side of Tortilla Chips or Homemade Spanish Rice Recipe!
Complete the Meal
- Side dishes: Spanish Rice, Crockpot Spanish Rice, Canned Refried Beans, Guacamole
- Desserts: Cheesecake Chimichangas, Sopapilla, Arroz con Leche
- More Mexican casseroles: Taco Casserole, Beef Enchilada Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Dorito Casserole
More collections: Mexican Dinner Ideas, Mexican Casserole Recipes, Mexican Chicken Recipes
Mexican Lasagna Recipe
Ditch the noodles, embrace the spice! This Mexican lasagna recipe layers tortillas, cheese, and enchilada sauce for a fiesta in your mouth.
Equipment
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, 1½ 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.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 205kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.004g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 577mg, Potassium: 205mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 233IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 172mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Recipe Variations?
- Seasonings. Replace the cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder with taco seasoning.
- Heat. For a spicier flavor include cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Optional ingredients. Mix in black olives, red bell pepper, diced onions, sliced jalapenos, or chili peppers.
Can I make a vegetarian Mexican lasagna Recipe?
- Substitute the shredded chicken with ground vegetarian chicken. Cook the vegetarian chicken in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then stir it in with the black beans, enchilada sauce, corn, and cilantro.
Make ahead of time?
- Fridge. Before baking your Mexican chicken lasagna, cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Remove plastic and bake according to recipe directions.
- Freezer. Cover the uncooked dish with plastic wrap adding aluminum foil over the top sealing the edges tightly. Label and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before heating. Bake according to the recipe directions.
How to store leftover Mexican Lasagna?
- Store leftover Mexican lasagna recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in an oven. Preheat to 350°F and bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on the amount of leftovers.
So good! We always add the suggested jalapeños. This is a favorite.
Delicious! Best Mexican lasagna recipe I’ve found!
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!!
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.
Very interesting, fed my family twice! Definitely not something I’ve ever had before and it was very creative.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!