Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas

Hot and cheesy crock pot chicken enchiladas are perfect to feed your family any day of the week! Just let the crock pot do the work.

Slow cooker recipes are a lifesaver for busy weeknight dinners! We especially love these crock pot chicken enchiladas, a version of a favorite Mexican classic—Chicken Enchiladas!

Crock pot chicken enchiladas topped with olives and cilantro.

For Busy Weeknights!

If you’ve never made enchiladas in the crockpot, now’s your chance! It’s easy, delicious, and almost no cleanup. What more could you ask for?

These crock pot enchiladas might be a little different than what you expect—the filling isn’t wrapped up in tortillas. The tortillas are actually cut into strips and mixed in with the chicken/sauce. It makes one hot and savory concoction of all the enchilada flavors you love.

These crockpot enchiladas are great for feeding a crowd. Make them for game days, dinner parties, or any night of the week.

This recipe is definitely on rotation at our house. I love being able to quickly throw this together in the morning and have dinner ready by the afternoon!

Chicken breasts in crock pot with green enchilada sauce.

Low and Slow

Enchiladas in the crockpot is perfect for busy weeknights. It takes only minutes to prep and cooks low and slow while the crock pot does all of the work!

CHICKEN. Add the chicken breasts to a crock pot, and pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.

After it’s cooked, shred the chicken in the crock pot using two forks.

COMBINE. Stir the tortilla strips into the chicken and enchilada sauce (try our Homemade Sauce). Add 1 cup of cheese and ½ cup of olives and stir to combine. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and olives over the top of the chicken mixture.

Cover the crockpot and continue to cook on low for 40-60 minutes. Remove the cover and let the enchiladas stand for 10 minutes before serving.

ENJOY! Serve hot with sour cream on top. Add any of your favorite enchilada toppings!

Enchilada Sauce

These slow cooker chicken enchiladas use green enchilada sauce.

Green enchilada sauce. We like to use the Las Palmas brand, or you can make your own.

Red enchilada sauce. You can also use Red Enchilada Sauce for a spicier taste. The red sauce doesn’t seem to be as runny as the green, so you can reduce the number of tortilla strips used. 

A crock pot full of shredded chicken in green enchilada sauce.

Recipe Tips

Top slow cooker enchiladas with your favorite toppings, or change up the flavor profile with any of these tasty tips!

Flavor variations. Enhance some of your favorite flavors by sprinkling on some extra chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Cheese. You can also change up the flavor by combining the cheddar cheese with a Mexican blend of cheese. 

Tortillas. Use corn tortillas, not flour tortillas, to cut into strips. In a pinch, you can use the rectangle tortilla chips.

I added extra tortillas because the green enchilada sauce was a little thin. It was still pretty runny at the end of the cooking time, but it set up a little more after it stood for about 10 minutes.

Meat. The chicken can be replaced with an equal amount of turkey or roast beef.

Enchilada toppings. Some of our favorites include:

Serving suggestions. Some of our favorite sides to pair with this recipe are:

Slow cooker chicken enchiladas topped with black olives.

Storing Enchiladas

STORE. Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. 

To reheat. There are a few ways to reheat your slow cooker chicken enchiladas.

  • Slow cooker: Throw it back into the slow cooker. Set it to HIGH if you would like it warmed quicker or set it to LOW if you have time to let it heat up slowly. 
  • Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the leftovers in an oven-safe dish and cover with tin foil. Heat until warm. The time will vary depending on the amount.
  • Microwave: This is the quickest way to reheat. Heat in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until warm. 
Slow cooker chicken enchiladas dished into white bowl.

Make a freezer meal

I love a meal that I can double. This way I get two meals out of the same amount of effort. Begin by adding double the chicken and sauce to the crock pot and cook. 

  1. After it has been cooked and shredded, pour half of the mixture into a freezer Ziploc.
  2. If you wish to eat the other half that day continue with the recipe as written. If you wish to freeze the other half for later add it to a separate bag.
  3. For each freezer bag of chicken fill another smaller bag with the shredded cheese and a separate bag with the tortilla strips.
  4. Wrap each bag of the chicken mixture along with the bag of cheese and tortillas together in aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up to 3 months. 
  5. Thaw in the fridge before assembling the ingredients together in the crock pot. 
  6. The same general steps apply even if you don’t double the recipe.
Close up of crock pot chicken enchiladas topped with olives and cilantro.

Recipe FAQ

Can crockpot enchiladas be prepped as a freezer meal?

Absolutely! In fact, I would double the amounts so you could serve half now and freeze the other half for later. See above for details.

What cheese is best for slow cooker chicken enchiladas?

I used shredded cheddar cheese in this recipe, but you can easily combine it, or substitute it, with a Mexcian blend of cheese.

Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas in crock pot chicken enchiladas?

Many times you can substitute the two types of tortillas, however, I recommend you stick with corn tortillas for this recipe since the flour tortilla strips tend to become doughy when cooked for such a long time.

For More Enchilada Recipes, Try:

Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

4.97 from 29 votes
Hot and cheesy crock pot chicken enchiladas are perfect to feed your family any day of the week! Just let the crock pot do the work.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 40 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 417 kcal
Author Lil’ Luna

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 28 ounce can Las Palmas mild green enchilada sauce
  • 12 corn tortillas cut into one inch strips
  • 3 cups grated cheddar cheese divided
  • 1 cup black olives sliced
  • sour cream for serving

Instructions
 

  • Add the chicken breasts to a crock pot, and pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
  • Shred the chicken in the crock pot using two forks. Stir the tortilla strips into the chicken and enchilada sauce. Add 1 cup of cheese and ½ cup of olives and stir to combine. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and olives over the top.
  • Cover and continue to cook on low for 40-60 minutes. Remove the cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot with sour cream on top.

Video

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About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Comments:

  1. How do you know how much of each ingredient to use of each spice for the enchilada sauce? I wanted to make it today.

    1. 5 stars
      Made for my family last night and they all loved ot. There were no leftovers and no mess. So easy and yummy and clean up us a breeze with crockpot dinners.

  2. 5 stars
    I didn’t have enough green enchilada sauce on hand so added verde sauce and cumin for added flavor and it was a huge hit! my bf even went back for seconds!

  3. 5 stars
    This quickly became a regular in our family rotation. We all LOVE IT! Simple to do and delicious. Plus I think it reheats beautifully!

  4. 5 stars
    This was hands down the best recipe. We also tried it with beef and it was just as delicious as the chicken. Thank you

  5. 5 stars
    So stinking easy and very good. I used frozen chicken and it turned out perfect. My youngest son ate his like a dip with chip and I have to agree that it’s darn good that way. Im already planning on adding this to our Super bowl supper line up!

    1. Yay! I’m so glad to hear it was a hit. Dipping chips with it sounds delicious. I’ll have to give it a try!

  6. 5 stars
    This recipe is great! My family gobbled it up. I wish I would have come across this recipe sooner. Enchiladas are one of our favorite dinners. Now I can even make them in the heat of summer without turning on the oven!

  7. 5 stars
    This is a great recipe. I used Chicken Thighs and Salsa Verde instead of Enchilada sauce and that works.