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Mexican Tortilla Casserole


  • Author: Meagan

Description

This is a long recipe, but very worth it!  Definitely use corn tortillas, and I highly recommend making your own enchilada sauce (link also below, updated 2025 to an easier version), but you can also buy it and save a bit of time.  I found this in, ‘The Pioneer Woman Cooks – Dinnertime’, by Ree Drummond and when I saw her make it on her show, she served it with her Fiesta Tomato Salad.  I originally froze some of the leftover casserole and it reheated beautifully, but this is also an easy recipe to divvy into 2 pans (freezing one) depending on how many people you’re feeding in one go – enjoy!


Ingredients

Scale

For the tomato layer;

1 T. olive oil AND 3 c. fresh diced tomatoes

1 large onion, diced AND 3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 t. chili powder AND 1/2 t. kosher salt

1 t. EACH paprika AND cumin

For the chicken layer;

2 T. olive oil

2 to 4 chicken breasts, cubed into bite-sized pieces AND 1/4 c. water (you may need more water)

2 t. chili powder AND 1/2 t. kosher salt

1 t. EACH paprika AND cumin

1 can (398 mL/15 oz) EACH pinto beans AND kidney beans – both rinsed and drained

For the assembly;

1 bottle (455 mL/16 oz) salsa verde AND 12 small corn tortillas

3/4 c. uncooked rice – cooked! this should leave you with 2 to 3 cups of rice

1 can (341 mL/12 oz) corn, drained AND 4 c. grated cheddar-jack cheese

2 c. red enchilada sauce

sour cream and/or chopped fresh cilantro and/or hot sauce for serving


Instructions

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and add in the tomatoes, onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onion has softened.  Add in 2 teaspoons of the chili powder, and 1 teaspoon each of the paprika and cumin and stir for a couple of minutes until the spices are well blended, then scrape the whole mix into a bowl and set it aside.  In the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and cook the chicken until it’s no longer pink – as it’s cooking, add in the last 2 teaspoons of chili power and 1 teaspoon each of paprika and cumin, as well as the salt.  Cook and stir until the chicken is a nice golden brown and cooked through.  Add in the water and stir and bring to a boil – you’re aiming to reduce the ‘sauce’ by half and this will take a few minutes.  Stir in the beans, take the skillet off the heat and set it aside.

To assemble the casserole, lightly grease a large 9 x 13 lasagna pan, and pour about half of the bottle of salsa verde across the bottom, then overlap 6 of the tortillas so that the bottom is covered.  Spoon on all of the rice, then evenly spread on the tomato mixture, then sprinkle on the corn, then all of the chicken and bean mixture.  Sprinkle on half of the cheese, then pour on half of the enchilada sauce, then layer on the last 6 tortillas, then pour on the last of the salsa verde and enchilada sauce and then cover the top with the last of the cheese.  This is where the casserole can be wrapped well and frozen!  But if you’re baking it straight away, preheat the oven to 375, cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then take off the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until it’s heated through and bubbling – you may need to bake it a little longer if it was frozen and thawed, simply because it would probably be cold.  This is tastiest with a green salad or a simple coleslaw (and a margarita!!).

  • Category: Make-ahead, Mexican, One-pot Meal