We've had several requests to do casserole recipes, so we dug deep into our spicy souls for this Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole. It's creamy, filled with shredded chicken and a wave of spice in every bite. You can top it over cauliflower rice or eat it right out of the skillet. Trust me when I say, there is no wrong way to eat this delicious dish.
You Won't Miss the Carbs in this Low Carb Casserole
You may know enchilada casseroles as being on the higher carb end due to added tortillas into the casserole, but we left those out and you won't even miss them.
The shredded chicken combined with creaminess of the sour cream and flavor of the green chilis will leave you feeling satisfied on every level. You could eat this on its own, serve it over cauliflower rice, or make our low carb tortillas to fill them up. (My personal favorite.)
More Easy Mexican Dishes
Our love for spice and Mexican food doesn't start and stop with this casserole recipe. Try any of the following Mexican inspired keto dishes. One of our favorite recipes to meal prep is our Mexican Shredded Chicken. If you're a lover of spice and flavor, we highly suggest you make our Mexican shredded chicken recipe for you family and friends!
Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
I am a huge sucker for casseroles in all forms, no matter the meat or mix-ins! Matt and I are complete opposites in this way because he prefers all his foods to be separated, so he can eat them one at a time.
However, he was even a fan of this recipe. What's not to love when you combine spices, veggies, meat and sour cream?! If you've got a family to feed or even have a love for casseroles like I do, I highly recommend you make this easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
Tip: You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for a fattier meat and a higher fat to protein macro ratio!
Recipe can be quickly added to MyFitnessPal - Search "KetoConnect - Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole"
Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 oz can green chilis
- 2 oz black olives, sliced
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1/4 tsp xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
Instructions:
- Add butter to medium heat skillet and allow it to melt. Once melted stir in the xanthan gum and allow to thicken slightly.
- Pour in the chicken broth and whisk through the butter and xanthan gum.
- After a couple minutes, add the chilis, olive and spices and combine well with a whisk.
- Place the chicken into the skillet and bring to a boil (a couple minutes). Turn the heat down to a simmer and place a lid on the skillet. Allow the chicken to cook for 20 minutes (until fully cooked through).
- After 20 minutes, remove the chicken to a plate and shred into preferred size chunks with two forks. You can also just cut it into bite sized pieces.
- Add the sour cream to the skillet and mix throughly combining all the spices, chilis, olives and sour cream. Taste test and add whatever additional spices you may want. if you prefer more spice increase the chili powder.
- Place the shredded chicken back into the skillet and combine. Top the entire recipe with cheddar cheese and place in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or place a lid on the skillet until the cheese has full melted.
- Serve immediately with our low carb tortillas, over cauliflower rice or on its own and enjoy!
- This recipe can be stored in a sealable container in the fridge up to 2 weeks or frozen up to 2 months.
- TIP: This recipe yields six portions. We recommend portioning it out prior to serving to ensure you get the correct macros per serving.
Notes
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
If I want to make it thicker would I just add more xanthum gum?
You could try it!
Just tried this tonight. It was absolutely delicious. I appreciate all the great recipes!
Hi Megha and Matt!
I’ve been doing Keto since February and have lost 46 lbs! BUT honestly the best part is I feel amazing! It’s helped so much with my tummy issues! This is by far my favorite recipe and I share it and your website with anyone and everyone who will listen! I’m so happy I found you two especially when I’m needing a treat the fat bombs and the Chocolate mousse have saved me! Okay so now that you know how much I love you guys, my question is, I have a friend who is not a fan of sour cream is there something you can substitute it with?
In which recipe? Congrats on your weight loss!!
Thank you Cass! I just love the way I feel! It’s the Chicken enchilada casserole is there a sub for the cream cheese?
Hi guys!! I was just wondering what size skillet you used! I have a 12 inch will that work?
It should yeah!
Hi!! What size skillet did you use?
Just a regular 12 inch skillet
I tried this for dinner last night – hubby is getting tired of my usual chicken dishes, so thought “Why not?” So surprised at how good it is. This is a keeper! Thank you for sharing all your recipes with us. They are so good!
Hello! If i do not have xanthum gum, could i just reduce recipe to 1 cup of chicken broth and have it be thicker?
You can try to just reduce down the sauce for longer on the stove and omit the xanthan gum completely. 🙂
Can you freeze this?
This recipe can be stored in a sealable container in the fridge up to 2 weeks or frozen up to 2 months.
When I read xantham gum, I wanted to swap it out, as well. Hadn’t thought of arrowroot, which is used as a thickener in other things, (most often in my diy deodorant 😉 so, for anyone looking for a second opinion, I think that would work, but I will be trying beef gelatin powder first…a thickener, like the gelatin that wiggles and giggles, but without removing the beef flavor. I don’t think it will appreciably change the flavor of a chicken based dish and have not looked to see if there is chicken gelatin, though I strongly suspect boiling feet and bones, there absolutely would be, so if anyone wants to try chicken gelatin, I’d bet it’s available. Thanks Matt and Megha and everyone who shares their experiences. 🙂
Ok, so I went and Googled. Don’t want to put specific links here, but there is chicken gelatin, chicken collagen and info on both. Happy eating! Joanne
Made this for diner tonight – very good! Thanks for sharing!
Would arrowroot work instead of the xanthum?
We’ve not tried that yet, but if it’s for thickening it could work!
If I am trying to use left over, already cooked chicken or turkey, how would you adjust the cooking time in the skillet?
We’d say by at least half.
I made this tonight it is one of the first recipes I’ve tried I just started the diet. I loved it. I made my fiancé something different because I didn’t think he would like this he is not doing the keto diet. He ended up eating it too. I put over cauliflower rice and he thought is was regular rice.
DELICIOUS! Great job and welcome to the keto fam!
I made this recipe and had ti for dinner three days straight. It was amazing! I put the chicken enchilada casserole over spaghetti squash, but I could eat this on its own too. I will definitely be making this again!
Glad to hear you liked it Nicole!!
Hello Megha & Matt
Making this wonderful dish for the whole family and they loved it. The hubby and my boys very pleased thank you for helping me eat right and put smiles on my families face?
Hi Megha & Matt!
My husband and I have been eating Keto for a couple weeks now…we enjoyed this recipe so much!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience with us!
Glad you liked it Chandelle. Best of luck to you and your husband!
Can you just toss these in the crock pot and shred chicken just before serving (then add the olives)?
That sounds like a great plan!
How did you do this in a crockpot? Did you do it on low and cook it all day? What did you find work best?
Wondering if you or anyone tried this in the crockpot. I would love to make it tomorrow but will be out all day. Thinking the crockpot could be the solution but not sure of cooking time or temp. Thanks!
This recipe is amazing! I doubled it for my family. I actually only added about 3 cups of broth and 8oz sour cream. We skipped the cheese and decided to add separately on our own tortillas. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. It’s one of the best Mexican chicken casserole type dishes I’ve had and I’m one picky chick!
Haha. Glad you liked it Renee!
Hi There!
I love the work you guys are doing and appreciate the information and recipes you share. My question is, is there a substitute for the xanathan gum in this recipe that I don’t have to get from Amazon?!! I was just hoping to try the recipe sooner than I would get the product delivered.
Thank you,
Marcella
You can try to just reduce down the sauce for longer on the stove and omit the xanthan gum completely.
Hi there!
Love your website and follow you all over the place! My questions about this recipe is: is there a suitable substitute for xanthan gum? I’m willing to order it from Amazon, but would really love to try this recipe today (since I already have the chicken)!
Thanks,
Marcella
You can get xanthum gum at your local grocery store 🙂