Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Veggies

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Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole with veggies is an easy and great weeknight recipe! You can make the entire casserole ahead and then just bake and enjoy.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole with veggies is creamy, hearty, cheesy, and delicious.  It’s also EASY because everything is layered in one dish and baked.  It has everything you love in a White Enchilada Casserole with the bonus of hidden vegetables with extra vitamins and nutrients!  The creamy sauce is a gluten free version that uses cornstarch to thicken it, along with creamy sour cream.  It’s a great recipe to make ahead for busy nights.

My family loves Mexican food and I have been making traditional red sauce chicken enchilada casseroles in different variations for years. But I wanted to try something new with a white sauce and I was also looking for a way to sneak in more vegetables for my kids and husband.  Even picky eaters will love eating their veggies because they won’t even know they’re in there!

Want more tips for making busy family dinners easier?  Click here for my Free Printable 5 Simple Steps to Easy Family Dinners!

This Enchilada Casserole is great to SNEAK in MORE VEGGIES!

It’s one of those dishes that tastes so decadent and ‘bad for you’, that you would never think there are healthy veggies inside.  So what’s in here?  Are you ready for it?  COLESLAW MIX and ZUCCHINI! 

The Coleslaw mix is so great, because the cabbage and carrots are already shredded to the perfect size.  When they are cooked they are a similar texture and size as the shredded chicken so they blend right in and take on the flavors of the casserole.  Zucchini similarly gets layered into the casserole and blends right in.  I am not kidding, my family could not even tell! Your whole family will love this sour cream enchilada recipe.

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Simple Ingredients and Substitute

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White Enchilada Sauce Ingredients

• Chicken Broth or Chicken stock – You can substitute with vegetable stock or broth or even beef stock or broth. You can also use water mixed with a chicken bouillon cube or chicken base.
• Sour Cream – Sour Cream is what gives that creamy, tangy sauce. However, if you don’t want to or have it to use, then you can substitute with coconut milk, plain greek yogurt, or marscapone. You can also use cream cheese that you have thinned out a bit with milk.
• Green chilis – I used the 4oz can of green chilies found in my regular grocery store. You can substitute in hatch green chilis. You can also roast jalapeno or poblano peppers and blend them in a food processor and then add those!
• Taco Seasoning – Check out my easy Taco Seasoning recipe for this, which uses chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and a just a couple other simple ingredients. Of course, you can use your favorite blend from the store.
• Cornstarch – This is the thickener in the sauce and is great because it can be mixed into cold water to dissolve and create a slurry. That means that you don’t need to mix flour with butter to make a roux. It’s not only a low-fat thickener, it saves lots of time and fuss!

Other Ingredients

• Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless – I always have raw chicken breasts in the freezer as they can last up to 12 months if in an airtight container or packaging. Check out all of my tips on Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners. You can substitute in chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken thighs, leftover chicken breasts, or leftover rotisserie chicken as well.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You can substitute with any neutral oil, such as vegetable oil, avocado oil, or even coconut oil.
• Salt – I used kosher salt, but any salt will work.
• Ground Black Pepper – You can use fine or coarse ground black pepper. I like fresh ground, but pre-ground is fine too.
• Corn Tortillas – White Corn tortillas or yellow corn tortillas will work. Any size will work as well, just break them as needed to fit into the layers. You could use flour tortillas if that’s all you have, but they tend to melt into the casserole and won’t give you that traditional corn flavor of enchiladas.
• Coleslaw Mix – I love the shredded cabbage and carrots in this recipe as they really do melt into the casserole. You can leave them out of course. You can also shred your own.
• Zucchini – Green zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, shredded carrots, green bell peppers, red peppers…all of these would be great in this recipe!
• Cheddar Cheese, Shredded – I like sharp cheddar cheese in this recipe. White cheddar, yellow cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, or even mozzarella are all great for this.
• Scallions (Green Onion) – You can use yellow onion, white onion, or red onion, or shallots.

Prep-Ahead Steps for Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This ENTIRE casserole can be made in advance, then frozen or stored in the refrigerator.  

For this recipe, you need a casserole dish or baking dish that’s approximately 9×9 or similar. See the recipe notes for how to increase this recipe to fit a larger casserole dish.

Ok, back to the Prep! 

First, roast and shred the chicken breast. You can also slice the scallions and the zucchini ahead of time.

The amazing sour cream sauce can be made ahead as well. It starts with chicken broth, a cornstarch slurry, and taco seasoning. Bring to a simmer stirring until it gets thick.  Then whisk in the sour cream and finally the green chiles.

You can stop here and assemble later or just go ahead and assemble ahead of time, as well as cook.

The assembly is easy-peasy as you simply layer everything on.  No getting frustrated trying to roll the enchiladas first and watching them break or crack and then fall apart as you try to transfer them to the casserole!  Simply layer away.

First cover the bottom with sauce, then tortillas, then more sauce.

Second , add half of the shredded chicken over the sauce. Then sprinkle scallions over the chicken. Sprinkle the coleslaw mix of cabbage and carrots over the chicken. Add ⅓ of the shredded cheese.

Third, layer another 4 tortillas over the cheese, then sauce, add the rest of the chicken, and another layer of the coleslaw cabbage and carrots. Now comes the zucchini. Lay the slices to create a single layer. Use any extra to fill in any major holes. Add another layer of cheese (using another ⅓ of the cheese) and scallions over the zucchini.

Add the final layer of tortillas making sure to fill in any holes with broken tortillas. Spread the final layer of sauce over top.

Cook your Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Then bake the casserole covered with a glass lid or aluminum foil for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add the final layer of cheese and scallions to the top and then bake WITHOUT a cover for another 15 minutes until the top is perfectly melted and golden.

That’s it!  ENJOY! 😍 Carrie

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole FAQs