If you love cheesy, saucy Mexican food, you'll love this easy chicken enchilada bake made with rotisserie chicken and a quick homemade enchilada sauce. With layers of flour tortillas and a rich filling tender chicken, melty cheese, this easy recipe delivers bold flavor without the hassle. It’s weeknight-friendly, freezer-friendly, and kid-approved.
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What is a layered enchilada bake?
Unlike traditional enchiladas where you roll the filling inside tortillas, a layered enchilada bake stacks everything like a Mexican-inspired lasagna. It’s faster, easier, and still packed with that familiar flavor, rich sauce, and cheesy goodness.
It's the same flavors you love, zero tortilla rolling.
This Chicken Enchilada Bake recipe was inspired by the enchilada pie at my favorite local food market, The Friendly Market. One night with some leftover rotisserie chicken and a craving, I created a copycat version, and it worked so well my husband didn’t even realize it wasn’t theirs.
Why you'll love Chicken Enchilada Bake
- Fast and easy thanks to rotisserie chicken
- Perfect make-ahead meal (refrigerate or freeze!)
- Scales up easily for a crowd
- Family-friendly flavors
- Flexible ingredients for picky eaters or last-minute swaps
Pro Tip: Keep shredded rotisserie chicken in the freezer in dinner-ready portions. It’s a total lifesaver on busy nights.
What makes traditional enchilada sauce different
Authentic red enchilada sauce is built on bold, earthy flavors—not tomatoes. The signature deep red color and smoky heat come from chili powder made from dried chiles, a handful of spices, and a rich broth base. It’s a simple combo that delivers way more depth than most canned sauces.
You can use store-bought sauce in a pinch, but homemade really is worth the five extra minutes.
✨ Why Homemade Sauce Wins ✨
- No weird ingredients. Skip the preservatives and sugar.
- Flavor control. Adjust heat, salt, and spice to taste.
- Authenticity. Bold flavor, no tomato sauce.
- Budget-friendly. Homemade is cheaper than canned.
- Freezer-friendly. Double the batch for next time.
Bottom line? Homemade sauce gives this dish real-deal flavor without adding much time or effort.
What you need to make Chicken Enchilada Bake
- Shredded chicken. I keep shredded rotisserie chicken in recipe-ready portions in the freezer to speed up weeknight dinners.
- Flour tortillas. The easiest way to make Chicken Enchilada Bake is in a pie plate. Buy tortillas that are the correct size for the pie plate you plan to use. If you will be using a casserole dish instead, double the recipe and use tortillas no wider than the width of the dish.
- All-purpose flour + vegetable oil. The base for the roux to thicken the sauce.
- Chili powder. Adjust the amount to your preference.
- Garlic powder + ground cumin. To season the sauce.
- Shredded cheddar + Monterey Jack cheese. You can be flexible: swap to a Mexican blend, use pepper Jack, or go with all cheddar or all Jack.
- Green onion and cilantro. For garnish.
- Non-stick cooking spray. Not pictured.
- Chicken base + water. Chicken base is a thick paste that works like bouillon. I use Better Than Bouillon chicken base for the rich flavor, but, you can substitute dry bouillon or swap chicken broth for the chicken base and water.
Substitutions and variations
Try adding in these ingredients to swap things up:
- Black beans
- Corn (try fire-roasted frozen corn for a flavor pop!)
- Chopped fire-roasted green chiles
- Sautéed diced onion or bell pepper
Make it vegetarian:
- Swap chicken for black beans
- Use Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base instead of chicken base
Make it gluten-free:
- Use corn tortillas
- For the sauce, use a 1-to-1 GF flour substitute and GF chicken broth in place of the chicken base and water
How to make Chicken Enchilada Bake
Set aside ⅓ of each of the cheeses to use as topping. Slice the green onion and chop the fresh cilantro. Set aside to use as topping.
Make the homemade sauce
Combine vegetable oil and all-purpose flour in a large pan over medium heat (1). Stir until well-blended, then continue heating for about one minute, stirring constantly.
Add 2 cups water (2) and continue stirring over heat until well mixed and water starts to thicken (3). Add chicken base and mix well until dissolved (4). Remove from heat.
Add the chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin to the sauce and mix well (5). Remove ½ cup of the sauce and set aside (6).
Assemble the layers
Add shredded chicken and cheese to the remaining sauce mixture (7) and stir gently until well mixed (8).
Spray a round baking pan or pie plate with non-stick cooking spray. Place a tortilla in the pan (9). Spread half of the chicken mixture over the tortilla, top with another tort and spread the remaining chicken mixture (10).
Top with the last tortilla and pour the reserved ½ cup sauce on top (11). Top with remaining cheese (12), green onions, and cilantro.
Bake
Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Optional: Add cilantro and green onions after baking for a fresher finish.
What to serve with Chicken Enchilada Bake
- Mexican rice. Restaurant-style and easy to make ahead
- Mexican salad. Add corn and crispy jalapeños
- Sliced avocados. Tip: rub vegetable oil on the surface of an unused avocado half to keep it from browning
Be sure to check out my post on rotisserie chicken recipe ideas for more ways to save time by using rotisserie chicken.
Recipe
Layered Chicken Enchilada Bake
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shredded rotisserie chicken
- 3 flour tortillas (8-10" or to fit your pan)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon chicken base, or bouillon equivalent
- 2 cups water
- 5 tablespoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 green onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
- non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Remove ⅓ of each of the 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese and 6 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese and set aside to use as topping.
- Slice 1 green onion and chop 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro. Set aside to use as topping.
- Combine 2½ tablespoons vegetable oil and ¼ cup all-purpose flour in a large pan over medium heat. Stir until well-blended, then continue heating for about one minute, stirring constantly.
- Add 2 cups water and continue stirring over heat until well mixed and water starts to thicken.
- Add 1 tablespoon chicken base and mix well until dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Add 5 tablespoons chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon cumin to the sauce and mix well.
- Remove ½ cup of the sauce and set aside.
- Add 8 ounces shredded rotisserie chicken and ⅔ of the cheeses to the remaining sauce mixture and stir gently.
- Spray a round baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place one of the 3 flour tortillas (8-10" or to fit your pan) in the pan.
- Spread half of the chicken mixture over the tortilla, top with another tortilla, and spread the remaining chicken mixture.
- Top with the last tortilla, and pour the reserved ½ cup sauce on top.
- Top with remaining cheese, green onions, and cilantro.
- Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
Optional: Add cilantro and green onions after baking for a fresher finish.
Convert from a pie to a casserole: The easiest way to make Chicken Enchilada Bake is in a pie plate. Buy tortillas that are the correct size for the pie plate you plan to use (8" tortillas fit perfectly in the one I use). If you will be using a casserole dish instead, double the recipe and use tortillas no wider than the width of the dish. Use some whole and cut some in half to fill all the gaps.
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