This Instant Pot Enchilada Casserole is a delicious one pot Mexican chicken recipe that is ready in 30 minutes or less – it's also gluten-free!
Making this recipe in a slow cooker
If you arenāt the lucky owner of an electric pressure cooker, it is not a problem at all! You can make this Instant Pot enchilada casserole easily in a slow cooker instead.
Simply add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, with the exception of any fresh toppings. Then, allow it to cook on low power for 6 hours, or until all of the liquid is absorbed into the quinoa.
Side dish ideas
When you're thinking of what to serve with a chicken enchilada casserole like this one, think of what you would typically serve with any Mexican dinner.
A side of tortilla chips and salsa would be nice, or a garden salad would be great for some additional healthy veggies.
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Ingredient substitutions
- olive oil – Any neutral flavour of cooking oil like avocado or vegetable oil will also work
- boneless skinless chicken breasts – Youāll be dicing the chicken, so fresh tenders are a good substitute. If you prefer dark meat, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead
- taco seasoning – Many store bought seasoning mixes include MSG as a preservative. If you would like to avoid it, you can use homemade taco seasoning
- minced garlic – Fresh cloves of garlic provide the most flavour, or you can use jarred garlic
- onions – I prefer yellow onion but white and red onion are fine too
- chicken broth or stock – Vegetable broth may be used instead
- tomato sauce – Cans of diced tomatoes will also work. Or, in a pinch, you can use your favourite pasta sauce, but you may need to add some water to thin it out
- uncooked quinoa – I prefer white, but any colour quinoa will be fine
- bell peppers – I like to add colour, so I use 1/2 each of red, green and yellow bell peppers
Toppings:
- shredded cheese – Cheddar, Parmesan, or even a Mexican cheese like Cojita would be great
- diced avocado – To keep your avocado fresh and prevent it from discoloring, squeeze a little bit of fresh lime juice over the pieces.
- plum tomatoes – I like using plum tomatoes because they tend to have less seeds, but any variety of tomato will be fine.
- fresh cilantro– Feel free to use parsley if you arenāt a fan of cilantro
Storing and reheating
Allow the casserole to cool down before transferring it to an airtight container. Keep it in the refrigerator and use it within 5 days.
You can reheat it in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat, in the microwave, or even in your Instant Pot.
To reheat the meal in your pressure cooker, youāll want to use the simmer or sautĆ© function. Youāll first need to remove any fresh toppings, like the avocado and shredded cheese. Stir it occasionally until it heats through.
Freezing this recipe
Instant Pot chicken enchilada casserole will freeze well for up to 3 months. Cool the meal to room temperature before transferring to airtight freezer-safe containers. To thaw, place the casserole in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it.
If you want to freeze it in individual containers for easy meal prep, it can be taken right from the freezer to the microwave. Reheat it on high power for a few minutes, stopping at least once to stir it.
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More Instant Pot casseroles
- Instant Pot Pizza Quinoa Casserole
- Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Chicken
- Instant Pot African Peanut Stew
Meal Prep tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing this dish up for lunch
- I get free range chicken from my monthly Butcher Box
is the version I use in this recipe
Instant Pot Enchilada Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts, diced
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa
- 1/2 each red, green and yellow pepper, finely diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2 plum tomatoes, diced
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for bell peppers, cheese, avocado, plum tomatoes and cilantro to Instant Pot in the order written, making sure to add quinoa last.
- Set to manual and pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to pre-heat and then the 3 minutes to cook. When complete, press cancel and do a quick release of the steam, waiting until the pressure gauge drops back down and the lid is safe to open.
- Stir in bell peppers and top with cheese, avocado, plum tomatoes and cilantro. Serve among 6 bowls and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Diane says
Can you make this without quinoa? Maybe brown rice?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Diane – I’m sure you could make this with rice but I haven’t tested it myself unfortunately.
Laura says
I love your mexican recipes! Would it work if I added a can of black beans to this? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Laura, thank you! I’m sure it would work just fine with a can of black beans, go for it!
Lindsay says
Delicious and healthy, my only issue is that my chicken was barely cooked through with only 3 minutes and 10 min of pressure building. Probably operator error.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Lindsay – it can depend on the size of your chicken breasts and how small you cut them up. Glad you liked the recipe š
Renata says
What type of quinoa did you use? Mine turned out soupy (but tasty) and my quinoa was undercooked. I believe because mine was a mixed type
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Renata – I used plain quinoa, not a mix. Sorry to hear the mixed type was undercooked š You could always try pressure cooking another couple of minutes or letting the mixture sit if you encounter similar issues in the future.
Alicia says
I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out soupy :/ not sure where I went wrong.. it tastes delicious though!
Taylor Stinson says
Sorry to hear it turned out this way for you Alicia! Sometimes it just needs to sit a little bit more time in order to soak up all the liquid.
Steph says
Can I make this in a normal pot instead of instant one?
Taylor Stinson says
You probably could! I just can’t give alternative directions unfortunately since I haven’t tried it myself.
Liz says
I don’t have an Instant Pot. Can all of your Instant Pot recipes be made in a crock pot?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Liz – unfortunately not all of them can be made in a slow cooker. Some like the pulled chicken ones or different kinds of soups and stews should work, but I just haven’t tried making the switch myself and have way less experience cooking with a slow cooker so I would be unable to tell you how to adapt them. Very sorry about this!
Emily Spencer Munson says
Is it possible to do this with green salsa instead of tomato sauce?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes of course Emily! It should work just fine š
Tracie says
Another quick, easy and healthful recipe! It was great. Thanks.
Kristin says
Hello! I have a question about your nutrition facts. The calories indicated don’t gave a serving size… Is it 427 calories for the entire recipe? Surely not?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kristin! There are six servings (it’s on the recipe card just above the nutrition facts) You would divide everything in six and one of those six bowls is approx. 427 calories. Hope that helps!