This cheesy Turkey Enchilada Casserole recipe is a perfect way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers or to switch up your Mexican-inspired dinner night for something other than tacos! Each bite has all of the traditional flavor of enchiladas, except no rolling is needed! This dish makes an easy one-pan weeknight dinner that’s ready in under one hour!
I feel like once turkey day is over, you never want to see turkey again! But you have so many thanksgiving turkey leftovers that you feel bad about wasting them (even though you refuse to eat another turkey sandwich). So what better way than to turn it into something totally different like a comfort food meal? Leftover Turkey Enchilada Casserole is exactly that!
For a full-blown Mexi-inspired dinner theme, start the meal off with homemade guacamole and salsa (you can use this as a topping too), load your plate with the casserole and a scoop of flavor-packed Mexican rice, then top it off with a cherry cheesecake taco! Okay, so this kind of taco isn’t authentic, but it is super delicious and worth a try!
Why You’ll Love This Enchilada Casserole Recipe
- Ready in under an hour.
- A non-traditional way to use up leftover turkey.
- Packed full of flavors for enchilada and taco lovers.
- Easy make ahead meal and only simple ingredients are needed.
Jump to:
🦃 Ingredients:
- Enchilada sauce – choose your favorite grocery store brand (or make your own homemade enchilada sauce)
- Chicken broth – Chicken broth or stock works great
- Cream of chicken soup – thickens the sauce
- Medium onion – diced, adds great flavors
- Green chiles – choose medium or hot (depending on your desired spice level)
- Turkey – shredded turkey meat; you can use white and dark meat
- Corn tortillas – sliced up into smaller pieces; I typically stack all the tortillas and use a big butcher knife to quickly chop them into pieces all at once.
- Medium cheddar cheese – great for the melting
- Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese – the mixture of the cheeses makes this so delicious
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap the shredded turkey for leftover chicken (shredded) or you can purchase a rotisserie chicken. You can also try ground meat. We’ve used lean ground turkey and made a ground turkey enchilada casserole, and even tried ground beef.
- Mix in corn, black beans, or bell peppers to the casserole or serve on the side.
- Use flour tortillas instead or corn.
- For more of a spiced taste, add taco seasoning to the shredded turkey. If you don’t have a taco seasoning packet on hand, you can toss the shredded turkey with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and smoked paprika.
- Topping ideas: black olives, diced green chiles, sour cream, Greek yogurt, guac, salsa, diced tomatoes, or green onions.
- Love a green sauce instead? Try my homemade recipe here: Green Enchilada Sauce.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Step 1: Combine the sauce, broth, cream of chicken, onions, and chiles in a bowl.
Step 2: Mix this until well combined.
Step 3: Add a few spoonfuls to the bottom of a large baking dish or casserole dish.
Step 4: Add in the sliced and cut tortilla strips.
Pro Tip: Use a pizza cutter to cut the tortilla strips, it’s easier and saves time!
Step 5: Sprinkle half of the turkey over the strips, half of the sauce, and a cup of each kind of cheese.
Step 6: Repeat until the remaining sauce and remaining cheese ingredients have been added, keeping the last layer of cheese for the top of the casserole.
Step 7: Bake until the cheese has melted, add your favorite toppings, and serve! You can cover this while baking with aluminum foil to lessen the browning of the cheese.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve warm out of the oven with a bowl of Spanish rice, fresh pinto beans, or a garden salad. We love this with a nice fresh squeeze of lime juice on the top and fresh herbs like cilantro and green onions!
Recipe Tips for Enchilada Casserole Turkey
- We do not recommend substituting turkey lunch meat unless you were to have it carved in the actual deli.
- The sauce on the bottom helps to keep the casserole from sticking, so no need to grease it with cooking spray.
Fun Fact
Red enchilada sauce is made by blending together chiles, garlic, onion, broth, oregano, cumin, and other spices. Then it simmers until it thickens up.
Recipe FAQs
Originally, enchiladas were served in a small corn tortilla and were actually dipped versus being smothered in sauce. Nowadays, people just use their favorite kind of tortilla. Personally, I prefer corn tortillas because they hold up with sauce and baking. Flour tortillas tend to get soggy.
Serve enchiladas with simple side dishes such as rice, black or refried beans, corn, chips and salsa, or cheese dip. You could also make grilled veggies and peppers or a simple salad.
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also make a double batch and freeze it for later. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then heat in the oven until it’s warmed all the way through.
If gluten is a concern, make sure to buy tortillas that are gluten-free and check to make sure your turkey has not been injected with other additives that may contain gluten. Also check for gluten in the enchilada sauce and canned soup.
More Mexi-Meals That Are Simple and Tasty
If you tried this easy Turkey Enchilada Casserole Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Turkey Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup enchilada sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 10 oz. can cream of chicken soup
- ½ cup finely diced white onion
- 7 oz. can green chiles
- 3 cups diced cooked turkey
- 12 corn tortillas cut or torn into strips/pieces
- 2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
- 2 cups shredded jack or pepper jack cheese
- Any other toppings cilantro, green onions, diced tomato, sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, onions, and green chiles.
- Ladle a couple spoonfuls of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Sprinkle half of the corn tortilla pieces over the sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the turkey pieces over the tortillas.
- Ladle half of the remaining sauce over the ingredients in the dish.
- Top with 1 cup of cheddar and 1 cup of jack cheese.
- Layer the remaining tortillas, turkey, and sauce. Top the whole casserole with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling up around the edges.
- Serve hot, garnished with any toppings you’d like.
Notes
- Swap the shredded turkey for shredded chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef.
- Mix in corn and black beans to the casserole or serve on the side.
- Use flour tortillas instead or corn.
- For more of a spiced taste, add taco seasoning to the shredded turkey.
- Topping ideas: black olives, diced green chiles, sour cream, Greek yogurt, guac, salsa, diced tomatoes, or green onions.
Nutrition
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