Slow Cooker Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
SKINNY, lightened up and healthy enchilada bake!!!! Made right in the crockpot!!! So cheesy and yet guilt-free!!!
Greetings from Italia!
I basically just inhaled 2 espressos, 4 gelatos, and 5 plates of pasta.
In a span of 17 hours.
I’m not ashamed one bit.
Nope.
Because I’ll be on the quinoa enchilada casserole diet immediately upon returning home.
It’s a spin off of this popular recipe.
But since we’re heading into the Fall, let’s dust off those slow cookers and put them to work.
Other than the garnishes and cheeses, you’ll dump everything right in.
Literally.
Even the uncooked chicken.
So just come home from work, add your cheese, wait 10 minutes, and serve.
Or.
Add cheese. Extra cheese.
Wait 2 min.
Then serve.
Then add extra extra avo.
Slow Cooker Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
- 1 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies
- ½ cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- ½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
Instructions
- Place chicken into a 6-qt slow cooker.
- Stir in chicken broth, quinoa, enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, black beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours, or until liquid is reduced.
- Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred, using two forks.
- Stir chicken into the slow cooker; top with cheeses. Cover and cook on low heat for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the cheeses have melted.
- Serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Ever since I first found this recipe over a year ago it’s become a meal we make often as a winter comfort food.
Once I had to get a little creative when I didn’t give myself enough time and made it in the instapot for 10min with a little added broth. Also tastes good with sauté onion added.
Can you make this in a 4 quart crock pot?
So good, mine overcooked a bit but it’s because i left it in too long – don’t do this! Still delicious though!
Very Good. I was looking for recipes to use up my quinoa. I am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes,
Hello, I know this recipe has been around for a long time, I have one question. Can you double this recipe in the crockpot? I have a family of 6 and this would only mean one serving so no left overs . Let me know if it turns out okay if you double this! I can’t wait to try it! Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! Good luck! 🙂
To say my family loved this recipe would be an understatement! They immediately asked for it to be fixed again – SOON!
I have 5 hungry guys to feed, so doubled the recipe. Used frozen boneless chicken thighs (did not thaw – threw them in the crockpot frozen), so cut back on the water/stock added. Also, spread a double layer of paper towels across the top of the crock, under the lid to prevent pit from being soupy. It was perfect!!!
Absolutely love this recipe! It’s a regular on our dinner table. My husband loves it. Our guests rave about it too. Everyone says, “It IS damn delicious!” I follow the recipe exactly.
Awesome, Kristin! We love hearing that! 🙂
Has anyone subbed ground beef for chicken in this recipe? Thoughts on this idea?
I am interested in trying this recipe, but do not own a 6 qt slow cooker. I have a 1970s vintage 3 qt cooker, known in those days as a crock pot. It has served me faithfully for over 40 years. Is this recipe downward scalable…in other words, can I half the recipe? Hopefully, this thread is still being monitored since I know that it has been over a year since the last comment. Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your reply.
Yes, you can try to halve the recipe but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I couldn’t wait to make this yesterday but when I peeked in 4 hours into it ( on low) it was so dried out we couldn’t eat it. Wasn’t happy wasting all the thing that went into it . Poop! Really wanted that too.
What a bummer! Did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
I used the 1 1/4 chicken broth, the recipe had no other liquid in it. Was there something that was missing in the recipe?
Did you add the 10-ounce can of enchilada sauce?
Yes , I put the sauce in. Even a little extra cause the can was a 19 oz size
How strange! I’m not entirely sure what could have caused the dish to turn out so dry!
I used organic quinoa . Could that of done it? Going to try again this weekend
It’s hard to say. That shouldn’t really be the culprit. The only thing I can think of is if you used a larger slow cooker (which would have caused the dish to be overcooked). But please do let me know how it turns out if you get a chance to try it again!
One more question then I’ll leave this alone. One reviewer said in step 2 she added the 4 cups of water. I don’t see that in my recipe . Maybe that is why mine was so dry.
Susan, there is no water in this recipe. When cooking quinoa, it is typically 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups liquid. This recipe has 1 cup quinoa with 1 1/4 cups chicken broth as well as 1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce. There is more liquid than required when cooking quinoa so I cannot speak for why your dish came out to be so dry.
I’m curious to know if Susan figured out why her recipe was dry. A few years ago I had trouble with all of my slow cooker recipes coming out dry for awhile, and figured out that the lid to my old crockpot was no longer fitting properly, so steam was seeping out. Once I replaced the crockpot, the problem was solved.
I have a large family of 8 people and we love leftovers. Could I double this and still have it turn out well? This looks amazing send I’d love to make soon for my large family.
Yes, of course, but you may need to use a larger slow cooker.
How long to cook for frozen chicken
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This recipe is delicious. I would like the nutritional info on it.
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. But if it is not available for a specific recipe, you can always use free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps, Debbie!
Do you think this recipe would work doubled?
It should, but you may have to adjust cooking times. Please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications.
I made this recipe. I added more chicken than required and I cooked mine on high for 2 hours because my slow cooker seems to cook faster than most. I wanted to ensure my chicken did not dry out. I waited until the last hour to add diced tomatoes from the can. The last 10 minutes I added the cheese. I left the avocados out. This dish was AMAZING!!! I will definitely make this again
I made this last night. It was a HIT! the family loved it!
And to clarify, I used Trader Joe’s red enchilada sauce (all 12 oz), TJ low sodium chicken broth, TJ chopped fire roasted green chilies (4 oz), TJ organic black beans (1 FULL can drained and rinsed), TJ tri color quinoa, an Heirloom tomato in lieu of a Roma and topped with a dollop of sour cream & avocado. I also only used 1 chicken breast b/c of the how much quinoa there was and my hubby and 15 year old son LOVED it. They didn’t even notice there was very little chicken but were both full after dinner. You know it’s good when the family says “Make this again!”
Would cooking this on high for 3 hours be a bad idea?
High for 2-3 hrs should work just fine!
Do you happen to know an estimate of calories per serving?
Thanks
Hi Christina! Nutritional information is actually provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
I made this & I was extremely sick with a stomach bug, my husband finished it & I didn’t get the chance to tell him it had cheese. He absolutely loved it & I’m so glad I got this in the crockpot before getting sick! Thanks for a good recipe even without the cheese.
This was delicious! I didn’t use chicken (meatless Monday) so it quickened the cooking time, and I used Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce. If you don’t overdo the cheese and sour cream, this meal is comforting and clean. Yum!
I love all your recipes! Thank you I’ve made your one pot quinoa enchilada so many times and everyone loves it! want to make this without the chicken and wondered if I had to make any adjustments?
I’m not positive you’ll be able to answer this for me, but can I try this in my Dutch Oven instead of my Crock pot?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.