Gluten-Free Recipe of the Week #1: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

If you’ve read my Monthly Meal Plan posts, you know I like to experiment with new recipes. Sometimes these experiments work out really well…and sometimes they don’t. Whenever I modify a recipe, I take lots of notes so that I can recreate it in the future if it turns out well.

For my reference and yours, I’ve decided to post my recipe experiments on this blog. I plan to post at least one recipe per week. I will include a link to the original recipe as well as allergen/special diet information, notes about my changes and lessons learned, pictures from various stages of cooking, and my overall impression of the dish. Most recipes will be main dishes, but I may also include desserts or snacks as well.  

Leave a comment below if you think there’s a recipe I might like to try for a future post!

This week’s recipe is Gimme Some Oven’s Chicken Enchilada Casserole (A.K.A. “Stacked” Chicken Enchiladas) with homemade Red Enchilada Sauce.

*Please click HERE and HERE for copies of both recipes*

Information for Top 8 Allergens

• Dairy-Free (with substitutions below)
• Gluten-Free (with substitutions below)
• Free From:
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Crustacean Shellfish
  • Tree Nuts
  • Peanuts
  • Soy (check labels on cooking oil, stock, corn tortillas, and cheese)

Notes

• This dish would be fantastic for a large family or if you’re having dinner guests because it makes a lot of food. I elected to halve this recipe because our family just can’t eat that many leftovers.
• Overall, I thought the cooking process was easy (but it can be lengthy, so I recommend breaking up the steps over the course of the day or preparing it on a weekend). It took about 90 minutes to complete both recipes.
• For your own sanity, I recommend creating a complete mise en place before assembling the casserole. These were the steps that worked best for me:

1) Make Red Enchilada Sauce

2) Break down and shred rotisserie chicken

3) Prep tortillas, veggies, beans, cheese for mise en place

4) Assemble casserole and put in oven

5) Clean kitchen and prep toppings (avocado, green onion, cilantro, lime juice)

Substitutions

• Gluten-Free:
  • Use Baking Free™ All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (free from Top 8 allergens) in Red Enchilada Sauce
  • Use gluten-free rotisserie chicken or roast your own chicken
• Dairy-Free:
  • Use Daiya cheese or lentils in place of cheese
• Vegetarian:
  • Use vegetable stock
  • Omit chicken and/or replace with beans or lentils

Additional Meal Components

This dish was pretty filling on its own, but I added some roasted broccoli (prepared with Wegmans’ basting oil) to add some bulk and greens to the meal.

Verdict

I’m definitely adding this recipe to the regular rotation! It was fairly easy to prepare (even with making my own enchilada sauce), was nutritious and delicious, and provided great leftovers for lunches. I definitely recommend taking the extra step to make your own enchilada sauce—my husband said it “made the dish.”