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Chicken enchilada bake

Name: Chicken enchilada bake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Meal prep
Ingredients: 1½ lb chicken breast; 8 corn tortillas, cut in strips; 1 can black beans (15 oz), drained; 1 cup corn, frozen or canned; 2 cups red enchilada sauce; 1½ cups shredded cheese; 1 tsp ground cumin; salt

Layered instead of rolled, so it takes half the effort. Cut it into six squares and freeze what you will not eat.

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Ingredients

6 servings

1½ lb chicken breast
8 corn tortillas, cut in strips
1 can black beans (15 oz), drained
1 cup corn, frozen or canned
2 cups red enchilada sauce
1½ cups shredded cheese
1 tsp ground cumin
salt

About $13.08 for 6 servings.

Contains: milk. Packaged foods vary, so check the labels of what you buy.

How the cost and nutrition are worked out

Ingredient	Weight	Cost	kcal	Protein
chicken breast	680 g	$6.14	816	153.1 g
corn tortillas, cut in strips	208 g	$0.66	453	11.9 g
black beans (15 oz), drained	255 g	$1.09	337	22.7 g
corn, frozen or canned	145 g	$0.76	125	4.8 g
red enchilada sauce	500 g	$2.12	150	5.0 g
shredded cheese	170 g	$2.23	683	39.0 g
ground cumin	2 g	$0.08	7	0.3 g

Totals divided by 6 servings. Salt, pepper, water and a film of oil for the pan are not counted. Prices are estimated US supermarket prices (October 2026), charged for the amount used rather than the whole pack; nutrition is from USDA FoodData Central. Our method.

Method

Simmer the chicken in salted water for 15 minutes, until it reaches 165°F. Shred with two forks.
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Mix the chicken, beans, corn, cumin and half the sauce.
Layer a baking dish: a little sauce, half the tortilla strips, the chicken mixture, the remaining tortillas, the remaining sauce and the cheese.
Bake 20 minutes, until bubbling.
Rest 10 minutes, then cut into 6 squares.

Storing

Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, in shallow sealed containers. Keeps 4 days in the fridge by US guidance; UK guidance is stricter and says eat cooked leftovers within 2 days. Freezes for up to 3 months for best quality; thaw in the fridge.

Reheating

Microwave 2 to 3 minutes. From frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge first. Heat until steaming hot all the way through (165°F), and reheat only the portion you are eating.

Worth knowing

Resting before cutting lets the layers set, so the squares hold together.

Food safety figures follow USDA leftovers guidance, the FoodSafety.gov storage chart and safe cooking temperatures, UK chilling and freezing guidance.

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