Enchilada Casserole - Make in advance?

13 years ago

Hi Everyone!

I will be serving enchilada casseroles to a group of 30. My question has to do with how far in advance I can prepare these? Can I make these Thursday morning and cook/serve them Saturday evening?

Or should I make them a week ahead and freeze them? Put them in the fridge on Friday to thaw for Saturday?

This is the recipe - I'll be making 3 of these - one without chicken.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1 Rotisserie Chicken Shredded
18 Corn Tortillas
1 (28 ounce) can green Chile Enchilada Sauce (Yellow Label)
12 ounces Shredded Cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1 package Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup)

Combine chicken, Sour Cream, and Taco Seasoning. Divide in half.

Spray pan with Pam.

First Layer:
Dip 6 tortillas into Enchilada Sauce and place on bottom of pan. Tear to fit. Spread 1/2 Chicken Mixture on top. Spread 4 ounces of cheese on top

Second Layer: Repeat First Layer.

Third Layer: Dip 6 tortillas into Sauce and place in pan. Sprinkle 4 ounces of cheese on top.

Cover and cook for 40 minutes @350.

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Comments (8)

cloudy_christine
13 years ago
I would just shred the chicken the day before, and assemble and bake the casserole not long before serving it. It looks as if it takes 5 or 10 minutes to put together, once the chicken is ready. before. If you need to do something way ahead, shred the chicken and freeze it (airtight).
triciae
13 years ago
Jeri, have you made Enchilada Casserole ahead in the past? My experience has not been positive - in fact, quite awful. Bad things happened to the tortillas in the refrigerator. They didn't just get soft, they self-destructed. When I want something similar - I make the casserole, either beef or chicken, and top with cornbread. That casserole freezes baked sorta okay. It's still not something I would do unless there were no other choices. :)

Strange to see your question here right now. I just got off the phone ordering 20 lbs. of fresh tomatillos to make salsa verde next week. In my house, there is no such thing as too much salsa verde! (grin)

/tricia
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User
13 years ago
I have had absolutely no luck with preparing tortillas with sauce in advance.......the texture foes gummy and is not at all pleasant. Those ingredients don't freeze well either.

As Christine says, mix the chicken , sour cream and taco seasoning in advance and then assemble when ready to cook.....even a n hour or two before. It looks like the assembly will only take a few minutes.
jeri
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the responses. I will take your advice and make them before cooking. I do have help, I just suffer from Ã¢ÂÂif you want something done right - do it yourselfÃ¢ÂÂ. Also, I suffer from learning that some people will not eat an item if they know what is in it - so I rarely share ahead of time. Ã¢ÂÂYou put SOUR CREAM in this? I HATE sour creamÃ¢ÂÂ. Of course, I usually cook for kids and this group will be adults. :-) I am going to the first annul Bow Wow Pow Wow! 4 days of Nose Work with our K9 kids. I canÃ¢ÂÂt wait!

Tricia - IÃ¢ÂÂve never made Salsa Verde. Will you share your recipe??? :-)

Thanks!

Jeri
jeri
Original Author
13 years ago
Hmmmm - I was just going to use the same recipe for the Vegetarian option and leave the chicken out - now I'm concerned it will not be good enough. What if I take some Veggie Burgers and crumble them up to replace the chicken in this recipe?
User
13 years ago
........well you could but ........it doesn;t sound very appealing to me.

I would do plain cheese enchiladas for the vegetarian dish adding a can of black beans for texture.
User
13 years ago
I made an enchilada casserole recently and we were not impressed. Tortillas are very hard to cut, especially corn tortillas, think really really tough lasagna noodles. We pulled them out and piled them on a plate.

While we liked the filling, we decided next time to serve the tortillas on the side and use the casserole as more of a filling and the leftovers as a great dip.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
13 years ago
It can be good but it becomes something my MIL calls tamale pie. Much like a 'Mexican lasagne'. And not the dish you intend to make. Yes it becomes soggy but delish for 'family' knowing that it is a bit like a leftover...not for guests. (the tortillas become almost a gravy)
Like mentioned, making a few toppings like a salsa and a cream sauce...we use a cream, or yogurt, with a bit of fetta and cilantro, spring onion, as sides that a guest can add at serving.
The structure of the enchilada will be totally lost. Best to put together fresh, cook, and serve.
The parts can be made ahead, even frozen, but assembly should be done the day of...
Salsa verde is fine frozen, then thawed, but i always add a freshness the day of...fresh sauce, tomato, peppers, etc.

Enchilada Casserole - Make in advance?

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cloudy_christine

triciae

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Enchilada Casserole - Make in advance?

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cloudy_christine

triciae

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