The Best Instant Pot Enchilada Casserole

This easy Instant Pot enchilada casserole is perfectly layered and feeds a family. Use shredded chicken or beef. This is one of those recipes that everyone will ask for again and again!

I can’t take all of the credit for this Instant Pot enchilada casserole recipe . . . actually I can’t take any of the credit.

These delicious Instant Pot enchiladas were a labor of love crafted by my mother and aunt for a quick family dinner as I watched in the kitchen.

They were determined to find the perfect Instant Pot chicken enchiladas that could feed a large group of people AND was appropriately layered like an enchilada casserole you’d make in the oven. And they did it!

To back up a little bit, chicken enchiladas are my favorite dish of all time.

When we were young, we’d get to choose the meal that we wanted our mom to make for our birthday dinner – and I would always pick enchilada casserole.

Chicken enchilada casserole, to be exact. It really never varied. And my mom always obliged because enchiladas were one of those recipes that fed our whole family (7 people!) without complaint. Everyone liked them.

Instant Pot Chicken Enchiladas

With our acquisition of Instant Pot, we’ve been converting all of our favorite recipes so that they can be cooked in this amazing machine.

Instant Pot enchilada casserole was the first order of business, given that it’s a favorite of mine – and who doesn’t love enchilada casserole?

It’s still that one dish that everyone in our family loves. The night we made this casserole, it fed six people with a few of them going back for seconds – and there were leftovers still.

The secret to this recipe is making sure there is enough liquid at the bottom of your pressure cooker so you don’t get that fateful error message. That liquid is also the reason this recipe is just so dang good!

Why Cook Enchilada Casserole in the Instant Pot

I think it’s important to mention this given that you can cook enchiladas in the oven (like you’ve probably done a million times before). So why do it in the Instant Pot? There are two big reasons.

First, I really prefer the shredded meat of this Instant Pot enchilada casserole to the chunks that were in the recipe when I was a child.

It’s SO easy to shred meat with the Instant Pot, and then you’ll cook the enchilada casserole in the same vessel (no need to wash your pot unless you burned something).

Second, the real benefit of this Instant Pot enchilada casserole recipe is that the leftovers don’t dry up. The chicken (or beef) stays moist when you cook it initially, and the leftovers are that much more delicious because of it. In fact, I *may* like this recipe best the second time around. I’m still deciding!

Can I Use Chicken or Beef?

You can use either chicken or beef for this recipe. If you use chicken, you’ll want my Instant Pot shredded chicken recipe. This shredded chicken can be used for a variety of dishes; it’s one that you’re going to use again and again.

If you use beef, you’ll want to get a chuck roast. Any size will do; you’ll use about 1.25 lb of the meat and you can just save the leftovers. You’ll press “Sauté” and then brown the meat on both sides for about 3 – 4 minutes.

Drain any oil and place the meat back into your pressure cooker. Add 1 cup of water and press “Pressure Cook.” Leave for about 35 minutes for a 1.25 lb piece.

If the chuck roast is larger, you may go up in time. Two lb takes about 45 minutes to cook and 3 lb, 60 minutes.

Whether you use chicken or beef, remember that you’ll want to save the liquid that comes off of the meat for the recipe. Don’t toss it.

Now onto the Instant Pot enchilada recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb chicken breasts or chuck roast, shredded (here’s my Instant Pot shredded chicken recipe)
• Reserve liquid from shredding your meat
• 5 medium size corn tortillas, cut in half
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese mixture
• 1 10 oz can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
• 2 10 oz cans red enchilada sauce
• 2 4 oz cans diced green chiles
• 1 large can sliced black olives (optional; delete if you don’t like olives)
• Toppings as desired: sour cream, thinly sliced red radish, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion

If you’re ready to try this easy dinner, get the printable recipe card below!

---

Have you ever tried Instant Pot chicken enchiladas? If you try these, I’d love to know in the comments! If you’re looking for additional family dinners they’ll love, try these other recipes:

• Cheesy Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe the Family Will Love
• Ground Turkey Casserole Recipe with Biscuits
• Taco Casserole with Turkey (Easy Dinner!)
• My Favorite Easy Chicken Casserole Recipes
• Instant Pot Enchilada Casserole Web Story