What is it about Mexican food that just feels so right?! I could eat tacos, taco bowls, enchilada soup, this Paleo enchilada casserole or really any other variety of Mexican flavored food every day of the week. I mean, it’s good to live it up on Taco Tuesday each week, but I could really go for it Every. Single Day. Are you that way, too?
Paleo Enchiladas
Is that a thing? I used to love enchiladas pre-Paleo life, but have yet to re-create a Paleo-fied version. But….we did create this Paleo enchilada casserole, which is pretty much the next best thing. It combines two of my favorite things – Mexican flavors and cornbread (but without the corn)! Wait. What?! You read that right! This casserole has a layer of Paleo cornbread on top, and it is dang good!
The Inspiration For This Recipe
Well, our friend Jessica over at Jay’s Baking Me Crazy made this to-die-for Paleo cornbread chili pie, and both Justin and I couldn’t get enough. We’ve made it several times, and it never gets old! We apparently just couldn’t get over how great of an idea it was. Then, a little later last year we made our crockpot/instant pot chicken enchilada soup, which gave us all the warm and fuzzies Mexican foods tends to do, and I thought huh – how about making that a casserole with a cornbread topping, kind of like Jessica’s Paleo cornbread chili pie? And that is how this delicious Paleo enchilada casserole was born. We made it several times last year and decided we just had to finally post it this year!
Crockpot Or Instant Pot For The Chicken
To make the enchilada chicken, you can use either your Crockpot or Instant Pot. We like to use the Instant Pot for this recipe because once the chicken is done you have to transfer to a baking dish and spread the cornbread topping over it to then bake in the oven. Using the Instant Pot just cuts out time and makes the whole process quicker to throw together if you’re doing it all in one night. You could also make the chicken separately and just refrigerate and then do the baking part the night you want to enjoy it. Either way, get this Paleo enchilada casserole on your radar! It will be a new favorite!
Some Other Mexican Inspired Recipes
-
- PALEO TACO SALAD
-
- TACO BREAKFAST BOWL
-
- MEXICAN MOCHA
-
- PLANTAIN TOSTADAS
-
- FISH TACO BOWLS
-
- PALEO TACO SEASONING
Your Turn To Try Our Paleo Enchilada Casserole With Cornbread Topping
Hurry and make this Paleo enchilada casserole. You will LOVE the combo of the Mexican flavors with the cornbread topping! Let us know how it goes by leaving a comment below. Also, take a photo and tag us on Instagram @realsimplegood, so we can check it out!
LIKE THIS RECIPE? CLICK HERE TO PIN IT AND TRY IT LATER!
Paleo Enchilada Casserole with Cornbread Topping (GF + Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
For the crockpot or instant pot:
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast or thighs
- 2 cans fire roasted crushed tomatoes, (14.5 oz cans)
- 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the cornbread topping:
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp raw local honey
- 1/4 cup grass-fed butter or ghee, melted, (or coconut oil for dairy-free)
- 3 eggs
Equipment
- Baking Dish
Instructions
- Prep the bell pepper, onion and garlic as noted. Then place all of the crockpot ingredients in your crockpot or instant pot. Cook in crockpot on low for 6 hours, on high for 3 hours or for 20 minutes in the instant pot.
- About 45 minutes before you're ready to eat, preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease a casserole dish.
- Place all of the cornbread topping ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix and combine the ingredients.
- When the crockpot or instant pot is done, remove the lid and use two forks to shred the chicken. Scoop everything into a casserole dish. Spread out the cornbread topping over the chicken mixture. Use the back of a spoon or your hands to spread the mixture out evenly over the chicken. It doesn't have to cover every bit as the dough will expand when it bakes.
- Place in the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes until the cornbread topping starts to brown. Once done, remove from the oven and serve.
The cornbread topping is so good! When mixed together, it’s a great dish! Even my flour substitute husband loved it!
So glad to hear you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for giving our recipe a try! 🙂
Could this be turned into a freezer meal? Would you bake it first or leave the baking portion for when it’s going to be eaten?
Hi there – good question. I think it would work best to make the chicken mixture and freeze it, and then when you’re ready to bake it, mix up the cornbread topping, throw it on top and bake. Otherwise, I think the cornbread topping would be mushy if frozen, thawed and re-baked. Hope that helps! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try.
This one took a little prep, but I used a mandolin to cut the onions and thank god I did. The dish came out perfect. My husband and I love the topping too.
We will be making this again.
Thanks for the great recipes.
You’re welcome! So glad you liked the recipe and found one to make again 🙂
This is now one of my favorite recipes! The “cornbread” is perfectly sweet and goes so well with the smoky flavor of the casserole. My husband could not believe it was healthy food because it tasted so good ( a common reaction to all the recipes I make from RSG). The only thing I didn’t like was the fight we got into over who got to take the leftovers to work the next day! Thank you both for all your hard work in making healthy food easy, fun and delicious!!!
Thanks Courtney! We agree this is a tasty one :).