Table of Contents
Layered Mexican Casserole has Green Chile Enchilada Sauce, sour cream, green chiles, chicken, cauliflower rice, and cheese. And everyone who loves those Mexican flavors will love them in this cheesy creamy casserole!
PIN the Layered Mexican Casserole to make it later!
Layered Mexican Casserole with Chicken and Cauliflower Rice is a recipe that would be a winner for a Cinco de Mayo dinner! We loved this low-carb and gluten-free casserole when we tested the recipe. And the recipe was inspired by a comment on an old favorite casserole complaining that the recipe wasn’t low in carbs!
That comment got me wondering about what I could come up with for a low-carb version of a layered Mexican casserole with chicken. And this recipe is the happy result of a few experiments with Kara to create this recipe that we thought was amazing! I hope you try it soon.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredients.)
How did we make the Layered Mexican Casserole low in carbs?
This Mexican chicken casserole recipe has a layer with Green Chile Enchilada sauce reduced on the stove and combined with green chiles, sour cream, diced chicken, and sliced green onions. The other layer has a cauliflower rice mixture that also has onions, cumin, and green bell pepper. And of course, all the layers have cheese. I promise this recipe will be a hit with all the Mexican food fans who are watching their carbs!
Why I use Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce for the Layered Mexican Casserole:
I’m a long-time fan of Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (affiliate link), a delicious canned green enchilada sauce that’s gluten-free. Even though the ingredient list has tiny amounts of sugar and cornstarch, the sauce adds only 3.5 carbs per serving to this recipe. And this sauce is so flavorful and convenient that for me it’s a product worth using. If you find other canned Green Chile Enchilada Sauce that’s also low in sugar, by all means use the sauce you prefer!
How low in carbs is this Layered Mexican Casserole?
This tasty casserole has only 10.6 net carbs in a serving, with 18 grams of protein!
Want more low-carb Mexican Food?
Check out Keto Mexican Food Dinners for more tasty Mexican dishes that are low in carbs!
How to make Layered Mexican Casserole:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- Preheat oven to 375 F/190C. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Take frozen cauliflower rice out of the freezer.
- Put Green Chile Enchilada Sauce in a small saucepan and simmer until it’s reduced to one cup.
- Dice onion and green bell pepper and slice green onions, and cut chicken into small dice.
- Heat olive oil in a big frying pan, add onion and green pepper and cook until they’re starting to brown. Add ground cumin and cook a few minutes more.
- Add frozen cauliflower rice and cook over high heat until rice is hot and some steam has evaporated, about 4 minutes.
- When Green Chile Enchilada Sauce is reduced to one cup, put it in a medium-sized bowl and stir in diced green chiles. Taste to see if you want some Green Tabasco Sauce.)
- When the mixture is still warm but not hot, stir in the sour cream, diced chiles, and green onions.
- Make a layer in the casserole dish with half the cauliflower rice mixture.
- Add half the chicken/sour cream mixture by spoonfuls, and spread it over the cauliflower rice.
- Add half the grated cheese over the chicken mixture.
- Make another layer each of cauliflower rice mixture, chicken mixture, and grated cheese.
- Bake uncovered about 30-35 minutes.
- Let the Layered Mexican Casserole stand 5-10 minutes before cutting, and then serve!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
I’d love this Mexican Casserole served with any of these side dishes for a low-carb meal:
Weekend Food Prep:
This Layered Mexican Casserole recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
- 3 cups frozen cauliflower rice (see notes)
- one 15 oz. can Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
- 1 medium onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T ground cumin (see notes)
- one 4 oz. can diced green chiles (see notes)
- 1 T Green Tabasco Sauce (optional)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 cups diced cooked chicken
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion
- 2 cups grated Mexican Cheese Blend
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F/190C. Spray a 9″ x 12″ x 3″ casserole dish with non-stick spray. (You need a dish close to that size to hold this recipe.)
- Take frozen cauliflower rice out of the freezer and let it start to thaw on the counter.
- Put Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (or sauce of your choice) in a small saucepan and simmer until it’s reduced to one cup.
- Dice onion and green bell pepper and slice green onions.
- Cut chicken into small dice. (We used cooked rotisserie chicken from Costco, which made it easy.)
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan big enough to hold the cauliflower rice, add onion and green pepper and cook until they’re barely starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add ground cumin and cook a few minutes more.
- Then add frozen cauliflower rice and cook over high heat until rice is hot and liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes.
- When Green Chile Enchilada Sauce has reduced to one cup, put it in a bowl that’s big enough to hold the chicken, and stir in diced green chiles. (Taste to see if you want the optional Green Tabasco Sauce.)
- When the mixture is still warm but no longer hot, stir in the sour cream, diced chiles, and green onions.
- Make a layer in the bottom of the casserole dish with half the cauliflower rice mixture.
- Add half the chicken/sour cream mixture by spoonfuls, and spread over the cauliflower rice.
- Add half the grated cheese over the chicken mixture.
- Make another layer each of cauliflower rice mixture, chicken mixture, and grated cheese.
- Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes, or until casserole is bubbling hot and the top is nicely browned.
- Let the Layered Mexican Casserole stand 5-10 minutes before cutting, and serve!
Notes
We made this Layered Mexican Casserole with 3 cups cauliflower rice, but if you’d like a thicker cauliflower rice layer you can use a bit more.
If you’re not a huge cumin fan, you might want a bit less cumin.
The diced green chiles are mild Anaheim chiles, not Jalapenos!
Nutrition Information
Yield
8
Serving Size
1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 285Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 71mgSodium 257mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 2.4gSugar 7gProtein 18g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This recipe for a layered Mexican casserole uses a Green Chile Enchilada Sauce that does have teeny-tiny amounts of cornstarch and sugar. But those amounts are so low that this recipe should be low enough in net carbs for most low-carb diets. I’m not tagging it as Keto, although it wouldn’t be bad for a one-dish meal. For the original South Beach Diet it would be recommended to use low-fat dairy products.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Casserole Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Layered Mexican Casserole was created in 2021 as a lower-carb version of a favorite Mexican Chicken Casserole from the past! It was last updated with more information in 2026.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.