These healthy chicken enchiladas are packed with flavor and nutritious ingredients! The homemade enchilada sauce is the star of this recipe.
I don’t know what it is but I loveMexican food. Maybe it’s the spice or just the overall flavor profile but I love the cuisine! I have a vegetarian enchilada bake but hadn’t shared a straight forward enchilada recipe… until now. I love this recipe and hope it becomes a staple with your families!
A lot of people might consider Mexican food unhealthy, but the truth of the matter is within every cuisine there are healthy options! Sure, you can order or make the heaviest, creamiest dish but you could also make some simple swaps to lower the calories and up the nutrition profile. These chicken enchiladas are the perfect example!
Ingredients for Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
Whole wheat flour tortillas
Homemade red enchilada sauce – this is the star of the recipe in my opinion!
Vegetables – corn, black beans, yellow onion, garlic and cilantro
Cheese – I use low-fat, shredded Mexican cheese
Spices – chili powder, cumin, salt
Toppings – scallions, cilantro and jalapeños
Prepping and Storing Enchiladas
There are a couple of different ways you can prep these enchiladas ahead of time. One big time saver is making the homemade enchilada sauce ahead of time! You can freeze it if you make it more than one week in advance, otherwise just store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use. You can also prep the entire meal ahead of time and then bake it when you’re ready.
To store, use an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to five days. I don’t think I would freeze the leftovers because the cheese gets a little wonky, but if that doesn’t bother you, you can absolutely try it!
How to Serve Enchiladas
When serving these enchiladas I usually have a few topping options on hand including fresh cilantro, green onions, jalapeños, sour cream or Greek yogurt, salsa, hot sauce and guacamole or fresh avocado. You don’t need all of these. Pick your favorite toppings and use those!
These chicken enchiladas are a meal on their own, but it’s always fun to have a few sides… especially if you’re hosting. Here are some options:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add oil and sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato sauce, oregano, chili powder, cumin, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. This will help thicken the sauce. Set aside until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 400°F degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add chicken, corn, black beans, cilantro, chili powder, cumin and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Fill each tortillas with 1/4- 1/3 cup of the chicken and black bean mixture, a sprinkle of cheese and roll it up.
Place rolled tortilla into the baking dish, seam side down. Once all the tortillas are filled, cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over top.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are warm throughout. Serve enchiladas with your toppings of choice: green onions, fresh cilantro, jalapeños, sliced avocado and Greek yogurt and/or sour cream.
Hey Lexi – I’ve never tried ground chicken in these enchiladas before, so I’m not sure how they would turn out, but I bet it would work! The consistency might be a little different than using shredded chicken. Let me know if you end up trying it and how the enchiladas turn out!
This recipe came together pretty easily however was too spicy for most of my family. I should have read the comment before making. I could have done less chipotle peppers and adobo sauce (which I accidentally doubled). Overall they were very tasty and liked that they had a healthier spin.
Oh no! Sorry to hear these were too spicy, Ronda. Doubling the adobo sauce will definitely lead to that. I’m glad you enjoyed them overall and next time you can definitely omit the peppers and sauce!
WOW, these were absolutely INCREDIBLE. My family and I loved it so so much & it is 100% simple to make- def not difficult at all. I am also pregnant, so all of these healthy meals make me feel amazing! i also religiously cook everything from this website daily & wish all of it was in book form (mainly so i can avoid going to the site bc it lags so much) but THANK YOU so much for helping me feed my family & this growing baby!
Hi, Faith! Thank you so, so much for your kind review. My cookbook will be published next year, spring of 2023! I’ll let my team know about the lag and see if we can fix that issue. Thank you! 🙂
SO SO SOOOOOO GOOD! I made them for my parents and I and they were a HUGE hit! I had some extra filling and made extras to freeze. Will absolutely make again! Thanks for all the yummy recipes.
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Can you use ground chicken instead of breasts?
Hey Lexi – I’ve never tried ground chicken in these enchiladas before, so I’m not sure how they would turn out, but I bet it would work! The consistency might be a little different than using shredded chicken. Let me know if you end up trying it and how the enchiladas turn out!
Delicious!! The only change I made was using gluten free tortillas.
Woo! Love to hear this recipe was a hit for you, Kristen! Thanks for sharing your swap and leaving a review, I really appreciate it 🙂
This recipe came together pretty easily however was too spicy for most of my family. I should have read the comment before making. I could have done less chipotle peppers and adobo sauce (which I accidentally doubled). Overall they were very tasty and liked that they had a healthier spin.
Oh no! Sorry to hear these were too spicy, Ronda. Doubling the adobo sauce will definitely lead to that. I’m glad you enjoyed them overall and next time you can definitely omit the peppers and sauce!
WOW, these were absolutely INCREDIBLE. My family and I loved it so so much & it is 100% simple to make- def not difficult at all. I am also pregnant, so all of these healthy meals make me feel amazing! i also religiously cook everything from this website daily & wish all of it was in book form (mainly so i can avoid going to the site bc it lags so much) but THANK YOU so much for helping me feed my family & this growing baby!
Hi, Faith! Thank you so, so much for your kind review. My cookbook will be published next year, spring of 2023! I’ll let my team know about the lag and see if we can fix that issue. Thank you! 🙂
SO SO SOOOOOO GOOD! I made them for my parents and I and they were a HUGE hit! I had some extra filling and made extras to freeze. Will absolutely make again! Thanks for all the yummy recipes.