Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
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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 love Mexican 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!
- Shredded Chicken – I use my slow cooker shredded chicken recipe
- 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:
- Sides: easy black bean dip, frozen pea guacamole, avocado salad, Mexican street corn salad
- Drinks: skinny paloma or skinny margarita
More Healthy Mexican Recipes
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Mexican Quinoa Casserole
- Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Vegan Enchiladas
- Healthy Chicken Tacos
- Healthy Chicken Quesadillas
Be sure to check out the full collection of healthy Mexican recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
Enchilada Sauce
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 chipotle peppers, diced (from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon of adobo sauce from can
- 1 16 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
Chicken & Veggies
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken, about 2 breasts
- 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1/2 cup cooked black beans
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, from above
Enchiladas
- 8 7-inch whole wheat flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese, divided
- green onions and fresh cilantro, for topping
- jalapeños, for topping (optional)
- plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, optional
- sliced avocado, optional
Instructions
- 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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
I made this recipe last night and it was so good! I have never made enchiladas before and it tasted like I was at a Mexican restaurant.
Ahh yay!! So glad you enjoyed these enchiladas, Christina. 🙂
So good! This recipe will definitely be added to our rotation!
Yay!! So glad this recipe was a hit, Katie. I appreciate you coming back to leave a comment + star rating. 🙂
The homemade sauce made this recipe! Thank you!
Excellent recipe!
Easy to follow and the meal rocked!
Love the sauce…
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, John! Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it!
This may be a silly question, but are you suppose to pick out the Chipotle peppers before pouring the sauce?
Hey Trichia! So you add two peppers and then 1 T of the sauce, not all of the sauce. 🙂
I should have clarified, I meant the enchilada sauce. So you leave the peppers in that?
Yes, to make the sauce you use 2 chipotle peppers from adobo sauce and then 1 T of the adobo sauce. Hopefully that makes sense! 🙂
You’re saying the can of adobo sauce will come with chipotle peppers in it…and you want us to pick out 2 peppers from it? So use 2T of the adobo sauce (liquid part only), and then pick out 2 peppers from the rest of the can and add them in? So you don’t actually buy separate peppers, just the can of adobo sauce?
That’s correct! It should be chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the can. You just buy one small can.
This recipe was amazing, the kids and I loved it!!! It actually tasted better than my local Mexican restaurant! Instead of cooking my own chicken I brought a roasted chicken from my local grocery store which saved time and added flavor! This recipe is definitely being added to our routine!
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Renetia!! I’m so glad these enchiladas were a hit. Thanks for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
Just made this recipe for dinner tonight! It was delicious. The homemade enchilada sauce stole the show!!! Will definitely be making again!
Ahh yay!! I’m so glad this dish was a hit, Meg. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
This is by far one of the best recipes I have made. The red sauce is fabulous. I highly recommend trying this recipe. My husband loved it as well
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Stephanie! I’m so glad these enchiladas were a hit. 🙂 Thanks for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it!
This was the first time that I made enchiladas from scratch and we will definitely make them again. The whole family loved them! The recipe was easy to follow. My 12-year-old daughter helped me make them. I made the shredded chicken ahead of time in the crockpot, as you suggested. It was so much easier than I thought it would be- and very delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe. We are looking forward to trying out more of your recipes.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Stacey! I’m so glad this dish was a hit! Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
Another staple/favorite that will be added to our list. The sauce absolutely makes this dish! We had to use corn tortillas instead of flour which was a bit of a hot mess as they kept breaking when trying to roll them up BUT the flavor made up for it of course.
I’m glad you enjoyed these enchilada, Katie! Good to know about the corn tortillas, I have only used flour tortillas to make these. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3