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!
Really good, will add to the list of EBF recipes on rotation. We only had diced tomatoes and some tomato paste and made that work as the sauce was delicious. We ended up using all of it in this recipe. ** Also added more peppers and cayenne pepper for extra kick as we like things spicy
So glad this recipe was a hit, Brennan! I appreciate you making it and coming back to leave a review. It’s super helpful for other readers, so I appreciate it. 🙂
This was so good! Swapped the beans for double the corn. Next time only 1 adobo pepper. Little spicy for the littles
I have made this recipe once befofe, but tonight I made them for my 74 year old Father who has been rapidly losing weight due to decreased appetite from medication. Tonight he told me he wasn’t very hungry, but then proceeded to eat an entire enchilada plus some rice and beans. While cleaning up he said he couldn’t wait to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Truly an awesome recipe. Easy to tweak depending on who is eating it, but still perfect when followed to a T.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Shaye. I’m so glad these enchiladas were a hit with your father. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it!
Just made these for my mom and I, she’s not a huge veggie eater and i’m trying to get her to eat healthy and try new things and she LOVED it. she said they were the best enchiladas she’s had in her life. Def a hit.
Ahh yay, that makes me so happy to hear, Gaby!! I’m so glad these enchiladas were a hit. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
Could we make this and freeze it? If so how would you suggest reheating?
Hey Liz – Yes, you can freeze this recipe. I would reheat it in the oven when ready to eat.
Even my 7 yr old came back for seconds 😄
Woot woot! That’s how you know it’s good. 🙂 Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Sara. I so appreciate it!
Absolutely amazing! The sauce is so good and just spicy enough for me. I love how versatile it is because I made it extra cheesy for my dad and brother. Prepped the sauce and chicken ahead of time, but know to leave enough time to roll the enchiladas. It takes longer than you think the first time. Served with simple side salad and guacamole!
I’m so pumped this recipe was a hit, Kayla!! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. <3
This recipe was super easy to follow, and tasted amazing! Definitely took me (an inexperienced cook) a little longer than anticipated, but the results were amazing!!
Ahh yay! So glad this recipe turned out for you, Meaghan. 🙂 Thanks for giving it a try and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
Really yummy! I made some with corn tortillas and they were awesome!
So easy. So good. Prepped the filling in the morning and all it took was about 5 minutes of extra prep time before everything went into the oven and then dinner was served