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!
Question? What do you do with the whole peppers in the sauce once cooked?
I actually just updated this so it’s more clear. I usually dice the peppers and leave them in the sauce, but if you’re sensitive to heat, you can remove them from the sauce and discard.
This might be my favorite dinner recipe yet! Delicious!!! Can’t wait to make it again
Woo!! That makes me so happy to hear, Noha! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
Question: is the high carb (34g) because of the tortilla? I’d love to try this recipe but I try to keep my carbs down. Any suggestions?
Hey Brittany – You could use Siete Foods almond flour tortillas or corn tortillas, but I’m not sure how either of those tortillas will turn out. Someone used corn tortillas and said they were difficult and kept breaking apart. Let me know what you decide to try!
One of our favourite dinners!! these are SO good!!! don’t skip making the homemade sauce, it is incredible!!
Woo!! So glad this recipe was a hit, Robyn! Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review.
Would you freeze before baking if making in advance or store in the fridge?
How many days before eating it are you looking to prep this dish?
About a week
I haven’t tried this, but I would probably bake the enchiladas fully then freeze them. Then you can reheat it in the oven prior to serving. Again, I haven’t tried this so I don’t know how they’ll turn out, but let me know if you try it!
Thank you!
So delish! My husband likes the green sauce enchiladas but the ingredients in that sauce are 😝 So I love that your sauce is homemade with all real food and as always, the taste is 💯 yum!!
So glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for the review, Erica. I appreciate it. 🙂
My husband made this for dinner and it was delicious. My mom loved it. I made this recipe again and made it into a casserole alternating 2 layers of chicken in sauce with 1 layer of vegetable and black bean mixture. Definitely a winner.
So glad this recipe was a hit!! Thanks for the review, Jill. I so appreciate it!
Wondering if you can explain the cooked black beans in this recipe. I usually use black beans from a can
Canned beans is perfect for this recipe!
First time making one of your recipes and this one was SO GOOD. Will definitely make again and also check out your other recipes
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear. So pumped you loved this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
This recipe was delicious. I found some flour corn tortillas at Whole Foods and they were a great substitution!
I’m glad this recipe turned out for you!! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!