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!
good recipe but your ingredient list is confusing.
Can you explain why it’s confusing? Would love to be able to fix it!
Such an amazing, easy recipe.
I found I only needed one chipotle pepper. Also, bought rotisserie chicken from the store and shredded it vs making it & was a huge time saver.
I’m so glad these enchiladas were a hit, Jamie! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
2 chipotle peppers must be too spicy for most people. I used 1 1/2 and it was verging on too much spicy for my guests. Otherwise, great recipe!
Healthy Chicken recipe amazing i will try this also, thanks for your work
I always bought the can of enchilada sauce and after making this sauce … I’ll never buy it again ! It was so easy to follow this recipe and make a healthier option! We are trying to still have our favorites but also be more health conscious. The sauce was so amazing we used it over rice for another meal! This will def be in our rotation 🙏
Ahh yay!! So glad you loved this recipe, Lisa. Thanks for making it and for leaving a review. I so appreciate it!
These are indeed a staple in healthy eaters’ kitchens. We have this at least once a month, but I make enough for 3 meals. By that time we have had enough until the next ‘greedy feed’!
Thank you very much Brittany
Yay! I’m so glad these enchiladas have been a hit, Carolyn! Thanks for the review 🙂
Husband approved!!! It looks like a lot of effort when you look at the list of ingredients but was so easy. I made these the other night. I did not change a thing in this recipe. Wow, these are great. My husband even said the enchilada sauce was soo good that he wonders if we could can it and use it for taco night. We added this to our rotation and I can’t wait to have it again.
Yay! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit, Dacey! Thanks so much for making it and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Made this last night and everyone loved it! Lots of flavor–will definitely make this again.
Woo! That makes me so happy to hear, Niki! Thanks for the review and the star rating. Your feedback means so much to me!
I’ve made this recipe twice and have loved it every time! Enchiladas were always a guilty meal for me, but with this recipe I feel good about my meal! The flavor of the enchilada sauce is amazing, it is absolutely worth the effort to make your own and it doesn’t take much effort! I have already passed this recipe along to friends and will definitely keep it around to make again and again!
Yay!! I’m so pumped these enchiladas have been a hit, Amanda! Thank you so much for the review. It means the world to me!!
Oh my! I came across your site the other day and decided to try a few recipes. This was AMAZING! Rave reviews on this recipe and I have shared it with others. Fantastic!
This makes me so happy to hear, Jamie! Thanks for making these enchiladas and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate the feedback!