Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
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Published Jan 03, 2020, Updated Jul 05, 2023
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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
- Healthy Mexican Layer Dip
- Mexican Sweet Potato Chicken Soup
- Tempeh Taco Salad
- Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
- Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Vegan Enchiladas
- Healthy Chicken Tacos
Popular Chicken Recipes
- Healthy Orange Chicken
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
- Za’atar Chicken Bake
- Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
- Chicken Noodle Soup
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.
Too complicated!
This was amazing! My first time making Enchiladas and it was a hit!
For the sauce I substituted the adobo part with smoked Paprika powder and only put a tinyyy sprinkle of chilli due to own preferences and i chose chicken broth. For the filling I used 3 chicken breast and left the beans out (sadly, my partner doesn’t like beans) and left the chilli out too.
Otherwise, I followed the recipe. It was a delicious dish and has been added to my faves, my partner liked it too. He’s usually a picky eater but rated this 8/10. That means it was G O O D.
Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Yay!! So happy to hear these enchiladas were a hit even with the slight substitutions, Melisa. Thanks for the review!
This is my new go-to enchilada recipe. I have made it several times and it is so delicious! My husband absolutely loves it. I’m not a huge fan of store bought enchilada sauce because it’s pretty bland but the homemade sauce in this recipe makes a huge difference and just makes this recipe so good!!
Ah yay! So happy to hear this enchilada recipe has been a hit, Michelle! Thanks so much for trying it out and coming back to leave a review. It means so much to me!
SO GOOD! I live in the UK and it’s hard to find enchilada sauce. Now I don’t think I’d want the store bought after eating these! YUM!
Ah yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Jen. Thanks so much for the review :).
SO so good!
So glad to hear! Thanks for the review, Susan :).
Love this recipe! So flavorful! Enchilada sauce so much tastier than the canned/jarred stuff. Have made multiple times and my husband approves, too (even though it is not his mom’s enchiladas)! Will definitely keep this recipe as a future family favorite!
Yay!! So pumped to hear these enchiladas were a hit, Rachel. Thanks for the review and star rating. It means so much to me!
I was debating making homemade enchilada sauce, and I will confess all the steps taken together WERE a bit putts and I vowed not to do it again…UNTIL I TASTED THEM!! OMG!! The only thing I altered was maybe adding more cilantro and less garlic and used corn tortilla (because they taste amazing)… So my corn tortillas kinda turned to mush but it tasted so darn good, I don’t care! Kudos and thanks for the recipe!
So pumped to hear you loved these enchiladas, Molly! Thanks for making them and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I made this enchilada recipe tonight and it is sooo good!! You are right, your enchilada sauce is pretty amazing! I thought it was just the right spice! Very very tasty in your mouth!! I will make this again for sure. I also made the Mexican street corn, yummy! So good
Ah yay! So happy to hear these enchiladas were a hit, Jane! Thanks so much for the review + star rating. It means so much to me!
Very nice recipe. We don’t get chipotle peppers hence I added the sauce with Mexican flavoured tomatoes to make the sauce. Very nice and loved by family. It’s a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
Yay! This makes me so happy to hear, Vandana! So happy these enchiladas were a hit. Thanks for the review and star rating. It means so much to me!
Can these be made and frozen in advance to cook at a later time?
I haven’t tried freezing these, but I would imagine they’d freeze just fine to cook at a later time! Let me know if you end up trying it and how they turn out.
Hi! So for freezing, you would recommend just following through with the whole recipe other than cooking it?
Hi Kira – Yes, you can prep the entire meal ahead of time and then bake it when you’re ready. Enjoy!