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!
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.
My very picky 7 year old was stubborn and said he didn’t like it, but then kept saying, ok I’ll take one more bite, do you dare me? We didn’t dare him, but he finished it all. Yep, he went for seconds. It’s easy enough that I’ll add it to my weekly rotation. So good.
Happy to hear it ended up being a hit, Amy! Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
So good! First time making chicken enchiladas and these are very flavorful. I will say the 2 chipotle peppers made it too spicy for my personal liking (however my husband loves all things spicy). I topped it with nonfat plain Greek yogurt and more cilantro.
Yay! I’m glad to hear this recipe worked out for you, Rose! You can definitely omit the chipotle peppers next time, or just add one instead of two. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, it means the world to me.
SO SO SOOOOOO GOOD! I made them for my parents and I and they were a HUGE hit! I had some extra filling and made extras to freeze. Will absolutely make again! Thanks for all the yummy recipes.
WOW, these were absolutely INCREDIBLE. My family and I loved it so so much & it is 100% simple to make- def not difficult at all. I am also pregnant, so all of these healthy meals make me feel amazing! i also religiously cook everything from this website daily & wish all of it was in book form (mainly so i can avoid going to the site bc it lags so much) but THANK YOU so much for helping me feed my family & this growing baby!
Hi, Faith! Thank you so, so much for your kind review. My cookbook will be published next year, spring of 2023! I’ll let my team know about the lag and see if we can fix that issue. Thank you! 🙂
This recipe came together pretty easily however was too spicy for most of my family. I should have read the comment before making. I could have done less chipotle peppers and adobo sauce (which I accidentally doubled). Overall they were very tasty and liked that they had a healthier spin.
Oh no! Sorry to hear these were too spicy, Ronda. Doubling the adobo sauce will definitely lead to that. I’m glad you enjoyed them overall and next time you can definitely omit the peppers and sauce!
Delicious!! The only change I made was using gluten free tortillas.
Woo! Love to hear this recipe was a hit for you, Kristen! Thanks for sharing your swap and leaving a review, I really appreciate it 🙂
Can you use ground chicken instead of breasts?
Hey Lexi – I’ve never tried ground chicken in these enchiladas before, so I’m not sure how they would turn out, but I bet it would work! The consistency might be a little different than using shredded chicken. Let me know if you end up trying it and how the enchiladas turn out!
We’ve made this recipe so many times I’ve lost count. It is definitely a family favorite and we use the enchilada sauce for stuffed peppers as well! So so good
Ah! I am so happy you and your family enjoy this recipe. Using the enchilada sauce for stuffed peppers is a GREAT idea as well, thank you for sharing. I appreciate your review + star rating, thank you for being here!
A HUGE hit! I love that it uses a traditional red enchilada sauce with a healthy twist! I quadrupled the recipe to freeze individual meals. Yes…. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are HOT! If you didn’t know that before, now you do! I used 1/4 of what the recipe called for. Added extra to hubby’s!
WOO! I am happy to hear that is recipe was such a hit, Suzanne! Thank you for coming back and leaving your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
Fabulous! I did a few substitutions for dietary and pantry restrictions. Used goat cheddar cheese and added a small can of green chilis and instead of tomato sauce used a can of diced tomatoes. Immersion blended it and let it cook a little longer on the stove but otherwise followed the recipe. The worlds crankiest aunt deemed them the best enchiladas she ever had- high praise indeed!!!! Thank you!
YESS! I am SO happy to hear that this recipe was a hit, Amanda! Your substitutions sound amazing. Thank you for your review + star rating, I really appreciate it.