Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
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Published Jan 03, 2020, Updated May 18, 2024
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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
- Healthy Chicken Quesadillas
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.
Imagine looking for a chicken enchilada recipe and randomly coming across one authored by someone you taught 20 years ago.
Brittany- so glad I came across your site. Hope you’re doing well. Great recipe and we’ll definitely be back for more
Michael! Oh my goodness – hello! It’s nice to hear from you. I love that my recipe popped up for you when searching for chicken enchiladas and I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
My family and I love these enchiladas. They are delicious and relatively easy to make. I would definitely recommend!
Yay! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
This was a fantastic dinner for my family. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Amazing! So glad this recipe was a hit with your family. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it.
Since all I have on hand is ground turkey, do you think that’d be an okay substitute? I’m trying to figure out if the turkey and adobe would pair well together, but have no idea. Thanks!
Hi Mel – I honestly have not tried this recipe with ground turkey, but I am sure it will be just fine. Let me know if you give this recipe a try and enjoy!
That looks soo delicious and healthy, I’m will definitely try this recipe. thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Enjoy! I can’t wait for you to give them a try and I hope you love them.
Best enchilada recipe out there!!! So delicious!!
YAY! This is amazing, Ashley! I am so glad you are loving this recipe and it is a hit. Thanks so much for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
So yummy!! Made twice this week already!
YUM! I am so glad you are loving these enchiladas, Danielle. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Hi!
Is the entire recipe of the enchilada sauce used?
Thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa – Yes, you will use all of the sauce! Enjoy!
First, I love your recipes! I made this one last night on a pretty chilly evening in mid-Michigan and it was wonderful comfort food. I did switch out the whole wheat flour tortillas for corn tortillas which in turn made them rather difficult to roll up. I quickly abandoned that and just layered the corn tortillas on the bottom of the pan, followed by the meat/bean/corn layer followed by cheese, more strips of tortillas, enchilada sauce and more cheese on top. It was delicious and my husband LOVED it! Keeper recipe – thank you!
WOO! I am SO glad you gave this recipe a try and loved it, Audrey. Corn tortillas aren’t as easy to roll. Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
wet paper towels and set the corn tortillas in the center so you can fold all corners of the paper towel down to cover! place that side down in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds! much easier to roll!!