These Low Calorie Chicken Enchiladas are just 167 calories each! Packed with 15.5g of protein each, these low calorie enchiladas are healthy and hearty!
I was able to cut down on the carbs too with extra thin tortillas, and supply you with tips to make these healthy enchiladas in less than 30 minutes.
Packed with metabolism boosting ingredients, these low calorie enchiladas are actually a great weight loss recipe. Enjoy 2 for dinner for under 350 calories.
Low Calorie Chicken Enchiladas
What You’ll Find in this Article:
Ingredients in Low Calorie Enchiladas
Some of these ingredients can be swapped for time saving tips in the next section. For instance, save some time and get a rotisserie chicken at the store and use that for the filling.
Shopping List for Skinny Chicken Enchiladas:
- Olive Oil Spray
- Jalapeño
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme
- Onion
- Canned crushed tomatoes
- Ground allspice
- Extra thin corn tortillas (or Low Calorie High Protein Tortillas)
- Cooked shredded chicken
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Measurements in the recipe card below
Optional Toppings:
- Chopped cilantro
- Chopped fresh jalapeños
- Sliced olives
- Greek Yogurt (in place of sour cream)
- Guacamole
How to Make Healthy Chicken Enchiladas
These enchiladas can be made in just 30 minutes! But I also supplied some time saving tips so you can skip some steps and save even more time.
How to Make Healthy Chicken Enchiladas:
- Make the sauce: This all natural sauce (below) is easy to make… thanks to the blender.
- Shred the chicken: This chicken enchilada recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken!
- Add some sauce to the chicken: This will save you spreading time later… Just mix 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce to the chicken and it’s now flavored chicken and you can skip spreading the sauce in the tortilla!
- Steam the tortillas: This may seam like one extra step, but just 10 seconds in the microwave (wrapped in a wet paper towel) will save you time later… it makes the tortillas extra easy to handle.
- Fill, roll, place, and bake: Now that you’ve got soft and easy to fold tortillas grab a bit of chicken, a pinch of cheese and roll them up.
This recipe takes only 30 minutes from start to finish, and that includes making homemade sauce! But if you want to cut the time even more, check out these time saving tips.
Time Saving Tips:
- Get a grocery store rotisserie chicken– Skip cooking the chicken and get a pre-cooked chicken at the store!
- Make your Enchilada Sauce in bulk– You already have the blender out, why not make a double, or a triple batch and freeze in freezer bags for pre-prepped meals.
- Buy pre-shredded cheese– Half the time the stuff is on sale anyhow!
- Prep frozen enchilada bags– In a gallon freezer bag combine the following: 1 batch of enchilada sauce (in it’s own bag), 2 cups shredded chicken (in it’s own bag), 1 bag of shredded cheese, 8 tortillas. Freeze and pull out the morning before you cook.
- Prep Entire Casserole – Assemble the enchiladas and bake for 5 minutes. Cover with foil and place in the fridge. To reheat tomorrow, just add the enchilada, with the foil on unto the oven for 5 more minutes.
Low Calorie Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
These low calorie enchiladas are just 167 calories each! Have 2 for dinner alone or with Low Calorie Cauliflower Cilantro Lime Rice or Low Calorie Mexican Corn Salad.
More Low Calorie Casseroles:
Low Calorie Chicken Enchiladas
This recipe for easy chicken enchiladas is based off of the chicken fajita enchiladas recipe in my best selling cookbook Lose Weight by Eating.The metabolism boosting enchilada sauce recipe below is packed full of good for you ingredients, no preservatives, and will help stimulate weight loss.Along with the chicken enchilada filling, below you will find recipes for beef enchilada and vegetarian enchiladas.
Equipment
Ingredients
Enchilada sauce:
- Olive Oil Spray
- 1 jalapeño seeded and chopped
- 1 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
Enchilada ingredients:
- 8 extra thin corn tortillas (or Low Calorie High Protein Tortillas)
- Olive Oil Spray
- Enchilada sauce see above
- Enchilada filling see below
- Chopped cilantro optional topping
- Chopped fresh jalapeños optional topping
- Sliced olives optional topping
- Sour cream optional topping
- Guacamole optional topping
Chicken enchilada filling:
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- ¼ cup enchilada sauce above
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Beef enchilada filling:
- 2 cups crumbled and cooked ground beef
- ¼ cup enchilada sauce above
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Vegetarian enchilada filling:
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 bell pepper sliced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 jalapeño sliced
- ¼ cup frozen corn
- ¼ cup enchilada sauce above
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese or vegan cheese, shredded
Instructions
Low Calorie Enchilada Sauce directions:
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the jalapeño, garlic, thyme, and onion to the pan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring until the onion is soft, about three minutes
- Transfer the mixture to a blender, and add the canned tomatoes, allspice, and 2/3 cup of water.
- Blend with the lid slightly ajar until smooth.
- Pour the sauce back into the hot pan, bring it to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Low Calorie Chicken Enchiladas:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- To a bowl, combine the shredded chicken, and 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce. Mix well.
- Steam the tortillas in the microwave according to directions on package.
- Pour 1/2 of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13“ baking dish.
- Hold a tortilla in your hand and add 1 tablespoon of the cheese, and about 1/4 cup of the filling.
- Roll up the tortilla and place it in a baking dish, seam side down. Proceed to assemble the rest of the enchiladas
- Top the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake for 5 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
- Garnish the enchiladas with optional toppings, and serve hot.
Notes
Shredded Chicken Enchiladas Filling:
Cook 1-2 chicken breasts over medium heat until cooked though, about 8 minutes each side.
Remove from the pan, shred with two forks, then add back to the pan with the 1/4 cup enchilada sauce.
Ground Beef Enchiladas Filling:
Crumble and cook 1 pound of ground beef until cooked through and browned. Drain the grease and discard.
Add the enchilada sauce to the pan and mix well.
Vegetarian Enchiladas Filling :
Slice all the veggies, then cook over medium heat until they start to soften, add in 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and mix well.
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Nutrition
Serving: 1chicken enchiladasCalories: 167kcalCarbohydrates: 17.6gProtein: 15.5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1.9gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 265mgPotassium: 131mgFiber: 4.7gSugar: 6.4gCalcium: 122mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Nutrition and Calories in Chicken Enchiladas
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Article History:
- Originally written nd published June 16, 2020 by Audrey Johns
- Updated on September 27, 2023 by Audrey Johns
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Audrey, what a recipe! Chicken enchiladas have always been my weakness, but the time required to prepare this delectable recipe is a significant deterrent. However, I’m impressed by your tips for completing this dish in much less time than planned. I gathered all of the ingredients and followed your instructions to the letter; the outcome is a flavorful dinner that I can now simply prepare. Thank you very much.
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