Favorite Healthy White Chicken Enchiladas

These white chicken enchiladas are made healthier with an ultra-creamy, cheesy white sauce with Greek yogurt! They're easy to make (with gluten free option) and protein-packed.

this recipe

Winter is the time for comfort food, and this healthy white chicken enchiladas recipe will keep you cozy and nourished! Growing up, my mom made an authentic white enchiladas recipe that my brother requested for his birthday every year. They quickly became our most popular birthday dinner request! Some would say we love white chicken enchiladas.

Now I'm excited to share with you my version, inspired by my mom's perfected recipe. It has a few healthy twists but maintains the same creamy, cheesy deliciousness.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Tortilla Tips
• Instructions
• Substitutions & Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• White Chicken Enchilada FAQs
• Favorite Healthy White Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients you'll need for these healthy enchiladas.

• Extra virgin olive oil or butter - For sautéing veggies.
• Sweet onion - To sauté for the enchilada filling.
• Green bell pepper - Another veggie to sauté for the filling.
• Canned diced green chiles - For the filling, again!
• Chopped chicken - We love chopping up rotisserie chicken as a shortcut!
• Butter - For the white sauce base.
• Flour - To thicken the sauce.
• Coriander - The spice that makes the dish... seriously!
• Salt - For flavor, as always.
• Chicken broth - Or veggie broth.
• Greek yogurt - Full fat work best here to get creamy, rich results and the best flavor.
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Corn or flour tortillas - These will hold the filling together and form the enchiladas.
• Cilantro - The best topping!

Tortilla Tips

Soft, flexible tortillas are important for this recipe so that your tortillas don't break while you roll them up. Fresh, new tortillas that haven't been stored in the fridge yet will probably work best. Here are couple tips to making tortillas more pliable.

1. Microwave: You can wrap the tortillas in a clean, dampened dish towel and heat them in the microwave for about 20 seconds, flipping halfway through.
2. Dip in sauce: Just before you fill the tortillas, dip them in the warm enchilada sauce, which will warm and soften the tortilla.

As for tortilla brands, we love the La Tortilla Factory corn tortillas! They are not gluten free, but they are flexible, strong, and so delicious. We also like gluten free corn tortillas, and we buy locally made corn tortillas as often as possible. Two of our favorite sources for locally made corn tortillas are Latin American grocery stores and farmers markets, but we often find them in local grocery stores and other shops too.

Finally, if you're feeling ambitious, you can always make your own corn tortillas! They're so simple and the freshest taste you can get.

Instructions

Get ready for some cheesy goodness. To prep for these enchiladas, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and chop up your onion, green bell pepper, and chicken.

Chicken, Onions, and Peppers

For the chicken filling, heat some olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, and then add the onions and green bell peppers with a pinch of salt. Sauté until soft and translucent, then remove from heat and add to a bowl along with the chicken and canned diced green chiles. Set aside while you make the white cheese sauce (some will be added to the filling).

White Enchilada Sauce

Next, it's time for the creamy white enchilada sauce. Start by whisking together some white whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour), coriander, and salt together in a small bowl. Then, using the same skillet as before, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add the flour mixture right into the butter as you constantly whisk the two together. Immediately add broth, whisking constantly until any flour/butter chunks are gone.

Continue to cook and stir until the sauce is thickened and bubbly, about 5-6 more minutes. Then, add in the Greek yogurt and some of the cheese, and stir with a whisk until everything is melted together into a smooth and creamy cheese sauce.

Filling the Enchiladas

Now, stir a half cup of the white enchilada sauce into the chicken mixture to make your enchilada filling (yum!). Then, add another ½-3/4 cup of sauce into the bottom of a rectangular baking dish -- enough to cover the bottom in a thin, even layer, which enough for another small baking dish.

Baking Dish Sizes & Notes: This recipe makes 12 enchiladas, which for me usually takes one 3-quart baking dish (about 9x13 inches) and one 2-quart baking dish (about 8x8 inches).

To fill the tortillas (making sure they're warmed if they were stored in the fridge for a while), scoop a heaping ¼ cup of the chicken enchilada mixture into the center of each tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place it in the baking dish parallel to the short side of the rectangle. Repeat this step for each tortilla, placing them snuggly next to each other into one baking dish, and then filling your other baking dish if necessary.

Top the rolled enchiladas (in both dishes) with the remaining sauce, and divide the rest of the cheese among each dish, proportionate to the number of enchiladas in each dish.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with fresh cilantro, fresh jalapeños if you're feeling spicy, and devour!

Hint:

Substitutions & Variations

If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.

• Tortillas - I grew up eating these with flour tortillas, and honestly they are also delicious! In fact, I usually only make these with corn tortillas every other time, just to switch it up. Our favorite flour tortillas are the kind from Angelic Bakehouse.
• Gluten free - Make sure to use gluten free corn tortillas or other gluten free tortillas, and use your favorite gluten free flour when making the sauce.
• Vegetarian - Swap the chicken out for the same about of black beans!
• Spicy - Use fresh serrano chiles instead of canned, and leave in some of the seeds. Alternatively (or in addition, you spice fiend!) serve with fresh jalapeños or another spicy salsa to add spice at the end.

Equipment

Because this recipe makes 12 enchiladas, I usually use a couple baking dishes. I use this 3-quart ceramic baking dish from Sur La Table, as well as another 2-quart square ceramic baking dish.

Storage

Store leftover enchiladas in airtight, preferably glass containers in the fridge for up to five days. To reheat, bake at 350-degrees until heated through, or reheat in a skillet on the stove. In a pinch, the microwave will work, but oven and stovetop methods revive the texture a bit bitter.

To freeze, store cooked and fully cooled enchiladas in an airtight glass container in the freezer for up to three months. When you're ready to eat them again, thaw the enchiladas in the fridge for a few hours, then reheat on the stovetop or in a 350-degree oven.

If you want to make these enchiladas and only need to serve one or two, freezing them is a great idea! Eat half now, freeze half for later when you're in need of another healthy comfort food dinner.

White Chicken Enchilada FAQs

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