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.
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.
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Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil or butter - For sautéing veggies.
- Sweet onion - To sauté for the enchilada filling.
- Green bell pepper - Another veggie that we'll dice and sauté for the filling.
- Canned diced green chiles - Also for the filling, adds a very delicious flavor!
- Chopped chicken - Any chopped cooked chicken that you have will work; we love chopping up rotisserie chicken as a shortcut.
- Butter - For the authentic white sauce base.
- Flour - Flour will help us make a roux, or a butter and flour base for the sauce.
- Coriander - This is the spice that makes the dish... seriously! You don't want to leave this one out.
- Salt - For flavor enhancement, as always.
- Chicken broth - This will go into our white sauce.
- Greek yogurt - Full fat work best here to get creamy, rich results and the best flavor.
- Monterey Jack cheese - Some cheese will go into the sauce, while the rest will be sprinkled over the top to get melted over the enchiladas in the oven.
- Corn or flour tortillas - These will hold the filling together and form the enchiladas. See below for my tortilla recommendations!
- Cilantro - Fresh chopped cilantro adds amazing flavor and freshness.
Substitutions & Variations
Here are a few substitutions and variations to help you make this enchilada recipe work for you!
- Tortillas - I grew up eating these with flour tortillas, and honestly they are also delicious! My 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 gluten free flour when making the sauce.
- Vegetarian - Swap the chicken out for the same amount of black beans!
- Spicy - Use fresh serrano chiles instead of canned, and leave in some of the seeds. Additionally, serve these enchiladas topped with fresh jalapeños or another spicy salsa to add spice at the end.
- Turkey - You can use turkey stead of chicken! It's perfect for a leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.
How to Make White Sauce Enchiladas
Get ready for some cheesy goodness!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat some olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions and green bell peppers until soft and translucent, adding a pinch of salt as they soften.
Step 2: Remove from heat and add to a bowl along with the chicken and canned diced green chiles. Set aside while you make the white enchilada sauce.
Step 3: Whisk together white whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour), coriander, and salt 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.
Step 4: Immediately add broth, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the sauce is thickened and bubbly, about 5-6 more minutes. Congrats, you've made a roux!
Step 5: With heat over medium, add cheese and yogurt to the pan and whisk it together. Continuously whisk until you get a smooth white sauce! Stir a half cup of the white enchilada sauce into the chicken mixture to make your enchilada filling.
Step 6: 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. If using two baking dishes, layer the other dish as well.
Step 7: 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. Repeat for each tortilla, placing them snuggly next to each other into the 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).
Hint: Using room temperature Greek yogurt helps it to blend seamlessly into the sauce. If you don't have time for your yogurt to come to room temperature, leaving it out for 30 minutes before getting started will help!
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 work best. Here are couple tips to making tortillas more pliable:
- 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.
- Dip in sauce: Just before you fill the tortillas, dip them in the warm enchilada sauce, which will warm and soften the tortilla.
Our favorite tortillas to use:
- Locally made corn tortillas. Usually we find them at Whole Foods, our local co-op, local Latin American grocers, or farmers markets... and they are SO good!
- La Tortilla Factory corn tortillas! They are not gluten free, but they are flexible, strong, and SO delicious.
- Sprouted grain tortillas. Especially the ones from Angelic Bakehouse... they are the BEST ever! I have at least one per day in my morning breakfast wraps and I love them in these enchiladas.
- Other flour tortillas. Recently I've been super into finding local flour or whole wheat tortillas from our local co-ops.
- Homemade corn tortillas. These are more for if you're feeling ambitious, but the fresh taste of corn tortillas is hard to beat!
White Chicken Enchilada FAQs
Mexican brown rice is an easy and delicious side for these enchiladas! Chips, salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo are some of our other favorite sides for this recipe. Even a simple side salad would be a good complement!
Yes! Using gluten free corn tortillas (most are) and gluten free flour in the white sauce make these enchiladas gluten free.
Yes! To make ahead, do not preheat your oven, and prepare the white chicken enchiladas through Step 4 (below). Cover tightly and store in the fridge until you're ready to bake the enchiladas. When ready, take the enchiladas out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter at room temperature while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese bubbles.
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.
📖 Recipe
Favorite Healthy White Chicken Enchiladas
Healthy white chicken enchiladas are packed with protein and made with a creamy, cheesy white sauce that uses Greek yogurt instead of sour cream! The white sauce is spiced simply with coriander, and we think this makes the dish. Healthy comfort food for the win!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 enchiladas 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced small
- 1 green bell pepper, diced small
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
- 2 cups chicken, chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour (unbleached all-purpose OR white whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas
Instructions
- Sauté onions and peppers. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and peppers to the skillet and sauté until soft, about seven minutes.
- Combine filling ingredients. Add the onions and peppers to a bowl with the chicken and green chiles, and set aside.
- Make a roux. Mix the flour, coriander, and salt together in a small bowl. In the same skillet used for the peppers and onions, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add the flour mixture and gently whisk it together with the butter to form a uniform mass.
- Add broth, then yogurt and cheese. Immediately add the chicken broth. Heat the mixture over medium while you whisk, until it becomes thick and bubbly, then cook and stir for 1-2 more minutes. Add the Greek yogurt and cheese, constantly whisking until smooth and melted.
- Add white sauce to filling. Stir a half cup of the sauce into the filling you had set aside earlier.
- Fill and roll enchiladas. Line the bottom of your baking dish(es) with a thin, even layer of sauce. Place ¼ cup of the chicken filling in the center of a tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and set it in the baking dish, parallel to the short side (if pan is rectangular). Repeat for as many remaining tortillas as you can fit in the baking dish, then continue into other baking dish if using.
- Top enchiladas. Top the enchiladas evenly with all remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then serve with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Tortillas. Pliable tortillas are key for successful enchiladas! No one wants their tortillas breaking apart while rolling enchiladas. I recommend using whole wheat flour or corn tortillas that haven't been refrigerated. If you do need to use up refrigerated tortillas, allow them some time to come to room temperature or warm slightly in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
- Baking pan sizes. Because this recipe makes up to 12 enchiladas (depending on how full you fill them), you may need to use multiple pans. Make sure to follow instructions for each.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 enchiladas
- Calories: 452
- Sugar: 6.4 g
- Sodium: 929 mg
- Fat: 22.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8 g
- Fiber: 5.1 g
- Protein: 30.7 g
- Cholesterol: 95.3 mg
Marge says
Love the chicken but looking forward to swapping it out with leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Tera Gigot says
Yay! You can only eat those leftovers for so long, LOL.
Maureen says
Turned out awesome! Will make again. Very easy!
Tera says
Yay! So glad you liked them!
Marla Micoley says
I haven’t had these since we had Mexican night at Mom’s! Kathy, Betty, and I each brought different styles of enchiladas. Your moms were the best!
Can’t wait to make them.
Tera says
I never knew that story!! 🙂 Thanks Marla! These ones are a treasure.
Michelle says
Just made these and the whole fam loved them 🙂
Tera says
Yay! So glad you liked them, Michelle!