Homemade enchilada sauce, fresh chicken and 60 minutes equal great healthier Mexican with this “from scratch” easy recipe. No pre-cooked chicken or can of enchilada sauce needed.
So we are 3 weeks into 2017, are you bored with your New Year’s diet yet? I’m here to rescue you from boredom at only 300 calories per serving.
Publishing Note: This is second in a series of a repost of older underappreciated recipes. I want to highlight some great recipes that are my personal favorites. I’m buffing up the photo editing and wording some. Please give it a try. First published Feb. 3, 2015, so some comments may be older. DrDan
We all love good Mexican, but it can be evil on the health-o-meter. But it doesn’t have to be. By using lower fat cheese, corn tortillas and well-trimmed chicken this recipe comes in at about 300 calories and 14 grams of fat per serving.
My wife will give me hints about what to cook next. Mild hint requires looking at her Pinterest posts. Strong hints I will refer to as “Yum-o-grams” which are emails starting with the Y-U-M phrase.
The best yum-o-grams will have a link to a blog I usually read anyways. This one linked to Jo Cooks a blog I have enjoyed many times. Similar recipes have been around the blogs, and all use canned enchilada sauce. I much prefer my homemade enchilada sauce. So I adapted the recipe to my tastes and made it a little healthier at the same time.
My Rating
A 5 from my wife. I was between a four and a five, but I’m good with the 5. She even said she might make it herself, so you know it’s good.
Recipe Notes for Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes
I usually make enchiladas with a rolled method. Much fussier and messier. This is so much easier.
You can use precooked chicken. If you’re aiming for low calorie, obviously use chicken breasts. You need about 3 cups which will be about 1 1/2 pounds, but I like a lot of meat in something like this.
You could also use can sauce but really do you want to do that?
Start by preheating oven to 350 convection or 375 conventional.
Trim two skinless boneless chicken breast and cut into three pieces each. These vary a lot in size. Aim for about 1 1/2 pound but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
In a medium sauce pan add one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, one tablespoon chili powder, one teaspoon paprika, one teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well. Add the chicken and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cover and decrease to simmer for 20 minutes.
Check the temperature of chicken to be sure it is 165 or more. Remove to cutting board and shred. Divide into three equal piles.
Prep an approximately 10X7 baking pan with PAM. Spoon two tablespoons of the sauce over the bottom of the baking pan. Layer two 6 inch corn tortillas over the sauce.
Add 1/3 of chicken. Then 1/3 of the sauce (about 2/3 cup). Then 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat this layering twice more.
Bake until a golden brown top. About 20 minutes for me.
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Healthier Chicken Enchilada Casserole in 60 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 6 corn tortillas - 6 inch
- 2 cups lower fat cheese
Instructions
- Start by preheating oven to 350 convection or 375 conventional.
- Trim two skinless boneless chicken breast and cut into three pieces each. These vary a lot in size. Aim for about 1 1/2 pound but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
- In a medium sauce pan add one 15 oz. can tomato sauce, one tablespoon chili powder, one teaspoon paprika, one teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
- Add the chicken and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cover and decrease to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Check the temperature of chicken to be sure it is 165 or more. Remove to cutting board and shred. Divide into three equal piles.
- Prep an approximately 10X7 baking pan with PAM. Spoon two tablespoons of the sauce over the bottom of the baking pan.
- Layer two 6 inch corn tortillas over the sauce. Add 1/3 of chicken. Then 1/3 of the sauce (about 2/3 cup). Then 2/3 cup cheese. Repeat this layering twice more.
- Bake until a golden brown top. About 20 minutes for me.
Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.
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Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.
Originally Published February 3, 2015
I'm DrDan and welcome to my blog. You will find delicious easy everyday recipes mostly for smaller households. Please look around and enjoy your visit. 
Charisma
January 22, 2019 at 5:57 pmDr Dan, this is the third of your recipes I’ve made, and every one has been incredible.
To be fair: I already have a general chicken enchilada recipe I enjoy, but never had an approach for the chicken I found just right, often resorteding to store-bought rotisseries or frozen, pre-cooked garbage.
The chicken preparation you’ve got herein could not be more flavorful, tender, or juicy. It really is, like everything else, just incredible (and still simple!).
Thank you for what you do.
DrDan
January 23, 2019 at 9:07 amHi Charisma,
Welcome to the blog.
This is one of my favorite recipes. I think because I love the sauce and it does double duty in this recipe. A braised chicken like this is always good.
Glad you liked it and thanks for the note.
Dan
Donna
June 2, 2018 at 7:55 pmWow! This was amazing. We love the sauce. We added some black beans, corn and peppers to the chicken layer. We also made our own corn tortillas. We recently got a tortilla press, and wanted to try it. This is definitely one to make again. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Donna
March 22, 2018 at 9:48 pmI totally appreciated this recipe! Made/Assembled the casserole this afternoon and popped it in the oven at 5:00. This was hubby approved by his “you can make this again” comment. DrDan comes through again! I think I’m 4:4 make-again recipes. Now to get my main dishes on next week’s calendar for weekly grocery store trip.
DrDan
March 25, 2018 at 10:15 pmHi Donna,
You have again picked one of my favorites. The reward to work ratio is great for this one. The homemade enchilada sauce just makes this dish. Most people I know double this one for leftovers.
I have some friends who are “cooking the book”. Meaning they find a recipe book they love and cook every recipe in it. You seem to be heading down the “cook the blog” path. I warn you, I’m coming up on 500 recipes soon.
I’m so glad you are enjoying the blog and please let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.
Dan
Lori Raborn Gibson
October 15, 2017 at 4:59 pmI made this last night and it turned out amazing. I’m new to cooking, my husband is a great cook and has done all the cooking for the past 30 years. He loved how this turned out. I love the cooking for two concept. I only had 1lb of chicken and I used home grown tomatoes that I pureed last most. It still turned out great. So glad you reposted this recipe.
DrDan
October 17, 2017 at 11:25 pmHi Lori,
This is still one of the recipes that I love. It just was so logical and worked so well
Thanks for the note.
Dan
marms
April 29, 2017 at 7:55 pmI have no idea when it comes to Mexican food. I don’t even try but once ate something called green sauce? Tomatilloes? It was fantastic. Now if you could give us a recipe for that I’d do it. I saw them in the grocers this week, but really so expensive I have to have a guaranteed recipe to chance it.
Got one for us?
DrDan
May 1, 2017 at 10:45 amHi Marms,
I have never really used tomatillos to any great extent. I have had some excellent green salsa at restaurants and they are used in other sauces. Maybe I will experiment some with them this summer if they appear at my local farmer markets. They start this weekend. They never look good at my local store.
Dan
Kim
April 28, 2017 at 10:36 amThis was absolutely awesome. I did only use four tortillas because I like a lot of sauce, and it was also great left over. I was skeptical if it would have enough flavor, but it was amazing. Kind of reminded me of those Amy’s enchilada bowls but they are vegetarian, but this is better. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
DrDan
May 1, 2017 at 10:50 amHi Kim,
I do love this recipe.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Amanda
March 24, 2017 at 8:24 pmI’m a native Texan, and my husband is from Maine. It took him living in El Paso for 2 years to give real Mexican food a try (e.g., not Taco Bell), and that’s mostly because I made cheese enchiladas from scratch one night and said eat it. :) It’s been on the monthly-ish rotation ever since, but I saw your recipe and had to try it.
My husband loved it!!!! He agreed with you, the recipe is a 5 rating. When I informed him a 5 means “I could live on this,” he didn’t change his answer! I agree with the 5 too, even though I was initially skeptical about the sauce (it’s just not the way I was taught). It was VERY good and easy to whip up. Thanks for a keeper!!
DrDan
March 24, 2017 at 8:36 pmHi Amanda,
Thanks for the note. Feel free to do your enchilada sauce but this is my standard sauce and cooking the chicken in it while simmering just made sense.
Dan
Cheryl Mckenney
March 2, 2017 at 12:15 amGonna give this a try. Can I use chicken in a can? Or would that not come out the same?
Katie
February 7, 2017 at 8:11 pmI made these last night and they were delicious! The sauce was absolutely amazing and so easy to make. I will never again buy premade enchilada sauce which, honestly, I don’t really care for anyway. My husband gave this rave reviews and said he liked the sauce even more than the enchilada sauce at most mexican restaurants. This is definitely a keeper and will be on our menu frequently.
DrDan
February 7, 2017 at 8:25 pmHi Katie,
I do love this sauce. It is a modification of a sauce from a recipe book that I found in California. Just a little paperback bi-lingual book but almost everything is a winner in it.
Dan
Michelle
February 3, 2017 at 4:50 pmHi. If I use shredded rotisserie chicken instead, would you suggest I just warm the chicken in the sauce before assembling the casserole? I just always find that rotisserie chicken is so much more moist, tender and flavorful than whole breasts that have been simmered in anything. Thank you! Going to make this and your spicy taco meat for super bowl Sunday!
DrDan
February 3, 2017 at 7:05 pmYep, just toss it in near the end of the 20 minutes. I will say that the chicken cooked this way is moist and tender. You can also sub in skinless chicken thighs if you want.
Dan
Leslie
January 25, 2017 at 11:10 pmThanks, I will make your cheesy chicken broccoli instead. My cooking skills have greatly improved with the help of your blog, however I don’t want to experiment on my company!
Leslie
January 24, 2017 at 10:58 pmI have made this before really good and easy, 5 star recipe. Do you have a arroz con pollo recipe? I am having coming this weekend, I am planning to make your crock pot ribs Friday (look delicious), but they love arroz con pollo and I would love to make it for them this Saturday. Thank you, leslie
DrDan
January 24, 2017 at 11:13 pmHi Leslie,
No, I don’t have a recipe for Arroz Con Pollo. I have seen recipes and it looks like a recipe I would do and like but have never tried it live so I generally like to try a classic recipe at a restaurant before doing it so I have a comparison.
Dan
Sandra
January 20, 2017 at 8:57 amHome made enchilada sauce is the way to go. Delish.
DrDan
January 20, 2017 at 9:06 amIt does make a huge difference.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
marms
January 19, 2017 at 5:49 pmI haven’t made it yet, but I *know* I’m a-gunna love this. Too bad about the low calorie and low fat count I’ll have to fix that, since I’m on a low carb diet that means I use full fat everything, sometimes when it’s not even in the recipe. Yeee haw. I have lost 26 lbs.
I just knew when I saw your site I would love everything here. I don’t see anything I wouldn’t make,with above amendements of course.
DrDan
January 19, 2017 at 6:27 pmHi Marms, Yes you can modify it… Get some of those low carb tortillas and cheese it up.
Welcome to the site, and I believe there is a low carb category.
Dan
laurajay
January 19, 2017 at 4:19 pmThat dish looks yummy I cannot wait to try- likely next week. Its a Dr Dan cook fest, ham and bean soup tomorrow, flourless chocolate cake Saturday and I am sure more!. Thanks for the recipes and cooking real food!
DrDan
January 19, 2017 at 7:07 pmThanks for the note. You picked some winners there. Leave some cake for me.
Dan
Lexy
November 20, 2016 at 10:39 pm5 stars. It was very tasty!
DrDan
November 20, 2016 at 10:52 pmThanks so much for the comment. This is my go to for healthy easy Mexican.
DrDan
Ken Sullivan
January 24, 2016 at 4:58 pmThis looks great, but I don’t care about healthy and would rather use ground beef and roll the tortillas. My mother used to make it ages ago and it was great but the recipe has been lost since she passed.
I was wondering if you would have a recipe for it.
I could eat the whole pan
DrDan
January 24, 2016 at 8:25 pmI’ll check but it seems like my spicy taco meat would do.
DrDan
Dea Varner
July 2, 2015 at 7:34 pmThis casserole was fabulous!!! My husband who has been on a health kick for the last year and has lost weight and become quite fit, deemed it worthy of a repeat performance!!! He told me I’d better keep it in the rotation of recipes! The only thing I changed was to add some black beans to the casserole.. the hubby is all about plenty of protein and the added beans did that. We don’t usually eat corn tortillas but after eating this we’ve decided they are waay better than the flour! This makes the third or fourth recipe of yours that we’ve added to our repertoire, so thank you for your awesome recipes!!!
JoAnne
June 25, 2015 at 4:43 pmMade this for supper tonight – SO GOOD. My husband, who is beyond picky, loved it. Glad I made an extra-large batch!
DrDan
June 26, 2015 at 10:25 pmThanks for the comment and rating… Molly and Lilly say thanks also.
Dan
JoAnne
June 25, 2015 at 12:41 pmThis looks delish, and I’m making it for supper tonight. Molly and Lilly are just gorgeous, by the way. :-)
Bridget
June 10, 2015 at 12:11 pmI made this for the first time last night. I don’t know what I did wrong but there wasn’t nearly enough sauce, and it was super thick . So it was hard to spread out. I did double check the recipe afterwards AND checked the size of my tomato sauce can. Any ideas? It was still really yummy! I happened to have a premade enchilada sauce in my pantry, so I just heated it up and some of us added it on top.
DrDan
June 10, 2015 at 6:01 pmHummm….
There should be just over 2 cups of sauce. You add 15 oz of tomato sauce and the chicken releases a little. So your liquid went somewhere. I have two possibilities that come to mind. First the chicken being “dehydrated” to begin with. Frozen a little to long somewhere could do that and of course freezer burnt chicken. Second would be you lost moisture during simmering. The lid was too loose or burner temp too high. Opps almost forgot my most common cause of this sort of thing, measurement error.
Try it again… my sauce is much better than the canned stuff.
DrDan
Bridget
June 12, 2015 at 5:12 pmI will definitely try again! As I said, it was really good- all leftovers got eaten too. Thx
Dan
February 12, 2016 at 12:22 pmSuper thick? Did you get the chunky spaghetti sauce? Just use plain old tomato sauce. It’s just blended up tomatoes with nothing fancy added.
Audra
June 8, 2015 at 10:52 pmDelicious! If you’re in to food prep (I am about to have a baby so food prep is my life right now), I suggest doubling the recipe and making two separate batches, one to eat right away and another to freeze. I also added black beans for some extra nutritional value. It would be easy to add other vegetables, too- I may throw some corn in next time. Easy and turned out great!
jeneva
May 18, 2015 at 5:56 pmSo we’re cooking the chicken in the sauce? did you use a slotted spoon to get the chicken and then a ladle to pour the sauce?
Brenda Biggars
March 11, 2015 at 2:33 pmI doubled this and made it in a 13X9 pan since we like leftovers and it is Delicious! Tastes just like chicken enchiladas and so much easier. I made it on Saturday and my son took the last piece for lunch on Tuesday. Will definitely make again!!
Tracy
February 17, 2015 at 10:58 amCant wait to try this recipe! I am a sucker for Mexican food and this looks delicious! And its Healthy too!
Chris
February 13, 2015 at 9:33 amI’m with you. First, I love enchiladas. Second, I much prefer making my own sauces, red or green.
Caitlin
February 9, 2015 at 11:48 amThank you; this looks delicious! I’m wondering about how it stores in the fridge. I would like to make a batch and take to work over the week. Do you think this would work well?
DrDan
February 9, 2015 at 12:36 pmWe do lots of leftovers but usually in 1-2 days. Day 3 is “iffy”. I would freeze individual servings for anything past 2 days.
DrDan