101 Cooking For Two

  • Recipes
  • About
  • FAQs/Help
  • Shop
  • 📖Emails
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • FAQs/Help
  • Shop
  • 📖Emails
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • About
  • FAQs/Help
  • Shop
  • 📖Emails
×
🏠Home » Recipes » Mexican Recipes

Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole—Easy and Quick

Updated: Jan 21, 2024 · Published: Jan 12, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 49 Comments

Jump to Recipe
Total Time: 1 hour hr

Healthy chicken enchilada casserole is quick and easy to make. Featuring homemade enchilada sauce and fresh chicken, it is done in 60 minutes.

This casserole will fit a healthy diet like a low-calorie or low-fat diet or even a low-carb keto diet. With less than 200 calories and 5 grams of fat per serving, it is also relatively low in carbohydrates for a low-carb/keto diet.

🐓Ingredients

Chicken—raw breasts or rotisserie chicken
Tomato sauce
Corn tortillas
Cheese—Shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese.
Pantry ingredients—chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, black pepper
Optional add-ins—corn, black beans, green chiles, or whatever you want

Chicken enchilada casserole on an orange plate.
Jump To (scroll for more)
  • 🐓Ingredients
  • 👨‍🍳How to make Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole—Step-by-Step
  • Other Tex-Mex and Low-Fat Recipes to Try
  • 🐓How to Use Rotisserie Chicken
  • How to serve
  • ❄️Storage
  • ❓FAQs
  • 🖊️Nutrition notes
  • 📖The Recipe Card
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Featured Comments
Donna:
"Wow! This was amazing. We love the sauce."
Leslie: "I have made this before really good and easy, 5-star recipe."

This delicious healthy enchilada casserole recipe has a great Homemade Enchilada Sauce, tender chicken, and cheese. Everybody will love this layered casserole that is super easy to assemble.

It's much easier to make and less messy than rolled enchilada casseroles. It has an easy homemade enchilada sauce that is much better than the canned alternative. You can use raw chicken cooked in the sauce or rotisserie chicken to speed things up.

👨‍🍳How to make Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole—Step-by-Step

raw chicken with enchilada ingredients.

1. Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.

trimmed and cut up chicken breasts on a black board.

2. Trim two skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut them into three pieces each. These vary a lot in size. Aim for about 1 ½ pounds, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.

chicken simmering in enchilada sauce.

3. In a medium saucepan, mix one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and bring to a boil over medium-high heat—cover and decrease to simmer until the chicken is 165°—about 20 minutes.

shredded chicken in three piles.

4. Remove to cutting board and shred. Divide into three equal piles.

tow tortilla in the dasserole dish.

5. Prep an approximately 9X6 baking pan with PAM. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the bottom of the baking pan—layer two 6-inch corn tortillas over the sauce.

adding shredded cheese on the layer.

6. Add ⅓ of the chicken. Then ⅓ of the sauce (about ⅔ cup). Then ⅔ cup shredded cheese. Repeat this layering twice more.

cooked chicken casserole.

7. Bake until a golden brown top - about 20 minutes.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

Other Tex-Mex and Low-Fat Recipes to Try

Try some other easy Tex-Mex recipes. Start with this excellent Taco Casserole, then move on to Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas or classic rolled ChickenEnchiladaCasserole. Check out a few crock pot recipes with Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Southwest ChickenCasserole, or Fiesta Chicken.

For some great full-flavor low-fat recipes, try Healthier Carrot Cake, Healthier Low-Fat Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, or make some Homemade Low Calorie Dog Treats.

🐓How to Use Rotisserie Chicken

You can use precooked chicken. If you're aiming for low calories, use chicken breasts. You need about 3 cups, which will be approximately 1 ½ pounds.

For the precooked chicken, you only need to simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes before assembly. The nutrition will change since all the rotisserie chicken is not breast meat.

How to serve

Top with the usual Tex-Mex condiments. Common are chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, sour cream, sliced black olives, shredded lettuce, or cilantro. 

Side dishes of refried beans, Mexican Rice, or tortilla chips with salsa are excellent compliments.

❄️Storage

Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. It should also freeze well when sealed well for 3-4 months.

❓FAQs

Can I use canned enchilada sauce?

You can use canned enchilada sauce, but you will suffer significantly in taste. This recipe uses my Homemade Enchilada Sauce, which is as easy as it is tasty.

If you use canned sauce and raw chicken, use it for cooking the chicken like the recipe. If you use it with rotisserie chicken, start at assembly.

How to keep the tortillas from getting soggy?

Some tortillas seem to get soggier than others in a casserole. If you find this is a problem, you can briefly fry the tortillas for a few seconds in hot oil on each side. This works for both flour and corn tortillas—but it will add a bit of oil and change the nutrition.

Is this casserole gluten-free?

Yes, it should be with the corn tortillas. But like everything, read all the labels of anything you use.

🖊️Nutrition notes

  • Corn tortillas will save about 2.5 grams of fat and 40 calories per serving.
  • Lower-fat cheese saves about 4 gms of fat and 40 calories per serving. But please do not use non-fat cheese, which will not melt the same.
  • The complete nutrition summary is in the recipe card.
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

101's Best Recipes, Casserole Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Carb/Keto Recipes, Low Fat Recipes, Mexican Recipes

Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.

📖The Recipe Card

Chicken enchilada casserole on an orange plate.

Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole—Easy and Quick

4.84 from 6 votes
From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Healthy chicken enchilada casserole is quick and easy to make. Featuring homemade enchilada sauce and fresh chicken, it is done in 60 minutes.
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings #/Adjust if desired 6

Save this recipe link to your inbox for later!

Print | Pin | Email share | Like and save for later Saved!

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric
  • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 15 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 6 corn tortillas - 6 inch
  • 2 cups cheese - Lower fat suggested

Instructions
 

  • raw chicken with enchilada ingredients
    Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
  • trimmed and cut up chicken breasts on a black board
    Trim two skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut them into three pieces each. These vary a lot in size. Aim for about 1 ½ pounds, but anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds total should be fine.
  • chicken simmering in enchilada sauce
    In a medium saucepan, mix one 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and bring to a boil over medium-high heat—cover and decrease to simmer until the chicken is 165°—about 20 minutes.
  • shredded chicken in three piles
    Remove to cutting board and shred. Divide into three equal piles.
  • tow tortilla in the dasserole dish
    Prep an approximately 9X6 baking pan with PAM. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the bottom of the baking pan—layer two 6-inch corn tortillas over the sauce.
  • adding shredded cheese on the layer
    Add ⅓ of the chicken. Then ⅓ of the sauce (about ⅔ cup). Then ⅔ cup shredded cheese. Repeat this layering twice more.
  • cooked chicken casserole
    Bake until a golden brown top - about 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

  1. Easy to double in size using a standard large casserole dish or cake pan.
  2. You need anywhere from 1-2 pounds of chicken, depending on how much meat you want.
  3. I call for fresh skinless boneless chicken breasts, but thighs will work.
  4. You can use precooked chicken. You will need about 3 cups. Don’t add it to the sauce, and cut the simmering of the sauce down to 10 minutes.
  5. You could use canned sauce, but please don’t do that.
  6. You can add some drained cooked beans, corn, or green chiles.
  7. You can use flour tortillas if you want, but this will increase the fat and calories slightly. Also, it will no longer be gluten-free.
  8. Use a lower-fat version of cheddar or Mexican blend shredded cheese.
  9. Will be good refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months.

Your Own Private Notes

Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 189.5 kcal (9%)Carbohydrates : 17.5 g (6%)Protein : 19.8 g (40%)Fat : 4.8 g (7%)Saturated Fat : 2 g (10%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 0.8 gMonounsaturated Fat : 1.4 gTrans Fat : 0.01 gCholesterol : 32 mg (11%)Sodium : 838.4 mg (35%)Potassium : 468.2 mg (13%)Fiber : 3.4 g (14%)Sugar : 3.1 g (3%)Vitamin A : 959.2 IU (19%)Vitamin C : 5.5 mg (7%)Calcium : 198.2 mg (20%)Iron : 1.8 mg (10%)
Serving size is my estimate of a normal size. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors.

The inspiration by Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole from Jo Cooks. I adapted the recipe to my tastes and made it a little healthier at the same time.

Originally Published February 3, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

dogs helping in the kitchen.

More Mexican Recipes

  • Chicken taco nacho chip in hand.
    Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
  • Pile of freezer burnt chicken breasts.
    Freezer Burnt Chicken Rescue—Shredded Mexican
  • Chicken fajita with toppings on a gray plate.
    Easy and Flavorful Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
  • shredded pork loin on a bun with sauce
    Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin

Comments

    This post has been updated and republished. All comments are held for moderation due to spam issues. Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Please leave a comment or question. All comments are moderated.




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Leslie says

    January 24, 2017 at 10:58 pm

    I 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

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      January 24, 2017 at 11:13 pm

      Hi 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

  2. Sandra says

    January 20, 2017 at 8:57 am

    Home made enchilada sauce is the way to go. Delish.

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      January 20, 2017 at 9:06 am

      It does make a huge difference.
      Thanks for the note.
      Dan

  3. marms says

    January 19, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    I 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.

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      January 19, 2017 at 6:27 pm

      Hi 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

  4. laurajay says

    January 19, 2017 at 4:19 pm

    That 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!

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      January 19, 2017 at 7:07 pm

      Thanks for the note. You picked some winners there. Leave some cake for me.
      Dan

  5. Lexy says

    November 20, 2016 at 10:39 pm

    5 stars. It was very tasty!

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      November 20, 2016 at 10:52 pm

      Thanks so much for the comment. This is my go to for healthy easy Mexican.

      DrDan

  6. Ken Sullivan says

    January 24, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    This 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

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      January 24, 2016 at 8:25 pm

      I'll check but it seems like my spicy taco meat would do.

      DrDan

  7. Dea Varner says

    July 02, 2015 at 7:34 pm

    5 stars
    This 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!!!

    Reply
  8. JoAnne says

    June 25, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for supper tonight - SO GOOD. My husband, who is beyond picky, loved it. Glad I made an extra-large batch!

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      June 26, 2015 at 10:25 pm

      Thanks for the comment and rating... Molly and Lilly say thanks also.

      Dan

  9. JoAnne says

    June 25, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    This looks delish, and I'm making it for supper tonight. Molly and Lilly are just gorgeous, by the way. :-)

    Reply
  10. Bridget says

    June 10, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    4 stars
    I 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.

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      June 10, 2015 at 6:01 pm

      Hummm....
      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 says

      June 12, 2015 at 5:12 pm

      I will definitely try again! As I said, it was really good- all leftovers got eaten too. Thx

    • Dan says

      February 12, 2016 at 12:22 pm

      Super thick? Did you get the chunky spaghetti sauce? Just use plain old tomato sauce. It's just blended up tomatoes with nothing fancy added.

  11. Audra says

    June 08, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! 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!

    Reply
  12. jeneva says

    May 18, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    So 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?

    Reply
  13. Brenda Biggars says

    March 11, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    5 stars
    I 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!!

    Reply
  14. Tracy says

    February 17, 2015 at 10:58 am

    Cant wait to try this recipe! I am a sucker for Mexican food and this looks delicious! And its Healthy too!

    Reply
  15. Chris says

    February 13, 2015 at 9:33 am

    I'm with you. First, I love enchiladas. Second, I much prefer making my own sauces, red or green.

    Reply
  16. Caitlin says

    February 09, 2015 at 11:48 am

    Thank 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?

    Reply
    • DrDan says

      February 09, 2015 at 12:36 pm

      We 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

Newer Comments »

DrDan imageHi, I'm DrDan.
Welcome to 101 Cooking for Two, the home of great everyday recipes with easy step-by-step photo instructions.
About DrDan

Pan Seared 30-min. Dinners

  • NY strip steak cut on an orange plate
    Pan Seared Oven Roasted Strip Steak

  • pork tenderloin on blue platter
    Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin

  • cooked seared chicken breast on a white plate
    Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breasts

  • filtet mignon with potatoes on a white plate
    Pan Seared Oven Roasted Filet Mignon

  • Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Chops from 101 Cooking for Two
    Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Chops

  • 30 Minute Boneless Pork Ribs

SITES THAT I WORK WITH OR HAVE HAD RECIPES FEATURED OR REFERENCED.
SITES THAT I WORK WITH OR HAVE HAD RECIPES FEATURED OR REFERENCED.

Footer

BACK TO TOP
OF PAGE
Join the club
SUBSCRIBE TODAY

About

  • About DrDan and the Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Comment Policy
  • Guest Posts, Partnering, and Business Questions

Content

  • Food FAQ
  • Kitchen Reference Sheets
  • Recipes Featured in the Videos
  • Guide To Cooking for Two
  • Old Saved Recipes Collections
dogs by the pond

↑ back to top ↑a

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact

COPYRIGHT © 2010-2025 101 COOKING FOR TWO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | BASED ON FOODIE PRO THEME