Healthy Green Chicken Enchiladas

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. As Amazon Associates and through other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a link – at no extra cost to you. We only promote products we actually use and truly love!

Our healthy green chicken enchiladas are made with black beans, cottage cheese queso, and Mexican verde sauce for fresh, homemade flavor in every bite.

A tray of chicken enchiladas with verde sauce.

Enchiladas are one of our go-to dinners when we want easy leftovers for the rest of the week. Spend a little bit of time preparing dinner one night, and then enjoy all that hard work for days to come – what’s better than that? These healthy green chicken enchiladas are especially delicious since they’re stuffed with creamy cottage cheese queso, chicken, and black beans, and they make a perfect leftovers-for-dinner meal the next night.

Serve them with tortilla chips, salsa, and homemade guacamole, and you’ve got a Mexican restaurant style dinner right at home!

What This Recipe Entails

To make our healthy green chicken enchiladas, you’ll need to marinate and cook the chicken first, then make the enchilada filling, assemble the enchiladas, and bake them.

  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes

You can prepare the enchilada ingredients while the chicken is marinating to save yourself some time.

Green chicken enchiladas.

Healthy Green Chicken Enchiladas Ingredients

These healthy green chicken enchiladas use two of our favorite recipes: Mexican verde sauce (salsa verde) and cottage cheese queso. Together, they create fresh and citrusy yet creamy and savory enchiladas that are just packed with flavor!

Here is everything you’ll need to to make these salsa verde chicken enchiladas:

If you are looking to simplify dinner preparation, you can make the verde sauce, cottage cheese queso, and grilled chicken ahead of time. That way when you’re ready to make enchiladas, all you have to do is assemble and bake!

Green chicken enchiladas.

How To Make Healthy Chicken Enchiladas With Green Sauce

By making salsa verde and cottage cheese queso from scratch, this recipe does require a little extra work than other recipes. But the added flavor and nutrition from homemade ingredients is very much worth it!

Plus, you can make both the salsa and the queso while the chicken marinates. Two birds, one stone, or something like that. 

Follow these steps and you won’t have any trouble making yourself a fresh batch of salsa verde chicken enchiladas:

  1. Start by combining the chicken marinade ingredients in a medium size bowl. Marinate the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.
  2. While the chicken marinates, make the Mexican verde sauce and cottage cheese queso by following the instructions for each found on their respective posts linked here.
  3. Once the chicken is marinated, heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat on the stove. Cook the chicken until it reaches 155 degrees F, about 3 minutes per side, flipping 2 to 3 times.
  4. When the chicken has finished cooking, let it rest for 3 to 5 minutes before cutting it into small chunks, about quarter inch to half inch cubes. 
  5. Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
  6. Now, prepare the enchilada filling. Combine the chicken, black beans, and queso in a large bowl, and mix well until evenly combined.
  7. To assemble the enchiladas, fill each flour tortilla with a few spoonfuls of the chicken, bean, and queso filling. Split the filling evenly between the 8 tortillas.
  8. Then, wrap each enchilada tightly and place them seam side down into the prepared baking dish.
  9. Top the enchiladas with the verde sauce and sprinkle lightly with shredded Mexican cheese, then cover tightly with foil and bake for 18 to 20 minutes to warm them through. 
  10. Serve hot or let cool completely before storing in the fridge for meal prep. 

Covering the enchiladas with foil while they bake keeps them from drying out. They’ll stay super saucy and moist, and the cheese will be gloriously melty on top! Make sure not to skip this step, otherwise the cheese may burn and the enchiladas will be dry.

Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas Serving Suggestions

There are so many great ways to enjoy these healthy chicken enchiladas, whether it’s for lunch or dinner. And while they are delicious enough to enjoy on their own, we love serving them with these sides for a full meal:

And of course, don’t forget to add on a spicy mezcal margarita or tequila pina colada to round out your meal! Every good Mexican dish needs a delicious cocktail to wash it down.

A tray of green enchiladas.

Healthy Green Chicken Enchiladas Meal Prep

This recipe is a great big batch meal prep dish as it makes 8 enchiladas that are easy to reheat (and just as delicious as they are fresh). Whether you’re looking for lunches to take to work or easy, healthy, weeknight dinners, we know you’ll be making these time and time again.

Since there is a decent amount of work that goes into preparing healthy green chicken enchiladas, we like to make them on Sunday, enjoy two for dinner, and then have 6 leftover enchiladas that can be easily reheated throughout the week for delicious yet nutritious meals.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Any leftover enchiladas can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. If you have a 9 by 13 baking dish with a lid, it makes storing leftovers a breeze. 

Plus, if you are looking to heat up all your leftovers at once, you can just stick the full baking dish into the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes (covered with foil) to heat them back up. 

Otherwise, individual enchiladas can easily be reheated in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until they reach your desired temperature.

Try our healthy green chicken enchiladas recipe next time you need a comforting yet nutritious weeknight dinner! Let us know what you think by rating and commenting below.

The Candid Cooks 10 quick and easy dinners ebook download.

Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:

To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.

Like this recipe? Don’t forget to share it and follow us on Pinterest!

A tray of chicken enchiladas with verde sauce.

Healthy Green Chicken Enchiladas

Alex
Our healthy green chicken enchiladas are made with black beans, cottage cheese queso, and Mexican verde sauce for fresh, homemade flavor in every bite.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8 enchiladas
Calories 575 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Chicken

  • 1 pound chicken breast trimmed
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 to 2 pinches salt

Enchiladas

  • cups cottage cheese queso
  • 3 cups Mexican verde sauce
  • 15 ounces canned black beans drained and rinsed
  • 8 10-inch flour tortillas
  • ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese
  • Fresh cilantro chopped, optional garnish

Instructions
 

  • First, combine the chicken, vegetable oil, lime juice, minced garlic, and salt in a medium size bowl. Marinate the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • While the chicken marinates, make the Mexican verde sauce and cottage cheese queso by following the instructions linked here.
  • Once the chicken is marinated, heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat on the stove. Cook the chicken until it reaches 155 degrees F, about 3 minutes per side, flipping 2 to 3 times.
    Then, let the chicken rest for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing it into small chunks, about ¼ to ½ inch cubes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
  • Combine the cubed chicken, black beans, and cottage cheese queso in a large bowl. Mix well to combine evenly – this is your enchilada filling.
  • To assemble the enchiladas, fill each flour tortilla with a few spoonfuls of the filling. Split the filling evenly between the 8 tortillas.
    Wrap each enchilada tightly and place them into the baking dish, seam side down. They should fit snugly.
  • Top the enchiladas with the verde sauce and sprinkle lightly with shredded Mexican cheese.
  • Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 18 to 20 minutes to warm through.
  • Serve hot with tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole, or let cool completely before storing in the fridge for meal prep.

Notes

Verde sauce and cottage cheese queso: Homemade ingredients like these are what make these green chicken enchiladas so healthy! We highly recommend you use the recipes linked in the ingredients list above. If you want to simplify things, you can always use a store-bought verde sauce – just look for one that has fresh, whole ingredients and is minimally processed.
Baking enchiladas: Make sure to cover the enchiladas before baking so they don’t dry out in the oven! This will keep them super saucy and moist.
Serving suggestions: Pair these enchiladas with tortilla chips, guacamole, salsa, or pico de gallo. Or, make a side of cilantro lime rice and beans for a more filling meal.
Meal prep: This big batch dish is great for meal prep! Make the recipe as usual, bake them, and save the leftovers for easy lunches or dinners, or let the whole dish cool completely before storing in the fridge.
Storing and reheating: Store leftover enchiladas in an airtight container in the fridge. We love this 9×13 baking dish that comes with a lid for easy storage (and no clean up!) after dinner.
Reheat the tray of enchiladas in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes (covered with foil), or reheat single servings in the microwave for about 2 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1enchiladaCalories: 575kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 23gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 842mgPotassium: 435mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 177IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 316mgIron: 4mg
Want more?Sign up for our newsletter here and never miss a new recipe!
Share with us on IG!Mention @candidcooksblog or tag #thecandidcooks!
Follow us on PinterestVisit our profile @thecandidcooks and don’t forget to pin this recipe!
Keyword black beans, chicken breast, cilantro, cottage cheese queso, flour tortillas, mexican cheese, salsa verde
Tried this recipe?Please consider leaving a review!

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

Looking for kitchen inspiration? Head over to our shop to see what we cook with every day, plus recommendations for foodie gifts and eco-friendly products.

Leave a Reply

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

Recipe Rating




Close
The Candid Cooks © Copyright 2021
Close