Easy High Protein Chicken Enchiladas

These easy high protein chicken enchiladas are an easy weeknight meal and are great for meal prep. With just seven ingredients and ready in 30 minutes, they're packed with protein AND flavor!

A version of this chicken enchilada recipe has been living in a recipe box on the top shelf of my pantry for...well, years.

It came into my life from a college ex-boyfriend's mother. The romance was short-lived, but the chicken enchiladas were not. She used to bring them to us frozen in small packs, so we could defrost and cook a couple at a time for dinner.

When my healthy eating journey started eons ago, I put recipes filled with flour, cheese, and sour cream in the recipe box and quite honestly forgot about them.

Recently I've been experimenting with old recipes, finding ways to reduce carbs, increase protein, and lower calories in general.

If you can't tolerate gluten or dairy, I have a great throw-together Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe here, and a super fast Sheet Pan Chicken Fajita recipe here.

What goes in these healthy high protein chicken enchiladas

The original recipe contained two cups of sour cream, twice as much cheese, and 12 tortillas - which made it much higher carb, higher fat, and lower protein. Here's what we've got in these:

Chicken breast - The leanest part of the chicken, keeps protein high and fat low. Use cooked breast you have on hand or grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, remove the skin, and use the breast meat.

Green chiles - I prefer to use the mild version, but if you like the spicier ones, go for it! These pack a punch of flavor without a lot of calories.

Fat free greek yogurt - Thick and creamy, this replacement for sour cream reduces the fat and adds an extra bump of protein - and you can't even taste a difference!

Green onions - Adding a little bit of crunch and freshness, I like to use a mix of both the dark green tops and the light green bottoms.

Tortillas - High in fiber, subbing the zero net carb version reduces the net carbs while keeping the traditional tortilla consistency. Reducing the number from 12 to 8 lowers the carbs per serving as well. (I like this brand or this brand.)

Enchilada sauce - Just the basic mild stuff in a can! I have also made this recipe with Siete brand red enchilada sauce, but have found that it can be a little too spicy for some (aka my kid!) You can always add spice with hot sauce when serving.

Mexican cheese - The original recipe called for 16oz of shredded Mexican cheese, but I've found the 8oz to be plenty. Half in the mixture, and half on top.

How to make easy chicken enchiladas

This is one of those recipes that I like to get all my ingredients prepped and ready before I get started. It gets pretty sloppy with the dipping and folding, so its easier to just prep it all, roll with it, and then wash your hands at the end.

So to start, mix the cooked chopped chicken, greek yogurt, green onions, green chiles and half the cheese in a bowl and stir until combined.

Next, prep your baking dish - open a can of enchilada sauce and spoon a bit into the bottom of the pan and spread it around to coat. Then pour enchilada sauce into a shallow dish or plate that's large enough to lay a tortilla in.

Take all the tortillas out of their package and set them next to the dish.

Now, roll up your sleeves, 'cause we're about to get messy!

Take a tortilla and dip both sides in the enchilada sauce, then set it into the baking dish.

Spoon some of the filling into the tortilla, then fold the ends in and the sides up.

Flip the enchilada over seam side down, and move onto the next. Repeat until you've filled all the tortillas and tucked them into the dish.

Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and the remaining cheese, and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and enchiladas are heated through.

Serving high protein chicken enchiladas

I like to give these maybe 5-10 minutes or so out of the oven before serving. They'll stay piping hot, but the sauce will thicken just a touch and the tortillas will firm up a bit.

Once you're ready, use your spatula to separate out a single enchilada, then scoop it out. The first one is the toughest!

How to freeze this dish or make meal prep enchiladas

This is one of those dishes where when you're going to dive in and commit to the messy prep, you might as well double it!

I love to double it and make one for the week and one for the freezer. You'll make it all the way up to the baking step - sauce, cheese, and all - and then cover it with plastic and foil before freezing.

Take it out of the freezer the day before you want to use it and put it in the fridge (or defrost on the counter, I won't tell 🤫) and then bake once defrosted. If it's still chilled from the fridge/freezer, you may need to bake a bit longer than the typical 20 minutes to get it heated all the way through.

The best leftovers

These easy to make high protein chicken enchiladas make THE best leftovers - and they're super easy to reheat. Just put them on a baking sheet and cover with foil so the cheese doesn't burn and they don't dry out, and reheat for 10-15 minutes between 300° and 350°.

If you like it a little crispy around the edges like me, you can remove the foil and pop it under the broiler for a minute or two before serving. Mmmmm. 😋

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Looking for other delicious high protein meals? Check out these recipes!

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