September 23, 2015
Skinny Refried Bean & Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Amazing, healthier chicken enchiladas with creamy refried beans, chicken and a homemade enchilada sauce. This recipe is a crowd pleasing dinner staple!
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hour
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Enchiladas are known in my family to be the ultimate comfort food. I’ve grown up all my life eating them a variety of different ways: red sauce, green chile, a tomatillo salsa version, avocado and even sour cream. In my opinion, all enchiladas are worthy of eating.
And shame on me for not giving you this recipe sooner! The first time I made this version, Sarah and I devoured these after a long day of photography and recipes. Our minds were teetering on the verge of delusional and delirious, but our bellies were happier than ever.
Now that Tony’s home, he’s been craving home cooked meals. So far I’ve made him turkey meatballs, healthy chicken parm, pepper jack and chicken pasta and finally, these beautiful enchiladas. He’s an athlete so I have to make sure that my recipes are both satisfying, filling and tasty. Most of the time, he is never able to tell that my recipes are lightened-up or healthier versions of his favorites.
These enchiladas were no exception.
Ingredients in these healthy chicken enchiladas:
Chicken breast instead of rotisserie chicken: we bake the chicken first, then shred it. It’s easy and you don’t get the added calories + fat than your average store bought rotisserie chicken does. However, rotisserie chicken is an easy version. If you want to go that route, simply use 2-3 cups shredded chicken.
Just a little bit of cheese: I didn’t go crazy on the amount of cheese in this recipe. Frankly, it isn’t necessary thanks to the wonderful creamy beans and flavorful enchilada sauce. Major win.
Refried beans: I love, love, love using refried beans in my enchilada recipes because of the added nutrition, fiber and protein. Plus it makes the enchiladas literally melt in your mouth. Black bean refried beans are a favorite.
Homemade enchilada sauce: this is the most exciting part of the recipe. Making your own enchilada sauce is easier than you can imagine. Just tomato sauce, garlic, onions and a few spices. You are going to be making it again and again! And best yet, it cooks while your chicken breast is baking so you get two things done at once.
How to serve these enchiladas
These enchiladas are a healthy complete meal and can please any sort of crowd. You are also welcome to use small whole wheat tortilla instead of corn. I personally just love the way corn tortillas taste with the other flavors but it’s up to you.
Top them with avocado, white or green onion, tomato and/or hot sauce. Don’t forget a little sprinkle of cilantro for a boost of fresh flavor.
I hope you love these enchiladas as much as I do. If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below or tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram!
Other enchilada recipes you might like:
Small Batch Green Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
Vegan Butternut Squash Black Bean Enchiladas
Butternut Squash Black Bean Enchilada Skillet
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado Lime Crema
Skinny Refried Bean Chicken Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Serves 12
Amazing, healthier chicken enchiladas with creamy refried beans, cheese, and a homemade enchilada sauce. This recipe is a crowd pleasing dinner staple!
Ingredients
- For the enchilada sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion, very finely diced/minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt, to taste
- For the enchiladas:
- 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken (breast or thighs work great!)
- 1 (15 ounce) can refried beans (I like to use refried black beans)
- 1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 12 soft yellow corn tortillas (or sub 8 regular flour tortillas)
- To garnish: chopped onions, avocado, tomato and cilantro
Instructions
-
Prepare the enchilada sauce by heating oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add in garlic and onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions become translucent. Add in chili powder, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper and stir for 30 seconds to allow the spices to cook a bit. Stir in tomato sauce, broth, tomato paste then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Lastly stir in apple cider vinegar, then add salt and pepper to taste.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
To make the enchiladas: Prepare enchiladas by spreading ¾ cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. To assemble enchiladas, place 2 tablespoons of refried beans in a corn tortilla, then top with a few tablespoons of shredded chicken and about 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Roll tortillas up and place seam side down in pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
-
Next pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas and sprinkle with cheeses. Cover pan with foil and bake enchiladas for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with onion, avocado, tomato and cilantro, if desired. Makes 6 servings, 2 enchiladas each.
Recipe Notes
If you don't want to make your own enchilada sauce, feel free to use 1 (28 ounce) can of red enchilada sauce.
Nutrition
Servings: 12 enchiladas
Serving size: 2
Calories: 400kcal
Fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 45.6g
Fiber: 10.8g
Sugar: 6.1g
Protein: 31.2g
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen
Photography by: Sarah Fennel // Broma Bakery
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61 comments
Ohhhhh my. I smell a football tailgate potluck ;D
This looks incred, girl! Bikini friendly food never looked so good!
Agreed. 🙂
this sounds so good! i definitely didn’t eat as many enchiladas as you did growing up, so i’ll have to make up for it now (:
cannot wait to make these!!!! nomomnom
Hope you love them!
Oh wow these look yummy! Making these for Josh would win me a lot of brownie points! He’s obsessed with enchiladas! I’d just take out the chicken in his!
Perfect! 🙂
oh my gee this looks amazing. If I see anything amazing on Instagram I will also tag Ambitious Kitchen.
This looks like exactly what I’m craving at the moment. The enchilada sauce alone would be such an amazing condiment to have around!
Yes, it’s the best! 🙂 Hope you love the enchiladas!
yum yum yum. MAKING THESE.
love the way you broke down specifically how you made this recipe healthier! and love me some enchiladas of course 🙂
YUM! I’ve seen enchiladas that look SO SO GOOD! These look even better!
We made these last night and gosh. I can’t even explain how AMAZING they were. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked them!
These were sooo soooo soooo delicious! I am adding them to my dinner recipe rotation. They are super filling and we managed to stretch them for 3 days, which never happens because my husband and I are both big eaters.
I am such a lover of enchiladas especially when they are on the healthy side. I did however make these for my family the other night and i think they thought i was trying to kill them with the amount of chilli powder. I possibly think your measurements of 3 Tablespoons is wrong? I would recommend for anyone trying this to maybe only put 1-2 teaspoons of chilli.
If you’re making homemade enchilada sauce then I do recommend at least 2 tablespoons. also could be the chili powder you are using? Some are stronger then others. Which brand did you use?
These look delicious! What size of tortillas did you use?
I used small corn tortillas 🙂 I believe they are about 6 inches.
Just made these tonight for dinner and LOVED them!! They were soo good and you were right I will never buy enchilada sauce again this sauce was easy to make and had the best flavor I have ever tasted!!! Thank you!!
That’s amazing!!! Love these enchiladas and I definitely need to remake them soon!
I made this recipe for my wife and I and they were delicious!! I highly recommend. My wife is very picky when it comes to food but said the these were “restaurant quality” lol. Im so thankful for this website. Everything I’ve made from her recipes have been received with high praise!!! Job well done
I don’t use corn tortillas very often, and while I’ve made this recipe a few times, I’ve always just used flour tortillas. Should I be cookin the corn tortillas first (in a pan) or can I use them as-is from the package?
Just assembled for dinner tonight, Love your recipe for enchilada sauce, especially on turkey pepper jack stuffed meatloaf. Will NEVER buy enchilada sauce again. Thank you!
These were awesome!!! I even changed someone’s mind who said they didn’t like enchiladas. The sauce is outstanding – i have already shared the recipe. I actually made mine with ground beef, because that is what I had on hand. I will definitely be trying again with chicken, and know they be equally as fabulous!
I just made these and can’t wait to put them together for dinner tonight! I added more chicken and beans, and I used La Banderita low carb tortillas. It was a little more labor intensive than I remembered, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it. YUM.
I made these tonight and they were BOMB!!! I used Xtreme Wellness whole wheat tortillas and stuffed them into 8 enchiladas and just reduced the cheese by half (added the cheese to the filling instead). Per Myfitnesspal, 452 calories for a huge plate of food – I LOVED these! Thank you for the recipe!
Dying to try these, we have fat free cheese, sour cream and refried beans, as well as low carb tortillas as we have high cholesterol. I didn’t see cholesterol listed, and will probably have to figure it out as I cook it all up, however, do you happen to know the cholesterol in the nutrition information?
I hope you get a chance to try them! I don’t have the cholesterol nutrition info on-hand, but you could definitely find it if you search the cholesterol in the ingredients you end up using!
We were just told that my husband has to give up red meat. This is a big deal for him. I have been racking my brain to come up with healthy, tasty meals with turkey especially because I make chicken meals alot but have found a twist on some of mine on here.So far these turkey recipes sound the best. I have printed a few and am excited about trying them. Thank you!!
Turkey is such a great substitute! Check out these recipes for some more dinner inspo 🙂
Such a great recipe. My only, “uh oh”, was that the chili powder I used was so hot (they really do vary by brand) and was so hot…we couldn’t even eat them. So…I made again and altered the amount of chili powder and they turned out perfect. Such a great recipe, thank you!
My GO-TO dish! Our favourite recipe on a family classic. NOTE: I would be weary of using too much chili powder – I am based in Australia and our chili powder is much spicier than America! Love Ambitious Kitchen – she is my one stop shop for all food ideas!
Great tip on the chili powder! It does vary depending on the brand and source.
I’m excited to make these! I had leftover chicken and was looking for a way to use it up…curious if you can make this recipe and freeze?
Love it! And yes you can absolutely freeze these.
Yum! I’m trying to decide whether to make these or your pumpkin sour cream ones first! Anyone have thoughts?
Also wondering if this would work with ground turkey? And, if making in advance would you suggest I do everything until the baking for 25 min step, or bake and then reheat?
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO!
They’re both so delicious – you can’t go wrong! And yes, ground turkey works! If you make these ahead, I suggest prepping and assembling them and then placing in fridge until ready to bake. Enjoy!
Hi,
Can I use flour tortillas?
Hi! Yes they will also work 🙂
Hella good enchilada recipe. You would never know that I had all the ingredients on hand after tasting it (and looking at it!)! Thank you for the awesome recipes to help us all make delicious pandemic eats!
So good!! Glad you loved these! 🙂
I use either chicken or veggie broth instead of the water for more flavor. You can use beef broth too, if that’s the flavor you are going for.
Great tip!
I made these enchiladas last night! the sauce had a lovely, slow heat, it was very delicious. I will for sure be making again.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Making these for probably the twelfth time ever. Know the recipe by heart by now, including your fabulous enchilada sauce, but had to get on here and share that we LOVE these so much. They’re so satisfying and creamy. Love topping them with cherry tomatoes and jalapeños doused in lime juice and some salt. We usually do blackened zucchini and mushrooms on the side. Thanks, Monique!
Amazing! So happy to hear that, Rosie 🙂
My whole family loved this recipe! I added sautéed bell peppers and left out the chicken for my vegetarian sister, and they were a success! The sauce was awesome, and we loved that it was homemade. Super huge portions too; my family of 4 had lots of leftovers. Thanks!
Love that! This is one of my favorite enchilada recipes 🙂
Love this recipe and especially the homemade enchilada sauce! We’ve used chicken breast and also rotisserie chicken – both are good. This is a great recipe for having lunch leftovers.
Amazing! Happy to hear that 🙂
didn’t have time to make the sauce from scratch, had to use store bought – but still ended up tasting fantastic!
Make this! So easy to put together and full of flavor!
We loved this recipe! So easy to make and tasted so good! I will definitely be making again and in a mild version for our baby 🙂
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
This tasted good but it took about 40 minutes prep time.
Glad you enjoyed! And noted on the prep time 🙂
These are amazing! We subbed in Siete tortillas and it was so good. They are so filling and delicious. We will be making these a lot in the coming winter months!