This healthy chicken enchiladas recipe is a healthy and delicious way to enjoy Mexican night! Filled with juicy chicken, sweet potatoes, black beans, corn, and spices, these enchiladas are sure to be a new favorite!
What’s in Sweet Potato Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken enchiladas are always a treat, but these chicken enchiladas are stuffed with sweet potatoes and nutrient-rich ingredients to make them healthy (and tasty!). Then, they’re baked and topped with avocado and tomatoes.
- Chicken: Use chicken that has already been cooked. You can use rotisserie, cubed, or shredded chicken.
- Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are packed full of nutrients and flavor, and they baked up to a beautifully soft and fluffy texture.
- Veggies: These chicken enchiladas are stuffed with healthy veggies like corn, red onion, and tomatoes for a fresh taste.
- Black Beans: This is a great source of protein, so they’re satiating and tasty.
- Salsa Verde: A zesty, tangy, and spicy sauce that tastes amazing with he filling.
- Fresh Cilantro: If you’re a cilantro lover, garnish to your heart’s desire!
- Spices: We used chili powder and garlic powder to give these chicken and sweet potato enchiladas even more flavor.
- Salt & Pepper: Salt and pepper really help bring all the delicious flavors to life!
- Mexican Blend Cheese: We used a Mexican cheese blend, but Monterey jack cheese, cheddar cheese, and cotija cheese taste great too.
- Tortillas: We recommend using flour tortillas or whole wheat tortillas for this recipe.
- Avocado: Avocado always tastes amazing on any Mexican dish! It adds a lovely texture and flavor.
- Sour cream: Balance out the spices with some cool sour cream on top. Swap it for plain Greek yogurt to make this dish even healthier.
Healthy Enchiladas Variations
Want to add your own special touch to these healthy chicken enchiladas? Make this recipe vegetarian by replacing the chicken with extra veggies, or add other vegetables like red bell peppers. You could also kick up the heat with jalapeños, chili peppers, or green chiles! Use corn tortillas to make them gluten-free.
To shred your cooked chicken, allow the chicken to cool on a cutting board. Once cooled, use two forks to pull apart the meat lengthwise, separating it into long shreds.
This recipe shouldn’t give you soggy tortillas, but if you really want to ensure your tortillas are nice and crispy, you can quickly pan-fry them in oil for about 10 seconds on each side. When the tortillas are crispy but still bendy, you’ll know they are done!
For this recipe, it’s best to bake your chicken and sweet potato enchiladas uncovered so that the tortillas don’t get soggy. The only time you would cover your enchiladas would be if you had to cook them for longer and don’t want the enchiladas to dry out.
How to Store and Reheat
These healthy chicken enchiladas taste even better the next day!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. To reheat, preheat the oven to 350°F and place them in an oven-safe container to bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly.
How to Freeze
Want to save these tasty healthy enchiladas for later? Wrap your enchiladas tightly with plastic wrap and foil, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them that in the fridge before reheating.
What to Serve with Chicken and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
These healthy sweet potato chicken enchiladas are so good, you could easily eat enough to make it a complete meal. However, this healthy comfort food shines even brighter alongside Mexican Rice, Homemade Refried Beans, Esquites, or a decadent Frozen Margarita!
Healthy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups salsa verde
- 2 cups chicken shredded or cubed, fully cooked
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled, diced, and fully cooked
- 1 yellow corn kernels 1 can, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup black beans 1 can, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped, divided
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups mexican blend cheese divided
- 12 6-inch tortillas flour or whole wheat, warmed
- 1 avocado seeded, peeled and diced, halved
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons sour cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degreesF
- Pour 1 cup salsa verde in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish; set aside.2 cups salsa verde
- In a large bowl, combine cooked sweet potatoes, cooked chicken, black beans, corn, red onion, cilantro, spices, and salt and pepper, to taste.2 cups chicken, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 yellow corn kernels, 1 cup black beans, 1/2 cup red onion, 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper
- To assemble enchiladas, lay tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/4 cup sweet potato mixture in the center; sprinkle with cheese. Roll the tortilla and place seam side down onto prepared baking dish.2 cups mexican blend cheese, 12 6-inch tortillas
- Repeat with remaining tortillas
- Pour the remaining salsa over the enchiladas and top with desired amount of cheese.
- Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Garnish with avocado, more tomato, cilantro, and sour cream if desired.1 avocado, 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons sour cream
- Enjoy!
Lisa Willott says
Substituted spinach for sweet potatoes
Added a small can of green chiles
Used cilantro paste instead of leaves
We both loved it!
Becky Hardin says
That’s great! Thanks for sharing, Lisa!
Grace says
I prepared it yesterday and was delicious, my husband love it , I don’t put garlic I am allergic to it .
Lots of coriander
Becky Hardin says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Grace!
Barb says
Sorry but white tortillas are burritos, corn are enchiladas
Becky Hardin says
You can use either! Corn is more traditional, but flour tend to be a bit easier to work with, so that’s what I used here!