Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

These may not be 100% authentic, but they are fast, easy, healthy and most of all, delicious!

My Simple Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 7-8 (one piece)

8 ounces cooked chicken, shredded
1/4 cup black olives
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (divided)
2 ounces soft goat cheese
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/2 – 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
8 soft tortillas (6-8″)
1/2 cup salsa (divided), red or green.

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together chicken, olives, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, the goat cheese, onion and cilantro.
  3. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.
  4. Spread 1/4 cup salsa on the bottom of the pan.
  5. Taking a tortilla, scoop 1/8 of the mix, place on the tortilla and roll as in the above picture. Place in the baking pan.
  6. Repeat with all tortillas.
  7. Spread remaining salsa on the top of the tortillas. Top with the remaining cheese.
  8. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the cheese begin to brown.
  9. Serve with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream (or Greek yogurt.)
Due to poor planning, I only had 8 inch tortillas, so the nutritional data will reflect that. I think it would have been better with 6 inch tortillas, and would have obviously had fewer calories. But sometimes you need to work with what you have.

This is another great way to use “chicken over-production” (aka “left-overs.”) You could also replace the chicken with ground beef, or shredded beef, pulled pork, or even fish (tilapia, whitefish, flounder.) Or replace the meat with beans. The key to making this easy is to use what you have on hand, and when you use precooked meat, all you are doing is reheating it. You could even make these, wrap them tightly and freeze them individually for later use, and just thaw and heat in the microwave. (If you do that, don’t top with the sauce and cheese until you are ready to heat them.)

Nutritional data:
Calories (per piece): 179
Fat:                         10.2g
Sat fat:                      3.4g
Chol:                    31.5mg
Sodium:              641.4mg
Carbs:                     19.3g
Fiber:                      12.2g
Protein:                   15.5g
The high sodium level is due to almost everything about this recipe: the tortillas, the salsa, the cheese, the olives. And once in a while, I am okay with that, because this is such a good meal.

Here is a quick question for any beer drinkers out there: 
If I were making this for you, which beer would you most want me to serve with it, and why that beer?

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