Why spend money on enchilada sauce at the store that's packed with sodium and questionable ingredients when it's this easy to make your own... with just basic tomato sauce and a few tasty spices you too can have classic enchiladas for dinner tonight!
The filling has lots of veggies and the dish is packed with protein you don't even have to add chicken. Try going meatless tonight!
Classic Cheesy Chicken & Veggie Enchiladas
4 servings | 35 minutes
Ingredients:
1 zucchini diced
1/2 onion diced
2-4 cups spinach
1/2 lb chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cups no salt added tomato sauce
12 mini tortillas or 6 full size tortillas (I used #tumaros multigrain wraps)
6 oz cheddar jack or Monterrey jack cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (4 oz) (I used #siggis)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lime zest
Optional: 1/2 tsp jalapeño powder (for a little extra spice, a bit of cayenne would do the trick too)
Directions:
First make the enchilada sauce by combining tomato sauce, lime zest and spices in a medium bowl.
This recipe can be prepared a few different ways. Personally I cooked mine in an instant pot because I had it on hand and liked that I could dump it all in and have it ready quickly but a crockpot or simply a pan and precooked chicken work just as well. It doesn’t matter how you cook the chicken, it all comes together the same or even just omit the chicken for a vegetarian version!
Prepare the filling according to one of the cooking methods in steps 4-6.
Crockpot: Combine chicken, enchilada sauce and water in the pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Add zucchini and onion to the pot when there’s about 30-60 minutes remaining. Stir in chopped spinach when cooking has completed until it wilts.
Instant pot: Combine chicken, enchilada sauce and water in the pot. Seal the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Allow it to release naturally for 10-15 minutes. Open, add the zucchini and onion and sauté until veggies start to soften. Stir in spinach until it wilts.
Precooked Chicken: Cook and shred the chicken however your prefer. A time saving technique is to use a rotisserie chicken here but grilling, baking or poaching it is just as simple. Once your chicken is cooked and shredded, sauté zucchini and onion in a pan until they start to soften. Add in enchilada sauce, precooked chicken and spinach and cook until chicken is heated through and spinach is wilted.
Remove from heat and stir in plain yogurt and half the cheese.
Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and coat the bottom with a little of the reserved sauce.
Distribute chicken mixture between tortillas of choice. Roll up and arrange in dish, seam side down.
Cover with the remaining sauce and cheese.
Bake at 350F for 15 minutes covered with tin foil. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is nice and melted
Top with your favorite toppings like cilantro, plain yogurt/sour cream or guacamole.
I served this alongside a scoop of brown rice and black beans!
Nutrition facts are shown for enchiladas with chicken (left) and without chicken (right).
Nutrition facts were generated based on using 6 large #tumaros multigrain wraps as the tortillas. The may change slightly when using other brands or if using mini tortillas instead.