With just a few pantry and refrigerator items, you can throw together these flavorful Green Chili Enchiladas in no time! Simple, inexpensive, and delicious.
To add a little excitement to our lockdown situation, Jeff and I have declared Fiesta Fridays. Margaritas and Mexican food! Something to look forward to after a long week of remote teaching. Green Chili Enchiladas it is!
Normally, I like to make as much as I can from scratch. When I see a recipe with mainly canned ingredients, I try to recreate the same flavors in a simple and approachable way with fresh ingredients.
But we are in a weird time. Fresh produce isn’t as reliable as usual, at least in my area. So, let’s make the best of all of this and whip up some delicious Green Chili Enchiladas that are healthy, easy, and low in points. All using mainly pantry ingredients!
What Ingredients DO I need?
Let’s keep it as simple as possible.
- Flour tortillas that are 2 SP each (read on for my favorite)
- Premade salsa verde (canned, jarred, or refrigerated)
- Plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
- Cooked, shredded chicken OR 2 cans of black beans
- Light Mexican shredded cheese (or any light cheese you like)
- Spices: chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper
Something to keep in mind is that not all salsa verdes are made equally. Check the ingredient list on your favorite brand, making sure that there isn’t added sugar or unnecessary preservatives. It should only contain tomatillos, jalapenos, some spices, and some sort of acid, and it should be 0 SP.
Trader Joe’s has my absolute favorite salsa verde. 2 jars of this are enough for this recipe. I wash the jars and reuse them when I make my own salsa or jam.
But Enchiladas seem complicated and time-consuming
Well, if you make everything from scratch, then they can be both of those things. But we are relying on precooked chicken or beans and a premade sauce to make our lives a LOT easier.
If you want to make your own sauce, you could turn these into red chili enchiladas by making my 0 SmartPoint Enchilada Sauce from my Cheesy Chicken Tamale Bake. That one is just canned tomatoes and a bunch of spices–pretty easy as well!
My version of Green Chili Enchiladas takes just 10 minutes to assemble and 20 minutes to bake!
Assembling the Enchiladas
While your oven heats up, combine all of the ingredients for the chicken or bean mixture in a medium sized bowl.
Grease a large baking dish with cooking spray, then spread out some of the sauce on the bottom. I used a 8×12 pan, but a regular 10×13 would work just fine.
All you have to do now is assemble everything. Use a cutting board or large plate to lay out each tortilla.
By the way, whatever brand of light tortilla that you like is just fine. My favorite is the La Tortilla Factory Light Tortillas for many reasons. I can find them at just about any grocery store, they are a very good size, and they don’t tear easily.
Okay, back to assembling. Make sure your baking dish and chicken or bean mixture are close.
Lay out one tortilla, spread mixture on one side, then roll up and place on your baking dish. Continue until you’ve used up all 8 tortillas.
Look how huge each enchilada is! One with a side salad is filling enough for me, but they are so low in points that you could definitely get away with eating two if you are ultra hungry.
Once everything is assembled, top with more sauce and cheese, then bake away. So easy!
Now that you know the base recipe, you can get creative with your enchilada filling. Mushrooms and roasted veggies would be great. Leftover Mexican Shredded Chicken, shredded beef or pork. Maybe even shrimp or fish. Or mix and match meat and veggies. Let me know in the comments what you come up with!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Green Chili Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 24 ounces canned or jarred salsa verde, divided (see blog notes for my preferred brand)
- 8 light flour tortillas (see blog notes for my preferred brand)
- 1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast OR 2 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups light Mexican shredded cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together chicken or beans along with the spices, Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup salsa verde, and half of the cheese cheese.
- Spread 1 cup of salsa verde on the bottom of a large baking dish that has been greased with cooking spray.
- Lay out tortillas, one at a time. Spread about 1/3 cup of filling lengthwise on one side of the tortilla. Roll up and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Repeat with all 8 tortillas.
- Top casserole with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until dish is bubbly and cheese is melted.
This recipe is delicious and a must add to any menu rotation. Our family gave it a solid 20/10!!!
Yay!! That makes me very happy. 🙂
So delicious! Loved the recipe. Thank you!
So good to hear! You’re welcome. 🙂
Just made this tonight for Cinco de Mayo and it was delicious! One of my boyfriend’s new favorites!
These enchiladas were delicious! I have a favorite green chile enchilada recipe but it’s made with cream cheese and butter 😳 My husband could not tell the difference, he thought it was my tried and true recipe! Will definitely be making these on rotation! As always thanks for another great recipe!
Made this for lunch today. It is delicious!
We make this about once a week. My 10 year old son has declared this his favorite dish. We made it for friends and it’s on their menu now as well. Simply states, it’s amazing! You’re a culinary genius, Geri!
I’m not worthy!! Lol. Thank you, and I’m thrilled that everyone loves it!
Can’t wait to try this! Is non-Greek non-fat yogurt possible to sub? Is it too watery? thanks for all your recipes. I make them frequently 😉
Hope you love it! I like to use the yogurt instead of sour cream, since it’s less points but has a similar taste and consistency. You could use sour cream if you like. 🙂
These are in my mouth as I type! Lol. Made with beans and 2-point wheat tortillas, not my fave, and they’re still so delicious!
Yay!! So happy you liked them. I’ve also used tortillas that usually aren’t my favorite on their own, but they end up really good in this recipe. A total win!
I did 2 chix breast and 1 can of black beans with the Wellness tortillas and we all loved them. So glad I had 2 leftover for lunch the next day. Will be including this on the dinner rotation.
Love hearing that! Thank you. 🙂
Another great ans easy recipe!
Made this tonight for the first time & both my husband & I really enjoyed it. It was super easy to make with lots of flavor!
Love hearing this! The leftovers reheat nicely, too.
These are so dang good! This recipe definitely has a spot in the rotation. Thank you for sharing!
So delicious and half the calories as my other recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for taking the time to review! I appreciate that.
Not only are these delicious, they are super easy to make!! Loved how quick and easy dinner was tonight. Definitely making this again!! Thank you for the great recipe!! ☺️
This recipe is a family fave!!
Wondering if you can make ahead and freeze them?
Yay! Glad to hear it. You can absolutely freeze them. I do it all the time. I like to freeze in individual portions and defrost int he refrigerator over night before reheating.
I love this recipe, although I have to say I am guilty of using both full fat yogurt (and sour cream) as well as cheese. Also I cook the chicken in one jar of the salsa, then add spices and shred it. It creates some extra jus but you just cook it down a bit. I’ll try to restrain myself and make the low fat version next time! Thanks, Geri!
Hi Laurian! I have no doubt that your mods were were absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to hear what you think of them next time 🙂
Can I use enchilada sauce instead of salsa?
Sure!