This healthy chicken enchilada casserole tastes like your favorite Mexican dish, but is made with cauliflower so it’s low-carb and under 300 calories! It’s a gluten-free, weeknight meal that everyone will love!
In the spirit of last-years Cajun cauliflower casserole and rainbow cauliflower casserole with Thai peanut chicken, the cauliflower casserole is back with a south-o-the-border spin!
Which leads me to believe that anything with a little spicy-chili, sizzlin’ cumin, creamy avocado, juicy bursts of fresh tomato and cheese is a major win!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It is healty, low carb and high in protein.
- Perfect for people trying a low-carb change-up but do not want to stop eating delicious food…like enchiladas.
- I think we can all agree that a life without enchiladas is no life AT. ALL.
- The cauliflower is boiled until super-soft and tender and then blended until thick and creamy.
- Perfect for meal prep, just prepare twice the size, and enjoy a tasty Tex-Mex sensation ALL WEEK LONG.
Are chicken enchiladas healthy or unhealthy?
It all depends on how you prepare them. Traditional chicken enchiladas can be high in calories, fat, and sodium, involving as they do corn tortillas, shredded chicken, cheese, and enchilada sauce.
You can make them healthier, though. In this recipe, I skipped the tortillas. I also reduced the amount of cheese and sauce used. Using lean chicken breast, while some would argue isn’t as tasty, is a healthier option. The natural enchilada sauce is low in sodium and fat.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz chicken breast
- 1 1/2 lbs cauliflower, cut into florets (about 7 lightly heaping cups of florets)
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning (I use this recipe)
- 1 10-oz can natural red enchilada sauce, gluten-free if needed (such as Hatch)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 tsp salt *
- pepper
- 1 4oz-can diced green chiles
- 1 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese
For Garnish:
- cilantro
- tomatoes, diced
- avocado, sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and rub an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan with olive oil
- Fill a medium pot with water, as well as large pot. Add a pinch of salt to each and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce each pot’s heat to medium and place the chicken in the medium pot and the cauliflower florets into the large pot, covering just the cauliflower pot with a lid. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the cauliflower is fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate to cool. Drain the cauliflower and place onto a kitchen towel to cool for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
- While the cauliflower/chicken cook, heat the olive oil up in a large, high-sided pan on medium heat. Add in the garlic, onion, and taco seasoning and cook until lightly golden brown, stirring frequently, or about 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the can of enchilada sauce and bring to a boil, boiling for 1 minute. Reduce the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce is reduced and thick, about 7 minutes.
- Once the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the kitchen towel and wring out as much of the water as possible. Really put some muscle into this because you don’t want a soggy casserole! I like to do this twice, using 2 towels, to really get out the water!
- Place the cauliflower into a large food processor, along with the egg, egg white, salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Add in the enchilada sauce mixture and process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer into a large bowl.
- Shred the cooked chicken and add it into the bowl, along with the green chiles, stirring until well mixed.
- Transfer into the prepared pan and cover with tinfoil. Cook for 30 minutes, and then remove the tinfoil and cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until the casserole feels set and the sides are lightly browned. Sprinkle with the cheese and cook and additional couple minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Cover the casserole to keep it warm and let it sit for 10 minutes, so it absorbs some of the excess moisture. Then, slice and serve.
- Sprinkle with cilantro, tomatoes, avocado and DEVOUR.
How to Store Chicken Enchiladas
Once at room temperature, transfer the casserole to an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap. It can now be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. When you want to eat the casserole again, remove the plastic wrap or the lid from the container and put it in the oven at 350 F for about 15-20 minutes. You’ll know it’s pretty much ready when the cheese is melted and bubbly.
You can also freeze the casserole for up to 3 months. Same steps as above, only place it in the freezer. To thaw the casserole, transfer it to the refrigerator the night before you plan to reheat it. Then follow the above steps.
Sombreros not optional.
Ingredients
- 8 Oz Chicken breast
- 1 1/2 Pounds Cauliflower, Cut into florets (about 7 lightly heaping cups of florets)
- 1 Tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Garlic, Minced
- 1 Large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp Taco seasoning (I use this recipe)
- 1 10 Oz Can Natural red enchilada sauce, gluten free if needed (such as Hatch)
- 1 Large egg
- 1 Egg white
- 1/2 tsp Salt *
- Pepper
- 1 4oz Can Diced green chiles
- 1 Cup Reduced-fat Mexican Cheese
For garnish:
- Cilantro
- Tomatoes. diced
- Avocado, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and rub an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan with olive oil
- Fill a medium pot with water, as well as large pot. Add a pinch of salt to each and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce each pot’s heat to medium and place the chicken in the medium pot and the cauliflower florets into the large pot, covering just the cauliflower pot with a lid. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the cauliflower is fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Once the chicken is cooked, transfer to a plate to cool. Drain the cauliflower and place onto a kitchen towel to cool for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
- While the cauliflower/chicken cook, heat the olive oil up in a large, high-sided pan on medium heat. Add in the garlic, onion, and taco seasoning and cook until lightly golden brown, stirring frequently, or about 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the can of enchilada sauce and bring to a boil, boiling for 1 minute. Reduce the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce is reduced and thick, about 7 minutes.
- Once the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the kitchen towel and wring out as much of the water as possible. Really put some muscle into this because you don’t want a soggy casserole! I like to do this twice, using 2 towels, to really get out the water!
- Place the cauliflower into a large food processor, along with the egg, egg white, salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Add in the enchilada sauce mixture and process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer into a large bowl.
- Shred the cooked chicken and add it into the bowl, along with the green chiles, stirring until well mixed.
- Transfer into the prepared pan and cover with tinfoil. Cook for 30 minutes, and then remove the tinfoil and cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until the casserole feels set and the sides are lightly browned. Sprinkle with the cheese and cook and additional couple minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Cover the casserole to keep it warm and let it sit for 10 minutes, so it absorbs some of the excess moisture. Then, slice and serve.
- Sprinkle with cilantro, tomatoes, avocado and DEVOUR.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
Weight Watchers Points Per Serving: Points+: 7. Old Points: 6. SmartPoints: 6
(Per serving, not including garnishes)
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Sarah says
How much of the casserole is one serving? This looks delicious, I can’t wait to make it!
Taylor Kiser says
Like the recipe says, it makes 4 servings, so 1 serving is 1/4 of the casserole! Hope that helps! 🙂 Hope you love it!
Roohi says
One question, why boil n then blend the cauliflower? Cant we add raw cauliflower to this dish and it will get cooked up during the baking part? Thnx looking forward to trying this!
Taylor Kiser says
Hope! You need to boil and blend it so that it get a similar texture to mashed potatoes!
Liz A says
This dish was interesting…I wouldn’t make it again because it used so many different dishes. The food processor, the chicken pot, the cauliflower pot, the onion and enchilada pot, four different towels, etc. The end result was ok…I love that it’s low carb, but the cauliflower topping was kind of strange — maybe it was the enchilada sauce. I don’t think I’ll male this again — too much cleanup and the end result was dry and a little weird.
Taylor Kiser says
Sorry you didn’t love it Liz!
Neutrinotao says
I just made this recipe. Yum! I did a few things differently though. I used leftover ground chicken breast, and I baked 1.5 pounds of cauli-rice in the oven for 10 mins at 450 (in one large cookie pan). I baked the cauli-rice because I didn’t want to wring out the cauliflower since I am lazy. It worked. I would prefer the recipe with the shredded chicken like you have, but it worked with the ground chicken this time. I also didn’t have tomato paste, so I used 1.25 cups of Bionature strained tomatoes and didn’t use the 1 cup of water in the recipe. The texture of my casserole came out just like your photographs, so the baking of the cauli-rice does work and eliminates that step of wringing out water. I was worried I was going to have a soupy mess, but I didn’t! (Also, I didn’t use any oil to keep the calories lower.) The flavors are great in this recipe. Thanks so much for a great recipe! (I didn’t eat it with cheese. It is really great on its own.)
Taylor Kiser says
I am so glad you loved it! 🙂