Skinny Slow Cooker – Enchiladas
This lightened up recipe for Slow Cooker Enchiladas is packed with so much flavor, you will never know that this deliciously filling meal has less than 250 calories and only 6 grams of fat per serving. While it takes a bit more prep than most slow cooker recipes, the end result is well worth it. The enchiladas are so yummy and, if you have leftovers, they are even better the next day. For anyone who loves Mexican food but watches what they eat, Slow Cooker Enchiladas is a must have meal.
To make it easier and better, bake the chicken breasts ahead of time and stick them in the fridge until you are ready to put the enchiladas together. Also, it is easier to shred the chicken with your fingers (clean fingers, of course) than with a fork. And, when adding the seasonings in the enchilada mixture, go easy on the cumin. One teaspoon is not a lot but cumin packs a powerful punch and its strong flavor is hard to diminish once added.
As an alternative to the slow cooker, bake the enchiladas at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly. Just make sure to spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan before adding the enchiladas.
Slow Cooker Enchiladas is one of our top rated recipes and pairs perfectly with Skinny Mexican Rice.
Everyone who eats our Slow Cooker Enchiladas the first time makes them again and again. This recipes is definitely a keeper.
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Yields: 6 servings | Serving size: 1 enchilada | Calories: 249 | Previous Points: 5 | Points Plus: 6 | Total Fat: 6 g | Saturated Fats: 2 g | Trans Fats: 0 g | Cholesterol: 26 mg | Sodium: 470 mg | Carbohydrates: 31 g | Dietary fiber: 2 g | Sugars: 0 g | Protein: 18 g
Ingredients
- 2 half chicken breasts on the bone with skin (remove skin before adding to enchiladas)
- 1 (16 oz.) red enchilada sauce (no sugar added)
- 1 (4 oz.) can green chile peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, reduced fat
- 1 (8 oz.) container sour cream, fat free
- 6 medium whole wheat tortillas, low sodium if possible (corn tortillas are not recommended as they tend to fall apart)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breast on the bone, with skin, in a covered baking dish, bake until juices run clear when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Chicken should have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Allow to cool. Remove skin and bones, discard. Shred chicken or cut into bite size cubes.
In a medium mixing bowl, add chicken, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, black pepper and salt to taste. Add to seasoned chicken, green chile peppers, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 cup cheese, mix well. Place 1/2 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla, leave about 2” at the bottom without filling and fold up...continue until all tortillas are filled.
Lightly spray the bottom and sides of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Lay enchiladas seam side down in the slow cooker, add a little of the sauce above to each layer as you stack them. There should be 2 layers of 3 or 3 layers of 2, depending on the size of your slow cooker.
Combine the remaining enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup sour cream. Pour over the enchiladas, cover and cook on low 3-4 hours, or until hot and bubbly. Cut between each enchilada and carefully remove, one at a time, with a large spatula. Pour liquid from slow cooker over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Garnish with diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce.
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What are you supposed to do with the garlic and chiles? They aren't listed in the directions.
Whoops!! Add both with the chicken when you add the other spices.
This is in the 2nd paragraph of the directions.
When you say 2 half chicken breasts that means both sides of the breast correct? So that would really be the whole breast of the chicken?
Yes, cut in half!
What do you mean when you say leave about 2” at the bottom without filling and fold up lengthwise?
Crystal, When you’re folding the tortilla…don’t put filling on the last 2″.
Exactly. Thank you
Is there any way to find out what all is on the plate in the picture…its looks wonderful and would love to have all the recipes.
Jenny, Sure…it's just a taco with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, 2% Mexican style cheeses…all this on top of (1/2 lb) cooked ground turkey which is seasoned with (1 tsp) cumin and (1 tsp) chili powder. Enjoy!!!
What size tortillas???
Kristen, 8" is what the nutritional data was calculated with.
Was the nutritional info calculated off of 8 or 6 servings? The instructions reference both.
ML, It's based on 6 servings. Where do you see 8? Thanks.
The flavor is great!! But next time I will do it in the oven for an hour— turns out to be a mucky but tasty mess!
Anna, That will work!
Did you use corn or flour tortillas? I'm planning to use corn, but if flour tortillas turn into mush, that might be a tragic mistake on my part. LOL
Jen, I used whole wheat flour tortillas and they worked fine. I haven't tried corn tortillas in the slow cooker yet. Keep us posted!
Has anyone tried this using corn tortillas? That's what I'm used to making enchiladas with.
Jen, Corn tortillas work well too!
I used the corn and prefer them over the wheat, they held up fine and for me the texture was better.
This recipe sounds delicious! I am confused as to how to actually assemble them. The ingredients list (6) 8" tortillas; instructions say to roll the tortillas lengthwise; ingredients say there should be three layers (of rolled enchiladas?); and the instructions also say for a total of 8 tortillas. Can you please clarify the discrepancies? Thanks so much–I look forward to trying these!
Yes, it’s layers of rolled enchiladas. The number of layers, I assume, would vary depending on the size of your crockpot. I’m not sure if the recipe is meant for 6 or 8 enchiladas, but I’m making them tomorrow and I figure I will just fill tortillas until I run out of filling and then put them in the crockpot. The total number of tortillas used would probably vary depending on how full you want them too
Jen, Good answer!
Thanks.
Stacy, You're right…I must have been falling asleep when typing my recipe. Here it is with corrections:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breast on the bone, with skin, in a covered baking dish, bake until juices run clear when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Chicken should have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Allow to cool. Remove skin and bones, discard. Shred chicken or cut into bite size cubes.
In a medium mixing bowl, add chicken, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, black pepper and salt to taste. Add to seasoned chicken, green chile peppers, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup cheese, mix well. Place 1/2 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla, leave about 2” at the bottom without filling and fold up…continue until all tortillas are filled.
Lightly spray the bottom and sides of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Lay enchiladas seam side down in the slow cooker, add a little of the sauce below to each layer as you stack them. There should be 2 layers of 3 or 3 layers of 2, depending on the size of your slow cooker.
Combine the remaining enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup sour cream. Pour over the enchiladas, cover and cook on low 3-4 hours, or until hot and bubbly. Cut between each enchilada and carefully remove, one at a time, with a large spatula. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and any liquid still in the slow cooker, after removing enchiladas. Garnish with diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce.
WOW… new family fav for sure! Our store had NO fat free sour cream so I had to use low fat, other than that I stuck to the recipe. I had planned to use corn tortillas, but they kept breaking when I tried to roll them and I'm frankly not patient enough to make stuff work, so I went with the flour.
The only glitch I had is that I didn't put nearly enough enchilada sauce between the layers so they really stuck together. I think next time I will put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan and put the enchilada sauce/sour cream mixture between the layers of enchiladas.
I've already been requested to make a double batch next time because everyone was very disappointed that the leftovers were gone so quickly
THANK YOU for this recipe! So easy and delicious.
For a side dish, I mixed some vegetarian refried beans with a little taco sauce, 2% shredded cheddar, and brown basmati rice. Great!!
Microwave the corn tortillas for 20-30 seconds before trying to roll them. It makes it more flexible
This recipe sounds AMAZING! I'd love to know if it would work with corn tortillas!
Great flavor, but like others…it's a bit soggy in the slow cooker
after seeing this recipe, if i dont win a cookbook…i may just buy one! lol
WOW, my new fave. I LOVE tex-mex, and this more than satisfies all my cravings, plus I don't have to heat the kithcen!
my family loved when I made these enchiladas last week! An easy recipe to get a realy good mexican meal that is healthy!! We loved it and it will go on my "make again list"!
it will just put the corn one in micwave first then they wont fall apart
I prefer corn tortillas for enchiladas, but I'll try this at least once.
my family loved when I made these enchiladas last week! An easy recipe to get a realy good mexican meal that is healthy!! We loved it and it will go on my “make again list”!
These are sooo delicious! Thanks!
These are sooo delicious! Thanks!
Great flavor, but like others…it’s a bit soggy in the slow cooker
after seeing this recipe, if i dont win a cookbook…i may just buy one! lol
This was not good at all. It was a big pile of mush. Not one person ate more than a bite. I made it with corn tortillas. Will not make again….very bland as well. Blah!
Believe me when I say that using flour tortillas is a must. Corn does exactly what you said when it gets moist… it turns to mush.
Jen, That's all I use when making these enchiladas! Thanks for the feedback.
The recipe should not say corn will work…..it doesn't! Also, I would stick with sticking it in the oven rather than the cockpot. Flour tortillas got soggy too.
Yum!
Who can resist enchiladas? Who can resist a meal that is ready when you are? Family favorite. Thanks for the wonderful meals…..
Would this work with Turkey instead? Also if you put in oven instead how high and how long?
Yummy! The whole family will love it!
My hubby and I both loved the flavor of these, but they stuck together. I wish mine would have looked as good as the ones in the picture.
I have a suggestion. with so many recipes calling for cooked chicken, anytime I grill chicken or have any leftover chicken from a meal, I cube or shred it in 2 cup increments (i chose 2cup because my enchilada recipe calls for that amount), and freeze it. That way when you have a recipe needing chicken, pull it out, thaw or not and one step is already done!
Lee Ann, That's a great idea! Thanks for the tip, we'll be using this for future chicken recipes.
I did this in the oven based on reviews. I used whole wheat flour tortillas instead and made 6 enchiladas- left everything else the same except I used rotisserie chicken to cut the cooking time. I cooked it in a 9×13 dish, sprayed with Pam and a little enchilada sauce on the bottom. 350 for 40 minutes. Delicious!
Michele, Great idea!
Instead of chicken, what kind of beef could I substitute? And how much beef could I use?
You could use ground beef, about 1 pound.
I have made these twice now. Once in the crockpot where the shells came out soggy and once in the oven. The flavor is so intense that I really wanted them to work in the oven and they did. Huge hit and I think a new family favorite.
One of mine AND my family's favorite meals year round!
This is my favorite SkinnyMs recipe! So delicious!
This is my favvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv because it has yummy ingredients and the kids love it!
Can't do flour tortillas…..have a gluten allergy!
This is my favorite recipe so far….I think it is because your photo of it makes it looks delicious!
might I suggest eliminate the first step by purchasing a (whole) rotisserie chicken and shred off the bone that way?
Cynthia, The only thing is that most rotisserie chickens are full of preservatives and added sodium.
Just as the instructions state: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breast on the bone, with skin, in a covered baking dish, bake until juices run clear when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Chicken should have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Allow to cool. Remove skin and bones, discard. Shred chicken or cut into bite size cube