NO-BEAN CREAM CHEESE
CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
It is a keeper recipe. This is a family favorite filled with Mexican flavored, mildly spiced creamy chicken, green onions, chilies, red enchilada sauce and topped with lots of sharp Cheddar cheese. What makes this meal even better? It is so easy and quick to throw together so to speak, and what's not to like about that? So, if you are feeling lazy or don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, this is the perfect go-to weeknight recipe.
The sour cream thins out the cream cheese just a bit and gives the perfect amount of creamy deliciousness to this dish. I made it in casserole form and it is so unfussy as you are not even going to fill and roll tortillas, so even if your tortillas are small, this casserole will work perfectly with them.
When this casserole is baked, hot and bubbly with the cheese perfectly melted, top with some chopped fresh green onions. Allow to stand about 10 minutes before attempting to cut and serve. You can top each serving with some sour cream, if desired. You can even add a bit of salsa, although I don't think it is necessary, but it is a way to spice it up a bit if you like spicy Mexican food. This is more than enough spice for me though.
I think this could be a picky-eater or child-approved recipe. If the chilies are too spicy, you could leave them out, or add some very finely diced and cooked green peppers.
I
used chopped rotisserie chicken, but you could use chicken breasts
cooked in the slow-cooker that have been shredded with two forks. I
sometimes do that as shredded chicken tastes so good in dishes like this
one - either way, it works. I imagine you could even use chopped
cooked chicken thighs.
I used sharp Cheddar cheese; however feel free to use a Mexican Blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese or whatever your favorite cheese happens to be. Whatever you choose, you are going to love the flavor of this dish.
You can hide cooked vegetables such as bell peppers and onions in this recipe, if you like.
When I make my own red enchilada sauce, I also use my homemade chicken
broth or stock. You can do a search for the slow cooker recipe on my
blog, if you like, otherwise you can use commercial chicken broth or
simply use commercial red enchilada sauce and skip the homemade version,
as that would make this casserole much quicker to assemble. Place
leftovers in the fridge either in an airtight container or cover the
dish with plastic wrap.
I normally use
black beans in a dish like this, but I deliberately left them out. This
chicken enchilada recipe is called no-bean for a reason.
Pour the red enchilada sauce over the chicken which is placed on top of the tortillas. I cut the tortillas to fit the dish.
INGREDIENTS: 
2 tbsp light olive oil (30 ml)
2 cups diced cooked chicken (500 mL)
(Rotisserie chicken is fine)
3/4
cup shredded Cheddar cheese (175 mL)
6 oz cream cheese, cut up (180 g)
4 oz green chilies (120 g)
1/2
cup sour cream (125 mL)
2 tbsp chopped green onions, AND extra for garnish (30 mL)
1 tsp chili powder (5 mL)
11/2 cup cups shredded Cheddar cheese
(375 mL)
6 low-carb tortillas
11/2 cups Red enchilada sauce (375 mL)
(Use Commercial, OR click for
Homemade sauce)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In
large frying pan in light olive oil, over medium heat, cook chicken, 3/4
cup (175 mL) Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, chilies, sour cream, green
onions and chili powder until the cheeses melt.
Coat a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish with light olive oil.
Lay
3 tortillas in the bottom of the baking dish, cutting them to fit. Spread with half the chicken mixture, half
the red enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded
Cheddar cheese. Repeat the layers ending
with the remaining red enchilada sauce and 1 cup (250 mL) shredded Cheddar
cheese over the top. Bake about 25
minutes or until hot, bubbly and golden brown on top. Sprinkle with a few chopped green onions. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
Yield: 9 servings
1
serving
309.7
calories
21.0
g protein
22.9
g fat
5.8 g fiber
3.3 g net carbs
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