Keto Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Keto Chicken Enchilada Recipe Wide

The other day I was thinking about what kind of Mexican style food I could make that would not only LOOK the part, but taste satisfying too. The idea hit me that if I melted cheese to JUST the right consistency I could roll it around some stuffing to make an Enchilada type of dish. Usually when it comes to traditional enchiladas I prefer cheese enchiladas with red sauce, but I thought that stuffing Cheese with Cheese might be overkill. (Feel free to knock yourself out though if you want to try that cheese inception).

I usually buy my Rotisserie Chickens from the store, and strip all of the meat off of them for various recipes, but you can feel free to use an air fryer to make your own bone-in Chicken Breast or Roasted Chicken if you want to. I would not recommend trying to make this recipe with canned chicken though.

My wife and I both think that this dish not only satisfies all of our cravings for enchiladas, but it probably also tasted even better than the real thing. Somehow having the melty cheese as the corn tortilla replacement makes this taste even more rich and satisfying.

Keto Chicken Enchilada Recipe Close U

KETO CHICKEN ENCHILADA RECIPE

Ease of Preparation: Moderate

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Keto Chicken Enchilada Recipe Nutrition Facts

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Shred the Rotisserie Chicken Breast with two forks until uniformly separated.
  2. Add Green Chilis to the Chicken and stir.
  3. On a Large Baking Sheet, cover it with 2 pieces of Parchment Paper cut in half. It is important that you cut this down the middle now, as it will make the later steps much easier.
  4. Place the shredded cheese onto the baking sheet in Four equal sized piles.
  5. Bake the Cheese in the oven at 350*F for about 7 minutes, or until it is bubbling hot AND the edges just begin to get a brown crisp to them.
  6. When the cheese is ready, remove from the oven and spoon the Chicken and Green Chili mixture into the Cheese near the edge that is closest to you. You do not want to place it in the middle like a taco, as you are going to be rolling this into an Enchilada.
  7. Roll the cheese carefully over the chicken to make a solid “tortilla”-style roll.
  8. Place onto plate, and spoon on the Red Enchilada Sauce mixture.
  9. Top with Sliced Black Olives, Sour Cream, and Chopped Green Onion.

SPECIAL NOTE: The nutrition facts include ALL of the ingredients, so if you want to make this dish even MORE LOW CARB you can cut out the Sour Cream, Olives, and Green Onion, and you would make this dish almost Completely CARB-FREE.

Keto Chicken Enchilada Recipe Wide

Keto Chicken Enchiladas

Amanda Dawn
These tasty chicken enchiladas swap out the traditional corn tortilla for some baked cheese that makes them even more savory than the original dish.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 2 Servings
Calories 600 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Breast Rotisserie Chicken Shredded
  • 2 Cups Mexican Cheese Blend Shredded
  • 1/2 Bunch Green Onions Chopped
  • 2 tbsp Diced Green Chilis Drained
  • 2 tbsp Black Olives Sliced
  • 4 tbsp Sour Cream
  • 6 tbsp Red Enchilada Sauce

Instructions
 

  • Shred the Rotisserie Chicken Breast with two forks until uniformly separated.
  • Add Green Chilis to the Chicken and stir.
  • On a Large Baking Sheet, cover it with 2 pieces of Parchment Paper cut in half. It is important that you cut this down the middle now, as it will make the later steps much easier.Place the shredded cheese onto the baking sheet in Four equal sized piles.
  • Bake the Cheese in the oven at 350*F for about 7 minutes, or until it is bubbling hot AND the edges just begin to get a brown crisp to them.
  • When the cheese is ready, remove from the oven and spoon the Chicken and Green Chili mixture into the Cheese near the edge that is closest to you. You do not want to place it in the middle like a taco, as you are going to be rolling this into an Enchilada.
  • Roll the cheese carefully over the chicken to make a solid “tortilla”-style roll.
  • Place onto plate, and spoon on the Red Enchilada Sauce mixture.
  • Top with Sliced Black Olives, Sour Cream, and Chopped Green Onion.

Video

Notes

SPECIAL NOTE: The nutrition facts include ALL of the ingredients, so if you want to make this dish even MORE LOW CARB you can cut out the Sour Cream, Olives, and Green Onion, and you would make this dish almost Completely CARB-FREE.
Keyword Enchiladas, Keto, Low Carb

Amanda Dawn

HI! I'm Amanda. A trained chef, nutritionist, and writer who is passionate about helping people live a healthy lifestyle. I lost 75 lbs in my journey and I love to help others enjoy great, wholesome food!

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111 Comments

    1. Serves 2 Adults. Each serving is calculated as 2 Enchiladas per serving.

    2. This was delicious. I made a big one in a pizza pan rolled it and cut it in meal portions. Very Good.

      1. You made a pizza sized Enchilada?! Would love to see that!

    3. Made this tonight and was pretty good. I did use green enchilada sauce and made 1 big 14″ one instead of 4 smaller ones. The cheese was a little thick for me, so next time I will think it out some.

      1. Great suggestion I did one large one and it was amazing

    4. I made this tonight and it was a huge hit. My hubby who is not really following the keto way of eating loved them. Thanks for such a great recipe!!

    5. Perdue makes several types of fresh chicken just for this purpose. Not fond of rotisserie chicken.

    6. Would love to make for a dinner party. Any suggestions on how to make for larger groups?

    7. So if I follow the recipe exactly and eat the 2 enchiladas it makes it’s 600 cals or is it 1200 cals

  1. If I eat four enchilades it will be 14 carbs?

    1. If you eat four enchiladas that is a total of 10 Net Carbs. But that also takes into consideration that you are eating it with the olives, sour cream, and green onion. If you cut those out you drop it down to about 1-2 Net Carbs per Enchilada.

  2. I’m confused about count. Pre shredded cheese has 2 carbs per ounce. I can’t find any block cheese called Mexican style.

    1. I am not sure what kind of Pre-Shredded Cheese you have purchased, but all of the shredded cheese we have at home in the fridge have zero carbs. Are you certain that you have purchased natural cheese and not a Processed Cheese Product like Velveeta? The fake cheeses are probably going to have carbs in them if you use those.

      1. I like the Kraft 4-Cheese Mexican blend but I noticed it has 1g of Carbs for a 1/4 cup and no fiber. I think I will just get some blocks of Jack and cheddar cheeses, and shred my own mix.

        1. Yeah, shy away from cheeses that show carbs. That usually means there are other no-no’s added to the cheese.

          1. The shredded cheeses often use flour to keep the strands separated. Just grate some cheddar cheese and you’re good to go 🙂

        2. I was curious about this also why there were carbs in the shredded cheeses. There is potato starches in the ingredient listings. I’m assuming that’s why are is this added in all cheese?

          1. Just saw in another post it is in there to prevent clumping. Thanks. I will buy blocks and shred my own.

      2. You have to look at the nutritional information on shredded cheese. Some companies put corn starch in it to keep the cheese from sticking together. Also, Mexican cheese is a blend of cheeses. Look for what cheeses are blended and go from there.

      3. Cause it’s because pre-shredded cheese is coded with a starch or some sort of starchy substitute to keep it from clumping together that’s why you have the carbohydrates

        1. Not ALL pre-shreds have it, but yes read your labels! No need to be getting cornstarch in there.

        2. Some shredded versions also add potato flakes. That adds to the carbs.

      4. where can I find the no carb cheeses

        1. Almost all cheese has no carbs in it. Just make sure you are not buying things that are “Processed Cheese” aka Kraft Singles or Velvetta type.

      5. It also doesn’t matter if it is “Mexican” cheese or not. Sharp cheddar works just fine. I’ve made these several times and used whatever I have, ie. ground beef, chicken, even turkey. The sauce and garnishes aren’t necessary either, although they add interest to the dish.

    2. I didn’t use Mexican style cheese because I’m NSNG and stay away from starches that are in pre-shredded cheeses. I used a block of cheddar for the “tortilla”. Soooooo delicious.

    3. Cojito cheese is what I think it is – a white cheese.

    4. You can use Monterey Jack or Cotija Cheese El Mexicano Queso Cotija. You can get both in most grocery stores.

  3. What would you serve on the side?

    1. how about refried beans

      1. Beans aren’t low carb…so if your goal is LC, no beans!

      2. Refried beans aren’t keto friendly.

      3. black beans of course. very good for you.

        1. forget the carbs. 135% saturated fat.

    2. another side could be chopped red, yellow green peeper, red onion, avocado drizzled with seasoned olive oil. we have chili seasoned olive oil.

      1. That’s almost exactly what I served too! Thanks!! No avocado for me. (Allergy)

    3. You could make spanish rice using cauliflower

      1. Yum! I will have to try that for my Fajitas!

      2. Sounds good. Do you have a recipe? I’m still perfectly my cauliflower

      3. Trader Joes has a grated cauliflower with sweet pepper in it that taste’s wonderful! My husband thinks it’s rice and enjoys it. He hates cauliflower…..

    4. Mexican Slaw. Which is just grated cabbage, with a spicy dressing. I do this all the time. If want to add heat , finely mince 1 seeded fresh jalapeno.
      Make ahead so the flavors meld together.

      1. What type of spicy dressing do you use that is low carb?

      2. The dressing I make for a spicy slaw is a little sauce from canned ancho chile’s with sauce and one of the peppers chopped in the slaw. The slaw is great on fish tacos too.

  4. “Parchment Paper cut in half. It is important that you cut this down the middle now, as it will make the later steps much easier.” What were the steps? Didn’t see paper mentioned after that.

    1. You bake the cheese shells on the parchment paper, and then roll them later. I should embed the video here, that will help.

  5. Why was the parchment paper cut in half?

    1. It makes it easier to roll the cheese later without having to roll the whole sheet at once. Or you can just roll from outsides inward.

  6. This was a very delicious recipes and will be a keeper for my family. I honestly think it was better than corn tortilla enchiladas! I substituted the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt and did without the olives.

    I also cooked spinach greens as a side and it paired very well together! -Thanks

    1. I think that this was an immediate hit at my house too. Anything I can make that the kids also eat makes life so much easier! 🙂

  7. is there a certain brand of saice that is better keto or are they all the same?

    1. The brands that I look for don’t have Corn Starch or Modified Vegetable Starch. And of course make sure they don’t have added sugar either.

  8. Can the cheese shells keep overnight?

    1. They reheat alright. Not the same “hot cheesy goodness” you get when they are fresh though. (think reheating cold pizza)

  9. I am so glad I stumbled upon this recipe earlier this week. My husband and I loved it! We made chicken enchiladas one night and beef enchiladas two nights later. Thank you so much!

    1. We had the chicken ones two days in a row. They were so good!

  10. When I click the print icon, the recipe with photographs is on four pages. Can someone please reformat the recipe to fit on two pages? I am new to the site and when my husband likes a recipe I print it out to use later. Thank you.

    1. I use the ” Copy me that ” app, it puts the recipes in an app for me with the link to the original post with pictures. That way I don’need to print them they are stored in my app and if I need to I can share my recipe book from the app to my friends and family.

  11. Does it have to be red sauce? I prefer green sauce less heartburn for me

    1. You can use Green Sauce, just make sure you read your labels to make sure it’s not sweetened. 🙂

  12. When I saw this recipe I really wanted to try it after having seen it on the video. I did not read the written recipe first, otherwise disaster could have been avoided. It does not work to meet the cheese on wax paper. 🙁

    1. Yeah, you need parchment paper. And as noted, you should bake the cheese beyond its bubbling point until the outer edges just begin to brown. I have seen some great failed attempts at baking the cheese where they tried on aluminum foil or wax paper, only to find that the cheese wont come off.

      1. I always use this to make crispy cheese chips too. Drop several tablespoon each of grated cheese on parchment paper (no need to cut the paper in half) microwave until lite brown on the edges and bubbly in the center, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Cheese chips! Yum!

        1. I did it on wax. Oops, but I slowly and painstakingly got the cheese to roll and loved it! Next time I’ll do it on parchment paper!

  13. This looks super tastey. However that is a lot of protein. I would consider switching the breast with thighs or even crumbled bacon or both also add more fat possibly guac or cream cheese and heavy whipping cream.
    Good luck everone. Keto is hard but not impossible.

    1. These would be tasty with the dark meat. Also a reason for olives and other good fats as toppings (like your suggested guacamole too!)

    2. I added a little cream cheese and it was excellent.

  14. I would really like a printed version of your Ketosis coolbook. I cancelled my order a couple of weeks ago because It was online only!
    Any possibility of a paper printed cookbook??

    1. Cydney, I do not have a cookbook for sale. Maybe some day in the future I will print one out. For now I am sharing everything for free on my site here!

  15. do you spread out the cheese into a tortilla shape or leave in more of a mound? mine were deliciois but would like them a little crisper.

    1. I sprinkle the cheese in a circle shape. The trick to making them crisp is to let them bubble long enough that the outside of the cheese turns that medium brown color. If you want them more like a taquito you can cook them even longer and then roll before the cheese cools down.

  16. Keto recipes involving cheese.

    Make America Grate Again ????????????????????

    1. Good one!!! ????????????

  17. Why wouldn,t you use canned chicken?

    1. Because it tastes like Tuna to me (usually brined in a similar solution) so I wouldn’t want to think I was eating a Tuna Enchilada. That’s the only reason.

  18. If you don’t like rolling in cheese, what about thin slices of zucchini or the 4g carb tortillas I’ve heard about?

    1. The 4g Carb Tortillas are fine if you are just eating a low-carb diet. They are not Keto-friendly though if you are strictly following a Keto diet. That being said, you can still eat one and it wouldn’t kick you out of ketosis as long as you stay under your net carb amount. Zucchini is another choice some people use, and it’s nutritious too. Many ways to make this type of dish. This one is just a very savory and filling option 🙂

  19. Do you use fresh diced green chili’s or canned diced green chili’s?

    1. I used canned in this recipe because I did not re-cook the chicken (used the meat from a rotisserie chicken). But you can use fresh roasted green chilis too, I just wouldn’t use raw unless you plan to cook your chicken from raw too.

  20. How many ounces of chicken are you using per enchilada? Breaths differ in size. Thanks. I tried them. Cut the recipe in half just for me. Easy to rolls the cheese. Could have left off the olives and if I had, could I have used avocado instead?
    Thanks!

    1. You could definitely use avocados! I did not weight the breast, it came off of a rotisserie chicken.

  21. These were wonderful. I forgot the green chilis when I went to the store, so I added a couple of spoonfuls of a taco seasoning package.to the shredded chicken and then added water and a few tbs. of sour cream and let them cook down to a beautiful creamy mess. I made a plate garnish of lettuce, chopped tomato, and chopped avocado. They were wonderful. My husband keeps saying this is the best tasting food we have ever had on a diet. Thanks for the tip on prepackaged cheese, I had forgotten that. this is my 6 day on the diet and I’ve lost 4 pounds. I do have the keto flu and last night was really craving something sweet so I had a bowl or berries with a splash of cream and some stevia, it was nirvana. A perfect dessert! Thank you for your recipes I needed the help this week so much.

  22. Melissa A Sargent

    Anyone try this with veggie cheese? In place of regular cheese,

  23. How many enchiladas does this recipe make with the amount of ingredients posted in the recipe?

  24. I have made these 3 times now my husband loves them. He has invited 4 people for dinner tonight so they can try them my problem is can I make them up a little early with just the chicken mix and sauce then put them in the microwave then put
    The rest of the stuff on and serve. Hard to make 10 of them after they get here. Love this recipe

    1. You can get away with pre-making the chicken, but you want to make the shells fresh.

  25. What about the 3 grams of sugar…sugar will throw you out of ketosis and stall your weight loss.

    1. That’s why you monitor your sugar intake. Most of your net carbs for the day will be sugar, as long as you eat less than the amount you can tolerate in a day you will stay in ketosis.

  26. Do these freeze well if you prep them ahead of time and put them in a casserole dish to freeze and warm up later?

    1. I would like to know if I can freeze them as well.

  27. Does this diet work?

    1. Karen it sure can. It is hard to wade through all the do’s and don’t.s . My noobie advice is to take a week and just make healthier choices. Nix the soda. Fast food, and as many carbs as you can. During this week read and research. A Keto diet works but you have to be dedicated. Some people and groups are more strict than others. They nit pick ever ingriedient. That comes with time though and learning. Most people want to go Keto to lose lbs and to eat better. You can def do that by learning keto recipes because they are mostly fresh clean recipes.

    2. It sure can. I’ve been doing keto for five months, and have lost about sixty pounds. It takes time and effort, and there’ve been some ups and downs – but as long as you stay within your daily allowances for carbs (very few), protein (some), fat (lots) and calories (less than you need to maintain weight), it works.

  28. THESE are sooooo good. Love love love this recipe. Thanks for doing and posting it. 🙂

  29. Hello. Does the chicken need to be warm before filling? Not sure if when buying a rotisserie chicken ahead of time if the chicken should be warmed back up before filling.

    1. Yes you will want the chicken warm before filling, as I do not cook these further after rolling them up.

  30. Yum! Made this using shredded beef, added a sprinkle of garlic powder to the cheese before I baked it. I got 3 shells out of the 2 cups of cheese and I ate every one of them! Too full but I really wanted pictures so I made the 3rd one and took some good pictures of it before I ate it! ????????????????

  31. What is the difference between Keto and Whole 30? Thanks

  32. I think this recipe is great (as does my husband). It is now in our rotation.

    1. This one is awesome. I am in the process of recording a Keto Taco with Pepper Jack Cheese shells 🙂

  33. When I first made this recipe there was a link to make your own sauce, can you please send me that link , reason i ask is that so far all of the ones I have searched for online call for flour and other stuff, that I don’t remember using the last time
    Thank you

    1. Stacey, if you click on the sauce in the recipe, it will take you to Amazon for a brand that doesn’t have flour. I hope that’s helpful. Otherwise, at your local store, you may have better luck in the “international” foods aisle that has more authentic options.

  34. Tried this tonight! Absolutely delicious! Definitely will be making this again!

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