Quick Summary: Chicken enchiladas made low-carb with flour tortillas and a creamy roasted tomatillo sauce. The verde sauce comes together quickly: roast tomatillos, jalapeños, and onion, then blend with sour cream and cilantro. Use rotisserie chicken for speed. Ready in 40 minutes. Prep: 15 min | Cook: 20 min | Serves: 8
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Enchiladas are one of those dishes that seem incompatible with low-carb eating until you solve the tortilla problem. This version uses low-carb flour tortillas (I like La Tortilla Factory) and a homemade verde sauce that’s naturally low in carbs.
The sauce is worth making from scratch. Roasting the tomatillos, jalapeños, and onion takes 25 minutes but doesn’t take constant hands on attention. While the tomatillos and peppers roast, shred the chicken and grate the cheese. Blend everything with sour cream and cilantro, and you have a creamy verde sauce that beats anything from a jar.
For the fastest possible version, use rotisserie chicken and store-bought verde sauce. It won’t be quite as good, but it gets dinner on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients for Low-Carb Chicken Enchiladas:
The following photo shows you all the ingredients you will need for this recipe. For details on measurements, see the recipe below.
Chicken Verde Casserole (Step by Step)
Here are the steps lined out with photos. For the details of the recipe itself, see the recipe card below.
What Makes This Recipe Low Carb?
The tortillas are the only significant carb source in traditional enchiladas. This recipe addresses that with low-carb flour tortillas, which typically have 3-6 net carbs per tortilla compared to 12-15 for regular flour tortillas or corn tortillas.
My favorite brand of low carb tortillas is from the La Tortilla Factory, often available at Costco and online at Amazon. Read nutrition labels and choose tortillas with no added sugar and the lowest net carbs.
For even lower carbs, make your own tortillas using almond flour or coconut flour recipes.
If you do opt to make your own low carb tortillas, it is worth a look at this post on how to use a tortilla press.
Tomatillos, onions, and peppers do include some natural sugars so this is not a carb-free recipe. I personally don’t mind the carbs when they are in the form of vegetables and some fruits, as the benefits of all the micronutrients are significant and the fiber in vegetables lowers the net carb amount.
For losing weight with a low-carb lifestyle (not keto), it is a matter of looking at the daily totals of carbs and sugar and not just a particular meal. Logging all the daily metrics is a pain, but if you want to lose weight with low-carb eating, it is a necessary pain for a while at least.
Store-Bought Shortcuts
For a 20-minute dinner:
- Use rotisserie chicken (already shredded)
- Use store-bought verde sauce (check labels for low-carb options)
- Assemble and bake
This homemade chile verde sauce recipe is better than any store-bought sauce, but a good jarred verde sauce makes this practical for busy weeknights.
There is a huge array of enchilada sauces, ranging from shelf-stable sauces at the grocery store to scrumptious, home-made sauces. My favorite jarred sauce is Herdez chile verde sauce.
Fortunately, some of the store-bought verde sauces are low-carb, and they are pretty good.
If you’re in a pinch for time, using rotisserie chicken and store-bought Verde sauce can make a decent chicken verde casserole that you can get on the table in 20 minutes.
Typical Mexican Garnishes
Our family is always happy with pickled jalapenos and some extra cheese or sour cream. But, if that won’t satisfy your family, here are some other great ideas to top off your casserole:
- Olives
- Cilantro
- Sliced avocados
- Chopped green chiles
- DIY Chile Oil (Salsa Macha)
- Homemade pickled onions
Popular Recipes Using Mexican Verde Sauce
Want more Verde sauce ideas? Try these recipes:
Chicken Pipian Verde (pumpkin seed green mole)
Low-Carb Chile Verde Baked Egg Breakfast
Chile Verde Sauce for Low-Carb Mexican Dishes:
Mexican Recipes Using Red Enchilada Sauce:
- Low-Carb Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Enchilada Sauce
- Chile Colorado with Cactus and Pork
- Mexican-style braised short ribs
FAQ
Traditional enchiladas use corn tortillas, but they’re not low-carb. If you’re not concerned about carbs, corn tortillas work well with this sauce.
Moderately spicy from the jalapeños. Remove the seeds and membranes for less heat, or use only one jalapeño.
Assemble the casserole, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking. Add 10 minutes to the baking time if cold from the refrigerator.
Jack cheese or any white melting cheese. Pepper jack adds extra heat. Avoid sharp cheddar, which can become greasy.
Yes. Thighs have more flavor. Shred them the same way.
Low Carb Chicken Verde Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 large Tomatillos
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 2 jalapenos cut lengthwise and deseed and devein
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 Lime juiced
- ¼ cup Cilantro
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 2-3 tablespoons Chicken broth
- 3 Cups Shredded chicken I used Costco rotisserie chicken
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 8 low carb tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheese Jack cheese or white melting cheese (I used German Emmentaler cheese)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Halve the tomatillos, quarter the onion and separate the garlic cloves and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and a little salt and roast for 25 minutes.Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan. (Remove garlic skins if you left them on).8 large Tomatillos, 1 medium onion, 2 jalapenos, 2-3 cloves garlic
- While the vegetables are roasting, shred the chicken and grate the cheese and set aside.3 Cups Shredded chicken, 1 cup shredded cheese
- In a blender, combine the roasted vegetables, lime juice, cilantro, and sour cream. Thin with chicken stock if needed.1 Lime, 1/4 cup Cilantro, 1/2 cup Sour cream, 2-3 tablespoons Chicken broth
- Pour 1/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce in the bottom of a baking dish to prevent tortillas from sticking.Roll up 1/4 tp 1/3 cup shredded chicken in a tortilla and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat for rest of tortillas and line them in baking dish side by side.Pour the rest of the tomatillo sauce over the tortillas, cover with foil and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.Remove foil and sprinkle cheese over the casserole and bake another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Cumin, 8 low carb tortillas
My favorite!
And it’s so easy!!!