White chicken enchiladas smothered in a creamy white sauce made with cream cheese, green chiles, and Monterey jack. Enjoy this crazy easy low carb and insanely delicious recipe.
Have you tried white chicken enchiladas? I grew up eating them. Instead of being sauced with a traditional red enchilada sauce, white chicken enchiladas are baked with a creamy white sauce.
Most white chicken enchilada recipes feature a bechamel sauce or cream sauce made with flour. Since this is a low carb enchilada recipe I offer a white cheese sauce instead.
All recipes for white chicken enchiladas start with seasoned shredded chicken. I use shredded rotisserie chicken or a whole roasted chicken because it is moist and flavorful. Shredded chicken breast (poached chicken) is fine, too, but it’s important to add chicken broth to moisten the meat. I use the accumulated juices from the rotisserie chicken for the most moist and flavorful chicken filling.
Seasoning the filling well with salt and pepper, is crucial and can’t be skipped. Layering flavor makes even the most simple dishes taste delicious so season each step of the way.
My white cheese sauce for these enchiladas is so easy to make. Cream cheese and Monterey Jack are melted in a pan with spices and green chilies. It literally takes about 5 minutes. The white enchilada sauce is added to the pan and over the top of the enchiladas before baking.
I generally use low carb crepes or low carb tortillas when making chicken enchiladas. I tested this recipe with both and it worked beautifully. But, I also tried a newer product called Cut Da Carb Wraps, which I cut in half and wrapped around the filling. I show it in the pictures. All three versions were delish.
The founder of Cut Da Carb Wraps is very nice and graciously sent me two packages. They are great to wrap around sandwich fillings, but I like using them for enchiladas the best! They are not gluten-free so use my crepe recipe for a GF option and also the lowest carb counts!
Because of the white cheese sauce, these white chicken enchiladas are very filling. We topped ours with sour cream and a nice store bought salsa. Serve with a salad dressed with a tangy vinaigrette for a standout meal!
Enjoy!
2.5 Net Carbs per each White Chicken Enchilada!
Fabulous White Chicken Enchiladas (low carb)
Ingredients
- 8 low carb crepes (8 low carb tortillas or 4 Cut De Carb Wraps* cut in half)
Chicken Enchilada Filling
- 1 pound shredded rotisserie chicken with juices (4 cups of shredded chicken)
- salt and pepper to taste
White Cheese Sauce
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (8 ounces)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 4 oz canned diced green chiles plus 1 can water
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp granulated onion powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Preparation:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Shred the chicken if you haven’t beforehand. If the shredded chicken is cold from the fridge, heat until warm. Then, season liberally with salt and pepper. It should taste really good before you continue.
Sauce:
- Place all of the sauce ingredients into a non-stick pan over medium heat. Melt the ingredients, stirring occasionally, to blend. Let the sauce simmer very gently for several minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn. Adjust seasoning per your taste. Remove from heat.
Assembly:
- Spread 1/2- cup sauce in the base of the casserole dish. Place a crepe (tortilla or wrap) on your work surface and add 1/2 cup of shredded chicken. Roll up like a cigar and place seam side down into the casserole dish. Repeat.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over the filled enchiladas and bake in the middle of the oven for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve.
- Serving size is 1 white chicken enchilada. Serves 8, at 2 net carbs each.
Notes
Nutrition
Gluten-free Enchilada Sauce (low carb)
I made these tonight and boy were they good. Hard to believe they were Keto. My husband who hates chicken, and if I feed it to him, I have to disguise it. He loved it. Told me it was so delicious. He would kill me if he knew. Have some sauce & chicken left over, will have for lunch. Stuck to your recipe except added some cilantro to the sauce. So good!!
And I used Pepper Jack cheese on top. :-)
That is a delicious change of pace for enchiladas. Thank you!
I love this recipe. I’m happy you enjoyed it too, Fallon. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it! -Kim
I made this into a casserole. I love the taste of sour cream so I added 4 tbsp into the sauce. I also like a thinner sauce so I added some heavy whipping cream. I also added some extra garlic, cumin and onion powder to the sauce. The sauce was delicious!! I seasoned rotisserie chicken with some cumin and chili powder and layered the chicken and sauce between low carb tortillas. I added some chopped onion and some cheddar on top. Baked at 350 for about 20 minutes!! Amazing. And I calculated that the whole pan only had about 45 carbs!!! (I used 5 torts that had 4 net carbs each.) Thanks for the sauce recipe!!
I love how you made this recipe your own, Yolanda! It sounds great! -Kim
This was a family favorite. Thank you for an amazing low carb recipe!! I added spinach inside the enchiladas – It was delicious :)
Could I make these ahead into smaller portions and freeze them? Should I cook them and then potion them out? Or just put them together?
Thank you!!
Absolutely, Caitlin. I would cook them and then freeze them. Enjoy! -Kim
Can I make the sauce without the green Chiles?
I guess you can make it without the chiles, Kristen, but I can’t vouch for the result. Maybe add 1-3 tsp white vinegar to mimiic the acid in the canned peppers and still add the 1/4 cup of water. Hmmm. If you have some pepperoncini, add 1-2 tsp of the vinegar and dice a few of the peppers. I’d add the vinegar last, though. It shouldn’t be vinegary, but the acidity does lift it a little. -Kim
I love this recipe! However, I prefer my meat sauced so I mix my chicken with the white sauce and use salsa verda in the pan and on top. I also save about 1/2 cup of cheese to top of the dish. Even my daughter, who hates enchiladas, devours it!
I use Joseph’s Lavash cut in quarters for my enchiladas. Only 4 carbs per roll..
These are delicious. Next time I’m going to try to add some sour cream and chilis to the meat mixture. My hubby requested pepperjack cheese on top next time too. I love how easy it is to personalize a delicious recipe like this! Great job and thank you for sharing this with the keto community!
Yay! I’m so glad you like the recipe, Motherofdragons. (Heh heh heh) Thank you for sharing your ideas on possible recipe tweaks and for taking the time to comment. Have a nice evening. -Kim
I use light cream cheese and it works perfect
Can I use a low fat cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese in the white chicken enchilada recipe?
You could try, Terry. I haven’t tried the recipe with low fat cream cheese. It may need to be cooked just a little longer to thicken up, but I’m not sure. I am also not sure if it will separate in the oven. -Kim
By chance, have you tried these with cabbage leaves?
Hi Elizabeth, I haven’t tried that yet. I bet it would be amazing. I think I would soften the leaves before I wrapped them. -Kim
Made these tonight and they were delicious thanks for the recipe.
I’m thrilled you liked the recipe, Sue! Thank you. -Kim
What is a substitute for xantham gum?
Hi KGamble. I believe you’re reference the crepe recipe? The xanthan gum in the crepes really helps pull the batter together. You may omit the xanthan gum, but don’t attempt to flip the crepes until they are completely cooked, then let it cook on the other side for just a few seconds. I hope this answers your question. -Kim
I am new to the Keto diet, and my husband is Diabetic. This is the first thing that I made that blew our socks off! This recipe is so tasty that all you need is a salad to go with it. Thank you for creating a dynamite recipe!
Wow! High praise, Layla. I’m thrilled you liked the recipe. Good luck on your low carb journey. -Kim
I love these white chicken enchiladas and have made them several times! You should definitely try them!
I substituted coconut wraps for the crepes but I do want to try making the crepes one on these days.
Hi Mary, thanks so much for coming over from Facebook to leave a comment on this post. I really appreciate it. I love the idea of using coconut wraps. I think I’ll add that as an options. What a great idea. Thanks again! -Kim
Is there a way to upload your recipes into myfitnesspal? I’ve tried to do it a few via my phone and I keep getting an error. Also, you are totally saving my life with all these recipes!! I’ve never felt so excited to do a lifestyle change and be healthier!!
Great question, Brittney. I don’t think there is any way to do so. In any case, my fitnesspal doesn’t do a great job translating all of the recipe ingredients and ends up with much higher carb counts. I’m not sure why this is. I much prefer Fatsecret, but I have to enter things by hand. If I enter a recipe or have a standard meal (2 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon and 1 cup of coffee with cream) there is a way to make these one entry with the nutritional information already calculated. I prefer the desktop version, but there is an app, too. I should really check out myfitnesspal to find out why there is such a discrepancy in the numbers it provides. -Kim
I cannot thank you enough, for this recipe. Absolutely delicious!!!!!! Wish I could attach the photo of our finished product. I was going through MAJOR Mexican food withdrawal!!!! Cant wait for lunch leftovers tomorrow!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them, Karen. I was disappointed with the photos and am so glad you took a chance on the recipe (I shot them 3 different times!). It’s one of my favorite dishes right now. What did you end up using to wrap the enchiladas? -Kim
Your fabulous low carb wraps. I put it all together, waited on hubby to get home. Covered it with foil, baked in a low 325* for 40 mins. Uncovered and turned on the broiler for a few to “color” the top. They were absolutely amazing.
Oh, great! I’m happy you used the wrap recipe. That would have upped the nutrition without adding many carbs at all. Wonderful. Have a great weekend, Karen. -Kim
These look absolutely terrific. Enchiladas Suizas (with white sauce) used to be one of my favorite dishes….NOW THEY ARE BACK ON THE MENU! THANK YOU! I usually like mine with salsa verde but these look so good I will have to try the red salsa as well.
Kim, just saw a great recipe on Bon Appetit (Rhubarb Custard Cake) that is BEGGING for a low carb makeover. Looks like a great candidate. Hoping I could temp you into giving it a go. Its an eggy batter poured into a springform pan with rhubarb laid across the top like a patchwork quilt. The trick would be how to sub the flour for almond and/or coconut flour. Your the gal that could do it. Hoping you will take a look.
Thanks, Deborah. I love these so much. My family had no problem devouring them while I tested the recipe with the cut da carb wraps and the crepes and worked on the cheese sauce. They are pretty great. I used the red sauce to provide a bit more contrast on top, otherwise I would have used salsa verde in the photos.
I have never made a custard cake before. It sounds delish. Maybe I’ll make the real version first for the family before I try a low carb version. I love the pattern of the rhubarb and think it might be pretty for Mother’s Day.
Thanks for such a nice comment and for the great idea. Enjoy your week. -Kim
Yum!!