Keto Chicken Enchilada Skillet is a family favorite recipe. So ridiculously easy to make, it whips up in about 15 minutes flat. If you’ve been missing enchiladas on your low carb diet, this easy one pan meal is for you!
Hey party people, it’s time for a little fiesta!
Enchiladas are a well loved Mexican dish but those carb-filled tortillas don’t do us any favors. But with this chicken enchilada skillet recipe, you get all the flavors you love, with a tiny fraction of the carbs. Seriously, this easy keto dinner has only 2.5g net carbs per serving.
This fun and easy meal is one of our favourites out of my popular cookbook, Easy Keto Dinners. Pair with your favorite cauliflower rice recipe. Or try my Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice for even more great flavor.
Are enchiladas keto friendly?
Well, that all depends on how you make them. With regular flour tortillas, they aren’t very keto at all. And even many of the “low carb” tortillas have too many carbs for those of us on a keto diet.
What is a Mexican food lover to do?
You could go to the trouble of making your own low carb tortillas or wraps. If you happen to have my cookbook, I have a delicious recipe for wraps made with pork rinds. And there are any number of other great-looking keto tortilla recipes.
But making your own tortillas just so you can make your own enchiladas isn’t my idea of easy cooking. You’re not about to come home from a hard day of work, roll out the tortillas, fill them, cover them with sauce and cheese, and then finally bake them. You’d be eating dinner at about 10:30pm.
However, if you skip the wraps all together, and focus just on the fillings, the sauce, and the cheese, it suddenly becomes a lot easier.
Tips for Keto Chicken Enchilada Skillet
A few quick pointers on how to get the most out of your keto enchiladas:
Don’t buy store-bought enchilada sauce. It usually has added sugars and the carbs add up quickly. In this skillet enchilada recipe, you will notice that I don’t use any pre-made sauce at all. Instead, I add some tomato paste right into the pan, along with some spices. Voila, I’ve got my sauce right there.
You can adjust the heat to your liking. Add more chili powder and cayenne if you prefer it spicy. Or maybe some chopped jalapeños.
Using pre-cooked chicken makes your life easy! Rotisserie chicken is great, or if you happen to have some leftover grilled chicken, that works too.
If you only have uncooked chicken, then simmer it in the pan first with 1 cup of broth for about 15 minutes. Then remove the chicken and let it cool while preparing the sauce. You can shred the chicken easily and add it back to the pan.
Spread the chicken around the pan before sprinkling with the cheese. You want a nice even layer so that the cheese melts quickly and easily.
Use whatever shredded cheese you like best. Cheddar is great, and Monterey or pepper jack would be delicious too. You can shred your own, or you can buy pre-purchased cheese. I know the purists will prefer to shred their own.
Top with any of your favorite enchilada toppings: salsa, guacamole, chopped avocado, jalapeños, cilantro. So many delicious ways to serve it!
See how easy that was? Now go grab a copy of my book, Easy Keto Dinners. You won’t regret it!
Mexican Food goes keto!
Mexican food is so beloved in the Western world, and it’s some of the easiest to keto-fy. In fact, some of my most popular keto recipes are Mexican food inspired.
I won’t even pretend that they are authentic because I don’t want to cross that line – I know I am a hack when it comes to world cuisines. I like my dinner recipes to be easy and flavorful, as well as healthy, and Mexican food lends itself so well to that.
It really is fun to play with those strong spices and flavors. Think lots of chili powder, or maybe some chipotle powder for a smoky heat. Cumin is one of my favorite spices and it has a strong role in Mexican food. And plenty of garlic too!
Here are a few of the most popular Keto Mexican Food recipes:
Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Soup
Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 lb cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese (about 6 ounces)
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
- Whisk in the tomato paste, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and cayenne until smooth.
- Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the sour cream until well combined. Stir in the chicken and toss to coat. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and cover the skillet until melted, about 4 minutes.
Alice says
I’m definitely making this, if your daughter can make it I can do it, thanks girls!
Susan says
This skillet sounds really good. But I need to know if the weight of the chicken is measured before or after the cooking. I usually use 1.5 pounds of raw chicken to feed 6 people. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Doesn’t really matter since you won’t lose that much in weight cooking it.
Karen says
May I substitute heavy cream for at least part of the sour cream? My husband can’t stand sour cream (I know, right!), but this sounds and looks so good I want to try it.
Carolyn says
Since heavy cream is more liquid, I would simply do 1/4 or 1/3 cup cream and leave it at that.
Jamie says
This was easy and really delicious! We paired it with an improvised version of your Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice and topped it with avocados.
V says
What a great recipe! Quick, easy and delicious! The only chicken I had was a frozen 20 oz bag of pulled chicken breast, thawed a bit, and it worked perfectly! Served this over a bed of shredded lettuce with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream, salsa, a few diced onions, cilantro and a little bit more shredded cheese ( I didn’t use the full amount in the recipe). Had a low carb flour tortilla too! Heaven!!! Your recipes are the best!!
Laura K says
Goodness gracious. This is my FAVORITE dinner. A frequent in our home! Thank you, Carolyn!
Matthew Upton says
This is one of our “go to” quick dinner, “don’t have a plan, but have a rotisserie chicken to use” meals and EVERYONE in our family loves it. We double the recipe to ensure we have leftovers for lunches during the week. The three of us who eat keto put it over caulirice to add a vegetable.
Veronica says
Amazing!! This was so easy to make and it was SO good!! Definitely will make again and again and again!!
vee says
I don’t know if maybe my expectations are just a little too high for when it comes to enchilada sauce, as I am latina and love making a latin sauce out of scratch. Once I added the sour cream and followed this recipe to exact I felt like 3/4c of sour cream was too much. I was right, it’s way too sour/tangy so next time I will just use heavy cream instead. To take out so much of the sourness I had to add in 4 tablespoons of tomato paste, chili powder, and chicken broth. Good idea though.
Carolyn says
Fair enough. It’s one of those “To taste” kind of things.
Baker Judy says
I am Vegetarian, but watched your video to see you cook with your adorable daughter. That video will become even more special as she gets older!
Now I’m thinking I should try firm baked tofu. But that would crumble. I need something firm.
How would the sauce be for Shakshuka?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and awesome recipes
Shaylee Moultray says
We made this last night! We used goat cheese instead of sour cream and it gave it a more tangy flavor! Definitely one of my top fave dinners now! Thank you!
pdx girl says
OMG she’s adorable.
Audrey Pore says
My whole family loved this! Definitely a keeper for us. Thank you!
Lauren Bomhof says
Hi there, can I ask, will this freeze? Thanks!
Bonnie Nolan says
Soooo delicious! Especially paired with the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice AND your Low Carb Margaritas!
Carolyn says
Now that sounds like a perfect meal!