Skillet Enchiladas is a one-pot meal a.k.a wonder. 30 minutes and you have lazy beef enchiladas for dinner. And healthy!
Healthy dinners prepared in the same pot like Tuscan chicken pasta, Tex-Mex chicken and zucchini, and ground turkey and broccoli pasta are a saving grace for any working parent!
Healthy Enchiladas
Juicy ground beef simmered in homemade healthy enchilada sauce with a lot of veggies and tortillas until soft and all ingredients have “married” each other. Then top with cheese until melted and serve with your favorite toppings like avocado, jalapenos, cilantro, lime, green onions and yogurt.
These healthy enchiladas are the hearty, wholesome dish I love to prepare for my kids (along with Instant Pot taco soup) during the colder months when I can’t be bothered even to make tacos! (which isn’t often – we have ground chicken tacos, shrimp, turkey, beef, and carne asada tacos that I swap out almost weekly!)
Kids will love their dinner. It is not too spicy- but the spice level is also adjustable.
Truth is besides low-carb chicken enchiladas I do not have any other healthy enchiladas recipe on the blog. I guess a bit too much work for me right now. Where as skillet enchiladas are super easy. In fact, I even have a taco skillet and similar healthy Mexican casserole, too!
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Black beans
- Corn
- Tomato sauce and paste
- Onion
- Spices
Skillets and Pots that Work
As you can tell, I made skillet enchiladas in a Dutch oven. Just because I do not have large cast-iron skillet. You can make it work with the pots you have on hand.
- Dutch oven – Dutch oven is essentially cast iron “wrapped” in enamel. Once the lid is on, Dutch oven retains all of the heat. Like an oven. I am obsessed with mine’s (I have 2)!!! And if you don’t want to break the bank with Le Creuset, I highly recommend Lodge. I tried other no name brands and meh.
- Large non-stick skillet – Just make sure it is at least 12″ and you have a tight lid for it. I personally have had great success with Green Pan. Out of all ceramic skillets, this one holds its “non-stickiness” the longest. Just FYI they all need to be replaced eventually.
- Large cast iron skillet – Again, 12″ with a good tight lid. Lodge is the best quality in my opinion.
- Regular pot – This would be my last choice but coming from Ukraine I can tell you that anything is possible.:)
What Is the Best Meat to Use?
Ground beef.
Are you shocked seeing me using ground beef? Me too! But here is the truth. Beef has way more fat than ground turkey as we figured out with turkey burgers. Like 15 times more. K, heart attack, literally. But it is so tasty and remember, moderation?! We eat beef maybe once in 2 months (like for these sheet-pan steak fajitas and for homemade meat sauce for lasagna and spaghetti)
Beef adds a lot of flavor to this enchilada skillet recipe! All other ingredients are so lean, this healthy one pot meal begs for extra fat.
Ground turkey.
I tested skillet enchilada bake with ground turkey and was not impressed although ground turkey is my go to for ground meat. Enchiladas had very prominent turkey taste and smell. Yes they were healthy but OK tasty…
But remember, you can still use turkey for tons of tasty dishes like unstuffed cabbage rolls, Instant Pot meatballs, and bolognese sauce!
Ground chicken.
If you really want to be healthy, more healthy than me obviously, use ground chicken. It will be better than turkey but not as good as beef haha. Hahahahaha.
Healthy Enchilada Sauce
We will not use store-bought canned enchilada sauce. It usually has a lot of preservatives, is expensive and a specialty item for me. Instead we combine tomato sauce, tomato paste, a bit of maple syrup (to offset acidity in tomatoes), garlic, onion, chili powder and cumin.
There is your healthy enchilada sauce.
Difference Between Tortillas
Are you team corn or wheat tortillas? Me – corn, Alex – wheat. I used both kinds for the sake of experiment. Just like I suspected, corn tortillas incorporated with the sauce creating more of a traditional Mexican experience. Just like chicken tortilla soup.
Where as whole wheat, stayed more intact and absorbed moisture. Up to you and your pantry.
Tips
- Use cooked shredded chicken instead of beef.
- If using not low sodium canned beans and tomato products add less salt to taste at the very end.
- You can use Rotel or diced tomatoes with chiles if that’s what you want. Red colour will not as deep.
- I used frozen corn, no need to thaw.
- I also freeze tortillas and cooked black beans.
What to Serve with Skillet Enchiladas
You really do not need anything to go with this one pot dinner. But in case you would like to serve it to a crowd:
- Top with guacamole instead of avocado.
- Serve avocado salad on a side.
- With cilantro lime cauliflower rice for “eat more veggies”.
- With very simple lettuce salad.
More Healthy Mexican-Inspired Dinners
- Turkey chili
- Chicken burrito skillet
- Instant Pot chicken burritos
- Vegetarian or chicken quesadillas
- Chicken tostadas
- Chicken enchiladas
- Mexican chicken and rice
You can also browse through my entire collection of Mexican recipes, for more inspiration!
Skillet Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 10 corn or 7 whole wheat tortillas cut into strips
- 14 oz can low sodium black beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 14 oz can tomato sauce low sodium
- 6 oz can tomato paste low sodium
- 1 cup water or broth
- 1 cup Tex Mex or cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 tsp maple syrup honey or sugar
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat Dutch oven or large deep skillet on medium-high heat. Add ground beef, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook until browned or for about 10 minutes, stirring and breaking into pieces often.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup, water, black beans, corn and tortillas. Stir, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and sprinkle enchiladas skillet with cheese. Cover and let stand for a few minutes or until cheese has melted.
- Garnish with desired toppings like cilantro, green onion, jalapenos, lime and yogurt. Spoon into plates and serve hot.
Nutrition
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Hello and welcome to iFOODreal.
My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.