Cheesy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
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This recipe is a great meal idea for large groups or a family dinner. The only thing that can make this dish better is that it’s a freezer meal! With the chicken, beans, vegetables, and whole wheat tortillas, you’re getting some great lean protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Here’s my husband’s and my favorite enchilada recipe. It’ll soon be your favorite enchilada recipe too. What might surprise you is that these chicken enchiladas make a great freezer meal. Simply double the batch and freeze one before baking it. Now you have a healthy freezer meal waiting for you to cook on a busy night down the road!
If you want to go lighter on the cheese, these enchiladas are really quite good for you. With the chicken, beans, vegetables, and whole wheat tortillas, you’re getting some great lean protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. If you’re making this for kids, you may want to pull back on the spice a bit.
If your crew isn’t a huge fan of enchilada sauce, make sure to check out our Baked Chicken Fajitas. Similar concept but without the sauce. And just as good. 🙂
Side Dish Ideas to Go with Enchiladas
Looking for something to serve alongside this recipe? We have two ideas for you:
- Try our Avocado Lime Salsa on top of your enchiladas or with chips on the side.
2. Try this delicious Fiesta Chopped Salad with tortilla chips.
What kind of containers do you store freezer meals in?
We recommend using a BPA-free container or dish. While it may be easier to buy the disposable Glad ovenware containers, it really makes sense to stock up on some quality, safe dishes that you can bake AND store in. After searching long and hard, we highly recommend and use the containers below. We both have collected a huge stash of them over the years!
8 inch Square Glass Baking Dish with Lid
3 Quart Glass Baking Dish with Lid
A few reasons I like these:
- Glass is a natural, non-porous material.
- Glass cookware doubles as food storage ware.
- Glass is easy to clean and dishwasher safe.
- The clear lid allows easy visibility of your food.
- Because they are oven- and microwave-proof, you can cook, heat, and store your food all in one dish.
- A flat top allows for easy stacking.
- They are VERY affordable.
Side Dish Ideas for Taquitos
We love Mexican recipes! Here are a few that would pair well with Taquitos.
Tip: Freeze Leftover Tortillas
If you have leftover tortillas, did you know you can freeze them? Here is the best way to freeze tortillas for later.
25+ Amazing Mexican Recipes
Looking for more easy, mouthwatering Mexican recipes? Be sure to browse through our round-up of 25+ Amazing Mexican Recipes!
Some of our reader favorites include:
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Cheesy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas
These cheesy chicken and black bean enchiladas are the perfect meal idea for large groups or a family dinner. The only thing that can make this dish better is that it’s a freezer meal! With the chicken, beans, vegetables, and whole wheat tortillas, you’re getting some great lean protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning (make your own using this recipe)
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, juice and all
- 1/3 cup salsa
- 1 cup red enchilada sauce
- 6 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
- 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (sub: Monterey Jack)
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9×9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken/onion mixture and stir to coat. Stir in black beans, green chiles, and salsa and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until sauce thickens and reduces.
- Spread out 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×9 casserole dish.
- Arrange the tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken/bean mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up tortillas and place them seam-side down, side-by-side in the baking dish. Pour a little remaining enchilada sauce over the top of each one. Then, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese over the top.
- Bake enchiladas for 15 minutes, until cheese is golden.
Freeze For Later: Freeze the enchiladas before baking in an airtight freezer safe pan. You can store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw enchiladas in the refrigerator for approximately 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake enchiladas for 15 minutes, until bubbling on the edges and cheese is golden brown on top. If the enchiladas are somewhat frozen when cooking, cover them in foil and bake longer until hot in the center.
This is a family favorite!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for leaving a review Mary.
We’ve made this meal many, many times. My kids absolutely love this meal. I do leave the tortillas out of it usually.
I usually triple the batch, have one for that night, and 2 to freeze for a ready meal another night.
★★★★★
I’m so glad to hear you all like it!
Any thoughts on making this meatless/vegetarian? Could I leave out the chicken and substitute an additional can of beans (pinto or black)?
If I use regular I remade taco seasoning, how much would I use?
About two tablespoons
In the top pic it looks like you have some Mexican rice. Do you have a recipe for that? Thanks!
We don’t at this point. Sorry, Cheryl.
Amazing! I made a triple batch the first time I made this and I forgot a few steps, but still turned out great. I forgot to add salsa and cheese to the inside of tortilla mixture…so I just added to the top of rolled tortillas. Planning to make this again, only using the crock pot next time. Shredding chicken is so easy, just stir with wooden spoon inside crock pot.
I tripled the batch so I could eat one now and freeze 2 batches later. We ended up making 18 rolled enchiladas.
★★★★★
Great idea to use the crockpot! And you are super smart to make such a big batch at once. Love it!
Hi I’m a little late reading your post. I’m a newbie at freezer meals. Could you fully cook this dish then freeze? If so how long would it be good for? How would you prepare after frozen?
I think this dish would do best to freeze before baking it as a whole casserole. But, you can certainly freeze any leftovers after baking it easy-peasy. I do it all the time. Wrap it up very tight (air is the enemy of freezer foods), stick it in the back of the freezer, and it’s probably good to go for up to 2 months. To prepare after being precooked and then frozen, I recommend just using the defrost setting on the microwave or thawing in the fridge over night. Then warm up in the microwave just like any other leftovers. Good luck!
My husand dislikes red enchilada sauce. What could i substitute with?
I actually dislike enchilada sauce as well so we just skip it. There is so much flavor in the enchiladas that you don’t miss it. You didn’t ask about this but another sub you can do is sub beans for grilled green and red peppers. I’m not a bean lover so we do this as well and can’t get enough.
Try green enchilada sauce! We don’t like red either but we love green! Or salsa verde works too if you want to be fancy!
Hi! I just made these and they look delicious! I plan to take these to a friend that just had a baby tomorrow. I made a double batch of these, and I plan to bake ours two nights from now. Are they okay to just sit in the fridge until then? Thank you!!
As long as your ingredients are fresh and chicken won’t expire, I think that would be fine.