High Protein White Chicken Enchiladas

These high protein white chicken enchiladas are one of the best high protein chicken recipes around. The creamy white enchilada sauce is made from a mix of creamy whipped cottage cheese, cream cheese, and cotija cheese plus green chilies and tomatillo salsa. I mix them together in a high speed blender to create a wonderfully creamy and flavorful sauce that makes these white chicken enchiladas absolutely mouth watering.

Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce

Chicken enchiladas are a popular recipe to make using shredded chicken or leftover rotisserie chicken. It is also such a great weeknight meal to make and it makes enough for leftovers which are great to eat for lunch the next day.

White enchilada sauce is typically made with flour, heavy cream, cream cheese, and sour cream. In this recipe I use whipped cottage cheese, a 1/4 cup of cream cheese, and some cotija cheese to make a white creamy sauce for these white chicken enchiladas. This makes a healthier white enchilada sauce with more protein. I then add some green chiles, tomatillo salsa, garlic, and spices to give the sauce an incredible flavor. If you love white chicken chili, you will loves these white chicken enchiladas.

There are a few ways to make shredded chicken for these high protein white chicken enchiladas. You can either buy a rotisserie chicken and shred the chicken or you can make shredded chicken by cooking your own chicken breasts.

How to Make Shredded Chicken for Chicken Enchiladas

• Instant Pot Instructions: I make my chicken in the pressure cooker with 1 tsp salt and 1 cup of water for 10 minutes on high pressure, then natural release of pressure for 5 minutes followed by manual release of pressure. Then I drain the water and let the chicken rest for ten minutes.
• Stove Top Instructions: You can do the same with a large pot on the stove. Add chicken to a large pot, Cover chicken with water and tsp salt and add an additional inch of water, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 15-16 minutes. Drain water and let the chicken rest for about ten minutes.

In order to shred the chicken I basically do one of two things. I either use two forks to shred the chicken breast after it rests. Or I just use my hands to shred them. Either way works.

High Protein Meals

High protein meals have been super trendy this year. Everyone has been looking for easy ways to add protein to their diets. Because of this, cottage cheese has risen in popularity due to it’s high protein content to calories ratio.

Many chefs and food bloggers have gotten super creative with it and have created so many fun recipes using cottage cheese. I made this High Protein Pasta Sauce earlier this year and this High Protein Green Goddess sauce last year.

High protein meals are supposed to keep you fuller for a longer period of time. I like to incorporate ingredients like cottage cheese and chicken breast into my meals because they taste good, so if they will also keep me fuller longer that is an added perk! These White Chicken Enchiladas have 23 grams of protein per enchilada using the ingredients below. I used low fat cottage cheese, but feel free to use your favorite type.

Recipe for High Protein White Chicken Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 lb Chicken breast or leftover rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt goya adobo or lawrys
• 1 tbsp sofrito optional but encouraged. this is my family’s homemade fresh herb blend that we use to season everything. I have a recipe for it on my blog. if you don’t have this, add more tomatillo salsa to the chicken.
• 16 oz Cottage Cheese I used low fat 2%
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 2 oz cotija cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 can green chiles
• 3/4 cup tomatillo salsa
• 2 cups shredded cheese Mexican blend
• 10 tortillas i prefer to use flour tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS 

High Protein Enchilada Sauce

• combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, garlic cloves, 1/2 can of the green chiles, 1/2 cup of tomatillo salsa, and cotija cheese in a high speed blender. blend until completely creamy and whipped

Chicken Enchiladas

• Cook and shred your chicken breast. Alternately you can use rotisserie chicken.
• Add the cooked shredded chicken to a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp of seasoning salt, sofrito, 1/4 cup of tomatillo salsa, and 1 cup of shredded cheese to the bowl. Mix well.
• Add 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce to the chicken mixture.
• Add 1/2 cup of the enchilada mixture to the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish and then start to roll up your enchiladas
• Fill each tortilla with 2 -3 tablespoons of filling and then roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down on to the baking dish. Bring it as close to the edge of the pan as possible since it will be a snug fit to add all of the tortillas to the dish.
• Repeat with remaining tortillas and mixture and then top the tortillas with the remaining high protein enchilada sauce, a cup of shredded cheese, and a few more green chilies. 
• Loosely cover the enchiladas with aluminum foil and then bake in an oven at 350F for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil after 20 minutes.