These Healthy Turkey Enchiladas are full of veggies, baked in red enchilada sauce and topped with cheese for the perfect family meal. They are easy to make, full of flavor and a recipe everyone will enjoy.
Enchiladas are a great way to get dinner on the table especially if you're cooking for a group. These healthy enchiladas are made with simple ingredients like seasoned ground turkey, bell peppers and zucchini but are full of flavor that will keep you coming back to this recipe.
If you're looking for meal prep recipes, this one is perfect! It's easy to make and will get you through the week. Trust me when I say this is the best turkey enchilada recipe ever, you will love it!
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What are enchiladas?
The word comes from the Spanish verb enchilar, which means “to season with chili.” Enchiladas can be traced back to Aztec times. Since then many different versions of enchiladas have become traditional all over Central and South America and in the United States through Tex-Mex and New Mexican cuisine. This recipe is definitely an Americanized version of this traditional dish. Mexico in my Kitchen has a great traditional enchilada recipe you may want to try.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Simple, healthy recipe. This recipe is easy to prepare and make and is loaded with veggies for a healthier meal.
- Great for leftovers & meal prep. These ground turkey enchiladas make great leftovers and meal prep to enjoy all week long.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This recipe uses ground turkey, veggies and spices you will typically find in Mexican-style dishes such as chili and tacos. A few ingredient notes:
- Bell peppers- you'll need 2 bell peppers, any colors will work, whatever you have on hand or prefer.
- Zucchini- we're using one diced zucchini in these turkey enchiladas to add some more veggies to the recipe.
- Ground turkey- turkey can be replaced with lean ground beef or ground chicken.
- Enchilada sauce- I personally love Whole Foods' 365 brand red enchilada sauce because of the real food ingredients. You can use your favorite brand or make a homemade enchilada sauce.
- Tortillas- I recommend soft flour tortillas, corn & wheat combo tortillas or Siete Cassava flour tortillas. I don't recommend corn tortillas as they tend to crack when rolled.
See the recipe card below for quantities and remaining ingredients.
Equipment Needed
What you'll need to make this recipe:
- Cutting board and knife
- Large sauté pan
- Mixing utensil
- 9x13 inch casserole or baking dish
- Measuring cups and spoons needed: ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon, ½ cup and 1 cup.
Instructions
This recipe comes together in a few steps:
- Prep and cook the veggies. Begin by dicing the onion, peppers and zucchini to prep the dish and cook in a skillet for a few minutes. Add in the turkey and brown.
- Add the spices and sauce. Stir in the minced garlic and spices then pour in the enchilada sauce.
- Assemble the tortillas. Roll the turkey mixture in each tortilla. Place each tortilla into the baking dish seam side down. Top with more enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
- Cover and bake. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven.
FAQs
Place a ⅓ cup of the ground turkey and vegetable mixture onto one side of each tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down into the casserole dish.
The tortillas need to be heated before rolling. Heat about ½ teaspoon of oil in a skillet and heat each tortilla on both sides for about 30 seconds. You can also heat the tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds-1 minute.
Leftover enchiladas will stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days if properly covered. Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed.
These enchiladas can be pre-made and frozen. Make sure to cover the dish with a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as directed. I don't recommend freezing in a ceramic dish. Use a disposable pan or metal baking dish.
Variations
This dish is easy to customize to your liking. I encourage you to make this dish your own.
Make it vegan. Leave out the ground turkey and the cheese. Use a plant-based ground meat alternative or black beans. Top the enchiladas with vegan cheese when serving.
Make it vegetarian. For a vegetarian dish, skip the turkey and replace it with beans or a plant-based alternative.
Add your favorite veggies. Feel free to add your favorite veggies such as tomatoes, corn or spinach.
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Recipe
Healthy Ground Turkey Enchiladas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 bell peppers, diced
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 (15 ounce) jar or can of enchilada sauce
- 8 (8 inch) tortillas, warmed
- ½ cup shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions, bell peppers and zucchini, about 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey to the pan and brown, while crumbling for about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, oregano and turmeric. Pour in ½ cup of the enchilada sauce and stir everything to combine. Turn off the heat.
- Spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole or baking dish.
- Put ⅓ cup of the turkey mixture onto one side of each tortilla and roll it. Place each tortilla in the baking dish seam side down. Top the tortillas with another ½ cup of the sauce and shredded cheese.*
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Dawn says
When I reviewed this on Yumly, it wouldn’t let me hit the 5th star, but it’s definitely a 5 STAR recipe. I doubled it cause we have 3 young adult kids and it made a lot!!! Everyone enjoyed them! I used gluten free sauce (no one knew) and a mini chopper to chop the veggies. Poured an entire bag of cheese on each tray ( 4 Mexican cheese type) Recommend it! Doubling made 2 trays.
Thanks Sarah!
Sarah Holt says
Hi Dawn,
Thank you so much for this lovely review! We absolutely love it here also, I may make it too much🙂
Kristin Richardson says
I loved this recipe! I adore enchiladas, but always looking for a healthy and flavorful approach. These came out saucy, crispy in all the right places, and my favorite feature is the re-heatability. These made a great dinner and then an even better lunch the next day. I plan to make these again, double batch, one for the freezer and one for same day.
Sarah Holt says
So happy you enjoyed them Kristin, they are perfect for leftovers!