Zucchini party should be a legit thing that people have. You get together with all your friends who have a zucchini surplus, make various zucchini recipes and walk aways with different delicious meals.
Only suggesting this because readers are often emailing me asking what to do with their zucchini. I’m not sure if you guys are buying it in bulk or what, but there’s my suggestion for you: an epic #zucchiniparty.
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All jokes aside, one of the reasons I love zucchini is because it can replace various pasta and still holds up quite well. Take for example, this delightful zucchini enchilada casserole made with creamy refried beans, my favorite homemade enchilada sauce, corn, chicken and Go Veggie cheese. NOMS. It’s good for just about everything, including loading your chips up with. If you haven’t had Go Veggie cheese before, it’s a really wonderful alternative to regular cheese. They even make vegan versions for you to try out!
And here’s the kicker: zucchini slices are used instead of corn tortillas.
uhhhhh huh honey.
If you’re looking for an easy, veggie filled meal, then choose this one. And if you’re feeling lazy, that’s cool too — just chop up the zucchini and saute it a little, then throw everything in a casserole dish with some cheese on top. Guaranteed love at first bite.
Highly recommend topping with guacamole, hot sauce and cilantro too. Enjoy! xo
More zucchini recipes you’ll love
- Delicious Zucchini Pizza Crust Recipe
- Chipotle Black Bean Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
- Avocado Basil Pesto Zucchini Noodles
- Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Meat Sauce
- Buffalo Zucchini Chicken Burgers
Get all of my zucchini recipes here!
I hope you love this chicken zucchini enchilada bake! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Low Carb Chicken Zucchini Enchilada Bake
Ingredients
- Enchilada Sauce:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water (or broth of choice)
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the casserole:
- 2-3 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8" thick slices
- 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound chicken breast)
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn
- 1 cup refried beans (I like black bean)
- 1 1/2 cups Go Veggie Cheddar Shreds
Instructions
- Heat oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add in onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
- Add in chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and stir for 30 seconds to allow the spices to cook a bit.
- Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, water and apple cider vinegar then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. Makes about 2 cups.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9x9 inch pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Place zucchini slices evenly over sauce to cover and create a single layer.
- Next spread half of the refried beans (you may need to warm them to help spread), half of the shredded chicken, half of the corn, half the onion and half the pepper, and 1/2 cup cheese.
- Repeat layers again, starting with half of the enchilada sauce, zucchini slices, refried beans, chicken, corn, onion, red pepper and 1/2 cup cheese. Top with any remaining enchilada sauce, then finishing with 1/2 cup cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered with foil, then remove cover and bake another 10-15 minutes. Top with jalapenos, cilantro, greek yogurt and hot sauce, if desired! Serves 6.
Nutrition
This recipe is in partnership with Go Veggie cheese, a brand I know and trust. Thanks for supporting AK & the brands that help make this site possible.
Delicious dish!! It has potential to add and change it up without compromising the flavor! Soooo good!
Absolutely! Super versatile, glad you found this recipe and are loving it!
hi again Monique, my daughter asked me to make this for her on the weekend. She does have a very delicate stomach and digestive issues. She normally stays away from canned beans but occasionally has chickpeas and lentils. Would there be any way I could substitute the refried beans with something else? Tofu? chickpeas? anything?
Hi! I haven’t tried this recipe with a sub for the refried beans, but lots of other have used regular black beans instead. I am sure chickpeas would work as well. Let me know how it turns out!
This recipe was SO delicious. My husband made it, only changes were that he used two large zucchini and an entire can of refried beans. We served it with cilantro, avocado, and salsa and it was a hit! Thanks so much for providing healthy, yummy recipes for our family.
I just made this last night and it was delicious! I sauteed the onion and pepper beforehand, and used whole black beans instead of refried beans. It was so flavorful and will definitely be a regular addition to my meal plans!
Love finding a healthy and tasty meal! The enchilada sauce was perfect! Thank you!
Awesome!! Happy you loved it, Lisa!
This took me 2 hours to prep and not 15 minutes. Now I have to wait 40 minutes for it to bake. Definitely not busy weeknight friendly.
This is in the oven currently and smells/looks amazing. My only suggestion would be to fix the timing for the recipe. The cook time alone in the instructions is 40-45 mins but the recipe says cook time 30m at the top and total time 45. The prep took me much longer than 15 minutes and with a cook time of 40 minutes the recipe took me much longer than anticipated.
Made this last night for the second time, absolutely love this dish! The enchilada sauce is rich & flavorful. Had some extra peppers on hand and threw them in. It’s such a versatile dish. Thanks Monique!
Perfect! So glad you love this one!
Ok, to those looking for a tasty, versatile, straight up DELICIOUS veggie enchilada casserole, LOOK NO FURTHER. This recipe is the bomb.com. Honestly it’s like a healthy 7-layer dip. I will 100% be adding this to my arsenal of weekly dishes. The great thing about this dish is the versatility. You can easily make this dish without chicken and double down on the beans or even just add peppers to the mix with onions. I know I will definitely be making this dish again with refried black beans, whole black beans (or pinto beans) and green/yellow bell peppers added into the layers with the raw onion.
Absolutely! So happy you loved this one!
Made this last night and it’s delicious. I used real cheddar cheese, but followed all other directions and ingredient list. It’s a keeper and a great way to use leftover roasted chicken. Yum!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
This dish has awesome flavour. I read another comment about the zucchini making the dish a bit watery. So I pre-roasted the zucchini slices and it wasn’t watery at all. I also might sauté the onions and peppers next time, but probably not necessary. Great low cal alternative to traditional enchiladas. Could probably make it without cheese if you need. Will make again!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Sign me up for this zucchini dish. Please and thank you!
This was delicious. We are absolutely adding this to our normal rotation. It can be difficult getting veggies in the two year old (wittingly anyway), so this was perfect to get a bunch in at dinner. The enchilada sauce was also fantastic! It was maybe a little bit watery, but I found that waiting a few minutes helped (which was nearly impossible). It’s my impatience that was the issue.
Perfect way to eat extra veggies! Using zucchini does add more moisture than regular noodles, which is probably where that was coming from. Glad everyone loved this one!
The flavors were good, but this ended up very watery! The onions and peppers did not cook thoroughly either, so I would sauté or roaste then beforehand.
You may have just had zucchini with some extra moisture. I find that the veggies cook just enough when baking, but feel free to sauté a bit beforehand if you like them cooked more!
Just made this, it’s in the oven… Can’t wait to try it! I know it will be delicious, like all your recipes that I have tried! Will likely become a staple too, just like your one pan Tandoori & Golden Curry Recipe! Thank you!
I hope you loved this one!!
My boyfriend who is Mexican and used to his mothers traditional enchiladas loved them! Great recipe. I did end up using regular black beans just to keep the calorie count lower. Great recipe!
I’m so glad!! And regular black beans work just fine 🙂
Hello 🙂
I live in Australia, and refried beans isn’t really a thing here.. could you please share a recipe or a link of a recipe you use to make them. I seriously have zero idea!
Thanks so much xx
Hi! Here’s a pretty simple recipe for making your own 🙂 I like to use black beans instead of pinto beans. Hope you love this enchilada bake!
My husband and I loved this! We had it 2 nights in a row. It is so quick and easy. I made it in individual casserole dishes and assembled them each time just prior to baking. I used New Mexico chile powder in the enchilada sauce. Ancho or chipotle would be equally good. The first time I made this dish, the zucchini made the enchilada sauce watery. However, refrigerated overnight, the sauce thickened and stayed thick during baking the 2nd time–perfect! I had broiled the zucchini slices the 2nd time, which also helped. I didn’t have time to make refried beans, and canned refried beans are loaded with sodium, so I used whole black beans–worked wonderfully. I used chicken that I had baked with ground cumin and ancho chile powder on top. After the casseroles were assembled, I sprinkled a few sliced black olives on top. This was a wonderfully filling dinner along with a small side salad. The enchilada sauce is so easy and quick to make, yet is as flavorful as if it had simmered for hours and hours. It is so good on its own that it will make the perfect simmering sauce for chicken breasts, which I will be making this week. I have baked chicken in chili sauce, but this will make it even better! Maybe I’ll use chipotle chile powder in the enchilada sauce this time.
Hi Barbara! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed this recipe – it’s a staple in my house, too 🙂 Love the addition of black olives!
Update: I made a double batch of enchilada sauce as written, one for my daughter and the other for us. She made an enchilada bake, but used tortillas, as her market was out of zucchini (in California?!In September?! Tsk, tsk). She and my son-in-law loved it. I made a large veggie-laden turkey meatloaf and one night topped it with the enchilada sauce with plenty of additional sauce on the side. Hubby went for seconds on the suace! A definite winner! I used the rest as a simmer sauce for chicken legs and thighs with pinto beans and sliced onions. Another winner! I’ll be making more enchilada sauce next week to make this chicken enchilada recipe. Thanks, Monique, for two delicious recipes!!
This sounds incredible! So glad you found a sauce you all love 🙂
I loved this recipe!!! For those looking for easy homemade refried beans I make the crockpot version from 100 days of real food but add smoked paprika.
This looks delicious! What an interested twist to Enchiladas! I can’t wait to try this, I’m sure the kids will love it!
Yummy! As others said, 3-4 large zucchinis it too much. I ended up using 2 large zucchinis and even had to double-layer them. The red bell pepper I threw in with the corn and would use 2 chicken breasts’ worth of meat next time instead of the 1 I had in my fridge.
Thanks for your note! 🙂
As people mentioned above, the pepper and onion dont get used. I also had wayyyy too much zucchini left over.
Thank you for your note! Fixed!
I was so excited to see this recipe last week. my family loves enchiladas. I wanted to use zucchini but my grocery store’s supply was looking so sad. I went with tortillas even though it doesn’t make it as healthy. I cut them up in strips to fit in an 8×8 and baked it for 25 minutes and then let it cool. I know this is a variation of your recipe but wanted to share with you that your recipe inspired me to make my own version. Do you have your own recipe for refried beans? I have been reading your blog for a few years and have never commented before. Thank you and congratulations to you an Tony on your engagement.
Hey Courtney! I don’t have a homemade version… yet! Putting it on my list 🙂
Would love to make…do you have the nutritional specs??? 😉
updated!
I love the idea of using zucchini instead of tortillas! Makes it so much more guilt-free, but still delicious!
Can you provide the nutrition facts for this dish? Would love to know how low carb this actually is.
updated! sorry about that
I always have at least four zucchini on hand…they’re just so versatile! This looks so delicious!
I put the pepper in with corn layer and omitted the onion as try and avoid due to high FODMAP food. It was a hit in my house!! Put mine over a little quinoa, husband and boys over rice. Made a side of cornbread – YUM-O!!!
Great dish. Yum
Where does the red bell pepper go??:). Putting together now for dinner tonight.
And he additional onion. I just put it in the oven and realized I didn’t use either.
Do you think this would freeze well? Do you recommend baking then freezing or freezing before baking and then thawing and baking at a later date?
This looks so delicious!
Rachael xx.
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