Beef Enchiladas Recipe
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This beef enchiladas recipe is a quick and easy dinner option everyone loves. You only need five ingredients to have amazing Mexican food at home.
This easy recipe uses flour tortillas filled with perfectly flavored beef filling and topped with enchilada sauce and melted cheddar cheese.
BEEF ENCHILADAS RECIPE
This is such a great recipe because it’s easy to put together and have at the last minute. I typically keep the ingredients for this recipe in my pantry, and a pound of ground beef in the freezer so I can whip this dinner up at the last minute any time I need it.
INGREDIENTS
- ground beef – use a lean ground beef, at least 80%, to reduce the amount of grease in the dish
- red enchilada sauce – we keep it simple with a canned enchilada sauce, but you can use a homemade enchilada sauce as well
- chopped green chiles – again, keep it simple using a can of green chiles, but you can absolutely use fresh
- flour tortillas – get soft flour tortillas in the large size
- cheddar cheese – it’s best to buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it to get a great melt on the cheese
How to Make Beef Enchiladas
- Preheat oven to 375. Spray 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until thoroughly cooked. Drain and stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and the drained chiles.
- Spread another 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce evenly in baking dish.
- Add about ¼ cup of beef mixture to the center of each tortilla and top with 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese and wrap the tortillas tightly around the beef filling, and place seam side down in baking dish.
- Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Garnish with:
- avocados
- green onions
- sour cream
- guacamole
- black olives
- lime wedges
SUBSTITUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
- corn tortillas – you can substitute corn tortillas
- chicken – use chicken instead of beef. You can use shredded chicken or ground chicken
- vegetarian enchiladas – you can substitute black beans for the ground beef and make this a vegetarian dish. You might want to also add some vegetables like diced tomatoes, corn, or spinach to bulk up the enchiladas
- monterey jack cheese – you can use a mexican blend or a monterey jack cheese instead of cheddar cheese
WHAT DO YOU SERVE WITH ENCHILADAS?
- spanish rice
- yellow rice
- refried beans
- guacamole (link)
- black beans
- salsa
- chopped lettuce
CAN YOU USE FLOUR TORTILLAS FOR ENCHILADAS?
Yes, we use flour tortillas in this enchiladas recipe because they are easy to form and don’t tear as much as corn tortillas. Traditionally, corn tortillas are used in enchiladas.
CAN YOU USE TACO SEASONING?
Enchiladas are different from tacos for more reason than just how they’re eaten. Typically the ground beef for tacos contains taco seasoning while beef enchiladas don’t have that seasoning in the beef mixture. It relies on the chiles and red enchilada sauce for the powerful flavors.
HOW DO YOU KEEP TORTILLAS FROM GETTING SOGGY IN ENCHILADAS?
There are a couple of things you can do to keep your flour tortillas from getting soggy when making enchiladas. First, you can fry your tortillas in hot oil for a minute and place on da damp paper towel to cool before adding the beef mixture and rolling.
Second, you can also skip the enchilada sauce on the bottom. Just spray the bottom of your baking dish and place the filled tortillas on the bottom on the pan, then put the enchilada sauce on the top.
CAN I MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME? CAN I FREEZE IT?
This is a great recipe to meal prep and make ahead. It’s also a wonderful meal to bring to someone in need, whether it’s a new-born baby, someone recovering from an illness, or any other reason to bring something to someone.
I like to make a double batch and freeze one in an aluminum pan to reheat on a night that I don’t have a lot of time to make dinner from scratch.
If you want to freeze this recipe make it as instructed, but don’t cook it. Cover it with aluminum foil and tightly wrap with plastic wrap and put in freezer. When you’re ready to eat it, that it overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed.
This easy beef enchiladas recipe will easily become one of your go-to dinner recipes.
WANT MORE EASY DINNER RECIPES?
Beef Enchiladas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef lean at least 80%
- 20 ounces red enchilada sauce 2 – 10 oz. cans
- 4.5 ounces chopped green chiles drained
- 8.2 ounces package flour tortillas 6 inch
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Spray 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
- In medium-sized skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until thoroughly cooked. Drain. Stir in 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and the drained chiles.1 pound ground beef, 20 ounces red enchilada sauce, 4.5 ounces chopped green chiles
- Spread another 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce evenly in baking dish.
- Add about ¼ cup of beef mixture to the center of each tortilla and top with 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese and wrap the tortillas tightly around the beef filling, placing them seam side down in baking dish.8.2 ounces package flour tortillas, 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
- Top with remaining the enchilada sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Notes
Sour cream
Chives
Sliced jalapenos
Cilantro
Chopped tomatoes
Avocado slices
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Hi Alicia: This recipe turned out very well. I tweaked it a bit since there are only two of us. I used a red enchilada sauce recipe, and I cut up a jalapeño pepper to add to the meat. Instead of cheddar cheese, I used monterey pepper jack cheese. Yum! They took 25 minutes in my Wolf toaster oven. To go along with them, I made my special rice pilaf. It was a perfect side dish. Thanks so much.
Kathy
I’m so glad it turned out well for you. Your tweaks sound delicious, especially the jalapeño and pepper jack. And that rice pilaf on the side makes it an even better meal. Thanks for sharing what you did; I love hearing it.