Name: Ground Beef Enchiladas
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: makes 5 enchiladas
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1/2 onion; 2 cloves of garlic; 1/4 chili; 2 tbsp olive oil; spices: 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika powder, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp dried coriander, 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 300 g (10.5 ounces) ground beef; 1 tsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp all-purpose flour; 240 ml (1 cup) beef stock or water; 100 g (1/3 cup) tomato purée; 1 jarred jalapeño; 1 bay leaf; 4 sprigs of coriander; 50 g (3 tbsp) sweet corn, canned and drained; 140 g (5 ounces) red beans, canned and drained; 140 g (1/2 cup) tomato purée; spices: 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp oregano; 2 tbsp olive oil; 5 large flour tortillas; 200 g (7 ounces) shredded cheese (like Cheddar)

Ground Beef Enchiladas

Oh my goodness, Enchiladas are one of my favorite meals all year round. Any time I crave Mexican flavors, this is the first dish that comes to mind. It’s rich, juicy, cheesy, and delicious. We already shared the recipe for Chicken Enchiladas a few months back on our blog, and you guys love them, so we thought we would share our go-to Ground Beef Enchiladas recipe too. This recipe is simple and made with zero fancy ingredients. They are also a freezer-friendly meal, so feel free to go ahead and make double the recipe, so you have a portion at hand when you crave it.

Easy Ground Beef Enchiladas Recipe

a simple recipe for beef enchiladas casserole
the sauce is thick, juicy and incredibly full of flavor
served with a delicious and quick (1-minute) homemade enchiladas sauce
that melted cheese on top is super tasty
great during a busy week or for lazy weekends too
keeps well in the fridge or freezer
feel free to make the homemade tortillas, enchiladas sauce, and beef sauce ahead of time

How to make Ground Beef Enchiladas at home

Making Enchiladas at home is so easy. Use homemade tortillas or favorite store-bought tortillas. This is how we make this simple meal:

Cook the beef sauce with the vegetables. It will only take us about 25 minutes from start to finish.
Make the homemade enchiladas sauce. Simply combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.
Fill the tortillas and roll them up. Line them up in the prepared baking dish.
Spread with homemade enchiladas sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Bake and devour.

Five tips for delicious Ground Beef Enchiladas Casserole

How to make these enchiladas extra tasty: First, make sure that the beef sauce is thick, delicious, and not dry at all. Optionally, make some extra enchiladas sauce and spread it over the tortillas before adding the beef sauce on top. Never forget adding some shredded cheese into the tortillas - that melted cheese is so worth it.
Which cheese to use for enchiladas: Use a type of cheese that melts beautifully, like Cheddar, Mozzarella, or Edam cheese.
What other ingredients can I use in enchiladas: Instead of just ground beef, feel free to use a combination of ground beef and ground pork. Optionally, add some diced bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, and zucchini to the sauce as well. This will add some extra veggies to the dish. And for some extra flavor, add shredded or cubed white cheese on top of the sauce before rolling up the tortilla.
What to serve with Ground Beef Enchiladas: Choose something fresh and light. Make homemade salsa or serve the tortillas with lime wedges, chopped coriander or parsley, and a generous dollop of sour cream, along with chopped jalapeño.
How to wrap enchiladas in this recipe: Lay out the tortillas. Use store-bought tortillas or make them at home. We love these easy white flour tortillas from the blog. Divide the beef sauce among five tortillas. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and roll up tightly. Line them up in the prepared baking dish with the closed side down.

How to store and freeze Ground Beef Enchiladas

There are two ways to store these delicious Ground Beef Enchiladas.

Keep the chilled Beef Enchiladas in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 3 days. Before serving, reheat in the microwave oven, in an oven or using a skillet.

Feel free to freeze these Enchiladas too. Place the chilled enchiladas in a freezer bag or a freezer-friendly container and place it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Before serving, defrost at room temperature (or in the fridge overnight), then reheat in the microwave oven, in an oven or using a skillet.

You can easily make the enchilada sauce and ground meat sauce ahead of time. Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Try these delicious Mexican inspired recipes too

Ingredients

ground beef filling

1/2 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 chili

2 tbsp olive oil

spices: 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika powder, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp dried coriander, 1/2 tsp garlic powder

300 g (10.5 ounces) ground beef

1 tsp tomato paste

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

240 ml (1 cup) beef stock or water

100 g (1/3 cup) tomato purée

1 jarred jalapeño

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs of coriander

50 g (3 tbsp) sweet corn, canned and drained

140 g (5 ounces) red beans, canned and drained

enchilada sauce

140 g (1/2 cup) tomato purée

spices: 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

tortillas

5 large flour tortillas

200 g (7 ounces) shredded cheese (like Cheddar)

Tools and equipment

kitchen knife

cutting board

skillet

bowl

deep baking dish (approx. 20 cm x 25 cm or 8-inch x 10-inch)

aluminum foil

baking sheet

METHOD

ground beef filling

First, make the ground beef filling. Peel and dice the onion and garlic. Dice the chili too. Place a skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Add the spices and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat, add the ground meat, and cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Reduce the heat, add the all-purpose flour and cook for 2 - 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring from time to time. Pour in the beef stock or water and tomato puree. Stir, add the jalapeño and bay leaf and cook for 10 minutes. Add the diced coriander, drained sweet corn, drained red beans, and remove from the heat. Discard the bay leaf.

Tip

Optionally substitute the coriander with parsley.
enchiladas sauce

Make the enchiladas sauce. In a bowl, stir to combine tomato puree, cumin, coriander, oregano, and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside until needed.
fill the tortillas

Spread half of the prepared enchilada sauce over the deep baking dish (approx. 20 cm x 25 cm or 8-inch x 10-inch). Divide the meat sauce between five tortillas. Place the meat sauce in the center of each tortilla. Spread half of the shredded cheese over the meat sauce (save the rest of the cheese for later). Roll up the tortillas and place them in the prepared baking dish with the closed side down. Spread the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas and arrange the rest of the shredded cheese on top.
bake

Place the baking dish with the enchiladas over a large baking sheet to prevent any sauce from leaking while baking. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 °C / 355 °F. Then remove the aluminum foil and place the baking dish on the top rack. Change the settings to low broil and increase the temperature to 200 °C / 390 °F. Continue to bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted. Keep an eye on it.
serve

Remove the baked Ground Beef Enchiladas from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then optionally serve with fresh salsa, seasonal salad, and a dollop of sour cream.