Beef Enchiladas Recipe – Loaded with a delicious filling made with ground beef, cheese and veggies. These beef enchiladas are easy, cheesy and delicious. A dish your whole family will love!
We have Mexican food for dinner quite often at my house. There are so many Mexican dishes that are quick, easy and super flavorful. These beef enchiladas are one of our favorites, as well as baked chicken taquitos, fajitas, slow cooker pork tacos and Mexican stuffed shells.
Ground beef enchiladas
One of my all time favorite Mexican dishes is enchiladas. They are so easy to make and freeze really well. Plus they come together quickly and are perfect for busy weeknights. I’ve shared my favorite green chile enchiladas and creamy chicken enchiladas, so today I thought I’d share a beef enchilada recipe which is just as yummy!
These easy beef enchiladas are loaded with a hearty meat mixture, lots of cheese and some veggies too. ;) My kids like to eat them plain, but I top mine with cilantro and sour cream. We love serving them with a big Mexican salad, chips and salsa or Mexican rice. It just adds to the deliciousness! These beef enchiladas are definitely a new favorite and we’ll be making them again soon. Hope you enjoy!
What are the ingredients for beef enchiladas?
Meat: I used lean ground beef in this easy enchilada recipe, but feel free to use ground turkey if you’re not a fan of red meat.
Veggies: I love to add in chopped onions, red bell pepper and green chiles to give the beef enchiladas extra flavor.
Spices: We keep the spices for this enchiladas recipe pretty simple by just adding in cumin, kosher salt and pepper.
Enchilada sauce: I typically use canned enchilada sauce for convenience, but feel free to make a homemade sauce if you prefer.
Tortillas: Flour tortillas are my favorite because of their texture and size. You can use corn tortillas, however you most likely will need to use 10-14 of them since they are smaller. The cooking time may vary as well due to the different texture and smaller size.
Cheese: I use a mix of both cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese. You could use whatever you have on hand though, like Mexican cheese or monterey jack.
How to make beef enchiladas
Scroll down for the printable beef enchilada recipe.
- Preheat oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Brown meat and veggies in skillet. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, brown the beef. Then add in onions, bell peppers, green chiles, salt, cumin and pepper and cook for 3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
- Assemble beef enchiladas. Add half of enchilada sauce to bottom of 9×13 pan. Then place 1/3 cup meat mixture into center of tortilla. Mix the 2 cheeses together and then top enchilada with cheese and roll up.
- Place enchiladas in pan and bake. Place enchiladas seam side down inside the pan. Repeat with all 8 enchiladas, then top with remaining sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with olives if desired. Then place back in oven and bake additional 15-20 minutes without the foil.
- Add toppings and serve! Once cheese is bubbly, remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro and sour cream if desired. Serve and enjoy!
TIP: If you’d like to make ahead and freeze, simply freeze right before baking. Roll and assemble enchiladas in pan, then cover tightly with foil or lid. Place in freezer (in a leveled spot) for up to 2 months.
How do you soften flour tortillas for enchiladas?
To soften tortillas prior to rolling your enchiladas, simply warm them in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds between damp paper towels. This helps make them more flexible and easier to roll.
What can I add to enchiladas?
There are plenty of extra fillings or toppings that you can add to this beef enchiladas recipe. Check out some yummy options below.
Extra fillings
- Black beans
- Rice
- Tomatoes
- Corn
Toppings
- Cilantro
- Sour cream
- Olives
- Guacamole
- Green onions
- Pico de Gallo
- Salsa
- Jalapenos
What’s good to eat with enchiladas?
These beef enchiladas taste great served with a Mexican salad, street corn, Mexican rice or black or refried beans. You could even keep it simple and serve them with chips and salsa on the side. Yum!
Beef Enchilada Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup onion , chopped fine
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper , chopped
- 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles
- 1 teaspoon cumin , more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt , more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 28 ounce can Red enchilada sauce
- 8 flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Optional toppings: chopped cilantro, sliced olives, sliced green onions, sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Add in the onions, red bell peppers, green chiles, salt, cumin and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Place half of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Then place about 1/3 cup meat mixture into the center of the tortilla. Mix the 2 cheeses together and then top tortilla with cheese and roll up.
- Place seam side down inside the pan. Repeat with all 8 enchiladas. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with olives if desired. Place back in the oven to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes without the foil.
- Once cheese is nice and bubbly hot, remove pan from oven and top with fresh cilantro and sour cream if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
made this for dinner tonight, I used corn tortillas. Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! :)
Tips for baking after having froze it? Do I need to thaw? How long to bake if not? What temp?
You can thaw in the fridge over night and then bake as directed!
OMG! This is the best ever. Followed the directions except replacing Enchilada sauce with salsa, as that was all I had on hand.
This is exactly the sort of delicious dish I’m looking to for dinner tonight – how wonderful!
These sound delicious! Dangerously good… I’m loving the looks of these!
MMMMM! These look so delicious! I am going to make them for dinner. Thanks
These look SO good, I can’t wait to try them!
These enchiladas look fantastic! My tastebuds are at attention and I’m having a very difficult time NOT drooling. Can’t wait to try this one. They look yummy.
Oh my goodness that really wakes up my taste buds and will be making this very soon. Your pictures are awesome!!