Delicious Beef Enchiladas
Beef enchiladas are one of my favorite comfort foods. The combination of homemade enchilada sauce, melted cheese, and filling that gets its deep, robust flavors from a combination of spices and two kinds of chilies makes these enchiladas dynamite.
This ground beef enchilada recipe has evolved over the years through trial and error. When I first started working on this recipe, the enchiladas were fine, but they were missing something that made them stand out.
What I noticed about the best enchiladas I tried was that they had deep, savory flavors and a combination of textures. They also all had a great enchilada sauce, whether it was red, green, or served Christmas style.
Highlights
What elevates this beef enchilada recipe is a better enchilada sauce and using of two kinds of chilies to create rich, savory flavors while still being simple enough to make for a weeknight dinner.
Content
To elevate these enchiladas, I needed to add some intrigue and give the enchiladas more complex flavors, and find an ingredient that could add texture to provide a contrast to the melted cheese. I also wanted to keep the recipe simple enough that the enchiladas could be made as a weeknight dinner.
My ah-ha moment when these beef enchiladas moved from something I made once in a while to a favorite was when I replaced watery canned enchilada sauce with a simple homemade enchilada sauce that uses a unique combination of herbs, spices, and crushed tomatoes to create a rich sauce that holds the enchiladas together and makes them a delight to eat.
Simple Ground Beef Enchiladas
The challenge with a lot of weeknight beef enchilada recipes is that they’re so focused on time that they miss opportunities to make the enchiladas taste better. This is particularly true with recipes that use canned enchilada sauces that are flavorless and so thin you could drink them through a straw.
The flavor and texture of this enchilada recipe completely changed when I started making my own enchilada sauce.
The thicker sauce made with crushed tomatoes and a clever blend of herbs and spices helped each bite hold together with a richness that made them more fun to eat. An advantage to making your own enchilada sauce is that it lets you control the flavors, heat, and ingredients.
I also found that by adding some chili powder and cumin to the ground beef alongside some enchilada sauce and letting the ground beef filling simmer for a bit, infuses the sauce’s flavors into the filling.
A downside to dishes, like enchiladas, that are sauce heavy, have a lot of cheese, and are baked in the oven is that they often lack texture. Adding diced poblano adds crunch, flavor, and a small bit of heat.
A tip to make ground beef taste better when it’s being browned is to sauté the aromatics (e.g., onion, garlic, chilies, etc) in a little cooking oil before adding the beef to the pan. Sautéing the aromatics changes their flavors and helps infuse them into the ground beef.
How to Make Ground Beef Enchiladas
This recipe will work with flour or corn tortillas. My preference is using 8-inch flour tortillas because I like the way they taste when they’ve been baked with the enchilada sauce and how they hold together during the cooking process.
Key Ingredients
Ground Beef – For enchiladas, I prefer using 85:15 ground beef that has been browned with the onion, garlic, green chilies, and diced poblano.
Enchilada Sauce – The key to great enchiladas is starting with a good enchilada sauce. This Red Enchilada Sauce recipe starts with a simple roux, crushed tomatoes, and southwestern spices. The reason it’s so much better than canned enchilada sauces is that the crushed tomatoes create a thicker sauce with more body that clings to the filling. The sauce only takes 30 minutes to make and freezes well.
Seasoning – The enchiladas get their rich, Tex-Mex flavors from a combination of chili powder, garlic, and cumin.
Poblano Peppers – The poblano adds a little crunch to the dish while broadening its flavors.
Diced Green Chilies – Diced green chilies are one of my favorite ingredients when I’m cooking Mexican or Southwestern inspired dishes. The flavor in the chilies gives the dish a nice chili flavor without overpowering the other ingredients or adding too much heat.
Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend – I’ve found that the best cheese for this enchilada recipe is a thick cut Mexican blend cheese. I’ve tested all sorts of different cheeses, and what I like about the store bought shredded cheese is the simplicity of it and the way it melts. Topping the enchiladas with crumbled cojita is a fun way to add texture and a different flavor component.
Flour vs Corn Tortillas
These enchiladas can be made with flour or corn tortillas. I usually make them with 8-inch flour tortillas because they are easier to work with and I like the way they hold together and absorb the flavors from the enchilada sauce.
Earlier versions of this recipe used 10-inch tortillas, think small burrito sized tortillas. What I prefer about 8-inch versus 10-inch tortillas is that the smaller tortillas have a better balance between tortilla and filling, and it’s easier to fit eight of them into a baking dish.
If you’re making the enchiladas with corn tortillas, toast the corn tortillas before filling them. It’s much simpler than the traditional method of frying the tortillas before filling them, while improving their flavor and helping them hold up while the enchiladas bake.
For more about enchiladas, check out How to Make Enchiladas – A Complete Guide.
Assembling the Enchiladas
A somewhat unique approach in this recipe is how I prep the enchiladas. Instead of rolling them as a simple tube, I like to fold the edges of the tortilla inwards after they’ve been filled. Folding the tortillas over helps keep the filling inside the tortillas and makes it easier to fit 8 enchiladas into a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Place a scoop of the filling in the center of the tortilla. Top the filling with cheese and any other ingredients. Fold the tortilla over the filling, and pull back the top to consolidate everything. Fold the edges towards the center and flip the package over, sealing the filling inside. The enchiladas easily fit into the baking dish.
Enchilada Toppings
There are a lot of different ways to top enchiladas. The simplest way is to use some sour cream or Guacamole. To add some freshness, make some Pico De Gallo when tomatoes are in season.
For folks who like their enchiladas as cheesy as possible, make a Queso Dip that can be spooned over the top when they come out of the oven.
My favorite way to serve beef enchiladas is with chunks of fresh avocado, finely diced red onion, and some fresh cilantro.
Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 cup white onion, diced
- 1 cup poblano pepper, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 4 oz can roasted green chilis, diced
- 20 to 24 oz red enchilada sauce
- 1/2 cup cilantro, minced & divided
- 8 8-inch tortillas, flour or corn
- 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Spice Mixture
- 1/2 cup red enchilada sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Sauté the onion, poblano, garlic, and green chilies in a little cooking oil for a couple of minutes. Add in the ground beef, make sure to stir it regularly to break it into small bits as it browns.1 1/2 lb ground beef, 1 cup white onion, 1 cup poblano pepper, 1 4 oz can roasted green chilis, 1 clove garlic
- While the beef is browning, mix the red enchilada sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.1/2 cup red enchilada sauce, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
- Once the ground beef has finished browning, drain any extra liquid, and turn the heat down to a simmer.
- Add in the seasoning mixture, half the cilantro, and cook uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to incorporate the flavors.1/2 cup cilantro
Making the Enchiladas
- Pour enough enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of a prepared baking dish.
- Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 30 to 40 seconds. The tortillas should be warm enough that they're pliable.8 8-inch tortillas
- Scoop a little more than a 1/2 of a cup of the enchilada filling into the center of a tortilla with a 1/4 cup of cheese. Fold the tortilla over the top and pull it back, folding over the sides as you roll it up. Watch the video for more details.2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- Place the enchilada folded side down in the pan.
- Once the pan is filled up, pour the remainder of the sauce over the top, sprinkle on the rest of the cheese, followed by the rest of the cilantro.20 to 24 oz red enchilada sauce
- Bake the enchiladas uncovered in a 350℉ (177℃) oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Notes
Recommended Equipment
What to Serve with Beef Enchiladas
One of the best things about this recipe for beef enchiladas is that they can be served straight from the baking dish with a bag of tortilla chips when you’re surrounded by hungry people, or they can be plated along with some Mexican Rice or Green Chili Mashed Potatoes for a nice dinner.
A few other side dishes that go with enchiladas are:
To round everything out, serve the enchiladas with Homemade Lemonade, Freshly Squeezed Lime Margaritas, or, if you feel like taking your taste buds somewhere extraordinary, Mezcal Margaritas.
Tips and Tricks for Making Enchiladas
There’s a lot that can be done with these easy beef enchiladas. They can be frozen and heated up in the oven for a quick dinner. You can also substitute shredded beef or chicken for the ground beef. Sometimes I will add a can of pinto beans to the filling to make them healthier and more sustainable.
Baking Enchiladas
The enchiladas should be baked uncovered in a 350℉ (177℃) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Baking the enchiladas uncovered helps the tortillas firm up and brown, adding flavor while helping to keep them from getting soggy. Covering them with aluminum foil traps in moisture and can lead to soggy tortillas.
The best way to reheat beef enchiladas is in a 350℉ (177℃) oven for 15 to 20 minutes. When I’m eating leftover enchiladas for lunch, I throw them on a small baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with a cooking oil for 15 minutes.
Reheating them in the oven makes sure they’re warm all the way through and firms up the tortillas so they taste as delicious as they did when they were first made. I don’t recommend reheating them in a microwave, which makes them taste gummy.
Making Enchiladas Ahead of Time
Here are two ways the enchiladas can be made ahead of time. If you’re making them early in the day or a day or two ahead of time, they can be made, baked, and stored in the fridge before being baked in a 350℉ (177℃) oven for 25 minutes.
If you’re making them further ahead than a couple of days, the filling and the sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer. The enchiladas can then be assembled and baked right before being served. The enchiladas can also be frozen for several months. I recommend defrosting them in the fridge before heating them up in the oven.
In earlier versions of this recipe, I used 10-inch flour tortillas, which are great for packing in a ton of filling. Over time, I found that using 8-inch tortillas worked better with the size of a standard 9×13-inch baking dish and matched up better with the quantity people like to eat.
With the smaller tortillas, lighter eaters are still fine with one enchilada, and people who like to eat more are filled up with two enchiladas. With the larger tortillas, people were often taking one and a half enchiladas.
Mark is an experienced food writer, recipe developer, and photographer who is also Umami’s publisher and CEO. A passionate cook who loves to cook for friends, he can often be found in the kitchen or by the grill testing new recipes.
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