This Tex-Mex-inspired beef enchilada recipe is richly seasoned, easy to make, and always such a crowd fave!
One of my longtime favorite recipes to whip up for a big dinner party, wrap up in a casserole dish to bring to friends, or bake up on a regular old weeknight here with just the three of us — say hello to my favorite beef enchiladas! ♡
These delicious Tex-Mex-inspired enchiladas are loaded up with with tender ground beef (or we often make ours nowadays with plant-based meat), green chiles, onion, garlic, beans, cheese, your choice of tortillas, and my favorite red enchilada sauce. And when baked to warm and melty perfection, then served up with a few slices of avocado and perhaps a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and crumbled cotija, I can tell you — after a decade plus of serving these enchiladas to loved ones — that they are always, always such a hit.
They’re perfect for prepping ahead of time, making this recipe a great option for easy entertaining or popping in the oven after a long day of work. And they can also easily be made gluten-free with corn tortillas and my homemade sauce, if you’d like.
I’ve made this beef enchiladas recipe more times than I can count and know we’ll certainly be enjoying it in our house for many years to come. So if you have yet to give it a try, it’s time!
Beef Enchilada Ingredients
Detailed instructions for how to make beef enchiladas are included in the recipe box below. But before we get to the recipe, here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need…
- Beef: I typically use organic lean ground beef for this recipe. But if you happen to have leftover cooked diced or shredded beef on hand (such as shredded beef barbacoa), it will work well in this recipe too.
- Onion and garlic: We will sauté these until softened to help season the filling.
- Diced green chiles: I typically toss a small can of diced green chiles into the filling. But you could sauté a diced jalapeño with the onion if you would like to amp up the heat even more.
- Beans: I love adding beans to enchilada fillings for extra protein, and pinto beans or black beans are my preference with this recipe. But white beans, lentils or chickpeas would also work well here too.
- Tortillas: Corn tortillas are traditionally used in Mexican-style enchiladas, but I usually use flour tortillas in this recipe (which are more commonly used in Tex-Mex and American-style enchiladas) because they are much easier to roll. That said, any type of tortillas that you prefer can work in this recipe.
- Cheese: I most often use Pepper Jack or a Mexican-blend of shredded cheese for these enchiladas, but feel free to use whatever variety of cheese that you love best.
- Cumin, sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper: These will serve as our the basic seasonings for the beef filling, but the enchilada sauce will add much more flavor too.
- Toppings: When it comes to enchiladas, I vote the more toppings the merrier! Any combination of chopped fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, diced red onion (or quick pickled red onions), sliced radishes, fresh or pickled jalapeños, sour cream or Mexican crema, and/or extra cheese would be delicious here.
- Enchilada sauce: Finally, you can use any type of enchilada sauce that you prefer for this recipe, but I highly recommend using my favorite homemade enchilada sauce. It only takes a few extra minutes to prep and can simmer on the stovetop while you prepare the rest of the enchiladas. It’s made with basic pantry ingredients and tastes a million times better than the store-bought canned stuff.
Optional Variations
This homemade beef enchiladas recipe is incredibly flexible, so please feel free to customize it to your liking! For example, feel free to…
- Use corn tortillas: To make Mexican-style enchiladas, use corn tortillas (homemade or store-bought) in place of flour tortillas. Since corn tortillas are typically smaller, you will likely need to use nearly double the quantity of tortillas. (Just arrange them in the pan however you’d like.) Then to bring out that toasty corn flavor and prevent the corn tortillas from tearing, I recommend either flash-frying the tortillas for about 10 seconds per side in a skillet that has been lightly drizzled with oil. Or alternately, you can just dip the tortillas briefly in the warm enchilada sauce before rolling them up.
- Use green enchilada sauce: Instead of red enchilada sauce, try making green beef enchiladas with my homemade green enchilada sauce recipe. It’s easy to make and adds the most delicious savory green chile flavor to this dish.
- Use different beans: As I mentioned above, white beans, lentils or chickpeas would also work well here in place of pinto or black beans.
- Make vegetarian enchiladas: To make these vegetarian enchiladas, simply use plant-based ground beef or sausage. (We usually make ours nowadays using Beyond beef.) Or alternately, you can replace it with extra veggies (such as roasted cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, etc), extra beans, or any other vegetarian fillings you prefer. To make vegan enchiladas, be sure to also use vegan cheese as well.
- Make gluten-free enchiladas: To make gluten-free enchiladas, use gluten-free corn or flour tortillas. And also be sure to use a 1-for-1 gluten-free flour blend (in place of all-purpose flour) in the homemade enchilada sauce recipe.
- Make dairy-free enchiladas: To make dairy-free enchiladas, just use your favorite variety of vegan cheese in the recipe.
Make-Ahead and Freezer Instructions
Make ahead instructions: If you would like to prep these enchiladas up ahead of time, go ahead and prep them through Step 4. Then cover the baking dish tightly and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Bake as directed.
Freezer instructions: You can freeze enchiladas either before or after they have been cooked. For optimal texture, I recommend freezing enchiladas before hand, which will allow the tortillas to crisp up perfectly in the oven and avoid sogginess. But either option will work. Simply…
- Freezing uncooked enchiladas: Prep the enchiladas in a freezer-safe pan (foil pans work well) through Step 4. Cover the dish very tightly with foil and freeze for up to 3 months. (If you don’t have an extra pan, you can line a basic baking dish with parchment and freeze the enchiladas until firm. Then gently lift the frozen enchiladas up from the pan, quickly transfer to a large freezer bag, squeeze out any extra air, then seal and freeze.)
- Freezing cooked enchiladas: Prep the enchiladas through Step 5. Cover the pan very tightly with foil or transfer the enchiladas to a freezer bag and squeeze out any extra air. Freeze for up to 3 months.
How to reheat frozen enchiladas: If the uncooked enchiladas are completely frozen, bake covered at 350°F for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes or until cooked through. If the uncooked enchiladas are thawed, bake as directed in the recipe below. Frozen cooked enchiladas can be baked uncovered at 350°F for 20-30 minutes until warmed through. You can also heat frozen cooked enchiladas in the microwave, but note that the tortillas may dry out and become rubbery.
Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 1 batch red enchilada sauce (or 15 ounces store-bought red enchilada sauce)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- 8 large flour tortillas*
- 3 cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese
- toppings: fresh cilantro, chopped red onions, diced avocado, sour cream, and/or crumbled cotija cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the enchilada sauce. Prepare the enchilada sauce according to recipe instructions.
- Sauté the beef filling. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ground beef and cumin and sauté for 5 minutes or until completely browned, crumbling the beef with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Stir in the beans and green chiles until combined. Season the mixture with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper, to taste.
- Prep oven and baking dish. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce evenly along the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Assemble the enchiladas. To assemble the enchiladas, set up an assembly line including: tortillas, enchilada sauce, beef filling, and cheese. Lay out a tortilla, and spread two tablespoons of sauce over the surface of the tortilla. Add a generous spoonful of the beef filling in a line down the center of the tortilla, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Roll up the tortilla and place it in the prepared baking dish. Assemble the remaining enchiladas. Spread any remaining sauce evenly over the top of the enchiladas, followed by any extra cheese.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the enchiladas are cooked through and the tortillas are slightly crispy on the outside. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack.
- Serve. Serve the enchiladas immediately while they’re nice and hot, garnished with lots of your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
So yummy!! I used your recipe for enchilada sauce as well, and even my mom (who is so dang picky) went back for seconds. I only had small corn tortillas, so I layered it like a casserole and it worked great! Will definitely be making this again!
I made this tonight. I chose not to use the green chilies or the black beans. Trying to make kid friendly and I personally don’t like beans. I added fajita seasoning. Also I am from south Louisiana. Diced about 1/8 bell pepper and mixed in.
Hi Ali, What is the estimated protein ratio?
I made one change that I would suggest to others. Rather than tortillas, I used egg roll wraps. I have used tortillas before and never liked the results.Maybe just me, but give it a try. Other than that, the recipe was very good.
Used two lbs ground sirloin, like lots of meat. Also black beans and 4 cups cheese. 2 tbsp hot chili powder with 2 tbsp. regular. Baked an extra 10 minutes for the extra meat and cheese. They were awesome. Makes a ton of enchiladas. 5 left over to freeze for me & the Mrs.
These were just wonderful! Loved them with lentils, also added sautéed diced green peppers with the onion. I’m for sure making these again!!
This is my usual recipe I use for beef enchiladas. I just recommend adding seasoning to the beef while cooking. I like to add minced garlic & cayenne. Also i would recommend putting the enchiladas in plain for 10 to 15 min for a little bit of a crunch since the sauce kinda makes it soggy.
The red sauce is excellent- the beef prep is great- but when you make enchiladas with FLOUR tortillas, you lose people who are true Tex-Mex chefs.
This is my go
to recipe. My grandkids love it, and the sauce is great! No changes on my end. Thank you.
I made this recently for Taco Tuesday – I’m trying to expand from “just tacos”. It was quite tasty even with my adjustments. I omitted the green chiles because of my 10 y.o. I used about 3/4 can of black beans rinsed well and I mashed them with a fork while cooking in the ground beef to blend the textures. Even after adding the enchilada sauce, I did need to add more seasoning to the ground beef including abt 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes (which I add in my regular taco meat) – personal preference. I made the enchilada sauce included in the recipe. It had a good flavor and was the perfect amount for the recipe as written. Oh, I only made 4 enchiladas for the 3 of us. I didn’t want left overs to get soggy. I used the meat mixture and some prepared queso sauce as nachos for my 10 y.o. the next day.