These Beef Enchiladas are a comfort food dinner with Tex-Mex flavor thanks to a smoky enchilada sauce, seasoned ground beef filling, and lots of cheese. Perfect when you need a delicious dinner on the table fast and guaranteed to please!
Enchiladas were always my go-to item when we would go out for dinner, but then I realized: why am I ordering these when I could make them at home?! And making them at home is how I discovered that my son absolutely loves enchiladas too, which means these Beef Enchiladas go on our weekly meal plan often. (No dinnertime battles is always a win!)
What Makes These Beef Enchiladas the Best Ever
Yes, everyone claims that their recipe is the best, but here’s how I back that up!
- The beef is delicious on its own. Most of the recipes I’ve seen rely on the sauce as the carrier of all or most of the flavor. Not in this case! I season the beef with sautéed onions, garlic, cumin, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, lime juice and fresh cilantro so you’re starting with LOTS of flavor from the get-go.
- Easier than other recipes. I’ve actually chosen NOT to make my own sauce. Why? Because first, the beef has tons of flavor, making it the key player in the recipe. And also because these are EASY enchiladas. Why add another step? Just buy a high-quality brand like Frontera Red Enchilada Sauce (which I also use in my Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas and my Ground Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Peppers).
- Split the difference with wheat and corn tortillas. People have really strong opinions about the type of tortillas you should use for enchiladas, and both have their pluses and minuses. For this recipe, I tried something different. I used a whole wheat and corn tortilla from Mission, which solved the problem of the corn tortillas breaking and the flour tortillas getting too soggy.
What You’ll Need
The ingredient list for these beef enchiladas is so simple! Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Grapeseed oil – Olive oil is also fine.
- Yellow onion and garlic – The aromatics that add flavor to the ground beef mixture.
- Ground beef – I like to use grass-fed ground beef.
- Seasonings – Cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, ancho chili powder, and salt.
- Lime and cilantro – These perk up the ground beef with some fresh flavor.
- Whole wheat & corn tortillas – You can use corn or wheat, but I really, really love tortillas made with a wheat and corn blend for making these beef enchiladas.
- Red enchilada sauce – Whatever variety you like, whether it’s homemade or store-bought.
- Mexican cheese – I use a shredded Mexican cheese blend. My favorite is from Tillamook, which melts better than a lot of other pre-shredded cheeses.
- Garnishes – Cilantro, avocado, diced tomato, pickled onions or sliced jalapeño.
How to Make Easy Beef Enchiladas
Here’s what you’ll need to do to get these beef enchiladas on the table for dinner.
- Cook the aromatics. Heat a skillet over medium-high, then add the oil and onions. Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Brown the beef. Add the beef to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the seasonings, lime juice, and cilantro and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Assemble. Spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Add 1/3 cup of the ground beef to each tortilla, top with some cheese, and roll. Set the rolled enchiladas in the dish with the seam side down. Add the remaining sauce on top, followed by the rest of the cheese.
- Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 350ºF. Add your desired garnishes and serve.
Tips and Variations
I have a few more tips on these beef enchiladas to help you make sure they turn out perfect!
- Swap in flour tortillas. Corn tortillas are more traditional for enchiladas, but you can use flour tortillas if you prefer. Usually a 6- to 8-inch tortilla works best for most pans. Note that flour tortillas do tend to soak up the sauce a lot more and can be a little more soggy then corn tortillas.
- Warm up corn tortillas. If you’re using corn tortillas, you’ll want to keep them from breaking. The key is getting the tortillas warm, then they will be pliable enough to wrap. If they are still tearing, then your corn tortillas are not fresh.
- Roll tightly. This is how you get nice, round beef enchiladas instead of flat ones! You’ll also be able to fit more enchiladas in the pan when they’re tightly rolled.
Serving Suggestions
These beef enchiladas are so flavorful and satisfying that they definitely make a meal on their own! But if you want to add something on the side, try my Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican Quinoa Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing. And I definitely recommend some Frozen Mango Margaritas too!
How to Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Cover the casserole dish with foil or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in the casserole dish or an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- To reheat: Warm single portions on a plate in the microwave or warm up a bigger batch in a 350ºF oven in a covered casserole dish to keep the beef enchiladas from drying out.
More Mexican Recipes
Easy Beef Enchiladas
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Beef, Kid Friendly
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
These super easy Beef Enchiladas are a comfort food dinner with a seasoned ground beef filling and lots of cheese. Guaranteed to be a hit!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 lb. grass feed ground beef
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup diced fresh cilantro
- 8–10 mission brand whole wheat & corn tortilla
- 12 oz. red enchilada sauce
- 1 1/2 cup mexican cheese
- optional garnish: cilantro, avocado, diced tomato, pickled onions or sliced jalapeno
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat a large skillet to medium high heat.
- Add grape seed oil to the pan alone with onions. Saute until translucent, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add in garlic cloves, saute for 30 seconds and add in ground beef.
- Saute ground beef for 5-7 minutes, chopping up meat with a wooden spoon or potato masher. Add cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, ancho chili powder, salt, lime juice and cilantro. Stir to mix everything together and saute fro 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 13×9″ casserole dish. Spread across entire bottom of the dish.
- Assemble enchiladas: to a tortilla add 1/3 cup of meat mixture to the center and top with a pinch of cheese. Fold up and place the filled tortilla seam side down in prepared casserole dish. Repeat process until tortillas and meat mixture is used up.
- Top with remaining enchilada sauce and then top with remaining cheese.
- Place enchiladas in oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven when cheese is melted.
- Serve as is or garnish with cilantro, avocado, diced tomato, pickled onions or sliced jalapeno.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 enchiladas
- Calories: 536
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 1597 mg
- Fat: 27 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Fiber: 10 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 86 mg
19 comments on “The Ultimate Easy Beef Enchilada Recipe”
Made this dish a few nights ago and my wife and I loved it. She noticed and enjoyed the cinnamon in the sauce I made for it:
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a102654/quick-and-easy-homemade-enchilada-sauce/
I would give it 5 stars, but that feature is not working for me right now on this web page.
So glad you both loved it, Eric! And thanks for the heads up on the star rating — I’ll look into it. Appreciate you taking the time to comment! 🌶️
i still eat
My family loves this recipe! So good! It’s become a staple in our house.
Karli, this is music to my ears! I am so glad this recipe is a hit!
We are gluten-free so corn is a must. But yes they break. I wonder, could you layer a casserole dish with a layer of tortillas, beef, cheese then repeat and serve as a casserole? Or would it be too soupy..?
Yes! I’ve down that before. I find it you cook the corn tortillas first and “harden” them up it makes it less soupy!
Thank you for this recipe – it’s deee-licious! I had to make my own ancho chili powder from dried ancho chilis because i couldn’t find any at the store. This is a keeper!!!
I love your commitment to the recipe! So glad you enjoyed it!
I normally make chicken enchiladas but we wanted to try something different. I found your recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. They turned out perfect. They were very flavorful and very tasty. The entire family loved them. I did heat up the corn tortillas in the microwave (5 at a time in a wet paper towel for 20 sec.) great recipe! Thanks for sharing.❤️
It is hard to change it up, but so glad you gave this recipe a try, and it was a winner!
What does “4-5 shreds of cheese” mean?
Tablespoons? Teaspoons?
😬
It was my way of describing a pinch of cheese… haha. I changed it so you’re not counting out each shred of cheese. haha
This looks absolutely delicious! Yummy! This looks totally awesome!
Enchiladas are a go to in our house! Love them!
Your recipe came in to my life at the right time! Excited to give this a try this week; looks delicious!
This diner will be a complete winner all round for everyone! Simply delicious!
Looks like such an easy way to get dinner on the table! So cheesy and perfect!
This looks so easy and flavorful! Definitely making this for dinner