Ground Beef Enchiladas

Filling, flavorful and mouthwatering, these Ground Beef Enchiladas are a delicious dinner time recipe. With a homemade sauce, cheesy ground beef filling and more cheese on top, you cannot go wrong with this classic dish.

Enchiladas are one of those recipes that most people love. In our house they are one of the most requested recipes ever. They are quick and easy to whip up and end up on our dinner table more times than not.

These Ground Beef Enchiladas have graced our table for years, we first posted these back in 2019 and they needed a little refresh because, trust me you are absolutely going to want to make these bad boys.

When it comes to the perfect Ground Beef Enchiladas my motto is simpler is better. This recipe is super simple, even the homemade sauce is super easy. 

With so many different toppings to garnish these, you can really make them unique and fit your flavor profile. Everyone is so different in out house so we always have various toppings on hand.

This is one of those dinner time recipes that is great any day of the week and all year long, summer, winter, it doesn’t matter. Ground Beef Enchiladas are just a staple meal that we cannot refuse.

Some of our other favorite Mexican themed recipes that we have on our site include: Mexican Rice Casserole, Migas and Slow Cooker Street Tacos.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• The homemade sauce is super easy to throw together and gives these enchiladas the best flavor.
• You can switch up the meats inside to change the flavor.
• Serve with any of your favorite toppings, the options are endless.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM):

Unsalted butter
Cornstarch
Dark chili powder
Ground cumin
Dried oregano
Kosher salt
Unsalted chicken stock
Tomato sauce
Granulated sugar
Ground beef
Diced green chiles
Taco seasoning
Shredded cheddar cheese
Flour tortillas
Fresh chopped cilantro for garnish, optional
Your favorite toppings, optional

HOW TO MAKE GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS, STEP BY STEP:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet or small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the cornstarch, and cook for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Slowly stream in the chicken stock, constantly whisking until everything is combined.
5. Stir in the tomato sauce and sugar. Cook until thickened, about 4-5 minutes. 
6. Add ½ cup of the sauce to the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish, set aside.
7. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles until there is no pink left, then drain any excess grease.
8. Next, into the ground beef stir in the diced green chiles and taco seasoning until combined. 
9. Then, stir ½ cup of the cheese until melted, remove from heat.
10. Spread about ¼ cup of the meat mixture down the center of a tortilla and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Roll it up tightly and place seam-side down into the prepared pan.
11. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
12. Spread the remaining sauce on top. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.
13. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until bubbly. 
14. Top with cilantro and serve with any additional toppings if you desire.

WHAT SIZE AND KIND OF TORTILLAS DO I USE:

We like to use 8″ tortillas for this recipe. You can use smaller ones to make more enchiladas, but standard we like to keep it to the 8″ ones. They fit great in the pan and the filling ratio fills this size up just perfectly. 

You can also use corn tortillas for this, they are smaller so you would have to use more. We like to steam them first before filling so they are more pliable.

To steam them place them on a microwave safe plate covered with a damp paper towel and heat for around 15 seconds.

WHAT CHEESE IS BEST TO USE:

This is debatable, we like to use just straight up shredded cheddar cheese, but there are many options that you can consider. 

We have used a Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, Mexican cheese blend, and Pepper Jack. It is a matter of what your favorite cheese is to serve with these.

DO I HAVE TO MAKE MY OWN ENCHILADA SAUCE?

No, you can use a canned sauce if you would like. Make sure to use 1 1/2 cups of sauce in place of the homemade.

CAN I USE OTHER MEATS?

Yes, if you want to switch up the flavor of these Enchiladas you can absolutely switch the meat out, some other meats you can use are ground chicken or ground pork.

WHAT TOPPINGS ARE BEST FOR THESE GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS?

You can top these with whatever you like! Some of our favorite toppings include:

1. Sour cream
2. Olives
3. Diced tomatoes
4. Sliced jalapenos
5. Cilantro
6. Guacamole
7. Diced onions

HOW TO STORE:

These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 3 days.

These can also be frozen, assemble your enchiladas as instructed, do not bake (make sure they are in a freezer safe dish or a disposable aluminum pan) and cover with foil, they will keep frozen for up to 3 months.

To defrost, remove from the freezer into the refrigerator overnight until thawed then bake as instructed.

To reheat, place on a microwave safe plate and heat until heated through. You can also place covered in foil in the oven at 350 until heated through as well.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• Switch up your cheese for a different flavor, see some ideas above.
• We like to use flour tortillas for this recipe but you can use corn, you will just need to use more.
• Switch up the meats to ground pork or ground chicken.
• Top with any of your favorite toppings, see above on some ideas.
• You can use store bought enchilada sauce in place of homemade, just make sure you use 1 1/2 cups.
• These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.

Want a simple, flavorful and absolutely delicious dinner time recipe? Then these Ground Beef Enchiladas are exactly what your weekly menu plan is telling you to make.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• Mexican Street Corn
• Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
• Birria Tacos

If you’ve tried these GROUND BEEF ENCHILADAS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into! 

Ground Beef Enchiladas

Filling, flavorful and mouthwatering, these Ground Beef Enchiladas are a delicious dinner time recipe. With a homemade sauce, cheesy ground beef filling and more cheese on top, you cannot go wrong with this classic dish.

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 enchiladas

Calories: 426kcal

Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• ▢ 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons dark chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 ½ cups unsalted chicken stock
• ▢ ½ cup tomato sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

For assembly:

• ▢ 1 pound ground beef
• ▢ 4 ounce can diced green chiles
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons taco seasoning
• ▢ 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
• ▢ 8 8-inch flour tortillas
• ▢ Fresh chopped cilantro for garnish optional
• ▢ Your favorite toppings optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet or small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the cornstarch, and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Slowly stream in the chicken stock, constantly whisking until everything is combined.
• Stir in the tomato sauce and sugar. Cook until thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
• Add ½ cup of the sauce to the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish, set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles until there is no pink left, then drain any excess grease.
• Next, into the ground beef stir in the diced green chiles and taco seasoning until combined.
• Then, stir ½ cup of the cheese until melted, remove from heat.
• Spread about ¼ cup of the meat mixture down the center of a tortilla and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Roll it up tightly and place seam-side down into the prepared pan.
• Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
• Spread the remaining sauce on top. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until bubbly.
• Top with cilantro and serve with any additional toppings if you desire.

Notes

1. Toppings are not included in nutritional value. 
2. Switch up your cheese for a different flavor, see some ideas above.
3. We like to use flour tortillas for this recipe but you can use corn, you will just need to use more.
4. Switch up the meats to ground pork or ground chicken.
5. Top with any of your favorite toppings, see above on some ideas.
6. You can use store bought enchilada sauce in place of homemade, just make sure you use 1 1/2 cups.
7. These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.

Nutrition

Calories: 426kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 803mg | Potassium: 360mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1143IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 277mg | Iron: 3mg

Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TornadoughAlli or tag #TornadoughAlli!

Nutrition Disclaimer

ORIGINALLY POSTED JUNE, 2019