These Easy Beef Enchiladas are made with a handful of simple ingredients and are on the table in under 30 minutes. Beefy and cheesy, they’re an easy-to-love meal and perfect for family dinners, Cinco de Mayo, and every day in between!
This easy beef enchiladas recipe joins over a dozen delicious Mexican-inspired recipes I’ve shared over the years. They’re a must-have for Cinco de Mayo, as well as over-the-top family dinners!
Table of Contents
Whether you’re craving a feast for your weeknight dinner or are gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, these Easy Beef Enchiladas never disappoint! Not only are they easy to make, but they’re also deliciously beefy, cheesy, and nothing short of amazing.
Taco-seasoned beef is cooked until tender and juicy, then stuffed into flour tortillas with shredded Mexican cheese. Each beef enchilada is smothered in my easy red enchilada sauce before being baked until hot, gooey, and delicious.
Assembly is a breeze thanks to the shortlist of fuss-free ingredients. Ultimately, each cheesy, beefy, and saucy bite is a fiesta for your taste buds!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A crowd-pleasing Mexican-inspired main. Because who doesn’t love classic cheesy beef enchiladas drenched in tangy-hot red enchilada sauce?
- They’re just plain easy. This is a beginner-friendly, easy-to-follow recipe. Even if you’ve never made enchiladas or they don’t make it to your dinner table often, you’ll have a breeze putting them together.
- Loaded with irresistible flavor. These easy cheesy beef enchiladas seriously deliver on flavor thanks to the taco-seasoned beef, homemade enchilada sauce, and cheese.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Tortillas – Enchiladas are traditionally made with soft corn tortillas, but feel free to use flour tortillas if that’s what you prefer.
- Enchilada sauce – My enchilada sauce is easy to make with 6 simple ingredients and is ready in less than 10 minutes. To get this meal on the table faster or if the sauce is too spicy, swap the enchilada sauce for my multi-purpose or cherry tomato sauce.
- Ground beef – Grass-fed beef is my ground beef of choice in these enchiladas, along with many other recipes, like my Ground Beef Veggie Skillet. The meat is lean, juicy, and flavorful, and also has more vitamin A, E, and antioxidants than grain-fed beef.
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Paprika and chipotle seasonings – These add distinct smoky flavors to the ground beef. There are plenty of other seasonings you can use to mix up the flavors, like cayenne, cumin, Mexican oregano, and so on.
- Shredded Mexican cheese – Use a bag of shredded Mexican-style cheese to make this recipe as easy as possible. Or, if you’d rather use cheese shredded fresh from the block, go with any combination of sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, Asadero, and Queso Blanco.
- Jalapeño – Slices of these spicy peppers pack a punch! Feel free to leave them out if you don’t like spicy food.
- Cilantro
How to make easy beef enchiladas
Here’s how to make beef enchiladas in just 4 simple steps:
Step 1 – Heat the oil in a large skillet. Once it’s hot, add the beef and cook until it’s browned all over. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, paprika, and chipotle seasonings over top and stir to combine. To finish, turn off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese and cilantro.
Step 2 – Cover the bottom of a greased baking dish with a layer of enchilada sauce.
Step 3 – To assemble the beef enchiladas, add a scoop of the beef mixture to each tortilla. Roll them up tightly, then place them side-by-side in the baking dish.
Step 4 – Pour more enchilada sauce over the tortillas, then top with more cheese and jalapeño slices. Bake the enchiladas until the cheese is melted, then enjoy!
Variations
Stuffing the enchiladas with beef and cheese makes them super simple to make AND customize. Have fun with this recipe using any of these variation ideas:
- Instead of ground beef – Make the enchiladas with ground chicken, turkey, or pork. Shredded chicken or beef, carnitas, carne asada, chicken sausages, or skirt steak would also be great.
- Vegetarian or vegan enchiladas – Swap the ground beef for your favorite plant-based ground “beef” and vegan shredded cheese. These Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas are also delicious and packed with protein and veggies.
- Gluten free – All you need to do to make gluten free beef enchiladas is to swap the flour tortillas for corn tortillas or your favorite gluten free soft tortillas.
- Keto – Again, swap the regular tortillas for your favorite zero net carb or carb-balance tortillas.
- Turn up the heat – These enchiladas already have a subtle spicy kick but you can turn up the heat by adding fiery ingredients to the beef, like chili powder, cumin, cayenne, Aleppo, red pepper, and hot sauce.
Frequently asked questions
Try browning the ground beef with aromatics like onion, garlic, green or red bell peppers, and jalapeños. You could also fold in corn, black or pinto beans, chunks of cooked potatoes or sweet potatoes, and leafy greens, like baby spinach or chopped kale leaves.
A platter of enchiladas isn’t complete without a few condiments on the side, like pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. As for sides, cilantro lime brown rice, Mexican rice, refried beans, black beans, and pinto beans always pair well.
Yes! You can assemble the enchiladas in the greased baking or casserole dish up to 1 day in advance. Keep the dish covered and in the fridge, and then bake the next day.
Remember that the tortillas will absorb some of the enchilada sauce as they sit, so it’s a good idea to have extra sauce prepared to drizzle over the top before baking.
Storing and freezing
To store: Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 or 5 days.
To freeze: You can freeze the enchiladas before baking them. Keep them covered in the covered baking dish for 2 to 3 months, then let them thaw in the fridge before baking as normal.
Craving more Mexican-inspired recipes?
If you make this Easy Beef Enchilada recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you and always do my best to respond to all your comments. Also, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram for a special shutout and/or a chance of being featured in my newsletter!
Easy Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 7 soft tortillas
- 15 oz enchilada sauce, sub for tomato sauce of choice
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp each, paprika and chipotle seasonings
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese
- 1/4 cup Jalapeño , fresh or jarred, sliced (optional)
- fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat oil. Add in beef and cook on medium-high until browned (10-minutes). Season with salt, pepper, paprika and chipolte. Feel free to add in your own favorite spices. When beef is cooked add 1 cup of shredded mexican cheese some fresh cilantro. Cover
- Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking oil and then add half of enchilada sauce or tomato sauce. Using a spatula spread the sauce to cover the entire bottom of baking dish.
- Add one big scoop of beef on to the tortilla and roll it tightly. Add to the prepared baking dish. Do this for all seven tortillas.
- Arrange tortillas in baking dish side by side tightly.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce or tomato sauce on top of the rolled up beef tortillas. Top with remaining shredded cheese.
- If using, add jalapeno slices (fresh or jarred) on top of cheesy beef enchiladas and bake at 425F for 15 minutes.
- When done garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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