Beef Enchiladas are a classic, hearty, cheesy comfort food made with easy ingredients, then topped with sour cream and fresh green onions!
If you love easy Tex-Mex Dinner recipes, you won’t regret trying other south-of-the-border favorites like the similar Chicken Enchiladas, the incredible One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice, or the Cheesy Taco Lasagna.
Sabrina’s Beef Enchiladas
Enchiladas are a classic, cheesy, and flavorful Mexican favorite. With this simple recipe, you can make the traditional dish with flavorful ingredients for a fun and easy family dinner. The beef mixture is mixed with onions, Taco Seasoning, and green chiles for an amazing taste. Then you just wrap the mixture in tortillas and top it off with enchilada sauce and melty cheese to bake into the ultimate Mexican comfort food.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (85/15)
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (about 1 packet)
- 4 ounces green chiles , canned, diced
- 2 cups Enchilada Sauce
- 8 tortillas , fajita-sized (not street taco or burrito size), flour or corn (more traditional)
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded
- 1/2 cup green onions , thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Add ground beef and onion to a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Cook, breaking it apart, for 6-8 minutes.
- Drain the fat (if you have any) and add in the taco seasoning mixed with water.
- Add chopped green chiles, stir well and let simmer for 5 minutes until water has mostly evaporated.
- Add the enchilada sauce to a large bowl.
- Dip each tortilla in the sauce then place onto cutting board.
- Fill with ¼ cup of filling and 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese and roll.
- Place seam side down in baking dish.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas.
- Top with remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, then top with green onions and sour cream.
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About this Recipe
Enchiladas get a lot of their traditional flavor from the delicious and slightly spicy Red Enchilada Sauce. You can pick up a can of enchilada sauce from the store or easily make your own enchilada sauce with easy ingredients like chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion powder, and tomato sauce. Either way, it will taste amazing poured over the cheesy tortillas.
Serving Ideas
Along with the simple ingredients in the recipe, you can also add optional toppings and sides to the dish. Beef Enchiladas would taste great served with Black Beans, Salsa, or Guacamole. Additionally, you can top them off with shredded lettuce and bell peppers for a fresh touch. These amazing enchiladas would taste great with any of your favorite Mexican side dishes for a filling family dinner.
Ingredients
- Beef: We’re using regular ground beef at 85/15 percent fat. You can use lean ground beef if you prefer.
- Cheese: Good ol’ cheddar cheese is what we are using here. You can also use the 3 or 4 Mexican cheese blend for some nice variety.
- Tortillas: For this recipe, we love both corn and flour tortillas! Try a mixture of them to see which ones you like more!
- Enchilada Sauce: Anytime we can make our own sauce, we do! Store-bought enchilada sauce will work, but it won’t beat the flavors of freshly homemade Enchilada Sauce.
- Taco Seasoning: The same rule applies to our Taco Seasoning about using a homemade mix, rather than a store-bought. The flavors are always better!
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes. Because they are so easy to make, we recommend making and serving enchiladas same day. However, if needed, you can easily prepare the Beef Enchiladas a day or two in advance and store them in the refrigerator. Just make sure not to put any toppings like sour cream on until you’re ready to serve. That way they’ll be fresh and ready to go! To reheat, simply place them back in the oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F, cover with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
What to Pair with the Beef Enchiladas
Beef Enchiladas should be served with some complementary flavors like Elote (Mexican Grilled Street Corn) and Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips with vanilla ice cream for dessert! You can try making some classic Horchata, a creamy and sweet cinnamon-flavored drink, too. Don’t forget to try homemade Pico de Gallo and Black Bean Dip with your tortilla chips. Yum!
How to Store
- Serve: After baking, you don’t want to leave Ground Beef Enchiladas at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: To store leftover enchiladas you can transfer them to an airtight container or cover the dish tightly in aluminum foil. They’ll stay good in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Freeze: Transfer the enchiladas to an aluminum foil pan or freezer-safe Tupperware to freeze for up to 3 months. Then, to reheat, turn the oven to 350 degrees. Transfer to an oven-safe pan and place in the oven covered in foil, and bake for 45 minutes until reheated.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to make Beef Enchiladas with less fat, you can use reduced-fat cheddar cheese and replace the regular ground beef with lean ground beef.
There are plenty of different kinds of shredded cheese that you can try out in this recipe. It would taste great with Pepper Jack, gouda, provolone, or a Mexican cheese blend.
If you prefer chicken, simply replace the beef in the meat mixture with ground chicken.
You can experiment with the flavor by adding in some garlic salt or minced garlic cloves. You can also experiment with the spices in the taco spice mixture like extra cumin, chili powder, paprika, or onion powder depending on your taste. To add a nice, refreshing flavor, top the enchiladas off with fresh cilantro leaves before serving.
Bring some extra texture and flavor to the recipe by wrapping your favorite vegetables in the tortilla rolls. They’d taste great with tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, or zucchini.
First things first, enchiladas are, by design, going to be nice and soft. Sometimes this is not the texture sought after, and we completely understand! The quality of the tortilla itself can influence the final result, too. To make your tortillas a little more sturdy, heat some cooking oil in a pan on medium-high heat until it simmers. Once it is hot, cook each tortilla in the oil for about 10 seconds on each side. You can then let them drain on a paper towel and then prepare them according to the recipe. Do this to each tortilla, adding oil to the pan along the way as needed. By frying the tortillas in this way, you’ll avoid them breaking up easily and will get a more-crispy enchilada!
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This will be my go to recipe for enchiladas from now on. So easy and so delicious! They are flavorful to the max!
Glad you enjoyed this tasty easy meal Bonnie and thanks for the five stars!
So good! My husband loved them too
I’ve made this recipe so many times. Super easy and tasty, and honestly just as good as you can get eating out.
Thank you Taylor, for the 5 star rating. Easy tasty recipes are critical with our busy lifestyles, right?!!
I’ve made this recipe (and the chicken one) over and over. My family can’t get enough. I also make the enchilada sauce recipe instead of store bought.
For a little kick, I’ll add chorizo to the beef mixture and it’s amazing!! Hands down my favorite recipe from Sabrina. The Ultimate Clam Chowder is a very tight second place!
lol…Thanks Joni for the great review!
I just made this for dinner tonight and I must say it is really delicious… thank you so much Sabrina for the recipe
Hi Sabrina.
I have used a lot of your recipes which all have been delicious and this one is no exception. Very tasty and easy to make. The only thing I will do a bit different next time is not put in the full 2 cups of sauce, will use 1 1/2 cups in stead.
Thank you so much for your recipes.
I read that you should lightly fry the tortilla in oil for a few seconds to prevent it from breaking up or getting soggy while cooking. Is this true?
Wow. These are really, really good beef enchiladas. Like I said, I would come back and review these, once my wife cooked them. These really have a great filling, and they have an incredible texture & taste. This is AS GOOD or BETTER than a Mexican restaurant. And, they are not spicy nor are they boring. They taste really, really good. If anyone is wondering, just make them. they are SPECTACULAR. Thanks, DTD, for another great recipe that you just gave the world.
Did you use flour or corn tortillas?
Either will work! Just be gentle when you are rolling the tortillas.
Great that you posted this. We have been looking for some beef enchiladas. We have a recipe, but the inside doesn’t taste that good. The meat mixture is just boring. So, we will try these and let you know what they are like. And, yes, it’s been a while since Mexican week for us.