Healthy Beef Enchiladas

Bringing you the best Beef Enchiladas recipe! This tasty Mexican dish is made with sautéed onion, jalapeño, garlic, and ground beef rolled up in tortillas with red enchilada sauce and cheese, and topped with more enchilada sauce and cheese, then baked to perfection. This easy, flavorful recipe is sure to become a family favorite!

Say hello to these incredible Beef Enchiladas – your new favorite Mexican dinner! With a delicious combination of tortillas, beef, cheese, and enchilada sauce, these homemade enchiladas are the ultimate comfort food. They’ll have everyone going back for seconds!

This is one of our go-to dishes for an easy weeknight dinner that the whole family enjoys. We opted to make these with ground beef rather than shredded beef because ground beef is super quick and easy to prepare. The meat cooks up quickly in a skillet, add the sauce and cheese to round out the filling, roll the enchiladas, and bake!

Why you should make this recipe

• Quick & easy: You can make this meal in just 40 minutes! And even though this enchilada dinner is super simple, there’s no sacrificing flavor!
• So tasty & delicious: These have the best balance of textures, spices, and delicious cheesiness. This is major Mexican comfort food!
• Family-friendly: Your whole family is going to love this dish! It’s hearty, comforting, and kid approved! It’s also a meal that you can easily make ahead to reheat.

Ingredients needed

You don’t need any fancy ingredients to make this beef enchiladas recipe, which makes it perfect for an easy weeknight meal! Here’s the list:

• Onion, jalapeño & garlic: We’re sautéing these veggies to give the meat plenty of savory flavors.
• Ground beef: We recommend using 90% lean ground beef for this recipe. It has plenty of flavors but is not overly greasy. If you use meat with a higher fat content, be sure to drain off any excess grease after the meat is cooked.
• Red enchilada sauce: If you will be serving kids, be sure to use a mild enchilada sauce. For best results, use the brand that you like best or make homemade enchilada sauce. Also, green enchilada sauce works well, too! Personal preference!
• Cilantro: Love fresh cilantro for added herb flavor, but feel free to leave it out, if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
• Tortillas: Corn tortillas are traditional for rolling enchiladas, but we typically use a corn-flour blend tortilla, since they are much easier to roll. Any favorite variety of tortillas will work.
• Shredded cheese: A must for enchiladas! We like Monterey jack cheese, but you can use cheddar cheese, Mexican blend, or even Pepper jack!

How to make this recipe

1. Sauté the onion: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Brown the meat: Add the meat and while it cooks, mince it with a wooden spoon. Once the meat is no longer pink, stir in the jalapeño, garlic, and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to your taste, and add the cilantro. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400ºF and grease a rectangle baking dish with a bit of olive oil.

3. Assemble the enchiladas: To assemble the enchiladas, add about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture to a tortilla, and sprinkle with a spoonful of shredded cheese. Roll tightly and arrange in your prepared baking dish. Once all the enchiladas are nicely sitting on your baking dish, pour over the 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with the extra 1/4 cup of cheese.

4. Bake: Place pan or casserole dish in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese has melted.
5. Serve: Garnish and serve with sour cream, jalapeño slices, fresh cilantro, chili flakes, and anything else you’d like and enjoy!

Expert Tips

This recipe really is so simple, but here are some tips to make sure your beef enchiladas are amazing every time you make them!

• You can make these as mild or as spicy as you like by adding in the seeds of the jalapeño, using two jalapeños, or using hot enchilada sauce. You could also use spicy green chiles for a kick!
• To soften corn tortillas for easy rolling, wrap 4 to 5 tortillas at a time in a damp paper towel and cook for about 30 seconds in the microwave. If you’re not using corn tortillas, this probably will not be necessary.
• For a make-ahead meal, assemble these up to about 4-6 hours before you plan to cook them. Simply, cover and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake and eat.

Frequently asked questions

Customize this recipe

These are SO good as-is, but feel free to get creative with your ingredients! Here are some options:

• Protein: Try shredded chicken, ground turkey, or shredded beef instead of ground beef.
• Cheese: Swap in cheddar, pepper jack, a Mexican blend, or Colby cheese instead of Monterey jack.
• Filling: You can add other ingredients to the filling such as corn, black beans, or diced tomatoes.

Serving suggestions

To make a full feast, you can serve these with a few side dishes. Here are some of our favorites:

• Guacamole and/or salsa with tortilla chips
• Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice (Tastes super good when it soaks up all that extra enchilada sauce.)
• Mexican Street Corn Salad (This is always a hit!)
• Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad for a lighter side dish

Storage recommendations

• Storing leftovers: These keep well for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge, in an airtight container, which makes them great for meal prep!
• To freeze: If you plan to freeze the whole pan, we recommend making these in a disposable aluminum baking dish for easier storage. Then, cover well with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months then reheat in the oven until heated through.

More dinner recipes

• Spaghetti Casserole
• Chicken Enchilada Pasta
• Mediterranean Baked Salmon
• Beef Stew
• Lemon Chicken Pasta
• Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
• Cheeseburger Casserole

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