The Ultimate Easy Beef Enchilada Recipe with a smoky enchilada sauce and covered in cheese! These Beef Enchiladas scream comfort food – a homemade recipe that’s perfect for a crowd and guaranteed to please!
Easy Beef Enchiladas
Enchiladas were always my go to item when we would go out for dinner. You can’t beat anything wrapped in warm tortillas, covered in a delicious sauce and then topped with cheese. It just screams comfort food to me.
And also, apparently my son. I served this meal to him last week and he literally just shoved it into his mouth. As in, his mouth was the same level as the table and as humanly close to the plate as he could get … fork in hand just moving the enchiladas from the plate to his mouth.
I had never seen anything like it before. I sat in awe of my child for the first 5 minutes.
ground beef mixture for ground beef enchiladas in a pan
So that should be your NUMBER ONE indicator that this beef enchilada recipe is drool worthy. Or mouth shoveling worthy. No judgment here. Well… maybe a little because let me tell you, someone shoveling food in their mouth is a site to behold.
Ok, moving on.
So What Makes These the Best Beef Enchiladas?
I mean, let’s be real. When you go to Pinterest and search ‘beef enchiladas’ a butt load of them come up and ALL of them claim to be the BEST enchiladas you’ll ever have.
This recipe seasons the beef mixture. Most of the recipes I’ve seen rely on the sauce as the carrier of all flavor. Nope. Not in this case. I season the beef with sautéed onions, garlic, cumin, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, lime juice and then fresh cilantro. So you’re starting with flavor in the meat as a base.
Tortillas. This is a game changer. I’ve made recipes with corn tortillas and with flour tortillas. Both have their pluses and minuses. For this recipe, I tried something different. I used Mission Brand Tortillas and they have a whole wheat & corn tortilla combo. (it’s their artisan line) It was awesome and solved the problem of the corn tortillas breaking or the flour tortillas getting too soggy.
The Sauce. The Sauce is key. I’ve actually chosen NOT to make my own. Why? Because these are EASY enchiladas. Why add another step? Buy your favorite brand and pour it on!
The Cheese. I’ve been buying Tillamook on a weekly sometimes bi-weekly bases. We are obsessed it is hands down the best melting cheese. I love their farmstyle cut!
side photo of The Ultimate Ground Beef Enchilada Recipe with toppings on top
Ok, I decided to not leave you hanging on the enchilada sauce. After all, you do come to me for the best. Right?
What is the best Enchilada Sauce?
I’ve tested a couple different brands for enchilada sauce, but by far my favorite, because of taste and nutritional info is Frontera Red Enchilada Sauce. It has mild chile flavor with a hint of roasted garlic and a tomato sauce, plus it’s not overly salty like most store bought enchilada sauces. I’ve used this sauce with my Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas and my Ground Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Peppers.
Can you make enchiladas with flour tortillas?
Yes, you can. Corn tortillas are more traditional for enchiladas, but you can use flour tortillas if you like flour better. As for size, usually a 6″-8″ tortilla works best for most pans. Otherwise you’ll end up with lots of space on the sides. Flour tortillas do tend to soak up the sauce a lot more and can be a little more soggy then corn tortillas.
process photos of how to make The Ultimate Ground Beef Enchilada Recipe
How do you keep corn tortillas from breaking?
The key is getting the corn tortillas warm, then they will be pliable enough to wrap. If they are still tearing, then your corn tortillas are not fresh.
Wrap a stack of them with tin foil and place in a 325 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes. (or until warm)
Wrap a stack with a damp paper towel (completely covering the stack). Then wrap with plastic wrap and place in microwave. Warm them up in 1 minute increments. (this will help steam them)
Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Place the tortillas in the pan and warm for 1-2 minutes per side.
Honestly, on the tortilla front it is completely up to you which route you decide to go. I landed in the middle with the whole wheat & corn blend because I like the flavor of the flour (whole wheat) and the brand I used did not get soggy.
overhead photo of The Ultimate Ground Beef Enchilada Recipe with toppings
These beef enchiladas are so flavorful that you could definitely eat them as is. Sprinkle them with some fresh cilantro to brighten it up a bit and go to town.
I like to top mine with sliced avocado, pickled onions and sometimes jalapeño if I’m in a spicy kinda mode.
You could serve it with:
Mango Margaritas
Cilantro Lime Black Bean Quinoa
Restaurant Style Salsa
Bon Appetit friends. Now you’re all ready for Taco Tuesday tomorrow and for one awesome Cinco de Mayo Party coming up in just a month!