Simple homemade Beef Enchiladas are full of Mexican comfort food flavors. This recipe includes a quick homemade red enchilada sauce and an easy ground beef filling that’s ready for the oven in 30 minutes.
Enchiladas originate in Mexico where people have been wrapping corn tortillas around fillings since Mayan times. You’ll find there are a wide variety of preparations, fillings, and sauces out there. This version uses corn tortillas that are filled with a mixture of ground beef, onion, chiles, and spices. Add in a little cheese and it’s smothered with a simple red chili powder enchilada sauce. This is a popular preparation that comes from Northern Mexico and the American Southwest.
Can I use store bought enchilada sauce?
This recipe calls for a quick homemade red enchilada sauce. It is super easy to make enchilada sauce at home and takes less than 10 minutes, but if you’d like, you can always use a store bought can. You’ll need one 15 ounce can, or about 2 cups.
Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas?
Traditionally, enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, but you can also use flour tortillas if you’d like. The texture will be softer than when prepared with corn tortillas. No heating of the tortillas will be necessary.
I made this about 2 weeks ago. It was really good but I had read others comments about how spicy it is, so I replaced some of the chili powder with paprika. It wasn’t even a little spicy. Other than that, they turned out great. It made enough to fill two baking casseroles and since it was just me and my husband, I covered the second pan with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and froze it. We thawed and cooked that pan tonight, made more sauce (with the full amount of chili powder). The tortillas were kind of soggy, but I liked the sauce better with a little spice. I am definitely going to make this again. I’ll make the sauce as written but cut it down so I only make what I need for the night.
Really good!! This is our go to recipe and we love it!
Excellent sauce! I’ve been looking for a good red chili sauce, and this fits the bill! Thank you!
This was delicious! We had leftover shredded beef from wine braised pot roast, this recipe was a delicious way to transform a leftover! Made everything else as is…thanks for sharing!
wow. made this. loved it. will definitely make this again. sorry no pics but looked liked your pic.
Oh they where the best to make my forever recipe my family love when I cook enchiladas on fridays
Made this several nights ago for the 2nd time and it was AWESOME. Used flour tortillas and heated them slightly on a cast iron skillet. Don’t know what size corn tortillas you used but with 6-inch flour tortillas we had to save half the meat to serve with a second batch of sauce and cheese. Not complaining at all coz AWESOME.
Can this be frozen?
This looks delicious as most of your recipients do. I have tried many of your recipients with great success and some of them are regulars on our weekly menus. My mouth waters when I see some of the great recipients that call for (soft) cheese as this one does; however, I am lactose intolerant and have to avoid milk, cream and soft cheeses. It is unfortunate, because you have so many great looking recipients that need cheese to make them authentic and tasty. Have you (or anyone) found a GOOD substitute for soft cheese that is lactose free? I substitute Lactaid milk in recipients that call for milk and you cant tell the difference, but so far, have not found a good lactose free substitute for soft cheeses like Monterey Jack. would love input from anyone that has found a substitute that tastes authentic.
This sauce is so simple & my family loved it. I made mine enchiladas with a Costco rotisserie chicken. I doubled the recipe & used a box of chicken broth as my liquid. I didn’t have enough tortillas to roll, so casserole style works. Family already asking for a repeat. Hamburger next time. I did not have any Chili’s, I substituted sliced olives. Delicious