Beef Enchiladas with an extra tasty, saucy filling, smothered with a homemade Enchilada Sauce. My time saving trick is to use one base Enchilada spice mix for both the sauce and filling!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Beef Enchiladas
I love that there are so many variations of Beef Enchiladas in this big-wide-world.
Simple ones, filled with a plain cooked beef filling then topped with enchilada sauce and (lots of) cheese. Fancy ones with the addition of chillies, beans, corn and even olives, sometimes even bacon. Hidden vegetable versions (don’t ever try that on me, I can pick them a mile away).
Shredded beef enchiladas, short rib ones.
And today I’m sharing mine. 🙂 It’s made with:
A simple homemade Enchilada sauce which is quick to make and so, SO much better than store bought;
A flavour loaded beef and bean filling which is made with ground beef (mince), a load of Tex-Mex spices, refried beans AND black beans. Bean overload? Definitely not! The refried beans add bulk while keeping the filling nice and juicy so we can have nice, big, plump enchiladas!
What you need for Beef Enchiladas
Here’s what goes in my beef enchiladas.
Just a note on a few of the ingredients:
Refried beans – the “secret ingredient” that really fills out the beef mixture so you can big, plump, generously stuffed enchiladas that are nice and juicy. I use this in my Chicken Enchiladas too – works a treat!
Black beans – to fill it out a bit and add a different texture to the filling. Diced vegetables are great to add too – especially red peppers / capsicum.
Homemade Enchilada Sauce – made with either tomato passata or canned tomato sauce (US, I like Hunts), plus a good hit of Tex-Mex spices.
Beef – This is a recipe for beef enchiladas so it’s made with ground beef. But it can be substituted with pork, chicken or turkey!
Here’s my little time saving trick: one spice mix to flavour both the beef filling AND the Enchilada Sauce.
How to make Beef Enchiladas
There’s a good back of Tex-Mex spices in this! Some of it is used for the homemade Enchilada Sauce, and the rest is used to flavour the Beef and Bean Filling.
Try these on the side
Grilled Corn or try this Mexican Corn
Ahhh. These Beef Enchiladas. I really hate using the words “these are the BEST!” for any of my recipes because we all have different palettes, and what I may think is the “best” might not be to someone elses’ taste.
But truly, to me, to this day, even after having consumed more than my fair share of Enchiladas at Tex-Mex restaurants across America, I still think these are better. Way, WAY better than the mainstream chain restaurants!
Hope you had a great weekend! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Beef Enchiladas
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 tsp each onion & garlic powder (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp each cumin powder, paprika and dried oregano
- 1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, spiciness)
Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose
- 2 cups (500ml) chicken stock / broth , low sodium
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) tomato passata OR US 1 can (8 oz) canned tomato sauce (eg Hunts) (Note 2)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped (~1 cup)
- 1 lb / 500g ground beef (mince)
- 400g / 14oz refried beans (1 can, I use Old El Paso)
- 400g / 14oz black beans, drained (1 can, Note 3)
Enchiladas
- 8 tortillas (or burrito wraps)
- 1.5 cups (150g) grated melting cheese, or more (I like Monterey Jack, tasty or cheddar cheese)
- Cilantro/coriander leaves , roughly chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Mix together Spice Mix ingredients. Set aside.
Enchilada Sauce
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and mix to combine into a paste. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, whisk straight away then it will turn into a thick smooth paste quite quickly.
- Add remaining chicken broth, passata, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of SPICE MIX. Whisk
- Increase heat slightly to medium high. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, whisking regularly, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of thick syrup (see video). Remove from stove.
Filling
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add beef and cook for 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go. Add remaining Spice Mix. Cook for a further 2 minutes or until completely brown.
- Add refried beans, black beans, about 1/4 cup of Enchilada Sauce + salt & pepper. Mix (Note 4) and cook for 2 minutes then remove from stove (see video).
Enchiladas
- Smear a bit of Sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (stops sliding).
- Place filling on the lower third of a tortilla. Roll up then place in the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with remaining Filling & Tortillas.
- Pour Sauce over the Enchiladas, top with cheese, bake for 10 minutes covered (Note 5) then 10 minutes uncovered. Serve hot!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2016. Updated August 2019 with new photos, new video, new process photos and refreshed writing – no change to recipe, I wouldn’t dare!
Mexican Mania
Life of Dozer
Rain, hail or shine, Dozer blasts through the dog door out into the backyard to chase rabbits and bark at birds.
Luckily, he has a raincoat to help keep him dry(ish) on wet days!
Nagi, I searched Google for a beef enchilada recipe and stumbled across yours. Made the enchiladas just as you described and they were absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes and visiting Tokyo in the future. Thanks for sharing.
Made exactly as recipe except with 2/3 pork mince and 1/3 beef mince, super tasty. Great recipe and a big thumbs up from all the family (which I rarely get!)
I posted a comment about the beef enchiladas a couple weeks ago and I never saw it posted.
I don’t have instagram or use pinterest so not sure where my post ended up.
Hi Sapat, sorry sometimes they unintentionally go to a spam folder! N x
Basically i gave it 1000 thumbs up. First time making enchiladas, and it was a positive experience. Easy to follow with clear steps.. Absolutely delicious and have printed it out so I can use it over and over again. Hubby is also a fan. That’s rare for him.
Returning commenter as it’s a must! My husband LOVES this recipe. It’s perfect. Anytime I have beef and tortillas I am expected to make this… And it’s so flavourful that it can be made vegan and tastes just as delicious!! Thank you so much Nagi 🙂
Absolutely brilliant dish!
For me – it seemed a bit involved – (can hardly be described as any form of a cook!) – but and old friend of mine did not eat it.
She destroyed it!!!!!!
Boy was in in the good books.
Can’t thank you enough Nagi!
By the way – I live on the Northern Beaches. Would love to share a coffee and talk about Japan. Have worked for Canon and been to Japan – now retired.
Anyhoo – thanks again!
I am so anxious to try this as I’ve given up on enchilada recipes. I don’t like canned enchilada sauce & the home made recipes have also been a turnoff. I thinks it’s the chili powder which gives it a bitter flavor to me. This recipe doesn’t even have a pinch of chili powder which I think will make all the difference:-) The addition of beans in the filling sounds good too.
This was so so tasty, great for the family dinner with all the sides. This is definitely a keeper!
This is the first recipe tin eats recipe o ever made after a colleague put me on to this page. What a scrumptious, filling, hearty & indulgent treat these are! Made them as per recipe except no garlic & onion in the filling as I can’t tolerate them, and just added extra garlic & onion powder & cooked in garlic oil, gave plenty of flavour. The addition of the refried beans to the filling is genius. LOVE!
Really tasty. I thought there was too much sauce initially and did not use it all, but it does get absorbed. Will definitely add to my rotation. Thanks Nagi, your recipes are so good!
Delicious Mexican style dinner. Full of flavour. Some sour cream and fresh coriander really freshens it up. Every single recipe I’ve made from Nagi’s website has been outstanding. It’s my go-to now.
This was fantastic, everything I cook here is so tasty
Hi Nagi!
Love all your recipes, big time!!
Just wondering if these are freezer-friendly?
Cheers!!
Yes 100% Cassie!! N x
Do you freeze before putting the sauce and cheese on top or after baking?
I’d love to know when/how to freeze too!
I’d like to know about freezing also.
Outstanding! My kids have always refused to eat refried beans and black beans. After making these enchiladas (they all had seconds btw), they all agreed this is a MUST for the recipe collection
I’m so glad it was a hit Megan, that’s fantastic!! N x
Wow it must be enchilada time.! Just saw the comments. Great recipe- something everyone can enjoy. Seriously woman you are a dinner life saver.
WOOT!!! Thanks so much Helena! N x
I saw this recipe video on your Facebook page and it got my attention as it was so simple to make. It was indeed so simple to make and more importantly it was tasty! My family has been using a lot of your recipes but this is my first time I myself cooked the dish. Thank you so much for making me enjoy cooking again!
The Enchiladas were tasty however I would spice them up more next time. Also some of them stuck on the bottom, guess I did not smear enough sauce.
Hi Bernadette, if you like things hot, you can always add a little more cayenne. Try adding a little more sauce to the bottom of the dish to prevent them sticking 🙂 N x
best enchiladas recipe i’ve tried out! the homemade sauce is great! why buy enchilada sauce ever again when this exists?! super tasty and filling. i used impossible ground for this, and it was great! will definitely be coming back to this recipe anytime i want enchiladas.
Hi greetings from Holland! Making this right now, but I have a lot of filling left. Can you freeze this or can I make something else with the remaining filling in let’s say 3 days from now ?
I made these the other day and they are absolutely amazing! So simple but yet so delicious. My husband LOVES them as well. I’ve made countless of your recipes over the years and your one of my go to websites for when I need a recipe I can really count on quality!
Authentico enchilada sauces are made with dried chilis like chili Arbol, Ancho, or Guajillo. They are washed, seeded and briefly toasted. They are then ground and are ready for an enchilada recipe.