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!
Hi Nagi. I am making this again tonight. Loved it the first time and it will be a perfect meal for a cold NZ night. Cheers, Robbie and give Dozer a big hug from me.
A weekend family favourite on regular request! I serve it on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce and then tomato, corn kernels and avocado to self serve. It usually fills 10 tortillas. Very filling and delicious
I made this the other day and it was sooo good! My whole family loved it–even my picky four-year-old. We used homemade tortillas (since we could) and it was great. Looking forward to making it again! Thanks!
Hi Nagi,
I’m very excited to try this recipe! I’m going to try it with your Mexican Shredded Beef recipe and wanted to know if I should still include the refried bean, black bean, and enchilada sauce mixture. If so, should this be mixed into the shredded beef, or added separately before rolling? Thank you 🙂
Two cans of beans is too much. Takes the taste and sight of the meat away. Plus much too heavy. The sauce was very good and I will use the sauce again but reduce the amount of beans.
Can paprika be substituted with smoked paprika??
Yes definitely J! N x
This was a hit at dinner with everyone. Only minor issue I was the some of the tortilla got stuck on the baking pan, wondering if need to add oil at bottom of the pan first.
Hi Jennifer, you can definitely add a little oil to the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking if you had issues – N x
These are amazing! This is on high rotation in our house. We add a big dollop of sour cream, avocado and jalapeños when serving them up.
YUM! The toppings are not optional 🙂 N x
Loved this! As I was preparing it it reminded of a “burrito” plate they served at my favorite restaurant back home. So I served it with a side of shredded lettuce, tomato and sour cream top. Almost a complete replica. Making it again for sure!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Katherine! N x
Yumm!!!! Well received by he family! Added some corn into the filling simply for a bit of sweetness and colour! Served it up with a side of Mexican Rice. No one left the table hungry!
Printing this recipe off for future dinners! Thanks!
What size burrito wrap do you use for this recipe?
Hi Caroline, 8 inch here 🙂 N x
These are so delicious!! I’ve never been an enchilada fan, even though I love Mexican food. Loved these… and my kids just inhaled them. They’ve asked for this to be made once a week 😃.
Perfect Laura! Make a big batch and store in the freezer for emergencies! N x
These are absolutely fantastic! Restaurant quality. I had leftover porterhouse roast that I needed to use (fancy!) and it was great. I used tomato purée instead of Passata. The refried beans might not look attractive but they are a big part of it.
Delicious! N x
I absolutely love your Enchiladas. The absolute best! This time though I’ve doubled the mixture & hope to freeze half. Is it best to completely cook the dish first & then freeze? Thanks Nagi.
Hi Therese, I prefer to freeze uncooked 🙂 N x
Sounds great!! If there is leftover meat, I’m assuming this would work great in dry tacos? Maybe just cook it off a little to reduce the water content?
100% YES!!! N x
excellent!!!!
Thanks Todd! N x
This was the first meal in DAYS that my kids ate without complaining, which, in the present circumstances (a global pandemic, self-isolation and whatnot), felt like a Christmas miracle. A Christmas miracle with delicious enchiladas. 😊
Thanks, Nagi!
Nagi, any chance of using a tomato paste & water combination in lieu of the pasata (darn Corona and no ability to get my hands on some).
THANK YOU x
I am just finishing my enchiladas. They were so good. I made these exactly like the recipe, well I should say that I didn’t have onion powder but I just doubled the garlic, on I did throw in some corn. This reminded me of Texas. Thank you very much! So happy!!
Sounds perfect Janie! N x
I’m so glad I found your site! I made these beef enchiladas for a family dinner which was intended for the 6 of us. However, at 3:00 I find out that 4 others would be joining us, so I needed to supplement the enchiladas with something else pretty substantial and fast! I decided to try another recipe of yours, the Mexican shredded beef, which I was actually planning for dinner the next day. But because of the wonderful notes for prep with an Instant Pot, I was able to throw it together for that evening. I was a bit nervous serving food from recipes that I had never tried before, as I often find new ones disappointing and a waste of ingredients, but these sounded so good that I couldn’t help myself. LOL! As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about! Everything was fantastic and gobbled up in no time. My sister even said that the enchiladas were “restaurant quality” and that she would love to be invited over for them again. My only regret was that it left me with no dinner for the next evening. LOL. I didn’t expect for ALL the shredded beef to be eaten! Thanks again for the recipes and the very helpful notes after each! I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Can I ask why you’re having all these people over during lockdown?
That’s the BEST Cyndi!!! N x
As a former Texan, my family and I are critical of enchiladas. Once again, your recipe was a Texas sized hit. Absolutely perfect. Thank you Nagi.
Thanks so much for the feedback Pat!
Hi Nagi. Just made the beef enchiladas for dinner tonight. So yum! Thank you for the great recipes. I have a few lined up to try next. Give Dozer a pat for me.