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!
Made these last week and again this week (had some of the sauce left over)….they were a massive hit. I actually blended up the beans so my very fussy child didn’t even detect them! I made your corn and ago salad to accompany them. So delicious, love it. Thank you for sharing such amazing, tasty and achievable recipes xx
Thanks Amanda! ❤️
I never have commented on a recipe before…
But this was so delicious, and I have to confess that this has been my go-to favorite site for so many different foods. Time to give credit where credit is due!
I had some left over meat loaf that I used for the beef and dried ancho chili powder instead of cayenne, I didn’t have tomato paste so cooked down a jar of diced tomatoes before blending. I made fresh tortillas with maseca flour. I used your recipe and methods with these small changes to make use of things I already had….and I have to tell you these were the best enchiladas that I have had outside of Mexico…where they are not baked in oven..Thank you for another great meal?
What size tortillas are used? And do they have to be flour?
Wonderful recipe Nagi, Just one question – I never tried that Hunts Tomato Sauce, Is it spicy? TYI
Hunts is just like a tomato puree Sarah, it’s not spicy, it’s just made from tomatoes – N x
Wow,just wow. Awesome,best Enchiladas ever. loved making them and eating them Would not will not change a thi ng. No tweking
Thanks so much Karen – N x
This recipe came out awesome! I doubled the enchilada sauce so I can whip them up quicker next time. Thank you so much for such a stellar recipe!
Great idea, and it’s also fine to freeze for later!
Even though I forgot to add the remaining seasonings to the beef mixture, it was still a 5-star recipe, because of the sauce alone! That enchilada sauce will be my go-to recipe from now on. Looking forward to trying the enchiladas again, this time WITH the seasonings, LOL. Thanks, Nagi. You really are the best.
Oh no!!! I’m happy you still enjoyed it, and no more store bought sauce!!
Nagi, you make me look like a much better cook than I actually am. Thank you for your thorough instructions and wonderful recipes. They never fail me, this one especially 🙂
Great! Thanks so much Kat – N x
Fantastic delicious recipe another huge hit with my family, such easy to follow instructions your wonderful Nagi.
Thanks so much for the great feedback Jenny, I really appreciate it!
Easy and YUM !!
I’m so glad you loved it Nene!
Made this tonight. My husband said it was the best, please make again! Followed it to the letter, it was perfect.
I made this on Saturday night and my husband and I loved it! Every second weekend he works, on Sunday they get takeaway for lunch or dinner. He didn’t join in as he had beef enchiladas from scratch 😂 Everyone was asking what he was eating because it smelt that good!! Adding another one of your recipes to my list! Thank you!!
Wahooo! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Another one we loved – my family all had seconds and took leftovers for lunch. Even the non – bean eating children loved it! Personally i really enjoyed the Pico de Gallo and an avo salso with it for a bit of zing. Now i can see you have a few variations of it i’ll be trying those too. Thanks again Nagi – keeping me sane in the kitchen!
You’re so welcome Leisa, I’m so glad it was a hit with the family ❤️
Hi Nagi, a general comment – I love all your recipes and now cannot make a meal without using one of your recipes. You are amazing – Thank you from Johannesburg!!!
Thank you so much Carolina, that’s os lovely to hear ❤️
This recipe was fabulous. I should have doubled the enchilada sauce b/c I had a lot of meat mix left over. Thanks for a great recipe.
I had a few scoops of meat left over, too, Barbara. So, I ate it over the next couple of days as snacks. I sprinkled some cheddar and hot sauce on it and popped it in the microwave. It’s really pretty good all in its own (despite the fact I forgot to add the seasonings). Another thing you can do with the leftover meat is make a small plate of nachos … I haven’t tried it, but I plan to next time.
You’re so welcome Barbara!
OMG!! That was amazing 😁😁😁 So glad I found this recipe. It was delicious. Started off with Cottage Pie in my cooking brain this morning. But then thought mmmmmmmmmm I really fancy something different and that I have never made from scratch before. This is definitely going into my Pads recipe file for next time. Thank you Barbara. ,xxx
Husband approved! He said it was really good and feel free to make it weekly. I did change a few tiny things up. I didn’t have any cayenne but wanted a little kick so added a little chili powder and chipotle chili spice instead to the rest of the mix. I cooked the onion separately then added it in after mixing the beans into the burger mix. I also chose to omit the black beans and added tomatoes to the wraps and I used a mix of taco shredded cheese. Next time I will spray my dish with some nonstick spray before putting the tortillas because even with the sauce down they did stick. Overall amazing recipe and know that if I would of done this recipe to the T it would of still been perfect. Thanks a lot.
Sounds like you nailed it Kelly!!
I made this for a church gathering and it was a hit! The only missing ingredient was the refried beans. I went to Aldi and Woolies but I couldn’t find it.
Hi Wendy, they are in the international section in woolies with all the Mexican items – N x
Congratulations on your recipes being added in the Sydney Morning Herald. I noticed that there were no “notes” which usually accompany your recipes. Perhaps none were needed for the Fire Cracker Chicken. All the best.
Delicious! I’ve made these 3 times since I’ve discovered this recipe a couple months ago. Thank you
Perfect Blossom – It’s a great freezer meal too!
I’m going to make this at the weekend! Ohhh I love the idea of prepping and sticking in the freezer! Would you cook from frozen? Little extra cooking time👍🏼
Excellent flavor will definitely make it again
This is such a delicious recipe, I added in capsicum to the meat & corn on top at the end for extra veg. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight!