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!
This was sooooooo good! Easy enough to make on a weeknight without relying on premade sauce.
That’s great Bobbie!! N x
Best enchiladas ever! I sometimes make up a tray before work and toss them into the oven as soon as I get home. I was so intimidated by the thought of making enchilada sauce before this. Never buying it pre-made again!
Also, super easy to adapt this recipe to other fillings! I’ve made these with beef, chicken, and even tofu, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower.
Thanks for those tips Adrian!! N x
Could I make these with corn tortillas for gluten free? If so, any changes? I am trying to get through all your recipes that can be GF and you have a lot! All of them wonderful! Thank you😊
I personally would t recommend corn tortillas because they get soggy and fall apart super easily. I had the best luck with a gluten free tortilla (mix of rice flour, corn, quinoa, etc). Held together nicely and had a better texture than the corn tortilla.
These are the best enchiladas I have ever had. So simple to make. I have no idea why making enchilada sauce was daunting to me before…guess I never looked. Haha I was also a little worried about the structural integrity after reheating the next day for lunches, but they actually tasted better. The tortillas held up! Thank you again, Nagi. All my dinners are slowly but surely becoming 100% RecipeTin.
I like to hear that Viki!! N x
Beautiful! Made a double batch last night and they turned out so delicious, and were super easy to make. Really filling as well. The only addition was extra spices for the beef (basically 3 spice servings) because I wanted a bit more flavour.
Forgot to add – I omitted the refried beans and they still turned out delicious, don’t really require them in my opinion.
Another great recipe, thanks Nagi.
I don’t look anywhere else now. 😁
That’s so nice Tisha! N x
I made this last night, minus the black beans. This recipe is so easy and if I could give it 10 stars I would! I will definitely be adding this to my recipe book. Thank you Nagi, you are an incredibly talented chef.
I tried the pulled pork enchiladas & hubby thoroughly enjoyed them so I am going to try another recipe! Thank you fir de-mystifying Mexican cuisine for us!
Tex Mex is NOT Mexican, please!!! The author mentions this consistently. Do not confuse one with the other. Respect our culture. Would you make sashimi with canned sardines and call it authentic Thai?
Can I make the sauce a day before?
I think that would be fine Georgia – just reheat before using it. N x
It’s s great Enchilada . My family Love them.
I have made Enchiladas for the first time today. They are heavenly. I made loads, so I am asking. Can you freeze leftovers please??
Hi Josette – I usually recommend freezing the enchiladas and the sauce separately so the tortillas don’t go soggy but if you have already assembled then you can freeze them but they won’t be quite the same as freshly make. N x
I just made this for dinner and it is amazing!!! I used egg crepinis so it would be lower in carbs and it worked out fine. Thanks for sharing this.
I made this exactly as is but I made a few accommodations for our blood type. I used black bean refried beans, almond flour tortillas and I use mozzarella cheese. My husband loves this recipe every time. He requests it if I don’t make it for along time.
By the way this makes way more than 8 Enchiladas. I am able to make 4 more!!!
Thank you
Everything about this dish is spot on. I have made this twice in one week once with ground beef and just now with “stew” meat from this year’s hunting. I can’t help but eat everything as I’m making it because it is so so good.
Mmmmm, just had this for lunch. The red enchilada sauce is phenomenal! I’m making one more pan of sauce for the rest of the burritos, cause I ate a lot of it while “testing” the meat. I love creating my own recipe book on your site; it is encouraging me to keep trying recipes. I’m giggling, laughing and cooking my way through your website. Better than counseling; food is a universal language that is healing, especially in Nagi’s light hearted joking around way!
Late to the party… put I took a big hint from the low and slow leg of lamb and did the enchiladas with a low and slow thick piece of chuck roast in a dutch oven with your spices and added onion/garlic/beef broth. I made everything the same but the pulled beef in this was AMAZING. TY for inspiration!
This is delicious and easy to make. The whole family loved it.
I had so much fun making this with my 7 year old
And my 9 year old is the big fussy eater and loved it. I swap the flour for gluten free ( one child is gluten free diet)
And is was delicious 😋
This looks delicious
Very nice Tex Mex enchiladas. For a change have you tried Mexican or New Mexican enchiladas? For me way better than Tex Mex! Your spice mix is great, just try corn tortillas instead of flour which can have a tendency to get like glue. And try a sauce with a mix of rehydrated red chilies… amounts and type of chili depend on your heat level tolerance. I like to sweat a little, such as Guajillo, chili de Arbol and Ancho. Guajillo is sweet and mild for people who don’t like heat. New Mexican red hatch chilies are my favorite (because I’m a native), add some chicken or beef broth and blend. Absolutely no tomatoes. Cook down a little to thicken and you’ve got an easy authentic Mexican enchilada sauce. If you’re from parts of Mexico or New Mexico add a fried egg on top to serve. Heaven. Dried chilies are readily available from Amazon and a lot of other online stores. I love your recipes, thank you for posting.