When I have time, I double the filling and freeze the extra. It’s delicious in tacos, burritos and quesadillas, or for a really fun movie-night snack, dollop it on tortilla chips, top with cheese and pop it under the broiler for the best nachos ever.
These enchiladas are also great for meal prepping, making ahead or for when you need to take a hearty meal to a friend.
Easy Beef Enchilada Ingredients + Swaps
- Ground beef: I like lean 90/10 beef, but you could use ground turkey, ground chicken, or even a plant based ground ‘meat’ substitute.
- Onion, garlic, jalapeño
- Shredded cheese: You’ll put this into the filling and on top, and the key is MELTY cheese. Colby Jack and mozzarella is a nice combination, and cheese you shred yourself will always have the best melt factor. That said, store-bought shredded cheese blends will work fine.
- Sour cream: This makes the filling so rich and delicious.
- Taco seasoning: Use a store bought blend, or make your own!
- Corn tortillas: You could use flour tortillas if you really want to but I like how sturdy corn tortillas are. Just be sure to microwave them to warm them up so they don’t break when rolling.
- Red enchilada sauce: There is a little bit of variation brand-to-brand in terms of quality. It might take a few tries to find one you love! I like this Hatch Organic Red Enchilada Sauce. If you really love green enchilada sauce, you could use that instead of red. You can also use homemade enchilada sauce, if you have the time.
How To Make Red Beef Enchiladas
See the full recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full, detailed instructions.
- Sauté the beef with onions, jalapeños, and garlic until the beef is browned.
- Mix in some of the cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. You can do this right in the skillet.
- Warm the tortillas in the microwave.
- Dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce. Just dip — don’t soak!
- Fill each tortilla with filling.
- Roll it up tight!
- Tuck the enchiladas, side by side, into a 9x13 baking dish
- Top them with more sauce and more cheese.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 375°F.
Make Ahead + Freeze
You can absolutely make beef enchiladas a day or two before you want to eat them, so they’re a great weekend meal prep recipe. Just pop the dish of assembled and rolled enchiladas into the fridge, and then bake it the next day.
Beef enchiladas also make an ideal freezer meal! You can do it two different ways depending on how much work you want to do after you defrost the frozen enchiladas. You can either:
- Freeze the enchiladas before baking for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat them, bake them straight from the freezer for about an hour at 375°F. Keep them covered with foil for the first 30 or 40 minutes, then take the foil off so they can get bubbly.
- Or, freeze them after baking! Let the baking dish cool completely. Then wrap it tightly, and pop it in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat it, thaw it overnight in the fridge. Then bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes.
How To Serve
Enchiladas are really nice with other Tex-Mex sides! At the very least, some restaurant-style Mexican rice, or pinto beans. Definitely guacamole, sour cream and salsa for serving on top, maybe chips, too! And if you’re making it a party, why not margaritas, too?
More Enchilada Recipes To Try
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