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Home Mexican Recipes

Beef Enchiladas

By:Nagi
Published:15 Aug '19Updated:10 Mar '20
507 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

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!

Overhead photo of Beef Enchiladas, fresh out of the oven

The filling of these beef enchiladas have extra oomph with the addition a refried beans, a good hit of spices and splash of Enchilada sauce!

I doubled this recipe and my family of 5 devoured it! Massive hit, will make again and again. That beef filling - best I've ever had.

Preparation of beef and bean enchiladas

What you need for Beef Enchiladas

Here’s what goes in my beef enchiladas.

Ingredients in 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!

Making beef enchiladas

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.

How to make beef Enchiladas

Close up of Beef and Bean Enchiladas on a plate, ready to be eaten

Try these on the side

  • Corn Salad with Avocado
  • Grilled Corn or try this Mexican Corn
  • Everyday Cabbage Salad
  • Broccoli Salad
  • Pico de Gallo (Authentic Mexican Salsa)

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

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Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Total: 45 mins
Dinner
Mexican
4.97 from 151 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Moreishly delish! These beef enchiladas are made extra tasty with a juicy filling made with beef, refried beans and a homemade Enchilada spice mix. The refried beans are excellent here - fills it out, makes the Filling juicy and adds flavour! 

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:

1. You can just use all onion or garlic powder, if you only have one of them. Fresh garlic is not the same, however, as a last resort substitution, you can use 3 garlic cloves, minced, instead of onion & garlic powder. Saute in the heated oil before proceeding with the recipe.
2. Tomato passata is pureed plain tomatoes that is not seasoned. Unlike crushed tomatoes, it is thick and smooth, like a thick tomato soup. In Australia it can be purchased in a bottle in the pasta aisle of major supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths). You can make your own simply by using a blender to puree canned tomatoes.
America: If you can't find passata in the US (it is available at Walmart, Costco), a great substitute is US canned tomato sauce eg Hunts (yes, I'm such a food nerd I brought back cans to use for this recipe and it's a near perfect substitute).
3. Black beans are commonly used in Mexican & Tex Mex cooking. It's becoming more widely available in Australia. It can be purchased in the Mexican or canned beans aisle in most major supermarkets, as well as Harris Farms and Thomas Dux. You can substitute with red kidney beans or another type of beans if you prefer.
4. The refried beans should loosen as it heats and stir through easily. If not, add a splash of water.
5. To bake covered, I just pop a baking tray on top on the baking dish. Otherwise, cover with foil.
6. To make ahead, roll up enchiladas and place in casserole dish (can smear with sauce underneath). Keep sauce separate and top just before baking.
7. Nutrition per serving, assuming you use lean beef mince (this is a great recipe for using lean beef, you would never know!).
Beef Enchiladas_Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 608gCalories: 649cal (32%)Carbohydrates: 55.3g (18%)Protein: 45.6g (91%)Fat: 28.6g (44%)Saturated Fat: 10.3g (64%)Cholesterol: 116mg (39%)Sodium: 1237mg (54%)Potassium: 1183mg (34%)Fiber: 13.4g (56%)Sugar: 5.7g (6%)Vitamin A: 1600IU (32%)Vitamin C: 47.9mg (58%)Calcium: 340mg (34%)Iron: 20.5mg (114%)
Keywords: beef enchiladas, enchiladas recipe
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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!

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507 Comments

  1. Beck Reid says

    February 23, 2021 at 6:42 pm

    So good I ate it again for breakfast!

    Reply
  2. Anna says

    February 21, 2021 at 11:51 pm

    Hello Nagi! Was wondering is the enchilada sauce made with smoked paprika?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 22, 2021 at 10:06 am

      Hi Anna, smoked or sweet will work fine in this recipe. N x

      Reply
  3. Rebecca says

    February 19, 2021 at 9:58 am

    This recipe came out amazing! Such comfort food. Thank you, Nagi!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 20, 2021 at 6:15 pm

      You’re so welcome Rebecca, thanks so much!! N x

      Reply
  4. Ann Bair says

    February 16, 2021 at 12:16 pm

    5 stars
    So yummy! I have young kids so I only used 1/16 tsp cayenne and 1/8 tsp cumin since spicy is not their thing. Wow! This recipe is a keeper!! The sauce tastes like enchilada sauce one buys in a can, but so much better. Will definitely make this my go-to enchilada recipe.

    Reply
  5. Debbie Chiet says

    February 12, 2021 at 4:22 pm

    Do you use corn or flour tortillas for this recipe? Thank you

    Reply
  6. Jeanne Carron says

    February 9, 2021 at 2:54 am

    5 stars
    These Enchiladas were unreal! So delicious and plump. The red sauce was super easy to make, and much better than store bought. They were a huge hit and will be going in my “To make again” pile!

    Reply
  7. Corey Frechette says

    February 8, 2021 at 7:37 pm

    Oh my GOSH the flavor is kickin’!
    I followed the recipe to the letter. The only thing I’ll do differently next time, is to decrease the cayenne to 1/4 tsp, but only so I don’t have to smother it in sour cream to bring the heat down a tiny bit (it made the sauce really creamy and took the heat down JUST right, but my fat butt doesn’t need the extra calories. LOL!). Other than that, my family loved these! 😋

    Reply
  8. Fid says

    February 7, 2021 at 1:22 pm

    5 stars
    I made the beef enchiladas and they are amazing every time! Massive fan of your recipes easy to follow and taste delicious 😍

    Reply
  9. Beth says

    February 7, 2021 at 6:01 am

    5 stars
    Excellent! My kids informed me I NEED to make these all the time – even with the beans. 😏

    Reply
  10. Loonchick says

    February 2, 2021 at 8:00 am

    3 stars
    Sorry, the refrieds just made this too heavy and pasty. But 1 clunker out of dozens of fab Nagi recipes I’ve made for my delighted family isn’t bad! We love RecipeTinEats! 😘

    Reply
  11. Katharine says

    January 30, 2021 at 11:53 am

    Hey there. I live in Texas and have eaten and made many enchiladas. The trick to keeping your tortillas from drying out is to heat a pan of oil and quickly fry each side of the tortilla (like 10 seconds) before you fill it.

    Reply
    • Marianne Kohlmann says

      February 14, 2021 at 5:44 am

      Absolutely. However, it’s corn tortillas that are quickly fried until soft in hot oil. This recipe uses flour tortillas, which can be used out of the refridgerator to roll up in enchiladas, and then baked in the oven, exactly as described in the recipe. Flour tortillas will make a much bigger enchilada with a softer shell. They are simply two completely different recipes. There are corn tortilla beef enchiladas and flour enchiladas. Completely different.

      Reply
  12. Jessica says

    January 26, 2021 at 9:43 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi! Just want to thank you for this amazing recipe. I made it for my incredibly fussy partner and he absolutely loved it! Will definitely be making this again.

    Reply
  13. Caroline says

    January 25, 2021 at 5:03 pm

    Hi Nagi – I want to thank you for all the delicious recipes you post. As I have cooked many of them and always enjoy them, I now find myself looking through your recipes as my ‘google’ because I know they will taste delicious. My new favourite is your Vietnamese Chicken Salad – 5/5 stars delicious! Thank you. Caroline

    Reply
  14. giuseppa bodnar says

    January 25, 2021 at 3:47 am

    Very tasty. I found that there needed to be a little less sauce and the filling needed to be a mite spicier. Those are personal preferences, but on the whole easy to make and will make again with a bit of tweeking.

    Reply
  15. Serena thompson says

    January 22, 2021 at 11:53 am

    Sweet Jesus! Yet another amazing recipe! Easy to follow easy on ingredients incredibly flavorful.

    Reply
  16. Steve Tayler says

    January 12, 2021 at 10:10 pm

    Nagi, you need to try the enchiladas with the corn tortilla. This makes a great taste that is healthier also. In the US. I use a enchilada sauce with a zucchini, cauliflower and whatever else is available for veggies. I am not a vegetarian, however I do like meat free meals at times. Topped off with cilantro, cheese, and green onions. Yummy!
    Corn tortillas change the flavor for the better. Steve.

    Reply
  17. Jennifer says

    January 5, 2021 at 11:20 am

    These are my absolute favorite beef enchiladas! So good! My problem is I cant add them to my cookbook on my Google home hub. Anyone know how to do so without a cook button?

    Reply
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