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Beef Enchiladas

By:Nagi
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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

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 158 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
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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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529 Comments

  1. dylan says

    5 stars
    best enchiladas recipe i’ve tried out! the homemade sauce is great! why buy enchilada sauce ever again when this exists?! super tasty and filling. i used impossible ground for this, and it was great! will definitely be coming back to this recipe anytime i want enchiladas.

    Reply

  2. Tamara Doesburg says

    Hi greetings from Holland! Making this right now, but I have a lot of filling left. Can you freeze this or can I make something else with the remaining filling in let’s say 3 days from now ?

    Reply

  3. Inga says

    5 stars
    I made these the other day and they are absolutely amazing! So simple but yet so delicious. My husband LOVES them as well. I’ve made countless of your recipes over the years and your one of my go to websites for when I need a recipe I can really count on quality!

    Reply

  4. Susan says

    Authentico enchilada sauces are made with dried chilis like chili Arbol, Ancho, or Guajillo. They are washed, seeded and briefly toasted. They are then ground and are ready for an enchilada recipe.

    Reply

  5. Staci McVay says

    I was REALLY excited to make these, especially with the flavorful sauce from scratch! The only thing I would do differently next time is omit the refried beans and maybe switch to the smaller corn tortillas to make up for having less filling? I really did enjoy the recipe aside from that, so hopefully it will be even better next time! Ty for sharing! 😊

    Reply

  6. Christianne Sinclair says

    5 stars
    Just wanted to share that my almost 14 y/o son loves this recipe! He helped me meal plan recently and added this to it. He cooked with my help the first time, then made it himself the next time with me just standing by. It’s his go to now. 😍

    Reply

  7. Helen says

    I have made this recipe twice now and both times my husband says the sauce is tasteless..
    What should I do Nagi?

    Reply

    • Nagi says

      Hi Helen, this has been tested a number of times and my recipes wouldn’t be published if they were tasteless, I pride myself on recipes that are full of flavour. Are you making any adjustments to the recipe by any chance? N x

      Reply

      • helen says

        Thanks Nagi
        I have no doubt the recipe is good.
        No..
        I’m wondering if its my passato?
        I was just wondering – my apologies – no blame intended.. Just wanted to know if I should increase the spices or change the sauce?- where to start?
        thank u(:

        Reply

        • Catherine JT says

          Helen – just a thought…maybe the spices you are using are a little old and have lost their flavour?

          Reply

      • Josie Prsa says

        Hi there

        I’m just wondering big this recipe would work without the refried beans?? I do have black beans though

        Reply

    • Daneille Turner says

      5 stars
      I made this tonight for the second time and I thought the sauce was lovely. Did you add some salt? Sometimes this is all that is needed to give an added oomph and certainly to bring out flavour in tomato passata.

      Reply

    • koogs says

      5 stars
      Are you adding the spices to the passata? ive made this countless times and it is very flavourful.. ensure you use fresh spices and a proper measure spoon. For years my mother cooked tasteless food due to levelling spoon meaaures lol.

      Reply
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