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!
I can’t believe how delicious this was even though I messed it up 🙂 I forgot the grated cheese on top (can you believe that!) I used mini tortillas as I had them in gluten free but they broke whilst I rolled them so they looked unsightly. BUT the dish was so tasty even though it didn’t look so good. Imagine how much we’ll all enjoy it when I get it right next time. Thanks Nagi x
The taste is all that matters Suzie, I’m so happy it was a hit (even without cheese) ☺️
Made this recipe tonight! My daughter said these enchiladas tasted better than the ones she’s had at the Mexican restaurants! Another keeper for sure! Thank you!
That’s great Diana, a winner!!
Very authentic tasting recipe! This recipe made me 9 mini-tortilla size enchiladas and I had plenty leftover that I froze for later (sauce and beef/bean mix separately). The enchiladas were nice and moist and delicious!!
Thanks so much for the great feedback Kiana!
Hi!
Made the sauce and it was just amazing and so easy to make. Never buying again! The enchiladas were delicious ! To prevent the wraps from drying is it a good idea to dip the entire flour wrap in the sauce and then continue to put in the filling?just thought that the enchiladas were a little dry because Perhaps I kept them close together In the baking dish. Any tips? Thank you again for sharing such wonderful recipes😊
These were great! I made them with venison instead of beef. I also subbed chipotle chili powder for the cayenne as I prefer the Smokey taste in my enchilada sauce.
My only issue with the recipe is that it doesn’t say how much filling to put in each wrap. That way I could have rolled one at a time without having leftover meat. I don’t really have the counter space to lay out 10 wraps and make sure the mix is evenly distributed.
I made 8 enchiladas and put a heaped 1/3 cup of filling in each. They fit well into a 9×13 glass dish.
This is a great recipe. I made the dish parts up then layered sauce, corn tortillas, sauce, a bit of cheese, meat/bean mixture, more corn tortillas sauce & cheese. Baked covered for 20 mins & uncovered for 10mins more. i did this in a 9×9 baking dish and did another dish with the other half of the meat/bean mixture- Its going into the freezer for another night of fast dinner. I’ve split the leftover sauce- half to serve with tonights meal and half for the freezer. Zip-top bag atop the freezer wrapped dish.
Great stuff Carrie!!
Can cornstarch replace the flour in your beef stew recipe? Gluten free concerns
Sure can Linda, just dissolve it in a little water first – N x
I made these tonight and they were SO GOOD!!! It made a good bit so I froze them for later!
Yes! Enchiladas make a great freezer meal!
Third time I’ve made this now. It’s bloody amazing. Smeared with sour cream. Who would bother going out to a restaurant for this when you can make at home for a fraction of the price. Awesome Mexican recipes Navi.
Definitely!!
Made these tonight. Very tasty. Another keeper recipe to include in the menu rotation.
I’m so happy you loved them Owen! Thanks for the feedback!
the enchiladas be made and be frozen for later ?
Yes perfect to make in advance and freeze!
This looks insanely, incredibly good. Sooo yummy!
Thanks Maggie! 🙂 N x
My husband said these were the best burritos he’d ever had. He didn’t know they were enchiladas but they were delicious none the less. Thank you for a recipe I can put in the archives!
Burritos, enchiladas…. same same, but different! 😂
Just came across this recipe and it looks amazing. I’m curious if low sodium broth/stock should be used or if the regular is fine? I just don’t want it too salty!
Regular is fine!
Can you freeze the sauce?
A million times YES!
I made this tonight along with your Mexican rice… my partner and I absolutely love Mexican food and this didn’t disappoint… even if I do say so myself.
Thanks for sharing Nagi x
You killed it Zenia!! Awesome!! 🙂 N xx
The recipe says to “Add remaining Spice Mix” to the filling even though the recipe for the spice mix only makes 2 Tbsp which is added to the sauce, so if I was to use a canned enchilada sauce how much spice mix would I put into the filling?
I ran across the same issue. The spice mix only makes 2 tablespoons if that.
It definitely makes 4 tablespoons in total. I think you’ve made a mistake and put 1 TEASPOON each of cumin, paprika and oregano. But as recipe states, it’s 1 TABLESPOON of each. So the total amount is def 4 tablespoons.
I am making your shwarma again tonight. Awesome stuff. I use toum instead of the yoghurt sauce. Noticed the confusion with tsp and tbsp. When I copy a recipe I always change tbsp to Tbsp. That’s how I always saw it in old recipe books and it catches the eye with the capital T.
2 tbsp 🙂 The spice Mix makes 4 tbsp in total
Amazing! I probably added a little too much cayenne but this recipe did not disappoint. I didn’t have refried beans but I don’t think it’s lacking. I will make this for pot lucks and such..It is one to be shared! Tomorrow I plan to get a couple of eggs and serve the leftovers as a juevos rancheros 😁
That’s terrific Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed this one – thanks for letting me know! N x
Yum, yum, yum! I love Mexican food and this recipe did not disappoint. I was surprised how easy it was to make the enchilada sauce and won’t be buying the jar stuff any more. The family also thought these where pretty good and all went back for more.
That’s great to hear Nat! Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x ❤️
Ohh my goodness….so good….the spice mix was amazing…….totally loved this recipe and so did 80 yr old Pop and the big boys (my sons)….Nagi thank you so much for another amazing recipe
So great to hear Kym!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this (and your pop and boys!) – N x