Ground Beef Enchiladas

two enchiladas on white plate with sour cream and other toppings

4.94 from 15 votes

These ground beef enchiladas are made with a homemade enchilada sauce, stuffed with Mexican ground beef and loaded with plenty of cheese!

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Tex Mex

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £2.50 / $3

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
11" x 14" Baking Dish
Jug (for stock)
Cheese Grater
Plastic Spatula/Turner
Whisk

Ingredients

Enchilada Sauce

3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 tbsp Flour
3 tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
720ml / 3 cups Chicken Stock
1 tbsp Hot Chilli Powder, or to spice preference (see notes)
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Ground Beef

1 large Red Pepper, finely diced
1 medium White Onion, finely diced
2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
500g / 1lb lean Ground/Minced Beef (5-10%)
2 tsp EACH: Paprika, Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Enchiladas

8x 6"-7" Flour Tortilla Wraps
half a 435g/15oz can of Refried Beans
200-250g / 2 - 2.5 cups Cheddar, to top
100-150g / 1 - 1.5 cups Mexican/Spicy Cheese Blend, to stuff inside (or more cheddar)

To Serve (optional)

Sour Cream (recommended)
Avocado, diced
Fresh Tomato, diced
Green/Spring Onion, finely sliced
Fresh Coriander/Cilantro, finely diced
Lime Wedges

Instructions

Sauce

In a large pot or pan over medium heat, add 3 tbsp oil. Once hot, stir in 3 tbsp flour until blended, then stir in 3 tbsp tomato puree. Fry it off for a minute or so, then gradually add in the stock, whisking as you go to avoid any lumps forming.
Season with chilli powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken, then remove from heat (it will thicken more as it rests).

Beef

In a large pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of oil, then add in the onion, red pepper and garlic. Fry until it all softens and begins to take on colour, then add in the beef. Break up with a wooden spoon and fry until browned.
Stir in the paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, then stir in 1/4 cup / 60ml of the enchilada sauce. Remove from heat.

Enchiladas

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Lay out all of the wraps and spread each one with a dollop of refried beans in the bottom 1/3 of the wrap. Top with the beef, finish with some cheese, then tightly roll up.
Spread 1/4 of the remaining enchilada sauce in a 11" x 14" baking dish, then place in the enchiladas seam-side-down. Pour over the remaining sauce, sprinkle with cheese, then bake in the oven for 25-30mins, or until the cheese is golden and gooey on top with the sauce bubbling around the edges.

Serve

Sprinkle over coriander/cilantro whilst in the pan, then serve up individual portions with desired toppings!

Video

Notes

a) Chilli Powder - I use 1 tbsp 'hot' chilli powder and the sauce comes out pretty spicy. You can use regular/mild chilli powder if you'd prefer. In all cases just start off with caution and work your way up. If you're in the US, chilli powder here is pure ground chillies, not a concoction of different spices. If you can't find it, then I recommend subbing 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper (work to spice preference).

b) Cheese - I use a 'spicy cheese mix' you can get from Morrisons for the filling. If you can't find something similar just use more Cheddar. Monterey Jack also works nicely if you can find it.

c) Make ahead - You can make the sauce in advance, just allow to cool then tightly cover and store in the fridge. Add a splash of water if needed to loosen up when needed (it will thicken as it cools). You can also roll the enchiladas ahead of time, just tightly cover in the fridge until needed. From there, just construct everything and pop in the oven. Add an extra 5 mins or so if making everything straight from fridge.

d) Calories - whole recipe divided by 4 without additional toppings. Based using 10% fat beef, 1 cup spicy cheese mix and 2 cups cheddar.

Nutrition