Beef Enchilada Casserole is a delicious and comforting recipe that you will love. It comes together quicker than traditional enchiladas, but is still amazing with my homemade enchilada sauce.
My husband and I have been talking a lot lately, as our kids are getting older, about how much we cherish dinner time. With our lives so busy, it seems like the best time to get precious moments with our kids and talk to them.
At the same time, making dinner can feel so difficult some days. It feels like we are doing our very best and as long as the kids eat something it is a win.
It is days like this when we love to be able to pull out a premade casserole. Delicious casseroles that are easy to cook from frozen or can be made the night before are such a lifesaver to preserving family dinner time. This Enchilada Casserole is just that, a lifesaver.
How to Make Enchilada Casserole
Putting together an enchilada casserole is simple. As always, this is a brief overview. Make sure to see the full recipe instructions below.
- Cook the ground beef on the stove top, adding in onions, salt and pepper.
- Finish up the filing. After the beef is cooked, drain the fat and add in a little enchilada sauce and some black beans. (See alternatives below.)
- Construct the casserole. Dip corn tortillas in the enchilada sauce and line the bottom of the dish with them. Top with half the beef mixture and some cheese.
- Repeat for a second layer and bake.
This casserole is much faster if you don’t make your own enchilada sauce. So while I will always vote for you to use my sauce, do what works best for you!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
As mentioned above, this recipe is easier when you use store-bought sauce, but my enchilada sauce recipe tastes much better than store bought.
You can opt to make my enchilada sauce a few days in advance when you have some extra time. Or, you can make it as you cook the beef. Multitasking is my very best friend in the kitchen.
Do not skip this recipe because you are afraid of making your own sauce. If that is what is holding you back, just buy a can at the store. Time around the table is as important as what is on it.
Substitutions and Variations
- Corn for Beans: Do you have someone in your house who doesn’t like black beans? You can swap it for 1 cup of frozen corn instead.
- Switch Up the Cheese: If you can’t find Colby Jack Cheese (our favorite), or don’t like it, try a mild cheddar or Pepper Jack.
- Make It Spicer: If you are looking to add more kick to this recipe, you can grab a can of hot green chiles instead of mild. You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the homemade enchilada sauce.
- Chicken for Beef: You can easily make this a chicken enchilada casserole by using shredded chicken instead. Replace the beef with 3 cups cooked chicken.
Corn or Flour Tortillas
I have made enchiladas using both corn and flour tortillas. In my Chicken Enchiladas I take the time to dip flour tortillas in enchilada sauce before rolling them. Nothing beats that flavor combination. In my Beef Enchilada Recipe I use flour tortillas and skip dipping – a time saver for sure.
In this recipe, we are not rolling our tortillas, and I went with the traditional corn. Corn tortillas are the perfect flavor for an enchilada recipe. I recommend you try this recipe with corn rather than flour, even if your family leans towards flour tortillas.
Make Beef Enchilada Casserole Ahead
You can make this enchilada casserole the night before. Make it through step 9. Then cover the casserole with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
Bake right from the refrigerator in a preheated oven (350 degrees) until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes.
How to Freeze Enchilada Casserole
This ground beef enchilada casserole can also be made ahead and frozen. I think it is a great idea to double the ingredients when you are making this and bake one casserole, while freezing the other.
Make this recipe through step 9. Wrap the finished (unbaked) casserole three times in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to three months.
Bake from frozen in your preheated oven (350 degrees) for 35 to 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
I recommend making this casserole in a disposable container if you plan on freezing it. Taking a glass casserole dish from the freezer and putting it in a hot oven can result in it cracking and breaking.
Other Great Cassroles
If you love the idea of pulling a pre made casserole out of the refrigerator or freezer, you will love some of these other casserole recipes:
If you make this Beef Enchilada Casserole or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment letting me know what you think. I love hearing how your family likes my recipes.
Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
Enchilada Sauce (see note)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 cloves garlic minced
For Casserole
- 1 pound ground beef (read how to use replace the beef with chicken)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4.5 ounces diced green chiles
- 15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 12 corn tortillas (6 inches)
- 3 cups shredded colby jack cheese see note
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet for the enchilada sauce, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add 1 diced onion and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- While the onion is cooking, add the ground beef to a separate skillet to make the enchilada filling, breaking it up and seasoning it with salt and pepper. Once broken up, add the second diced onion and cook until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Stir chili powder and cumin into the onion for the enchilada sauce and cook for about thirty seconds. Then stir in 1 tablespoon all purpose flour. Slowly whisk in chicken stock. Then stir in the tomato sauce and minced garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
- Once the beef is cooked through, remove from the heat, drain the fat and stir in the green chiles and black beans.
- Transfer the enchilada sauce to a blender and blend to make smooth (optional). Pour 1/2 cup in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce into the beef mixture.
- Dip 6 tortillas in the remaining sauce to coat them and line the bottom of the casserole dish with them.
- Divide the beef mixture in half, and add half of it to the top the tortillas in the pan. Top with 1 cup of cheese.
- Dip the remaining 6 tortillas in the enchilada suce and top with the remaining beef mixture and 2 cups colby jack cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
Notes
Valerie says
When you print this recipe, the ingredient quantities print in metrics. Guess I’ll have to edit with a pen. Probably a quick fix for someone.
Sorry about that Valerie! It is fixed now.
Marilyn says
Would love recipes that are lower sodium. Have kidney disease and can’t do so much sodium intake. Would greatly appreciate it.
Marilyn, this is something I will definitely keep in mind. For this recipe, you can lower the sodium a great deal making it a home. Cut out the salt from both parts of the recipe, use low sodium chicken stock in the enchilada sauce, and low sodium tomato sauce. I use My Fitness Pal to calculate nutrition. You could add the ingredients with those changes there to see what that would do to the sodium. That is where I would start.
Georgeana Rodarte says
Can this be made in a crockpot ?
I haven’t made this in a crockpot, but given how well my Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas work, I’m sure it could. I would follow the cooking times in that recipe.
Kay Johner says
Please email me this recipe:
[email protected]
Hi Kay! I don’t email individual recipes out. If you would like to join my mailing list (and I’d love to have you!) you can sign up here.
Glenna Murdock says
Step #7 instructs to dip 6 ENCILADAS in sauce. To me it is obvious that the meaning is 6 TORTILLAS but it could possibly be confusing to a newbie.
Glenna, I am beyond grateful for readers like you.
Lisa Pownall says
It was great. I made 2 trays. One vegetarian and the other beef. We topped ours with sour cream and fresh cilantro.
Making one pan vegetarian is such a great idea!
Bev Connon says
Hi! I have used many of your recipes and love them! Thought I would give a try with this beef enchilada casserole. But, I have a question with the recipe (or just confused). On #6 and #7 for instructions, it says to pour 1/2 cup in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce into the beef mixture. Dip 6 tortillas in the remaining sauce to coat and line the bottom of the casserole dish with them. Where is the “remaining sauce” to dip the tortillas coming from? I assumed I have used 1/2 to put in the bottom of the dish and the other half into the beef mixture. ??? Help! Thanks!
The sauce makes about 2 cups. So 1/2 cup goes into the beef mixture, 1/2 cup goes in the pan, and then you have 1 cup left for dipping the tortillas.
kirk says
Try a Mexican cheese: The two most popular aged kinds of cheese are Cotija and Chihuahua. Four kinds of cheese produced in Mexico are entirely Mexican inventions: Oaxaca, Cotija, and Chihuahua, and manchego.
Shirley says
Prepared products used by USA food writers, are often different than what is available in southern Ontario. I find ‘tomato sauce’ a problem. I do not like the quality of what is available to me. When not using canned tomatoes, for convenience I use a passata, available in tall slender bottles, at reasonable price. Would this be too concentrated for the enchilada sauce? Or just use canned tomatoes, & more thickening?
“Tomato sauce” always poses a problem. I want to use up my frozen corn tortillas; have assorted canned tomato products. Have Mexican grocery store in my community
Thanking you
I needed to look up passata, and I do think that it will be too concentrated. I personally would try it with the canned tomatoes. I’m not sure you would even need more thickening. I think that blending it will give it the consistency you are looking for. Otherwise, you absolutely can use premade enchilada sauce here.
Mary says
I have a ?. Doing the shredded chicken in the AM. RECIPE STATES 3 CUPS OF SHREDDED CHICKEN. DO U COOK CHICKEN SAME Way as Beef. I presume the chicken is cooked, before going into oven?
You should use cooked shredded chicken, and just cook onion and mix it into the cooked onion.