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
Amy says
This was easy to make and turned out good! Next time I think I’m going to add corn. I was lazy and used canned enchilada sauce. It also heated up good for left overs! I’ll add this recipe to our monthly rotation.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Linda says
Delicious, but I have no idea where the prep time came from. I did make the homemade enchilada sauce, and it truly took me almost 90 minutes
to get everything ready for the oven. I added half a bag of frozen roasted corn, sliced black olives, diced green and red bell peppers instead of the can of chilies (had some I wanted to use up) and sliced cherry tomatoes under the cheese on the top layer. And only used about half the cheese. This is a keeper!!
I do my very best to keep track of time in my kitchen and give a realistic time frame. It is pretty key to make the filling and the sauce at the same time. That said, I can see how all the dicing you added would add some time. I’m glad you enjoyed it none the less!
Susie says
It’s a great recipe. This is the second time I make it. Thanks!
I’m so glad you like it!
Whitney says
I have made this and it is a family favorite. I make it with almond tortillas. What could I replace the tomato sauce? Needing to make it for my son who is tomato free. I was thinking sour cream?
I would go with an authentic Mexican sauce! https://mexicanfoodjournal.com/guajillo-chile-salsa-recipe/
Mikki says
I plan on making this recipe this evening. I had a recipe like this that I use to make quite often but got out of the habit, its been about 6 years. I love the homemade sauce recipe, definitely going to try that. The only difference in the recipe I use to make was I leave out the beans because my kids do not like them. I use a taco seasoning in my ground hamburger and I layer mine one more time then this calls for. So I am very excited to combine the recipes and see what happens! Its game night and Mexican it is! Thank you!
Rosie C says
We love this recipe! We’ve made it a few times and it’s absolutely delicious. We add corn and diced red pepper (highly recommend). Other than making your own sauce, this recipe is pretty quick and easy. We started using canned sauce to save time. Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear you like it! Thank you so much for doing back to let me know!
Kristina says
Hello! I am trying this casserole tonight but I have a question. The recipe reads 3 cups of cheese. One cup on top of the first layer of meat, then another 1 1/2 cups on top of the second layer. Where does the other 1/2 cup go? I keep reading the instructions but I’m missing it or maybe it’s supposed to be 1 1/2 cups between each layer?
You’re absolutely right! I can’t believe no one else caught that. I have it fixed now.
Vicky says
Can I use salsa verde instead
I’m sorry, I’ve only tested the recipe as written. That being said, from a stand point of what will work, I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t work if you use the same amount as the enchilada sauce called for.
Awgee says
This was easy and tasted great. Worth the time for the homemade sauce.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Grace Thomas says
Not so great, bit non authentic. Especially with canned sauce.
I’m so sorry that you didn’t like it. We’ve had such great feedback on this one. As mentioned within the post, we much prefer this recipe with the homemade sauce. And I agree with you, it is absolutely inauthentic. It is meant to replicate the taste of beef enchiladas, but not replace a great beef enchilada recipe.