Ground Beef Enchiladas

two enchiladas on white plate with sour cream and other toppings

4.93 from 14 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

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

Ingredients

Enchilada Sauce

720ml / 3 cups Chicken Stock
3 tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 tbsp Flour
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

500g / 1lb lean Ground/Minced Beef (5-10%)
1 large Red Pepper, finely diced
1 medium White Onion, finely diced
2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
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. Stir in 3 tbsp tomato puree and fry it off for a minute or so. By now a paste should form and at this point gradually begin adding in your stock, whisking as you go to avoid any lumps forming.
Once you've added the stock, season with chilli powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste. Simmer for a few mins 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 onion, red pepper and garlic. Fry until it all softens and begins to take on colour, then add in beef. Break up with a wooden spoon and fry until brown.
Stir in paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, then stir in 1/4 cup / 60ml of the enchilada sauce. Remove from heat.

Enchiladas

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 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 at 350F/180C 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.

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, 2.5 tbsp chilli powder, 1 cup Monterey jack and 2 cups cheddar.

Nutrition