Beef Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
These beef enchiladas are filled with a flavorful beef, bean and chili mixture, covered in a delicious homemade sauce and smothered in gooey cheese!
One bite of these beef enchiladas and you’ll be hooked! The filling is super flavorful and the homemade sauce really takes it from great to OMG fantastic!
Mexican food… ahhhhh Mexican food. I just simply do NOT get tired of eating it! Tacos, nachos, burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, and enchiladas. There are so many recipes for enchiladas, but this one is my absolute favorite one. Beef enchiladas with something extra… a homemade enchilada sauce!
Look at that gooey, melted cheese in the photo above!! *drools*
Okay Amanda, let’s focus on the recipe here! Making your own enchilada sauce is super easy! All it takes is 15-20 minutes and a handful of ingredients I bet you already have on hand 🙂
You’re just going to make a roux by heating some vegetable oil in a saucepan, whisking in some flour, and cooking it for a minute. Add your seasonings and whisk in your vegetable or chicken stock to combine and remove any lumps. Now just simmer for 10-15 minutes. That’s it you guys. I had a brain fart the day I was making these and photographing them, so I don’t have many shots of my sauce, apart from this one…
But HERE is where the recipe came from, and she is awesome! Check it out!
Hopefully soon, I’ll be learning to can, and then I plan to make a big batch of this sauce and can it so I can always have a jar ready to go 🙂
Alright, let’s get to the filling! Which do you prefer… chicken or beef? I love them both equally, and what I love about these enchiladas, is that it works perfectly for either chicken or beef! It would also work if you’d prefer a vegetarian bean filling.
I used a ground beef with a higher fat ratio for extra flavor, and browned it in my BIG skillet. Once the meat was most of the way browned, I added in my onion, garlic, and green chiles, to saute for a few more minutes. Then drain the meat mixture and set aside.
Now just set up an assembly area and add a couple of tablespoons of the enchilada sauce to a flour tortilla, add some black beans down the center, top with ground beef mixture, drizzle with a little more sauce, and top with some shredded cheese.
Roll up the tortilla and place in a greased 9×13″ baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas, then spread sauce over all the tortillas and cover with shredded cheese.
Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, and broil the last couple of minutes if you want it more of a golden brown. Garnish with some chopped cilantro and green onions, it adds such a great flavor!
I like to serve my enchiladas with some sour cream, extra cilantro and green onions, and with some sweet corn on the side.
That cheese you guys… O…M…G! So cheesy and gooey!
To complete your Mexican dinner fiesta, why not serve up some tortilla chips with a yummy roasted corn and poblano salsa, corn and avocado salsa, or some restaurant style salsa? Can you tell I love salsa? 😉
IF you have any leftovers, (and I say if because let’s face it, once you try one, you won’t be able to have just one, I promise you!) they reheat really well and make a hearty lunch 🙂
These would be perfect for any meal, but will also make a great Cinco de Mayo dinner 😉
Recipe adapted and inspired from Gimme Some Oven
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1.5 lbs ground beef
- salt and pepper
- 4 oz can diced green chiles I used mild
- 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained thoroughly
- 8-10 flour tortillas
- 3 cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese
- 1 batch homemade red enchilada sauce or 1 can store-bought enchilada sauce
- chopped fresh cilantro and green onions for garnish
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If you're making homemade enchilada sauce, prepare it.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Add oil to a big skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add ground beef and crumble (use a potato masher to make it easier). Once ground beef is about halfway cooked, add onion, garlic, and green chiles and saute for 3-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain beef mixture.
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To make the enchiladas, spread a couple of tablespoons of the enchilada sauce over the tortilla. Add beans in a line down the middle of the tortilla, then add in a spoonful of the beef mixture, drizzle some extra enchilada sauce over the meat, then add one third of a cup of cheese. Roll up tortilla and place in a greased 9 x 13" baking pan. Continue with remaining tortillas.
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Spread the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas, and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese.
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Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, broiling the last few minutes if you want the cheese to be a more golden brown. Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onions.
** you could easily swap out ground turkey, diced chicken, pre-cooked shredded chicken or all beans for the beef in this recipe.
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 4 Tbsp chili powder use less if you are afraid of it being too spicy
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 cups vegetable stock or chicken
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Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk together over the heat for one minute. Stir in the remaining seasonings (chili powder through cayenne pepper). Then gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly to eliminate lumps. Reduce to low and simmer 10-15 minutes until thickened.
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Use immediately or refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.
Absolutely the best recipe by far! My picky Texan husband loves them.
These were sooooo gooood!! I used canned enchilada sauce because I’m lazy and it was still amazing. Although I like black beans, I used refried instead as someone else suggested, just cuz I like them better. Worked perfectly. And I will admit, I used far more than 3 cups of cheese, well, because…. CHEESE!! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m making this as a freezer meal. Any suggestions on cooking time if it’s frozen ?
I’ve never cooked these from frozen, so I can’t say for certain. Your best bet would be to thaw them out overnight the night before you want them for dinner. Set them out on your counter a good 20 minutes before baking. They may take a little bit longer to bake, but just watch for it to be hot and bubbly 🙂
These were excellent. I made it exactly as written and they came out perfect. I also made home made enchilada sauce (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/331014641356687916/) and together they rocked.
These were so easy to make an tasted wonderful
I just plopped these in my oven only to see the directions on the back of the tortilla bag giving directions on heating. I had no idea the tortillas needed heating prior to use. I am a new cook and don’t eat, let alone, cook Mexican dishes very often. I am so afraid I messed up the dish and wasted my money. How horrible will this error affect my enchiladas? I guess chefs assume everyone knows the little nuances when cooking. 🙁
Hi Stacie 🙂 Most tortillas in the grocery store don’t technically need to be heated. Heating them allows you to roll them up without fear of them cracking, but not heating them won’t effect the outcome of the recipe, I promise. The only tortillas that need heating are the ones that are raw. Then you have to cook them in a skillet first. As long as your bag of tortillas doesn’t say “raw” on it anywhere, you’re good 🙂
I added the black beans to the hamburger mixture along with some mexi corn. My family loved this.
Can these be frozen for later?
I’ve never tried it (we always devour them right away lol), so I can’t say for sure.
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I absolutely loved this recipe! I even made the enchilada sauce and really enjoyed it! Will definitely be making this again next week!
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These are the best Enchiladas we’ve ever had. I asked my kids what would you like me to make for dinner tonight and first it was homemade meatballs but then it was quickly changed to “can you please make the homemade enchiladas” of course I said yes ….. this is my fourth time making them ?
I make enchiladas with some frequency.. Because we are empty nesters and light eaters, I usually freeze half before baking for the next craving. I also freeze the home made sauce.
I’ve been in a chicken, flap steak and even pork rut lately. I came across your recipe and had a “well duh” moment. For some reason I’d never eaten or made enchiladas with ground beef..
The dish is perfect and I’m pleased I found your blog.. I have your FB page saved and look forward to reading your offerings.. :O)
My family doesnt like black beans. Can i use refried beans?
Hi Elaine 🙂 Yes, that would be a great substitution!
Is this a gluten free recipe.? My friend loves Mexican food, but it has to be gluten free..thank you…Terri
Hi Terri 🙂 I know white rice is gluten-free, but as we don’t have any gluten allergies here, I don’t know enough about it to say for certain. Your best bet would be to run the recipe by your friend, as she would know what contains gluten and what doesn’t 🙂
Made these tonight for supper. Tasted great. Mine turned out soggy though with a lot of grease on the bottom. I used venison and shredded my own cheese, Any ideas how to prevent this?
Hi Leanna 🙂 I’m happy to hear that you loved the taste, but sorry to hear things got greasy. I’ve never had that problem before… so my suggestions would be to drain the beef (or other ground protein) really well, and to maybe use a bit less sauce. It also could have been the venison, as I’ve only made this recipe using beef, chicken and turkey. Hope this helped!
I just made the tonight. i never eat enchiladas because the chicken and corn tortilla ones i make are very time consuming and that is with using canned enchilada sauce.
I decide to try some ground beef and flour tortilla ones and found this recipe. Boy was it alot easier even with making the homemade enchilada sauce!
My whole family loved it and I will be making these again. The only thing I would do different next time is I would double the enchilada sauce mix. My family loved the sauce and was asking for more sauce and I didnt have any left over after making the recipe.
I think they were perfect just as is, however I would make extra sauce so they can add more to their taste.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe, I will be returning to your website to try other delicious recipes soon!
Hi Sarah! 🙂 I’m SOOOO happy to hear that everyone loved the enchiladas!! Thanks so much for the comment and kind words 🙂
These were absolutely delicious!! It is very hard to find a dish that my whole family enjoys, but my 3 year old, 6 year old, 9 year old, and husband cleaned their plates. I’m glad I used your homemade enchilada sauce!! Definitely a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Tendayi 🙂 I’m SO happy to hear that the whole family loved the enchiladas!! I know what you mean about it being hard to find a dish the whole family loves… we have that problem here too lol
The homemade enchilada sauce is a winner! I intend on using it from now on when making enchiladas! I did have to double the sauce. For the meat part, thought it was bland, so I added a jar of salsa to it to flavor it up some more. Used corn tortillas- the enchiladas were restaurant quality! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Felicia 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the meal and found ways to customize it for you!
Made these enchiladas tonight…AMAZING! Made the homemade sauce…also AMAZING! Thank you for a great recipe!!
Hi Dawn 🙂 I’m SO SO SO glad to hear that you loved the enchiladas and the sauce!!
This recipe looks delicious! They are not enchiladas though! Enchiladas are made with corn tortillas!
Hi Mary 🙂 Thank you! I never claimed them to be authentic, which, you are correct, would use corn tortillas 🙂 My family prefers the taste of the flour tortillas, so that’s what I used. Around here, many places offer “enchiladas” with flour tortillas, as a slightly “Americanized” version of the dish. You could certainly use corn tortillas for this if you wanted.
This is my enchilada sauce recipe almost and I do not use so much garlic. Finally, someone who makes it from scratch. I hate that canned stuff. It is a corporate take on Tex-Mex and not at all authentic like yours and mine. Great Job! : )
Thank you so much!! Yeah I’m a total garlic fan, so I add a lot to just about everything lol 🙂 From scratch is definitely the way to go 🙂
Wow, just found this on Pinterest and happened to have everything in my kitchen, they did not disappoint at all!! Hubby loved them!!! Snow is flying and we are in heaven!!!
Thanks so much will have to check out blog
Hi Elizabeth! Oh I am SO happy to hear you all loved the enchiladas 😀
I just found this recipe recently and made these tonight and WOW, my whole family loves them! I’ve struggled to find an enchilada recipe that trumps the Mexican restaurants and this does! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Melissa!! I am SO happy to hear you all loved them!! Comments like yours are truly great to read, thank you 🙂
These look seriously amazing – sharing sharing sharing! (Yummly, FB, Pinterest.)
I’ve actually never had enchiladas with a tomato-based sauce, only coriander and they were nothing to write home about so I’m really excited to try yours!!
Thank you SO much Jennifer!!! I really hope you love these 🙂
Loved, loved, loved these!!! We had company over and had this with your cilantro lime rice, roasted corn and poblano pepper salsa, salsa fresca, and chips. The enchiladas were the hit of the night (even with one gentleman whose mother cooked him authentic Mexican food every day of his childhood)! That was followed closely by the roasted corn and pepper salsa. I thought that was fantastic! For those who are going to make this, note that I made it according to directions exactly and ended up with twice as much of the meat as I needed for a pan of enchiladas. Also, I expected the enchilada sauce to thicken like the powder kind where you add tomato sauce and water. Needless to say, I cooked it a bit too long and ended up with a little less sauce than I would have liked. Of course the flavor was still perfect, and it didn’t seem dry at all. Just something to note when waiting for it to thicken on the stove. But seriously…I’m in love with this enchilada and the roasted corn and pepper salsa. I will be making them for years to come! Thanks so much for this!!! (P.S. The Zuppa Toscana is awesome too! I’m going to be trying a lot more of your recipes now – I trust you wholeheartedly with food!)
Hi Melinda!! OMG, your comment just absolutely made my whole night 😀 I am SO SO SO happy that you all loved these so much! Thank you so much for trusting my recipes to a dinner with company over 🙂 You’re right, the recipe does make a lot of beef filling… I should mention that in the post, I usually freeze the leftover meat mixture so I can have enchiladas even quicker the next time 🙂 Thank you again for your amazing comment!! xoxo
I’m glad to have made your night, since you absolutely made mine! I froze the extra beef too and am excited to use it now that I know how amazing it is. 🙂
I love your blog btw. Your photos and viewpoint is wonderful and your food looks delicious! The green stuff looks a little bit like parsley to me though… no worries. I do what I have to do for photos too! 😉
Thanks so much Lindsey!! Lol, you’re right, it is parsley 😉 I went all crazy eating it the night before and forgot to leave some for the photos lol
These look great! Would they turn out if I prepared them the night before and then poured the sauce on right before I baked them? When I work I like to have meals prepped so when I get home I can just pop them in the oven!
Hi Marcy, thank you!! I think that would work well, and is a great way to make dinner time a lot easier 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
I did this. I made Saturday night and kept in the fridge. Turned out great! Made the roasted corn and pepper salsa the night before too.
That’s awesome that you made them up ahead of time… definitely a huge time and stress saver 🙂
Oh wow…the stringy cheese pictures are making me hungry! These look delicious…I am going to try out your recipe with ground turkey.
Thank you Holly!! Making it with turkey sounds amazing, I hope you love it 🙂
Yum! Such a delicious meal idea! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks Kristyn! 🙂
Mexican food is my favorite, especially enchiladas! These are calling my name!
Whoa! That cheese is making me swoon!
I’m such a sucker for melted cheese!
Amanda, are we one and the same?! I LOVE Mexican food. My mom was surprised to hear it was my favourite cuisine (probably because she is picky and I am not.) These enchiladas sound awesome and when I make them, I am so doing a veggie version for myself!
Thank you Kacey!! I believe we may be foodie twins 😉
Oh how I love a good enchilada dish!! These look amazing!
Thank you Annie!! 😀
I am focused on that ooey-gooey cheese too. I would be gobbling these up. Probably need to make two batches so there is some left for everyone else.
That’s pretty much what I have to do too… even the picky kiddos eat them 😀
I’m trying these tonight, without the chiles because I have none. Your pictures are awesome! I hope they taste just as good ?
Thanks so much Ashley!! I hope you LOVE them 😀
i stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and made it for a fiesta we were going to. People RAVED about it. There was a gentleman there from Mexico who had three helpings and absolutely loved it.
Needless to say, this is now our go-to recipe. Wwe were actually requested to make it during our upcoming vacation! I think it’s the homemade enchilada sauce that nailed it.
Thank you so much for making me look so good! I know a number of my friends repinned this on their own wall.
I’m very wary of Pinterest recipes but this one nailed it!
Oh my gosh Michele, I’m SO glad everyone loved it!!! Hearing things like that just make my day, scratch that, my week 😀 I know what you mean about recipes on Pinterest, I’ve been burned a few times before with not so great ones! I’m so happy you took a chance on mine 🙂
You’re welcome!!
And I failed to mention that the people whose party it was and who requested we make them again are owners/chefs of a restaurant in Center City Philadelphia! They know GREAT food! Keep the recipes coming!
Ohhh my that is AWESOME!!
Michele, Thank you for a true review! I wish people would refrain from merely saying how great a recipe looks and give it 5 Stars. That’s so not helpful and I don’t want to waste my time reading how GREAT something looks. I will try this recipe based on your review. THANK YOU!
These look so fabulous! I’m pinning them to my Cinco de Mayo board!
Thank you so much Debbie!! 😀
Fabulous dinner! I want it now! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Thank you so much Karly!! 😀
Hi! the photos look amazing! Do you have any tips and tricks for the perfect fork-pick-up shot? I’m assuming you’re balancing the camera with the other hand?
Hi Kim!! Thank you soooo much! 😀 I actually placed a dish towel on the handle of the spatula, acting as a counter weight so that it held the enchilada up, and then I snapped photos like crazy 🙂 My big tip would be to set your focus area so you’re focusing right on the gooey cheese and take a LOT of photos
This looks like just the kind of meal I’ve been craving lately! I love that you used homemade enchilada sauce.
Thank you so much!! I love making things from scratch, as long as they’re not super time consuming 😀
Wow these look so delicious, thank you for the step-by-step pictures as well!
Thank you so much!! 😀
YES. your photos have me drooling.
Thank you so much K! 😀
Gosh, this looks incredible! I can’t wait to try this! Thank you muchly for the recipe (and an idea for dinner tonight)!
Thank you so much Jerusha!! I’m so excited you’ll be trying it 😀 Let me know how you like it!
Yum!! You can never go wrong with Enchiladas…. Or Mexican food for that matter 🙂
Thank you Melody!! Oh you are so right, Mexican food is always awesome 😀
Yum! I just want to tuck in! 🙂
Thanks Petra!! 🙂
Enchiladas are always the best! I need to add these to my dinner menu soon!
Thank you Ashley!! I hope you love them 😀 😀
Wow!! I LOVE how these look! I mean, seriously can I just come over for dinner? The pictures look AMAZING!!! That melty cheese… seriously I am just dying over here!!
Awww thank you Dini!!! If you lived closer, I’d totally invite you over for dinner 😀
Fabulous Amanda!! Love it.. 🙂
Thank you so much Swayam! 😀
These look awesome! Those gooey cheesey shots *heart eyes* oh my! Mexican food is just the best, it never gets boring and I haven’t tried one I didn’t like yet!
Thank you so much Michelle!! You know when you’re doing a food photoshoot and you look down at the camera and just think, “oh yeah, that’s the one!”… I literally danced around when I realized I finally got a cheesy shot! Lol, I’m such a dork 🙂
I love the Black Beans in your Enchilada’s and your sauce looks awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your Beef Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce with Full Plate Thursday and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you Miz Helen!! Happy Friday 😀
It’s been eons since I wanted to make enchiladas. I don’t know why I haven’t made some as these look so delicious. Happy FF and thanks for sharing! 🙂 xx
Thank you so much Jhuls!! 😀 Happy FF to you too!
Amazing! Those pictures of the cheesy enchiladas … how DID you take those shots?! The light is amazing! (must find tissues – I am drooling all over the keyboard …)
Thank you!!! Oh Ginger, it was a LOT of trial and error 🙂 I set up my food shot about 2.5 feet away from my big outside patio doors, making sure to backlight the food, and I balanced the spatula to hold the enchilada up so that the cheese was all melted and stringy (I had to put a dish towel over the handle of the spatula to be enough weight to counter balance)… then just snapped pics like crazy 😀
These enchilada’s look absolutely amazing! Stopping by from Foodie friends Friday
Thank you so much Kris!! 😀
WOWWW! These look so good! I am going to HAVE TO make these! Thanks for sharing
Thank you sooo much! I hope you love them 😀 😀
Looks delicious, and something I could actually make. Visiting from Over 50 feeling 40!
Thank you Amy!! 🙂
Oh my I am just drooling! I was just reminded that Cinco do mayo is on it’s way. This will be perfect!
Thank you Julie!! Cinco de Mayo is such a fun day to celebrate 🙂
I think I’ve just found my new favorite set of pictures friend!!!!!! These are AMAZING!!! I believe you when you say how good they are……… dare I make them?!!?! Well I’m pinning for SURE… and who am I kidding, I’ll probably be eating these by the end of the week. I love the IMG flip thingy!!!!! So cool!
Ahhhhh thank you girl!!! You should have seen what I rigged up to get the cheesy shots lol 🙂 Mexican food, then pizza, then Italian food, Brinner, and then just repeat over and over again… that’s my perfect dinner rotation! I was inspired by Dini to make a .gif for the post… I love how it turned out 😀
Yum! You are making me hungry, Amanda. I NEED to have enchiladas!
Thank you Thao!! Mexican food is allllllways a great idea 😀