Beef Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Family loves this recipe. I slightly adjusted instructions to what worked best for me. Can create sauce and meat mixture ahead of time to cut down on total prep + cook time before serving.
Family loves this recipe. I slightly adjusted instructions to what worked best for me. Can create sauce and meat mixture ahead of time to cut down on total prep + cook time before serving.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- sour cream
- avocado sliced
- lime wedges
- 1 pound ground beef lean
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- enchilada sauce
- 8 flour tortillas
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cans tomato sauce 15oz
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 tablespoons sauce from can of chipotles in adobo
- enchiladas
- 6 ounces cheddar cheese freshly grated
- 6 ounces monterey jack cheese freshly grated
- toppings - optional
- roma tomatoes diced; can use cherry tomatoes
- lettuce chopped
- cilantro chopped
- scallions sliced
- Carbohydrate 304.058346669501 g
- Cholesterol 510.457815121 mg
- Fat 160.162200941725 g
- Fiber 20.0491733930505 g
- Protein 176.708880214061 g
- Saturated Fat 55.5077886299684 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1653g)
- Sodium 4494.97647700296 mg
- Sugar 284.009173276451 g
- Trans Fat 12.1347802603627 g
- Calories 3404 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 375
- Make the enchilada sauce. Bring a medium saucepan over medium-high head and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add remaining sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef, spices, and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until ground beef is browned and fully cooked. Add 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce to beef and 1/3 of the cheeses. Stir to combine until cheese is melted.
- Spray dish with cooking spray. Spoon 1 cup of enchilada sauce on bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Spoon approximately 1/4 cup of meat mixture onto one side of a tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam side down on the casserole dish and repeat with remaining tortillas. Adjust amount of meat mixture accordingly to size of tortillas.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce over enchiladas, spreading evenly. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
- Let sit for 5 minutes and serve with optional toppings.
Rolling enchiladas immediately after cooking the beef filling leads to soggy tortillas that tear before they ever reach the casserole dish. Allowing the cooked meat mixture to cool completely before assembly prevents trapped steam from breaking down the grain structure of the flour wrappers. Prepping the sauce and browning the meat a day in advance transforms a demanding dinner into an assembly-line task, while also concentrating the flavor profile as the spices hydrate fully in the tomato base. Component prep keeps the kitchen efficient and stops the grocery budget from leaking into impulse takeout orders.
Freezing unbaked enchiladas requires wrapping the 9x13 dish tightly in two layers of plastic wrap followed by heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn for up to three months. Thawing the casserole overnight in the refrigerator is mandatory; placing a frozen glass dish directly into a preheated 375 degree oven risks thermal shock and structural shattering. When baking straight from a thawed state, add five to ten minutes to the standard twenty-five minute bake time until the internal cheese bubbles vigorously. Portioning leftovers into individual airtight containers maintains structural integrity during microwave reheating at medium power.
Flour tortillas demand careful handling because corn alternatives introduce entirely different moisture absorption rates and structural limits. Substituting corn tortillas requires a quick pass through warm oil to render them pliable enough to roll without cracking along the edges. Pre-grating block cheese rather than using bagged shreds eliminates the cellulose coatings that prevent a smooth melt across the top of the casserole. Whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella serves as a reliable direct swap for Monterey Jack if regional availability requires a pivot without altering the melting point.
Simmering the homemade enchilada sauce for exactly fifteen minutes reduces the raw tomato bite and allows the adobo chipotle juices to marry with the cumin and chili powder. Spreading one cup of this sauce across the bottom of the baking dish lubricates the undersides of the tortillas, ensuring they absorb flavor instead of sticking to the ceramic. Resting the baked casserole for five minutes before slicing lets the internal fats stabilize so individual portions lift cleanly from the pan.
