Enchiladas without all the work – this Beef Enchilada Casserole recipe is family friendly and done in under 30 minutes! It’s the perfect dinner for when time is short but you still want a lot of flavor.
This Beef Enchilada Casserole is the best for busy nights! If you have a little bit of extra time, try some other favorites, like these White Chicken Enchiladas or Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas.
This is such a great weeknight dinner – you can have it on the table in as little as 30 minutes. I love enchiladas, but don’t always love all of the rolling and the prep work that goes into them. So put this one on the menu and let it become one of your family favorites as well!
Ingredients
- Ground Beef: I like to use a ground beef that is not too lean, but not too fatty, either.
- Taco Seasoning: I like to use my homemade taco seasoning. You can use a store bought seasoning mix that you like, as well.
- Salt: The recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon salt, but you can adjust this according to taste.
- Enchilada Sauce: Make sure you use an enchilada sauce that you like.
- Salsa: I like to use a thick and chunky salsa.
- Tortillas: You can use yellow or white corn tortillas.
- Cilantro: The cilantro adds lots of flavor, but if you are not a fan of cilantro, feel free to leave it out.
- Cheese: I like to use colby-jack, but any easy melting cheese will work fine.
How to Make Beef Enchilada Casserole
I’ve got a video (below) to show you how to make this enchilada casserole, but here is the step by step!
- Cook the beef with the taco seasoning.
- Add enchilada sauce, salsa and water and cook.
- Cut the tortillas into strips.
- Layer the casserole by placing half of the tortilla strips in the bottom of your baking dish, followed by half of the ground beef mixture, then half of the cheese and cilantro. Repeat the layers, except reserve the remaining cilantro for after the casserole is baked.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until everything is melted and warmed through.
- Top and serve!
Beef Enchilada Casserole Video
Watch the video above to see how easy this recipe is.
Favorite Toppings
You can’t forget the toppings! Here are a few things that I like to set out for people to put on their own servings.
*Sour Cream
*More Cilantro
*Hot Sauce
*Jalapenos
*Guacamole
*Shredded Lettuce
*Diced Tomatoes
Tips and Tricks
This recipe is super, super simple! Here are a few tips to make it the best way possible:
- If you use a ground beef with a higher percentage of fat, make sure you drain off the fat after cooking the ground beef.
- You can use any enchilada sauce that you want, but make sure it’s one that you love since the flavor will really come through. The same goes for the salsa.
- The longer you cook the beef and enchilada sauce mixture, the thicker it will be. Just make sure you don’t take it too far because you’ll need some of the moisture to soak into the tortillas.
- This casserole really reheats well, so look forward to those leftovers!
More Tex-Mex dinner favorites:
Taco Casserole
Crispy Shrimp Taco Recipe
Weeknight Tamale Pie Recipe
One Pan Enchilada Casserole
Homemade Salsa
Chicken Tostadas
Chicken Chimichanga Recipe
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Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10- oz can enchilada sauce
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup medium thick and chunky salsa
- 12 6-inch corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped, divided
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
- sour cream and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef, taco seasoning and salt. Cook, stirring and breaking up the beef, until the beef is browned and cooked through. Drain any fat, if needed.
- Add the enchilada sauce, water and salsa and bring to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until slightly reduced. Remove from the heat.
- Stack the tortillas and cut into 1-inch strips. Arrange half of the tortilla strips in the bottom of a 9-inch deep dish pie dish. Add half of the beef mixture, then sprinkle half of the cheese over the top. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro on top. Repeat the layers, using the remaining tortillas, beef and then cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro over the top before serving. Serve with sour cream and lime wedges.
Elivetz says
Can I swap out the beef for chicken? Do I need to change anything in the recipe?
Deborah says
You definitely could – you shouldn’t need any changes!
Sandy says
Use to buy a kit like this. But never again. My hubby liked this so much he went back for 2nds. Have to make bigger one next time. He wanted 3rds when we had leftovers.😆
Yoli Barabani says
I want to make this tomorrow for dinner, do you need to fry the tortillas before putting them in the dish? Thank you!
Linda says
I made this dish last night and it was very good.
Katie says
I made this for my family, and it was delicious! It had such a great flavor. I went ahead and cooked it for about 12 mins in a 9×13 baking dish with two layers and it worked great. Thank you!
Deborah says
I’m so glad you loved it!
Mary ford says
Can I freeze ahead?
Tahoe Mama says
Made this recipe for the first time tonight for dinner. It was a huge success! I added chopped onions to the meat mixture, used a chipotle cooking sauce instead of a traditional canned enchilada sauce, added a can of black beans, and avocado as a garnish. This recipe will definitely be a regular in my household. I’m also thinking of adding this to my camping recipes, as it can be done in an outdoor style dutch oven no problem.
Thanks for creating this wonderful, family friendly dish 🙂
Deborah says
I’m so glad you liked it, and I love the idea of making it a dutch oven recipe for camping!
Nancy says
I will often add pinto beans to my casserole, top with tomatoes and shredded lettuce as a garnish.
Deborah says
I love the idea of adding beans!
Loren says
If I need to double this recipe for a large group, is there any reason I could not use a large 13″ x 9″ baking pan? Thanks!
Deborah says
I’m guessing that would work just fine!
Melanie says
trying this tonight!
Linda Long says
After a long hard day, it’s so nice to come home and throw it in the oven or microwave because it was easy enough to prepare ahead. They say you are what we eat, so I guess that makes me, fast, cheap, and easy. I love these recipes.
Deborah says
Haha – love this! I’m so glad you enjoyed the casserole.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
LOVE! We are a enchilada-eating family for sure!
Mary Ellen says
probably just missed it, but what temperature do you bake this at?
Deborah says
Oh my goodness – I can’t believe this has been up so long without catching that! The recipe has been updated. Thank you!
kita says
Oh holy heck I wanna stick a fork in that no matter how hot it is outside today!
Karen says
Could you layer refried beans in this recipe?
Deborah says
I definitely think you could! They might be hard to spread, but you could drop dollops of the beans in, and I think it would be delish!
Flat Fee MLS says
In the winter we make casseroles just about every day, thanks for the new recipe.