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Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole
Sometimes you just need a good comfort food recipe… a recipe that is easy-to-make… and a meal that every member of your family will eat without complaints. I’ve got one one those recipes for you: Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole
This one is a simple one- rather than rolling the ingredients up into a corn tortilla, the ingredients are layered into the casserole dish instead.
Layer corn tortillas, beef/bean/chiles/spices, garlic sour cream, and enchilada sauce. Then those layers are repeated one more time. In the recipe below, I’ve listed some options for other layers to include, as well as some change-it-up ideas.
A good couple of handfuls of cheese are added to the top at the very end of baking.
And that cheese gets all nice and melted and bubbly.
And then it’s ready for dishing out. My guys enjoyed this served on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce and then topped with sour cream, guacamole and chopped tomatoes. Good stuff.
Enjoy! 
Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Ingredients:
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion (about 1/2 medium)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
One 4-ounce can diced green chiles
8 ounces sour cream (light is fine)
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Eight 6-inch corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (recommend homemade- but canned is fine)
1 1/2 to 2 cups mixed Cheddar- Jack cheese
Topping suggestions: sour cream, guacamole, chopped tomatoesDirections:
1. (if serving right away): Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan or 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and onion together over medium heat until the beef is browned and the onion is tender. Drain any fat, if needed. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, beans, and chiles; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, flour and garlic powder.
4. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom of the prepared dish, tearing them apart as needed to cover the bottom (overlapping is fine). Top with half of the meat mixture, spoon half of the sour cream mixture on top of the meat, and drizzle 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on top of that. Repeat the layers one more time. At this point, you can cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking.
5. To bake: Remove plastic wrap, cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 minutes or so more, until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Tips:
*If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, be sure to use brands of pinto beans, enchilada sauce and corn tortillas that are known to be GF. Use an alternative thickener in place of the all-purpose flour- such as cornstarch or a GF flour blend.
*Suggestions for additional layers: corn, olives, feta cheese
*Change-it-Up: Sub canned chili beans for the pinto beans (undrained).Source: RecipeGirl.com (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)
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I'm Lori Lange, recipe developer, food writer and Mom. I'm sharing over 2,600 of my favorite recipes and theme menus with you. 
Aimee @ ShugarySweets — October 22, 2012 @ 4:45 AM
I love easy dinners and this is right up my alley!!! Thanks
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen — October 22, 2012 @ 5:19 AM
This is my kind of dinner! Perfect!
Ronda — October 22, 2012 @ 6:36 AM
When do you put the flour in?
Lori Lange replied: — October 22nd, 2012 @ 10:06 AM
Mix it with the sour cream.
Bev @ Bev Cooks — October 22, 2012 @ 6:40 AM
Deaaaaaaaath becomes me. Yum.
shelly (cookies and cups) — October 22, 2012 @ 7:32 AM
I love meals like this! Perfect for weeknights
Shelly — October 22, 2012 @ 9:00 AM
Maybe I missed it, but what is the sour cream mixture? Do you mix the green chiles, sour cream and garlic salt? Thanks-this sounds amazing!
Lori Lange replied: — October 22nd, 2012 @ 10:04 AM
Sorry- I left out a line of detail, but it’s in there now.
Crystal @ Crystal's Cozy Kitchen — October 22, 2012 @ 9:56 AM
I have to admit I hated enchilada casseroles when I was growing up… but now I love them! I’ve also been looking to add more beans to my diet and this recipe looks like a keeper! Can’t wait to try it.
Linda | The Urban Mrs — October 22, 2012 @ 10:05 AM
Wow Lori – this is so smart and yummy! So perfect after long day at work.
Ronda — October 22, 2012 @ 11:24 AM
Thanks Lori, I must have miss it! This sounds amazing and easy!
Heidi @foodiecrush — October 22, 2012 @ 2:35 PM
Love the layering idea, so much easier and no need to be precise, plus I can goop if up with extra cheese
. Great for a neighborly dinner idea too!
Lisa Cornely — October 22, 2012 @ 5:30 PM
Great recipe, I have never made an enchilada casserole. I was making mexican for dinner tonight and thought I would try it in a casserole . I used flour tortillas and chicken in place of the corn tortillas and beef. It was delicious. I really liked the garlic sour cream, it tied the entire dish together. It really was so much quicker than individual enchiladas (or burritos). Thanks for another quick delicious dinner, perfect for a weeknight.
Julie @ Table for Two — October 22, 2012 @ 6:27 PM
I love easy recipes such as these for the weeknights when I’m coming home from work and exhausted. This looks so delicious and I love all that cheese on top!!
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction — October 22, 2012 @ 6:38 PM
This looks delicious and easy to make. Love it.
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets — October 22, 2012 @ 7:34 PM
This recipe looks great! The melted cheese on top seals it!
Heather @ Heather's Dish — October 22, 2012 @ 7:37 PM
Oooooh my gosh these look like heaven!
RecipeGirl's Mom — October 22, 2012 @ 11:35 PM
I’m going to try this and invite others to share. Sounds and looks yunmy and will be easy to make GF.
DessertForTwo — October 23, 2012 @ 4:50 AM
Yum! I’ve been looking for a new go-to casserole recipe for the fall!
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers — October 23, 2012 @ 4:56 AM
Oh this looks fabulous! I have to make this for dinner one night this week!! Thanks for sharing!
roni — October 23, 2012 @ 6:40 AM
seriously gotta make this tonight!
Joanna — October 23, 2012 @ 7:09 AM
Looks and sounds delish. May have to substitute the beef for tuna because my husband is a vegetarian.
John Barrie — October 23, 2012 @ 8:07 AM
Yay! I love enchilada casseroles.
prklypr — October 23, 2012 @ 9:16 AM
Any thoughts on if this would work without the beans? Cannot get my son to eat them…
Lori Lange replied: — October 23rd, 2012 @ 7:38 PM
Leave them out? Add in some of the other suggested add-ins perhaps?
Carla @ Carla's Confections — October 23, 2012 @ 4:09 PM
This looks really tasty!! I love the photos too. So pretty and looks really warming and perfect for the cold months
Maegan @ The BakerMama — October 23, 2012 @ 7:55 PM
This looks so easy and so delicious! I am planning to make it for dinner this week!
Ryan — October 23, 2012 @ 10:41 PM
Shopping tomorrow just to pick up the supplies for this recipe. Mmmmmm
Nikki — October 24, 2012 @ 2:57 AM
Corn & pintos, that is what would put this over the top for me. And some chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime and a sprinkling of salt… I’m putting this on the menu for next week. I’m always looking for recipes that are crowd-pleasures and that can be adaptable to a soft mechanical diet for my client. Thank you
Debbie — October 24, 2012 @ 11:18 AM
This was really good! I always go for black beans but the pinto beans were great in this. I served with diced tomatoes and shredded iceberg lettuce dressed with a little salt and red wine vinegar.
Jolie — October 24, 2012 @ 5:15 PM
12 thumbs up from the 6 Autry’s! My husband’s family makes homemade tacos, which is a really involved process, but we all love them. This tasted just like those tacos, but it was so much easier and more of this dish was from scratch, which I like. Yummy!!
Anita at Hungry Couple — October 24, 2012 @ 8:26 PM
Yum! I love these types of casseroles.
Muddy Kinzer — October 27, 2012 @ 6:31 PM
I made this the other night and it was yummy! Perfect for these rainy fall evenings! Thank you!
Kelly Senyei (Just a Taste) — October 31, 2012 @ 4:18 AM
This looks fantastic, Lori! I’m stockpiling recipes for the cold winter ahead, and this is absolutely making it into the lineup. Thanks for the inspiration!
Meghan — November 5, 2012 @ 8:18 PM
This is my kind of dinner! All that melty cheese on top seals the deal!
Cheese with Noodles — November 6, 2012 @ 4:29 AM
I make essentially this same thing, only without meat (more beans!) and the addition of olives. We gave it the ever so classy name of “Enchilasagna”
D Your version looks really yummy too, I like the corn tortillas!
Ashley — November 9, 2012 @ 3:13 PM
Um….yes. Yes I do want to eat this right now. Yummm!
Kathy — November 10, 2012 @ 5:49 PM
I loved this. Will definitely make again.
Liz — November 10, 2012 @ 7:13 PM
Made these tonight and all that was left was the empty baking dish! I doubled the spices in the meat, added a cup of chopped spinach, and subbed in lack beans for pintos. So delish, but most excited about the eopreparation and potential versitility of this crowd pleaser! This is definitely going to be in heavy rotationa at our house!!!
Renae — November 24, 2012 @ 3:19 PM
I’m going to try this with left over turkey first.
Chrissy — December 20, 2012 @ 6:54 PM
This recipe was delist and super easy! I used vegetarian beef crumbles and taco seasoning as well as added some extra veggies with peppers and corn. Super easy amd yummy!