We love to have this one for dinner: Beef and Cheese Enchiladas
It’s a fact that my family loves Mexican food. Reno isn’t such a hot-bed of good Mexican food restaurants. We really do miss the awesome taco shops of southern California! So I happen to make a lot of Mexican food dishes at home to compensate for our loss. For dinner last week, I surprised my family with some enchiladas.
I always, always use my recipe for homemade enchilada sauce when I’m making enchiladas. For some reason the canned variety just doesn’t taste right to me. These enchiladas are stuffed with a mixture of spiced beef + chili beans and cheese. They’re wrapped with lightly fried corn tortillas.
How to fry corn tortillas:
In a small skillet, heat ½ inch or less of oil over medium high. When you can flick a drop of water in the oil and get a sizzle, you’re ready to fry your tortillas. Place one tortilla in the hot oil and use tongs to press it down so it cooks on both sides. You only need to cook it for about 20 to 30 seconds to soften it up. Remove the tortilla to a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas, placing paper towels in between each cooked tortilla to absorb the oil.
Enchilada sauce covers the filled tortillas.
And there is a generous sprinkle of cheese added on top.
We like to top our enchiladas with plenty of avocado and sour cream. I recommend you try eating them that way too. Our family was a bunch of happy campers having our favorite for dinner!
The Best Enchilada Recipes
- Sweet Potato Enchiladas
- Vegetable Enchiladas
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Beef and Cheese Enchiladas
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- Eight 6 inch corn tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ¾ pound ground beef
- 1¼ teaspoons chili powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- One 15.5-ounce can chili beans
- One recipe homemade enchilada sauce (or two 16 ounce cans)
- 1¾ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1¾ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Fry tortillas using instructions in notes below. (Unless you have another way you like to prepare corn tortillas for enchiladas.)
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium high; add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and season with salt and pepper. Spoon out any accumulated fat. Stir in the beans.
- Spoon enough enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan to create a thin layer.
- Lay a tortilla out on your work surface. Place a couple big spoonfuls of the beef mixture and a sprinkle of both cheeses down the middle of the tortilla. Roll up and place the enchiladas seam-side-down next to each other in the pan. Cover the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.
Notes
- To fry tortillas: In a small skillet, heat ½ inch or less of oil over medium high. When you can flick a drop of water in the oil and get a sizzle, you're ready to fry your tortillas. Place one tortilla in the hot oil and use tongs to press it down so it cooks on both sides. You only need to cook it for about 20 to 30 seconds to soften it up. Remove the tortilla to a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas, placing paper towels in between each cooked tortilla to absorb the oil.
Fantastic recipe! Love it
These look delicious! I agree homemade sauce rocks!