These Easy Beef Enchiladas are a wonderful, family-friendly dinner. Watch the video showing you how to make Easy Beef Enchiladas, then scroll down to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can make them at home.
How to Make Easy Beef Enchiladas:
Heat oil in a large skillet, and add a pound of ground beef.
Break the meat apart and let it brown.
Tilt the pan to let the oil pool along the edge of the pan. Use a spoon to scoop out the oil and get rid of it. You don’t need any of that extra fat in there. Remove the meat to a bowl.
Add chopped onion and finely chopped zucchini to the hot skillet, and cook until the vegetables are slightly softened. Trust me on the zucchini. No one in your family will even notice it, and it’s really good in this Easy Beef Enchiladas recipe! If you hate it, I suppose you could leave it out… but I hope you’ll choose to trust me 🙂
Add the vegetables to the bowl with the beef and stir them together.
Add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to a 13×9-inch pan. I make homemade enchilada sauce… SO good… and SO much better than the metallic-can tasting stuff. It’s simple to make.
Tilt the pan to swirl the sauce around and make sure it coats the entire bottom of the pan.
Assembly time! You’ll need corn tortillas, the meat/veggie mixture, cheddar-jack cheese and enchilada sauce. Note that in the photos, I am using a corn-flour blend tortilla. You can use any tortillas you want!
Spoon the beef mixture down the middle of a tortilla.
Sprinkle some cheese on top.
And drizzle about one tablespoon of the enchilada sauce on top of the filling.
Roll up the stuffed tortilla tightly and place seam-side-down in the sauce-coated pan. Continue with all of the tortillas until you have created 12 enchiladas.
Drizzle the remaining sauce on top of the rolled-up enchiladas.
Spread the sauce around so you get a nice coating all along the top of these Easy Beef Enchiladas. At this point, you’re going to cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Take the enchiladas out of the oven, remove the foil cover and sprinkle cheese on top. Put them back into the oven to melt all that cheese.
Just like that.
Ready for eating!
Serve these Easy Beef Enchiladas with whatever you’d like. I served them on a simple bed of shredded iceberg lettuce with some freshly sliced avocado. My husband added a generous spoonful of sour cream. And my kiddo– one who would never, ever willingly eat zucchini if it were placed in front of him– ate this meal as-is and with great enthusiasm. Apparently he didn’t spy the zucchini in the midst of all of that wonderful sauce and cheese.
If you’re looking for recipes to serve with these Easy Beef Enchiladas, try my Mango Guacamole or this Enchilada Rice. Mexican Chopped Salad and Seasoned Black Beans are also delicious choices!
Easy Beef Enchiladas
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 16 ounces lean ground beef
- 1½ cups finely diced onion
- 1½ cups finely diced zucchini (about 2 medium)
- 12 taco-size corn tortillas (heated or fried to soften)
- 2½ cups enchilada sauce (canned or homemade)
- 3 cups shredded cheddar-jack cheese
- serve as desired with lettuce, sour cream, avocado, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet. Add the ground beef; break apart with a spoon or spatula to crumble the meat. Saute the meat on medium heat until browned (about 5 minutes). Tilt the pan and spoon the fat out of the pan; discard. Remove the cooked meat to a bowl.
- Return the pan to medium heat, and add the onion and zucchini. Saute until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and add to the meat mixture; set aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the prepared pan. Spread it around so it coats the entire bottom of the pan.
- Assemble the enchiladas: Place a tortilla on a work surface. Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat mixture down the middle. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese on top of the meat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of sauce on top. Wrap the tortilla around the filling tightly and place it seam-side-down in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling until you have finished filling 12 tortillas. Place the tortillas side-by-side in the pan- it's okay if they are all snuggled in there tightly.
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the stuffed enchiladas. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top; return to the oven and let the cheese melt (about 5 minutes). Serve immediately with desired condiments.
Video
Notes
- *I like to use tortillas for this recipe that are a corn/flour blend. They're easy to roll (they don't break), and you don't need to fry them!
- *If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN-FREE, just make sure that you are using brands of enchilada sauce and corn tortillas that are designated as GF
- *Be sure to check out my recipe for homemade enchilada sauce.
Phenomenal recipe ! I added green chilies for a little extra kick.
I bought flour tortillas, I watched the video and they looked like flour. I hope they will work.?
The ones I used were a corn/flour blend. You can use either, but flour might be a little more soggy. Hopefully not!
This has been a family favorite since the first time I made it.
Can this recipe be mad in advance and frozen?
I have not tried freezing these, so I’m not sure.
Best enchiladas I’ve had. So easy to make. I made the homemade sauce too and that was the best sauce ever.
This truly was an excellent and easy recipe.
This one will become a regular meal at my house.
I understand that you prefer the Corn/Flour mix Tortillas, If those aren’t available, which would you prefer regular Corn Tortillas or Flour Tortillas and Why?? I have only made Enchiladas 3 times, twice with flour and once with corn, although the meat mixture was spot on with flavor and the sauce was perfect, the dish looked horrible…I’ve heated both kind over flame on gas stove for just a few minutes to make them more manageable to roll and I’ve also dipped in the sauce prior to filling & rolling them…,
I’d fry corn tortillas in oil if I were using regular tortillas.
This was delicious! The meat mixture was a little bland, so I added salt and pepper and a little of the enchilada sauce to it. I mixed mild and medium enchilada sauce together to give a little zing. Do add the zucchini as it gave it a great texture. The enchiladas did fall apart when we tried to take them out of the pan but I may have put to much sauce on top. It did not matter if it fell apart, as it was awesome!
Thanks for this delicious recipe Lori! I’m in Texas and no stranger to making enchiladas but found your recipe here while looking for an easy recipe. Hubby says they are the best I’ve ever made!! Love using the corn/flour tortilla mix, and the zucchini and onion add flavor and depth to the meat. And I love not having to cook the tortillas in oil beforehand, what a time saver and actually, they taste better without this step! This is my new go-to for enchiladas!! Thanks again!
Best recipe and closest thing to real Mexican enchiladas!!! Always a hit and super delicious
I love the filling inside of these! I normally just do ground beef.
Wish I was having this deliciousness for dinner.
So delicious and makes for such great leftovers.
Yes please! My stomach is growling after seeing these pictures!
I’ve never thought to add zucchini to my enchiladas! Thanks!!
Enchiladas are one of my favorite dinners! Love these and the added veggies!
these are amazing!
The perfect dish for a homestyle fiesta!
Can these enchiladas be frozen? If so, at which point in the recipe do I stop and freeze? Thank you!
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I suppose I’d make them entirely with sauce and all and then freeze.
Lori, I tried it and it was delicious!!!!!!! Extraordinary!!!
Thanks so much for sharing.
You can use canned enchilada sauce however you will need to jazz it up some but works great. I use Old ElPaso sauce but add 2 good shake of garlic salt, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of Mexican oregano directly to the enchilada sauce before mixing with the chili. After adding these spices cook on low heat (do not boil) for 10 minutes and then add it to your chili. It makes all the difference in the world. I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for a little warmth.
I thank you so much for your homemade enchilada sauce recipe. I’ve tried others and didn’t like them, but this was so smooth tasting and I can control the heat so my young children can enjoy it too without saying it’s too spicy. I agree the canned stuff does taste like the tin can. I was looking for an easy enchilada recipe to make tonight, it was 4:30, and I found this and was like YES! I even had all the ingredients to make the enchiladas and sauce, Thank you!
My husband and I made these tonight! Instead of using onion salt and Garlic Powder for the Enchilada sauce, we blended one medium onion, and ground up 2.5 cloves of garlic ! It was super fresh and delicious!! We put ground beef,crushed up tomato, blended green pepper, salt,black pepper, cumin, and cheese! then baked as recommended! the whole family LOVED IT!!
This recipe is awesome. I made your homemade enchilada sauce, your enchiladas well as the ground beef with the zucchini. My daughter loves enchiladas, I always used to used to buy store bought enchiladas for her. My husband has never eaten enchiladas in his life. So I plucked up the courage to make them for supper on Friday night and all I can say is Wow. I got so many compliments, I’m thrilled. The enchiladas are so nice and soft, the sauce is delish, to top it all off my husband does not enjoy zucchini but commented that the zucchini was divine. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe that Iam going to add to my recipe book.
You didn’t answer the question about what size tortilla to use. Can’t wait to try both enchiladas and the homemade sauce. Thanx
For enchiladas, I always use taco-sized tortillas.
My whole family loved these (enchiladas and sauce). I added black beans, and they were delicious–will definitely make again!
As a rule: Enchiladas are made with Corn tortillas
This recipe made with flour tortillas as pictured are called: Burritos Enchilada Style
They’re a combination corn/flour blend.
I forgot to ask. Are there any modifications I need to make if I make these again without the veggies? As far as the cooking time or anything? Thanks.
I don’t think so!
This recipe didn’t make 12 but I am sure it’s because I didn’t add the veggies. I am almost positive that is why. It made 8 but they barely fit into the 13×9 pan which is weird because if I had added the veggies I am not sure how they wouldn’t fit? Next time I either have to find a smaller tortilla or roll them into more of a taquito shape. Our family doesn’t like the veggies in this recipe which is why I left them out. I tried using regular corn tortillas but they were too small. I don’t think there is a tortilla in between lol so I will just have to roll these into a taquito shape or use less meat and just use the small corn tortillas but they were still yummy.
Thank you for this easy to follow recipe nowvi can fix my wife a nice meal
Can I make this Enchiladas recipe in the slow cooker?
This is not a recipe that is meant for the slow cooker.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I don’t cook often, but today, my wife was working late and I needed to make something for dinner. We had ground turkey (which I substituted for the beef) and the remaining ingredients, so I whipped up a batch of these enchiladas, along with a few boxes of Rice A Roni Mexican Style Rice, and viola! authentic Mexican (well, sort of lol) grub the whole family liked 🙂
Thanks for saving my butt, Lori!
Glad to hear!
I found your recipe on Pinterest and wanted to let you know that I have made this for my family about 10 times. We LOVE it!!
Great to hear- thanks!
These are delicious! I am vegetarian, so I make with MorningStar ground crumbles in place of beef and added a scoop of vegetarian refried beans to each enchilada.
These were good but my corn tortillas completely fell apart before even cooking… so they could’ve been better.
exactly what I was looking for, can’t wait to make them!
This is a PERFECT recipe! My boyfriend and I can’t stop talking about them.
We made 2 substitutions, which turned out just fine:
-yellow squash (store was out of zucchini)
-ground turkey
They are great…instead of rolling up each enchilada, I make them like a lasagna using small corn tortillas.
I love you! LOL. My stepson has bragged about his mother making him enchiladas all the time…and I finally found a recipe that he loves! I feel so good that I can make his and my husband’s tastebuds/tummys happy! <3 Thanks!!
just made this for dinner and it was DELICIOUS! totally simple too. def recommend making the homemade enchilada sauce. you can’t even taste the zucchini – a great way to sneak in some veggies! will def make this again. thanks for the great recipe!
So what is the recipe to you’re enchilada sauce .
There is a link in the post above- click “homemade enchilada sauce” where it is described.
I made these tonight and they were fabulous! Seriously, the family was so impressed! Cheers!
GREAT recipe! Me & my mates just made this and they’re amazing!! Thanks so much for including pictures to follow as well. You’re right; the zucchini was a solid addition! 🙂
Do you have to use zucchini? Can I do without?
This recipe utilizes zucchini. I’m sure you can leave it out if you don’t want to use it.
WOW! I made this recipe for dinner tonight, and WOW! was all my husband and I could say. It is absolutely delicious and mind blowing easy to make. The pictures helped a lot too. It gave it a step by step easy way recipe, and I love that. I forgot to add the sauce inside the enchiladas, but they still tasted really great. And I used cucumber instead of zucchini. I will definitely be making Easy Beef Enchiladas AGAIN real soon!
It’s like no one is paying attention. If I were you I’d stop replying to the comments about the uncooked tortillas and asking you to recommend tortillas.. because you pretty much covered that in the recipe lol. I’ll be trying these soon! Thanks!
🙂
I make a great taco salad. With the leftovers, I make equally great (if I do say so myself) enchiladas. Except the (fried) corn tortilla’s, disintegrate into virtual non existence after being baked off. Open to, and very much in need of any suggestion(s).
This was delicious. It was my first time making Enchiladas. Thanks for explaining everything so well. The sauce was great too.
Assembling enchiladas without softening them in a hot oiled pan first is a ludicrous suggestion — they WILL fall apart.
Did you read my recipe? I suggest using a certain brand of flexible corn/wheat tortillas – OR frying them in oil.
Made this tonight! Yumx10!
Nice recipe. We have copied it multiple times for a dinner idea in our house since we first found this site.
I just wanted to send a simple thank you, my husband is Spanish and I have been making this recipe with success for a couple years, and I love the home made sauce!!! Its easy and simple to do, and I am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes in the near future!!! Happy New Year!!!
These were delicious and very easy to make! I have never made my own enchilada sauce before this, and it was so simple that I will never buy the canned stuff again. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Making them NOW! Las Palmas enchalada sauce is GF – I add a hint of honey to remove the bitterness. I’m sure my guy will LOVE his dinner! 🙂 Thanks!
So, if you don’t like using canned enchilada sauce because you think it’s bad for you, then why do you use canned tomato sauce in your “homemade” enchilada sauce? You should make your own tomato sauce then. Just saying…
didn’t say it was bad for you… I just don’t care for the metallic taste that canned enchilada sauce has. I don’t mind the canned tomato sauce, but you can certainly try making your own!
Been making this recipe foe the last 1.5 years (with your enchilada sauce recipe). It has quickly become the household favorite and also one we bring to friends with new babies! Love it. Thanks so much for sharing!!
You’re welcome!
Thanks for sharing this , never ate it before , looks so tasty , will try it for sure 🙂
I made these last night and they were amazing! You are right about the zuccini. I made 3lbs of meat b/c we like having a Mexican feast, and I needed some for tacos. I used the zuccini in all of it and no one even noticed. By far the best Mexican food recipe I have ever found. Thanks for helping me channel my inner mejicana.
No seasonings? No salt, pepper, or taco seasoning?
Not needed since the sauce is well seasoned.
Great recipe. The sauce I picked over powered everything else. Suggestions please.
Make homemade sauce!
Absolutely delicious! Made it tonight, kids loved it and so did us adults!
This will now be my go to enchilada recipe! We also substituted ground elk as I had it on hand. Yum!
wow, Elk! What a neat idea!
Looks yummy. However, the tortillas in the picture are flour tortillas not corn tortillas. Corn tortillas require a cooking step of their own.
Check out the tip in the recipe itself- I explain about the tortillas- this brand is a corn/flour blend (which makes it perfect for bending without breakage when you make enchiladas).
arrived at this site searching for beef enchiladas recipes..so happy I did! Made this for family and they absolutely LOVED. Like others, my corn tortillas fell apart (I didn’t have to time to warm up on stove top) so I layered tortillas (instead of rolled up-a la casserole style) but did everything else the same (with dollop of sour cream and more shredded cheddar for garnish)… SO good. This is a keeper! (even extremely picky 7yo son ate the zucchini!)
It looks great! I can’t wait to try it.
By the way, I love zuchinni 🙂
Thank you so much for this simple easy to follow recipes. We love it in our house and tried it out with chicken too. Delicious!
We were wondering what to cook that would be quick and easy one evening after I had suffered an illness. I gave your recipe to our 16 year-old, and he came back with a delicious masterpiece – he was so proud of himself! LOL Thank you for this; everyone loved it!
Have you lost your mind?why would you say to use corn tortilias,then show flour tortilias in the pics?come on !get it right you faker!
Well, that wasn’t a very nice comment, but I thought I’d respond to it anyways. I did use corn tortillas, but I prefer to use this brand http://www.latortillafactory.com/products-8.aspx The tortillas look like flour in appearance and are flexible like flour tortillas. They’re a blend of corn/wheat.
With no exaggeration whatsoever, I think for what could possibly be the first time in the 5 years my daughter has been alive, she asked for seconds – with these enchiladas tonight! Something with zucchini and onions!!! WOW! My 1 year old also ate an amazing amount of it. We at almost the whole 9 x 13 pan, I thought it was going to last two meals, lol 🙂
How great is that?! Thanks so much for sharing!
I made these Friday night and they were a big hit all around the table! On question, though. How do you get your tortillas to not completely fall apart while serving them?
I use the soft tortillas (corn/wheat blend)- I think they’re made by Tortilla Factory. Also, if you lightly fry them in hot oil, they’ll be more pliable and won’t tear.
My husband could eat enchiladas 6 days a week. Until I found your recipe I made them much less frequently – maybe once every other month. They took too long to prepare and I wasn’t nearly as crazy about them as my significant other. YOUR recipe is so easy and tasty that I find myself asking him, “Honey, would you like enchiladas tonight?” much more often! The homemade sauce is great too. THANKS!!
Great recipe. I changed it a bit using adobe sauce (I doctored this up using the ingredients here)with peppers and instead of rolling the tortillas I layered a pan using the sauce first, meat and beans, cheese, sauce…..repeat. This was just wonderful. Full of flavor and a little heat.
Omg, thanks for the sauce recipe! I’ve been searching ages for one that didn’t make me want to perform my own root canal.
2 years too late but…We followed the recipe step-by-step including the sauce and it was soooooooooo amazing!!! Thank you for sharing. Wondering what the calorie content is??
I don’t have that info. But you can enter the ingredients here to find out, if you’d like: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
My husband loves enchiladas but I rarely make them because they take entirely too long to prepare. THIS recipe, however, was a breeze. And, the homemade sauce really made me feel like I was a non-polluter (by not buying something in a can). To my surprise and delight the homemade sauce was easy to make and tasted great. These two (the enchiladas and sauce) are at the top of my favorite recipes and my husband is very happy!
These were absolutely delicious. I did use your homemade enchilada sauce recipe too. I will be recommending these two recipes to my friends 🙂
This recipe is amazingly delicious and really easy to make! I used it with the homemade enchilada sauce recipe that is in the recipe. I have a friend who went to ranger school and all he thought of until he graduated were my Enchiladas!!! He graduated a few days ago and REQUESTED the enchiladas i made for him before. I would have to say YOU DID A GREAT JOB!!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! 🙂
awesome- glad you enjoyed it!
well they are in the oven now. They smell great usually I add mushrooms to the mix. Zucchini is a great idea!
My husband hates zucchini, but I peeled it to get rid of the tell-tale skin, and once it was cooked, it looked a lot like green chiles. 🙂 He never even asked what they were. The homemade sauce was awesome, too! We’ll definitely be making these again.
I’ve tried several enchilada recipes and enjoyed most everyone. Something about yours is a little different. I love that I’m sneaking a veggie in AND it tastes good this way! I also love the homemade sauce recipe. I had never tried to make the sauce before. Thanks for sharing a great recipe-my 3 and 2 year olds both asked for more! (and they didn’t pick out the zucchini!!!) 🙂
Looks great! I also make my own Enchilada Sauce.
I disagree with the method of cooking ground beef though. Too many recipes around the web overcook the ground beef. Fat is where the flavor is with just about any meat, especially beef. I would not recommend using lean ground beef, I prefer 80/20 ground chuck. For a recipe like this, only brown the ground beef to medium or medium rare and drain that fat. When baking the Enchiladas in the oven , the ground beef will finish cooking and release some flavor fat into the Enchiladas. If you brown the ground beef to well done in the pan, by the time the Enchiladas are done baking the ground beef will be very dry and flavorless. I also like using some fresh onion(lightly sweated) and fresh minced garlic, small amount on both, when browning the ground beef. Adds some extra savory flavor.
Ok…I forgot to send a comment earlier, but I made these about 2 weeks ago…and they’re awesome! This is the best homemade enchilada sauce I’ve ever had, and so easy. My husband and son (and I) can hardly wait until I make these again, yummy!
i made these with the home made sauce and i used corn tortias and fryed them just a little before hand and that sauce is the bomb and thank you for the best enchiladas ever
These were amazing!! I love the addition of zucchini. Great way to bulk it up and add some extra fiber! The enchilada sauce is PERFECT.I ran out of chili pepper (its probably my most used spice!) and so I used a combination of regular chili powder and ancho chili powder in the sauce. Will be making these on a regular basis! Thank you so much for this!!
I made the enchilada sauce that you linked in this recipe and it is so easy to make and taste great in combination with the rest of the enchilada ingredients. I did add a bit of cayenne pepper to it (I add it to everything ~ it taste great and there are so many health benefits from it). Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I didn’t follow your exact enchilada recipe but it gave me the basis for how to make mine!
These were delicious! I am keeping this one! Served it for family this summer and now for friends tonight. Yummy!
Hello! I made your enchiladas followed everystep accordingly abd had an amazing response from my husband half a year ago!! I misplaced the printed one. And I was scared I would not find it again vut here I am less than 5 minutes searching…. time to follow yiur recipe again for christmas potluck with his family! Thanks so much!
Hi Recipegirl,
I really want to try your recipe! It looks so awesome. I don’t have the glass pan that you put in your photos. What could I use it instead? PLEASE reply back. Thank you SO MUCH!!!!!! 😀
I’m sure you could use a metal pan or a foil throw-away pan instead with similar results!
These were excellent enchiladas, however, one mandatory change had to be made. I fixed the homemade sauce as I was alway raised on homemade….canned does not cut it! The sauce was too acidic and didn’t taste right. 1 and 1/2 tsp of brown sugar solved that and turned the sauce from yuck to yum!
I’ve never had enchiladas in my life but I made them last night and they were yummy! Great and easy recipe. Will definitely make again
Just wanted to let you know that I made this over the weekend with the original sauce recipe and it was perfect! Just what I was looking for to warm me up on a cold weekend. Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed it and will be back to your site for more recipes. Please keep up the nice work. Thanks again.
The recipe for the sauce was perfect-the only thing I added on top of the enchilada was sliced olives-because my husband loves them….I will be making these for a Masonic Lodge Dinner soon…Thank you so much for sharing…
These were fantastic enchiladas…we will be making them often now. So glad I gave them a try! I love the homemade enchilada sauce!! Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight for my family including the homemade sauce. It turned out amazing!!! Thank you for the fanstastic recipe.
Tried this for my first attempt at enchiladas. Made the sauce too. First round was way to hot for my crew but I have nicely balanced it now and everyone is very happy. Thanks for a great recipe.
Im trying this tonight with my family.. Might do some variations with the veggies but I think this is going to be such a wonderful dinner!!
This was delicious! My husband and I made it together and used your enchilada sauce recipe instead of using the yucky canned stuff. We ended up getting 15 out of the batch. It is definitely a keeper! Thanks!
Just for the record, avocados are NOT the only fruit that doesn’t ripen on the tree. Bananas likewise do not begin to ripen until they are cut from the tree.
2 thumbs up!! Easy recipe to follow..i like that the sauce recipe is added in there B-)
Thank you. +†+
I am from the UK and have tried your recipe. I added lots of honey to the sauce with a touch of cinamon, and also some honey and smoked paprika to the meat whilst browning, I also recommend using a little Ketjap Manis in the beef, gives a great umami flavour and brings out the beefiness in the meat.
Honestly, when these came out of the oven, they were perfect…I managed a Mexican Restaurant years ago and this took me back to the good old days, gots to have some guacamole on the side with some potato wedges, fresh green salad and some coleslaw….jolly good show, not half…ariba!!!
Those are some interesting changes you made! Not typical at all for USA but I’d love to try it!
o my! i am a college student trying new recipes on my picky roommates and this was a total success! amazing!!
Thank You Soo Much for this recipe,I love how you have photos to go with each step! Read most of comments and will be using some of the great tips:-)
Fabulously yummy! Thank you very much! It was very tasty, above all, easy to make and simple!
Absolutely deicious!! Although I didn’t use the zucchini – (my husband absolutely detests it and could pick it out in a haystack!), it was so tasty and certainly company worthy! I love the homemade enchilada sauce – I believe that is the secret to this great recipe. Thanks for the great recipe – simple and delicious at the same time!! Sherry
Are these 8″ tortillas?
Thank you soooo much! Your website is awesome. I’m so glad I found it. It’s so well done. Love the pictures and step by step directions. So helpful!
You’re very welcome- hope it goes well!
Would you take all the ingredients times 10??? Don’t ever cook for this large of a group (50-60), so just wondering if that’s right. Thanks!
Yes, if you’re expecting that each person will eat two enchiladas. I’d definitely use the La Tortilla Factory brand of corn-flour blend tortillas as they are really easy to work with- you don’t need to heat them or fry them in oil… they will wrap around the filling easily and won’t crack. Good luck!
Any suggestions for adjusting the recipe to feed more like 60? Planning on making these for my son’s graduation open house. Any advice would be welcomed! Thanks!!!
Make them in a bunch of disposable pans so you have easy clean up!
Just made this and they are awesome!
Very good recipe and easy to make! burp!
Can you make these the night before and bake them the next day?
Perhaps– but if you do that, you should put a little sauce on the bottom as indicated, then stuff the tortillas and put them in the dish. Add the rest of the sauce, etc. just before baking.
oh, sorry, I just read your thread of comments and found my answer. Next time I’ll read comments before posting mine!
Help me, please…I love this recipe, but every time I try to roll corn tortillas they break into a million pieces. I end up either making it lasagna-style, using the tortillas in place of “noodles”, or I use flour tortillas. Any tips?
yes! You can try a wonderful tortilla from La Tortilla Factory that is a corn/flour blend- they are super pliable and never crack. OR… you can heat some oil in a small skillet and lightly fry your corn tortillas before you use them. Let them drain on paper towels. They won’t crack.
Made it, substituting the ground beef with shredded leftover pot roast meat and it was great! Thanks for sharing this recipe! Now I have something new to do with leftover roast.
Hi, I found you when I googled “beef enchiladas”. I was wondering, you said to use corn tortillas but the tortillas in the picture look really light, like flour tortillas. Are they made from white corn? Could you substitute flour tortillas for it? Thanks!
I actually used a brand that is a corn & flour blend for the photo (Tortilla Factory Brand), but you can use corn.
My Girlfriend and I are going to try making this tonight. Thank you for this wonderful recipe 🙂
I made these tonight and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought they were absolutely delicious, even though I don’t like onion. Initially I was iffy about the zucchini, but decided to give it a chance; glad I did! – My husband on the other hand found it a little bland. I’m not surprised though, as we differ pretty heavily when it comes to spice. I’ll be making this again, though next time I will try and season up the meat some for my husband. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Honestly, we found it to be a little bland. So, we sprinkled a little ground cumin on top, added some sour cream and my son added some salsa to his. Next time, we will definitely add some cumin and a few other things to the ground beef to spice it up a little. It wasn’t bad…just needed a little kick.
Thanks for this recipe it was so easy! I tried these tonight! They were so delicious…if you’d like a spicy kick add a can of tomatoes with habanero peppers.
I just made these tonight for dinner and they were very good! Only trouble I had was the corn tortillas kept falling apart and ripping. How do you roll them tight without the corn tortillas falling apart? Other than that– this is a really good recipe!!
Corn tortillas are more pliable when they are lightly fried in oil rather than just warmed. Many people don’t wish to do that since it adds more fat to the dish, but that’s definitely the way to go if you don’t mind it. Also, there is a brand of tortillas (Tortilla Factory, I think?) that is a blend of corn & wheat that I like to use. They’re more like a flour tortilla texture, and they bend easily and don’t break apart!
Hi from Quebec. Thanks for the great receipe – made for a nice family dinner.
Merci!
Just popped your enchiladas in the oven. I added some beans to mine. I can’t wait to try. 🙂
Looking for great recipe for my vegetarian hubby.. just switched out the meat for vegie meat, lol.. came out great.. =D He had to double check that i didnt use real meat.. he loved it so much!! LOL… Thanks!!
Yes I made the homemade enchilada sauce……and I think that is what was wrong. (I thought it was just me and I didn’t say much at first, but after a bite or two by the other 4 family members, they were making faces so I knew it was just not me) I measured everything in the sauce exactly. The taste of the sauce was not pleasant at all. I double checked all the spices afterwards (as I still had them out on the counter) to make sure I didn’t pick up the wrong spices, but all were correct. I am searching for words to describe the taste and the smell, but I simply cannot effectively come up with words to describe it. My husband suggested that we try this again once more in a few weeks, buying all new spices and trying a different broth.
Yeah, I would say something must have gone wrong there w/ the sauce or the brands you used (maybe the broth was bad?)… because I use that enchilada recipe all the time for a lot of things and it works well. You might think about giving it another shot.
I was so looking forward to this meal………don’t know what I could have done wrong, as I followed all the directions, but it was horrible. 🙁
I don’t know either… what exactly was wrong? Did you make the homemade enchilada sauce? Did you fry the tortillas?
can you substitute flour for corn tortilla? thanks for the simple recipe!
Flour should work just fine too.
Just made this and it is easy and delicious. I also added taco seasoning to the beef, which worked well.
Your ingredient list says corn tortillas but the picture is flour tortillas. I’m confused.
I actually used a brand that is a corn & flour blend for the photo (Tortilla Factory Brand, I think?), but you can use corn.
Oh, girls if you copy and paste the recipe, pictures and all into Microsoft Word, it prints out just lovely 😉
I love this recipe!!! but I think you forgot to mention to heat up the corn tortillas. My first attempt my corn tortillas fell apart as I rolled them and it took me a min to figure out why?
Hi Marika, In my list of ingreds… the tortillas are listed as “heated, or fried in oil to soften.” yes, it’s much easier when they are more pliable!
I tried these last night. They were wonderful! Loved the homemade enchilada sauce!
*It does print pretty small, but I’ll take it! 🙂
I’ll talk to my designer about that. Maybe I can up the print font a notch!
I just have to say how much I love the layout and how easy it is to print the recipes. Some websites are such a pain and I have to copy and paste into Word. Thank you so much for saving time for me! 🙂
Thank you- I’m still frantically trying to edit some of the older recipes into the new print format (so you may come across a few that are not nice to print yet), but it will all be done asap!
Wow! I made these for dinner last night, absolutely fabulous! Instead of two zucchini I only did one but added a yellow bell pepper. My husband didn’t think the zucchini would be good but he loved them! The homemade sauce was so easy and tasted great! I told my sister about this because she has to have gluten free but loves Mexican and zucchini! She had never thought of adding zucchini to enchiladas either! Thank you for a fabulous dinner recipe! I will definitely have to make this again!
WOW… YOU’RE RECIPES ARE GREAT AND i LOVE THAT THERE ARE PICTURES INCLUDED IT REALLY HELPS A LOT IT’S LIKE TAKING A CLASS! YOU’RE AWESOME!
🙂
Best. Dinner. Ever… My husband said. Nice job. The homemade sauce is the key. And I used ground turkey instead of beef since I don’t eat red meat. Simply amazing and not super heavy. YUM!
I’m from Texas and currently living in Chile. I’ve been craving TexMex like crazy lately so I decided to make these for an international-food-themed dinner with Chilean friends. Most had never even heard of enchiladas, but everybody LOVED this dish. I made the sauce from scratch as suggested, spiced up the beef a bit with taco seasoning, and added a little special something (aka cream cheese!). I spread just a little bit of cream cheese on each tortilla before adding the mixture. It was exquisite! Thank you for sharing!
Sounds like a delicious addition- thanks for the tip!
Fantastic recipe! I just made these last night and the sauce was amazing! My husband loved them, and I can’t say that about every recipe that I’ve tried. The only thing I did different was add half a package of taco seasoning to the beef. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Just made these tonight and they were fantastic!
These are awesome–best meal I’ve had in a while! My husband loved them too. I used your homemade sauce recipe and followed your enchilada recipe exactly except I added some spices to the meat while it was cooking. They tasted great leftover too. I actually looked forward to coming home to pop some in the microwave 4 days in a row. Highly recommended.
One of your readers said their tortillas cracked – one trick my mom taught me in how to make luscious enchiladas is to swipe the tortillas through a puddle of enchilada sauce (on both sides) which moistens the tortilla, adds flavor, and makes it so there’s no cracks! Another trick is to just warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
Great tips!
Can this be made ahead and frozen? It looks delicous!
Haven’t done it, but I would imagine that you could prepare them up until the point of baking, and then wrap them well to stick in the freezer. Defrost before baking.
Posted the link along with a link to your enchilada sauce, I hope that’s okay too. They were both so good!!!!
Tried these with my mom (who doesn’t like sauce on ANYTHING) and my very picky two little girls – everyone LOVED them and went back for more! Totally delish, and I love the homemade sauce too! Would you mind if I posted these on my site, http://www.katescuisine.com, with a link and credit to your blog, of course? My readers would love it, I think! Thanks for sharing!
a link to the original recipe would be just fine. Please do not re-post the recipe onto your site though. Appreciate it 🙂
We just had enchiladas last night without veggies because I couldn’t really think of any that would be good with them. Next time, I’ll copy you and hide them inside. Genius!
These were soooo good! The zucchini was unexpected! Sauce was wonderful, as well. Thanks! This is a definate repeater!
These. Are. Phenomenal.
We make them for dinner tonight, including the homemade enchilada sauce. SO GOOD! Can’t wait to check out more of your site!
YUM!! Enchiladas are one of my faves! I like changing things up from time to time. I’ll have to give this recipe a try! Thanks!
Made these last night, they were to die for! I love trying out new enchilada recipes, and these did not disappoint. We only had a few left, which I can’t wait to have for leftovers today!
This was easy and yummy! I am 14, and this was easy, and even my picky little sister said it was ok- whick is pretty impressive for her!
Hi Lori
It looks like you may use the corn/wheat blend (hand made and sold at a local grocery store in S.D. Didn’t know if I could use the name) They are soft and flexible and tasty! Is this the type you use???
Thank you! Have a blessed week!
Great seeing you again at Camp Blogaway! I noticed you have a few outstanding Mexican Recipes here on your site. If you get a chance, check out the Better Recipes weekly contest…the theme this week (ends today!) is Mexican Meals! You have a great blog and I look forward to browsing all the fab recipes 🙂
This looks easy and great! I’ll have to try it out!
These look great, and very easy – even for me, who never seems to get Mexican cooking just right! Can’t wait to try them out!
Isn’t this a new blog design? I love it.
I also love this recipe and Hass avocadoes!
Lori! Wow! It is hard to make enchiladas look good in a photograph, but yours look amazing! 🙂 Can’t wait to see you at BlogHer in a couple weeks. Really looking forward to your session!
These look great and love the addition of the veggies! Perfect for the little ones and perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
Happy Cinco De Mayo Lori!
Never thought about there being profession recipe developers! Actually I never really thought much about recipes until today when I wrote a post stating that there are only two kinds of cooks. Now reading a bit on and about this site, I wonder. You are a recipe guru but probably fall into the category of cook I am in. Kind of hard to reconcile cooking and recipes sometimes!
Interesting observation. A prof recipe developer is one who is paid to develop recipes. Brands pay me & I develop for them. Often times I just develop them for the heck of it and put them on my site to share with the world. See my “about” page if you’re interested in seeing who I’ve worked with 🙂
The added veggies are a really nice spin on regular enchiladas. My husband would love this meal.
I always have trouble rolling my enchiladas/burritos/etc up and getting them to stay. Then I get discouraged and don’t want to make them again. But this looks so yummy I think I’ll give it a try.
All the cheese on your enchiladas is making me happy! I definately want to try your homemade enchilada sauce, I normally go towards the green chile type, but the BF loves the red. (Go figure) I will try next time for him!
Looks like really perfect enchiladas! Yum!
We love all things Mexican and Avocado in our house, but especially enchiladas. I am going to have to try your sauce recipe for sure, I have yet to find one I really like. And I am so putting zucchini in there next time! Thanks
Um, your enchiladas looks amazing. Great photos, and I love the backsplash!
Don’t you kind of want to eat them before you even bake them? It’s good you had the patience because enchiladas are so yummy. It’s going to be a good Cinco de Mayo indeed.
Thanks for the recipe, especially for the sauce. I love Mexican food but it’s hard to get any variety way up here in rural NS Canada. I’ll make these this week!
I am so ready for Cinco de Mayo now! I love your recipe for Enchilada Sauce too. It was wonderful meeting you in person at Camp, having admired your work for so long.
Ah, thanks- I feel the same. Love your energy and I hope we get to hang out again soon!
I’m not usually a fan of Mexican food but the photos looked so good I had to try it. It was delicious. Better than anything I’ve eaten in a Mexican restaurant. I finely grated a small zucchini so that my picky eater wouldn’t notice it. It made the meat very moist and the picky eater ate two big helpings! I was worried when I was assembling it as some of the tortillas cracked but after cooking they became so soft that you couldn’t notice. I added some taco seasoning and beef broth to the meat to spice it up a bit. I even made the enchilada sauce from scratch like you recommended. So tasty and so easy! I add a couple of drops of hot sauce.
I am all about easy! This looks delicious…I am all over Mexican food right now!
This looks like such a great dinner! Love this.
Mexican food is my staple food right now. These look great!
Love the addition of veggies to the meat! Like you, I think Cinco de Mayo is just an excuse to part … like St. Patrick’s Day. We don’t celebrate (not being of Mexican heritage) but I will try your enchiladas soon, with a margarita!
First, looks delish! Second, I put zucchini in practically everything, can’t believe I have never thought of putting them in enchiladas! I love making enchiladas but the various sauces I have tried have either been too complicated or just didn’t appeal to my family’s taste buds. Yours is both – simple and looks yummy. I am definitely making this, possibly tonight, since I already have everything on hand. Thanks for the great recipe!
Excellent! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did. And the enchilada sauce is so darn easy to make- I think you’ll like it.
Wow! Not only am I salivating over enchiladas now, at 9:30 in the morning, but I’m impressed how you managed to take all those photos and write a recipe within 24 HOURS of Camp Blogaway!!! Glad I found your site!
lol, remember I told you guys that I stay up late on Sunday nights?? I was so tired… Wish we made time to chat- next time!
I LOVE enchiladas, these look simple and delicious! Have a great Monday Lori!! xoxo