Dinner just got that much easier – and tastier – with this 6 ingredient Beef Enchilada Casserole. Layers of savory ground beef, onions, and green chilis are tossed in red enchilada sauce, melty cheese, and baked between corn tortilla shells. Your new go-to for a quick and easy weeknight meal that’s sure to be a family favorite!
You can also prepare for your week with a meal plan and a freezer-friendly recipe! This enchilada casserole with corn tortillas is easy to batch cook, freeze, and bake when you need a quick dinner on a busy night.
Beef Enchilada Casserole – The EASY Way!
Dinner should be delicious, wholesome, and satisfying just like my family’s favorite beef enchilada casserole dish.
With just a few ingredients you can bring this casserole together in no time and have a kid-friendly, family-loved meal they’ll crave and ask for again and again. It’s packed with the best Mexican flavors, quick to make, and will be the perfect go-to recipe when you need something with basic pantry items and no time to head to the store.
If you are looking for traditional beef enchiladas, you can check out my popular recipe here!
Why I LOVE this recipe!
- EASY! – After the ingredients are cooked and ready to layer it takes no time to build this casserole in a baking dish, bake, and enjoy with ease.
- ONLY 6 Ingredients! – It’s suprising how much flavor and deliciousness you can create out of just a few ingredients, but this ground beef layered enchilada casserole has just that!
- Kid-Friendly – Kids love to eat this hearty, cheesy, tasty casserole. And, it’s one of those dishes they can help make.
- Quick – Not only is this an easy dish to make, but it’s also quick. The prep is minimal and baking until the cheese is ooey-gooey goodness makes this a 30-minute dinner.
- Bakes hands-off – once you’ve assembled the casserole it just has to bake until it’s ready.
- Freezer-friendly and Meal Prep – Being able to plan meals has its advantages for a busy week or days where you just want a simple dinner. And eating out isn’t always the answer!
Batch cook this easy ground beef enchilada casserole and portion into family (or individual) size servings. Bake when you’re ready, straight from the freezer. *See Freezer Meal Instructions below.
Recipe Notes
This cheesy enchilada recipe with ground beef recipe is as simple as promised! Just 30 minutes for a family friendly meal.
In this section I am going to go through a few tips and tricks I use when making this recipe to get the absolute best and most delicious results.
Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the FULL recipe card.
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Lean Ground Beef – using a leaner meat will result in less fat and liquid when cooking. It will also keep the casserole from becoming too greasy and will be more hearty. Substitute ground turkey for an even leaner and more healthy version of this baked enchiladas casserole.
- Onion – white onions are traditional for Mexican cuisine but sweet, yellow, or red would also work.
- Red Enchilada Sauce – this sauce is easy to purchase but if you’d like you can make it from scratch.
- Cheese – Sharp cheddar is my cheese of choice because has a stronger flavor a not as greasy as other cheeses. Mexican blend, colby jack, or Montereary jack cheese could be used as well.
- Green Chilis – there’s loads of flavor packed in this little can of chopped green chilis. Their mild in heat but add a depth of Southerwestern flavor in these enchiladas like no other. You wouldn’t want to skip adding these into the mix.
- Corn tortillas – Use corn shells for a traditional Mexican flavor. I use 8 regular size corn tortillas, but if you can find the street size corn taco shells, the work the best. They’re easier to layer in the bottom of the casserole dish without cutting.
For the regular size corn tortillas, cut them in half to place the flat side against the pan. Flour tortillas can be substituted but it will not of the same taste and texture as the corn shells.
Recipe Tips
- Build the filling – The ground beef mixture holds all the flavor with cooked onion, green chilis, and beef enveloped in the rich enchilada sauce. Mixing it all together in the pan before building the enchilada casserole helps the flavors get distributed evenly throughout without making any extra dishes!
- Enchilada Sauce – This comes down to personal preference for flavor. I used the Old El Paso Red Enchilada sauce here, but there are different brands, each with their own flavor. Choose the one you love or make enchilada from scratch.
- No Grease, please! – Get that cheesy, saucy ground beef enchilada casserole you want without extra grease. Do this by using a lean beef and not going to heavy on the cheese. A little really goes a long way and this is why I recommend using sharp cheddar where you can get more cheesy flavor without overloading it on cheese.
- Layer it – For an even bake, layer the ingredients by first lining the dish with tortillas. You can cut these to fit, if necessary. Then, add half of the beef mixture evenly, half of the cheese and REPEAT!. Tortillas, meat, then cheese.
- Broil it – if you like an extra crispy cheese top, switch to broil for the last 2 minutes or so. That seems like a small number, but broiling works FAST so keep a close eye on it.
Recipe Short Cuts
If you need to make this recipe, but are extra short on time, here are a few ideas that can help make this recipe even faster!
- Precook Beef and Onion Mix – If you can prepare for this meal a day before, making the beef mixture before hand would bring this casserole together in a breeze. You could even batch cook ground beef and freeze for later use.
- Make casserole in advance – Build the casserole the day before and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. This can be done up to 1 day in advance in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Prep toppings – Most of the toppings that you may use for this beef enchiladas casserole could be prepped a day or two ahead of time. Such as salsa, diced vegetables, or homemade creama.
- Use leftover sides – If you’ve made slow cooker pinto beans you can use leftovers to complete this dish into a meal.
- Freezer Meal – Batch cook these enchiladas during your meal prep cooking for a quick and easy dinner straight from the freezer, to the oven, and on your dinner table in about 35 minutes.
Recipe Variations
If you love this recipe as much as we do and want some quick ways to change it up for variety, these little tips will do the trick!
- Creamy Beef Enchilada Casserole – Combine 4 oz softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream with the beef mixture.
- Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole with Green Sauce – same but use green enchilada sauce in place of red.
- Low Carb Beef Enchilada Casserole – Use either low carb tortillas or thin slices of zucchini in place of traditional corn tortillas. You can see my full recipe for extra notes and tips.
Freezer Meal Instructions
Can you freeze enchilada casserole? Making this Easy Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole recipe into a freezer meal is simple! Follow the steps below and you can store this recipe in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Prepare the beef enchiladas following the instructions up to baking.
- Cook beef and onions over medium heat until onions are tender.
- Stir in the enchilada sauce and green chilis.
- Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish and line the bottom with tortilla shells.
- Add half of the beef mixture, half cheese, and repeat this one more time.
- Wrap your baking dish in plastic wrap tightly and then with foil. For best flavor and texture, enjoy this freezer casserole within 3 months.
- TIP: Use a disposible aluminum pan. This will make freezing and baking easy without having to sacrifice a baking dish. Plus, clean up will be that much easier with a throw away pan.
- TIP: Use a disposible aluminum pan. This will make freezing and baking easy without having to sacrifice a baking dish. Plus, clean up will be that much easier with a throw away pan.
- To bake enchiladas from frozen, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and recover with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake and additional 5 minutes to brown the cheese until bubbly.
What to Serve with Easy Beef Enchilada Casserole
This green chili Enchilada Casserole has our favorite Mexican flavors and just the right amount of cheesy goodness. Pairing this rich casserole with your favorite Mexican-inspired sides will round this dish out for a wholesome meal.
Side Dish Ideas
- Mexican Style Crock Pot Refried Beans – a classic side dish that is hearty and is just as easy as this dish. Start the crock pot earlier in the day and whip up these enchiladas in the evening. Or pull your ready to go freezer enchiladas and bake for an even quicker meal.
- Easy Mexican Rice – Saucy beef enchiladas oozing with melty cheese with a spoonful of Mexican rice will be one delicious bite. Use rice and beans for a full, generous dinner with all the fixings.
- Mexican Corn Salad – A quick an easy way to add a little texture and crunch to this enchiladas meal is with a simple Mexican corn salad. It makes for a great condiment to spoon on top of your plate of enchiladas.
You can choose one or add a few sides. I would go as far as preparing all three of these options for a wholesome, well rounded dinner.
Enchilada Topping Ideas
Beef enchiladas taste even better when topped with some of your favorite toppings. These can be as versatile as you want and something for everyone in the family.
- Chopped white onions. Red or yellow would also taste great.
- Sliced Black Olives– Many people love black olives with ground beef enchiladas!
- Cilantro
- Fresh lime
- Pico de Gallo
- Homade Guacamole
- Avocados and tomatoes
- Easy Homemade Salsa
- Mexican Cheese – add extra cheese such as queso fresco or cojita after baking or during the last few minutes.
- Cilantro Lime Crema – make your own zesty sauce with 1 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, the zest and juice of 1 lime, diced garlic, and a pinch of salt. A quick and easy blender sauce to add a bright pop of flavor to the enchiladas casserole.
Layered Beef Enchilada Casserole Leftovers
If you have leftovers after making layered enchilada casserole, then it is your lucky day! They save and reheat well, and can make the start of another delicious dish.
To save leftovers, separate into meal sized portions and then place in an airtight container and store:
- in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
- in the freezer up to a month
More Casserole Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, I really hope you will take a moment to grab a few more easy recipes for another busy night!
You can check out all of my Casserole recipes here, or see a few of our readers favorite recipes below.
- Green Chile Chicken Casserole
- Bacon Cheeseburger Rice Casserole
- Ultra Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- 7 Layer Taco Casserole
Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.25 pounds lean ground beef
- ½ onion, diced
- 10 ounces red enchilada sauce, (1 can)
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces chopped green chiles, (1 can)
- 8 corn tortillas, (or 12 street taco sized corn tortillas)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Cook the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium high heat until the beef is cooked through and the onion is clear. Drain any excess fat.
- Turn the burner off and add the enchilada sauce (reserve 1 tablespoon) and green chiles. Mix to combine.
- In a 8×8 casserole dish, pour the reserved enchilada sauce and spread to cover the bottom. Lay half of the tortillas in the bottom of the dish. You can cut the tortillas to fit if needed.
- Add half the beef mixture, then top with half the cheese. Repeat with tortillas, meat, and cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are bubbling and the casserole is hot throughout.
- Garnish with your choice of chopped green onions, fresh cilantro, or pico de gallo.
Recipe Notes
- Lean Ground Beef – using a leaner meat will result in less fat and liquid when cooking. It will also keep the casserole from becoming too greasy and will be more hearty. Substitute ground turkey for an even leaner and more healthy version of this baked enchiladas casserole.
- Onion – white onions are traditional for Mexican cuisine but sweet, yellow, or red would also work.
- Cheese – Sharp cheddar is my cheese of choice because has a stronger flavor a not as greasy as other cheeses. Mexican blend, colby jack, or Monterey jack cheese could be used as well.
- Corn tortillas – Use corn shells for a traditional Mexican flavor. I use 8 regular size corn tortillas, but if you can find the street size corn taco shells, the work the best.
- Flour tortillas can be substituted but it will not of the same taste and texture as the corn shells.
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- in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
- in the freezer up to a month
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