Ground Beef Enchiladas are saucy, cheesy, and filled with seasoned beef—just the kind of dinner you can put together on a busy weeknight. The tortillas soften under the sauce while the cheese melts over the top, so you get tender rolls and a gooey topping in every serving.
How to make ground beef enchiladas: Cook the seasoned beef and onion, roll the filling and cheese into tortillas, then cover with enchilada sauce and more cheese. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through.
Why You’ll Love It
- Weeknight timing: The recipe takes 30 minutes from start to finish, including 5 minutes of prep.
- Plenty of sauce: It goes beneath and over the rolls, so you don’t have to serve them with a dry top.
- Cheese inside and out: Cheddar and Monterey Jack go into the filling and melt across the surface.
- Simple equipment: You need a large skillet for the filling and a baking dish for the enchiladas.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef and onion: Cook them together with the taco seasoning, then drain the fat before filling the tortillas. I like to drain the beef thoroughly; otherwise, that fat ends up in the baking dish along with the sauce. Keep the diced onion in the skillet with the beef rather than adding it raw to the rolls.
Taco seasoning: The tablespoon in the ingredient list seasons the beef filling. Add it while the beef cooks so it gets mixed through the meat and onion, rather than leaving you with heavily seasoned bites beside plain ones.
Enchilada sauce: You need 2 cups altogether. Set some aside for the bottom of the dish and use the rest over the filled tortillas; you don’t need to prepare a separate sauce for the filling. I measure it before I start assembling because it is easy to pour too much into the dish at once.
Tortillas: Buy enchilada-size tortillas so the filling can be rolled into 8 portions.
Cheddar and Monterey Jack: Combine the shredded cheeses before you start filling the tortillas. That gives you both cheeses in the rolls and on top. I set aside some of the mixture for the topping before I begin, rather than discovering at the last tortilla that I have used it all.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 cups enchilada sauce, divided
- 8 enchilada-size tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
How to Make Ground Beef Enchiladas
1. Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Have your baking dish ready for the sauce and rolled tortillas while you cook the filling.
2. Cook the beef. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, diced onion, and taco seasoning, and cook until the beef is no longer pink and reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Drain the fat before you take the filling to the baking dish.
3. Prepare the cheese and dish. Combine the cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Spread about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce across the bottom of the baking dish, reaching the area where the tortillas will sit.
4. Fill and roll. Spoon some beef mixture down the middle of a tortilla and top it with about 1/8 cup of the combined cheeses. Roll it up and place it seam side down in the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
5. Sauce and bake. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the rolls, covering their tops, and add the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the enchiladas are heated through. Check the center with a food thermometer; it should reach 165°F.
Where the Sauce Goes and How the Rolls Stay Closed
Think of assembly in layers: sauce on the bottom, filled tortillas in the middle, then sauce and cheese across the top. The bottom layer goes in before any rolls, so don’t wait until the dish is full to open the sauce. Once the tortillas are in place, pour the rest over them and coat their tops rather than leaving exposed strips.
The seam belongs underneath each roll. Put a filled tortilla into the dish as soon as you roll it, with its loose edge against the bottom; then move on to the next one. I find it easier to keep the rolls closed when I place them directly in the dish instead of setting them aside and handling them again.
If a tortilla starts to crack while you fold it, stop and warm the tortillas before continuing. This matters especially with corn tortillas, which can break when rolled cold. You want a roll that holds together long enough to transfer into the dish without spilling its beef and cheese.
Finally, look beyond the melted topping before you serve. The enchiladas should be heated through at the center; use the thermometer check in the baking step rather than judging by the cheese alone. That way, you know what is happening beneath the saucy surface.
Tips for Success
Why is there so much fat in my baking dish?
You may see fat collecting around the rolls if it was left in the skillet with the cooked beef. Drain the beef mixture before filling the tortillas. Once the rolls are in the dish, that fat is much harder to separate from the enchilada sauce.
Why is there hardly any cheese on top?
It is tempting to put all the cheese into the tortillas as you fill them. Combine the cheeses first, then keep enough back to scatter over the sauced rolls before baking. You will still have cheese in the filling, with a melted layer on top.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers. Keep them in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Thaw frozen portions in the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave—not on the counter—and reheat leftovers until the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
What to Serve With It
These enchiladas can be your main dish without another beef entrée alongside them. If you are planning dinners for the rest of the week, try ground beef stroganoff for a creamy skillet meal or Mongolian ground beef noodles when you want noodles. For a slow-cooker night, there is Amish ground beef noodle casserole or ground beef chow mein. You could also put ground beef and gravy over mashed potatoes or hobo casserole on your dinner list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes in ground beef enchiladas?
Ground beef cooked with onion and taco seasoning, a mix of shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack, enchilada-size tortillas and 2 cups of enchilada sauce spread under and over the rolls.
What is the secret to a good enchilada?
Sauce on both sides and tortillas that bend. A layer of sauce under the rolls keeps the bottoms soft, sauce over the top coats every tortilla, and warmed tortillas roll without cracking.
Can I use corn tortillas?
Yes. Warm them first so they bend without breaking, then fill and roll them the same way.
Final Notes
Before you start filling, put the skillet, cheese, tortillas, sauce, and baking dish within reach so you can assemble the rolls without stopping. If you have a question or make these enchiladas, tell me how they turned out in the comments.
Ground Beef Enchiladas
Want This Recipe Later?
We'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 cups enchilada sauce divided
- 8 tortillas enchilada size
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, diced onion, and taco seasoning. Cook until the beef is no longer pink and reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Drain the fat.
- Combine the cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Spread about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce across the bottom of a baking dish.
- Spoon some beef mixture down the middle of a tortilla and top with about 1/8 cup of the combined cheeses. Roll it up and place it seam side down in the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the rolls and add the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until heated through, the cheese has melted, and the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
