Description
These classic ground beef enchiladas feature seasoned ground beef and onions wrapped in corn tortillas, smothered in enchilada sauce, and topped with melted Cheddar cheese. Baked until bubbly and served with sour cream and cilantro, they’re the ultimate comfort food dinner that’s surprisingly easy to make!
Ingredients
For the Filling:
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1 lb ground beef (≈ 450 g)
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½ white onion, diced
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3 tablespoons taco seasoning
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¼ cup water (≈ 60 mL)
For Assembly:
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10–14 corn tortillas, warmed
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2 cups enchilada sauce
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3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
For Serving:
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Sour cream
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Fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Turn that oven to 375°F right this second. Don’t be like me and forget this step, then stand there hangry with everything assembled waiting 15 minutes for the oven to heat up. Learn from my mistakes.
Throw your ground beef and chopped onion in a big skillet on medium heat. Break up the meat with your spoon – I kinda aggressively smash it around while mentally replaying annoying conversations from my day. Therapeutic. Takes maybe 7-8 minutes till there’s no pink left and your onions are soft. If you’ve got a puddle of grease (depends on what beef you grabbed), tip the pan and scoop it out. I keep an old coffee can under my sink for grease because apparently pouring it down the drain will cost you $300 in plumber fees. Yeah, I learned that one the expensive way.
Dump in your taco seasoning and stir everything till it’s coated. Pour in the water and let it simmer till the water’s gone – maybe 3 or 4 minutes. This makes the seasoning actually stick to the meat instead of pooling at the bottom in sad brown juice. Take it off the heat and set it aside.
Pour about half a cup of sauce in the bottom of your 9×13 pan. Spread it around with a spoon. First time making these I thought “that seems unnecessary” and skipped it. Spent 30 minutes after dinner scraping tortillas off the bottom with a butter knife while my husband asked if we could just order pizza next time. Do. This. Step.
This right here will make or break your whole night. Wrap your tortillas in a damp paper towel, microwave 30 seconds. Or warm them on a skillet if you’re feeling fancy. I tried rolling cold tortillas one time because I was running late for book club. They cracked into approximately 73 pieces. My daughter walked in, looked at the counter covered in tortilla shards and beef, and went “Mom…what happened” in that tone kids use when they’re genuinely concerned. Warm tortillas roll. Cold tortillas explode. Science.
Grab a warm tortilla, plop a couple spoonfuls of beef down the middle – not too much or it’ll bust open – sprinkle cheese on top, roll it up, plop it seam-down in your pan. Keep going. Shove them close together so they lean on each other, otherwise they unroll and you end up with enchilada salad. Which has happened to me at a church potluck in front of literally everyone I know. Still haven’t lived that one down.
Pour all your remaining sauce over the top. Every single tortilla needs to be covered or it’ll dry out and get crunchy like a tostada, which is great for dipping but terrible for enchiladas. Then dump the rest of your cheese on top. I’m talking pile it on. My personal rule is if you can see sauce peeking through, you need more cheese.
Stick it in the oven for 20 minutes. Look for bubbling sauce around the edges and melted cheese with some golden spots forming. Your whole house will smell amazing and people will start magically appearing in the kitchen asking when dinner’s ready.
Wait maybe 2 minutes so you don’t burn your entire mouth. I never wait long enough and always regret it but I’m impatient. Throw some sour cream on top, sprinkle cilantro everywhere, serve it up. Sit there looking smug while everyone acts like you’re some kind of culinary genius when really it took you 45 minutes and most of that was just waiting for the oven.
Notes
Keep your heat on medium when browning beef. I used to crank it to high thinking it’d cook faster but it just steams instead of browns. Takes a few extra minutes on medium but you actually get flavor instead of grey meat mush.
Don’t overstuff your tortillas. I used to pack them like I was making burritos and they’d explode in the oven making this huge mess. Two to three tablespoons of filling max. Trust me.
If your enchilada sauce looks really thick, add a splash of water. Some brands are thicker than others and thick sauce doesn’t pour well. Learned this after dumping clumpy sauce all over and having to spread it with a spoon like I was frosting a weird savory cake.
Use a fork to roll tortillas. Hold one end down with the fork, roll with your other hand. My friend showed me this trick and I literally gasped out loud. Changed my entire enchilada game.
Pack them tight in the pan like sardines. They’ll hold each other up and won’t flop open while baking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican