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beef enchiladas with red sauce and cheese
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5 from 2 votes

Beef Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Author: Jenny Prior

Ingredients

Seasoned Ground Beef (Taco Meat)

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef 90-95% lean
  • 1 T. homemade taco seasoning or store-bought packet
  • 1/3 c. water

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

  • 3 T. unsalted butter or use 2 T. of avocado oil
  • 2 T. all-purpose flour
  • 2 T. homemade taco seasoning you could use a store-bought packet or combine 1 T. and 2 t. chili powder, 1/2 t. onion powder, 1/2 t. garlic powder, 1/4 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper
  • 4 T. tomato paste
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth you can use water but chicken broth will give the sauce more flavor
  • salt to taste

Beef Enchiladas

  • 1 lb. of seasoned meat
  • homemade red enchilada sauce
  • 16-20 flour tortillas
  • 8 oz. monterey jack cheese
  • optional: sauteed pepper onions, and/or mushrooms
  • optional: sliced olives

Instructions

Making the Seasoned Ground Beef

  • Preheat a large pot over medium heat.
  • Once the pot is preheated, add the ground beef. Use a spatula to chop and flip the meat every 1-2 minutes so that all the meat is cooked and finely chopped.
  • When all the meat is browned and no pink remains, turn off the heat and place a metal fine mesh strainer inside a heat safe bowl. Then, use oven mitts to pick up the pot and carefully strain off most of the fat.
  • Add 1/3 cup water and one tablespoon of Mexican/taco seasoning for every one pound of ground beef to the pot.
  • Stir the water and seasoning into the meat until all the meat is coated evenly with the spices. Turn the heat to bring the mixture to a low simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until most of the water has evaporated.
  • Turn off heat and let the meat cool down for filling enchiladas./

Making the homemade enchilada sauce

  • Melt butter in medium sized pot over medium to medium-high heat.
  • Once melted, add the flour and taco seasoning. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients into the melted butter to create the base of your sauce.
  • When the flour mixture is bubbling and fragrant, after about 2 minutes, stir in the tomato paste.
  • Then, add the broth and whisk the ingredients together until all the tomato paste and flour/spice mixture is evenly distributed in the sauce and you have a smooth sauce.
  • Reduce heat to a low simmer (bubbles around the edge of the pot) and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce is thicker and reduced a little bit. The consistency should coat a spoon but should not be as thick as gravy.
  • Remove from heat. Add salt to taste. (I wouldn't recommend adding salt if your broth was not low-sodium.)/

Assembling and Baking Enchiladas

  • Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Prepare an assembly station with two casserole dishes, the cooked seasoned meat, bowl of shredded cheese, pot of homemade enchilada sauce, and any other optional fillings or toppings.
  • Add about 2-4 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce to each baking dish.
  • Take half of the tortillas and dip one side in the sauce and place at the end of the first pan. Continue to dip each tortilla in the sauce on one side then stack them on top of each other. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas in the other casserole dish.
  • Take the first tortilla and fill it with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the cooked meat spread down the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle one or two pinches of grated cheese over the meat. Roll the tortilla over the meat and place seam side down in the pan. Hold the first tortilla in place so it doesn't unroll while you begin rolling the next enchiladas. Once you finish filling and rolling the enchiladas, adjust the arrangement of the rolled tortillas so they are spaced equally.
  • Repeat with the second casserole dish.
  • Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the rolled enchiladas and spread with a spatula so all the tortillas are covered completely with sauce. Top with the rest of the shredded cheese and optional sliced olives.
  • Bake 20 minutes then rotate pans and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
  • Cool for 5 to 10 minutes then serve with sour cream, fresh cilantro, sliced green onion, beans (black beans or refried beans), and/or Mexican rice.

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