The best ground beef enchiladas recipe! An easy ground beef filling is wrapped in tortillas, smothered with enchilada sauce, covered with cheese and baked to bubbly perfection!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13” pan
Make the Ground Beef Filling
Combine ground beef, onion and minced garlic in a non-stick fry pan or cast-iron skillet.
Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the meat begins to brown and is no longer pink in the center, stirring often.*
Once the ground beef begins to brown, add taco seasoning and stir until it’s evenly distributed.
Add the lime juice and stir to combine.
Continue cooking, uncovered, until the mixture is browned, stirring occasionally
Once the meat is lightly browned, remove the skillet from the heat and add 1 cup cheddar cheese, black olives, corn and cilantro and stir to combine.
Assemble the Beef Enchiladas
Pour ½ cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Add ¾ cup of filling to the center of a tortilla. Roll tightly and place in the baking dish. Repeat with 7 remaining tortillas and the rest of the filling, arranging them in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolled tortillas and spread evenly.
Sprinkle 1 ½ cups cheese evenly over tortillas.
Bake & Serve
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.
Let cool slightly then serve warm with your favorite toppings (salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc.)
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
Ground beef. You can sub ground turkey, if desired.
Onion. Choose your favorite onion variety, our favorites include sweet onions and red onions.
Minced Garlic. Freshly minced or jarred are both great choices.
Lime Juice. Freshly squeezed or bottled both work well in this recipe.
Cheddar Cheese. In my opinion, the sharper the better! You can use a Mexican blend cheese if you prefer.
Black Olives.Another key ingredient, I don't recommend omitting but you can if you must. You can substitute green olives.
Corn. Fresh corn cut off the cob, or frozen corn that has been thawed can be used in this recipe.
Cilantro. There are no substitutes for fresh cilantro!
Enchilada Sauce. choose your favorite enchilada sauce or make your own. I prefer red, but green sauce works too.
Tortillas. Flour or corn tortillas both work well. Corn is a great gluten-free option. We prefer the taste and heartiness of flour tortillas.
How to store Beef EnchiladasStore leftover enchiladas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To freezeThere are two ways to freeze this beef enchiladas recipe:
Freeze before baking. To freeze before baking simply assemble the enchiladas, cover tightly with plastic wrap then foil, and freeze. To bake from frozen remove the plastic wrap. Bake covered in aluminum foil until the filling is bubbly, then remove the foil and bake until cheese is melted. This is my preferred method.
Freeze after baking. To freeze after baking simply follow the instructions, let cool to room temperature, then cover with foil and freeze. Reheat covered with foil until warmed through.