Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Meet your new family favorite – this ground beef enchilada casserole recipe! Not only is this comfort food meal easy to prep, but it’s made with simple ingredients, and it’s full of flavors that your family loves.
If you like this easy beef enchilada casserole, try out my cheesy ground beef quesadillas, tortellini soup with sausage, homemade chili, ground chicken tacos, or lasagna stuffed shells next time for another comfort-food classic.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Table of Contents
- What You’ll Love About Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Ingredients
- How to Make Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Storage Instructions
- How to Serve Beef Enchilada Casserole to the Whole Family
- What to Serve with Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe
- More Easy Ground Beef Recipes
- Helpful Tools to Make Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
What You’ll Love About Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Delicious comfort food
- Satisfying meal
- Made with simple ingredients
- High in protein and fiber
- Just 5 minutes prep time
- Just 35 minutes cook time (mostly hands-off)
- 40 minutes total time
- Easy to add fresh and bright toppings to contrast the rich flavors
Ingredients
This recipe for cheesy beef enchilada casserole is made with simple ingredients:
- Onion – I used white onion, but you could also use yellow onion or even red onion.
- Bell pepper – I like using sweet bell peppers – either yellow, orange, red, or a combination.
- Oil – Use a vegetable oil like canola or avocado oil.
- Ground beef – I prefer ground beef with a little fat in it, but use your favorite type.
- Sea salt
- Corn tortillas – Enchiladas are traditionally made with corn tortillas, so that’s what I’ve used, but you could also use flour tortillas.
- Red enchilada sauce – Use your favorite enchilada sauce – mild or hot – depending on your own preferences. You can also use homemade enchilada sauce if you prefer.
- Refried black beans – Make your own or use canned black or traditional refried beans.
- Cheese – I’ve used shredded cheddar cheese, but you could also use a Mexican cheese blend or Monterey jack cheese. You can shred your own, or use pre-shredded as a shortcut.
- Toppings – Shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo, hot sauce, pickled jalapeños, diced avocado or guacamole, fresh lime juice
How to Make Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ok, let’s make this layered beef enchilada casserole!
- Prep ingredients. Finely chop onion and peppers.
- Cook beef. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and peppers and cook until soft. Add ground beef and season with sea salt. Stir frequently and cook until browned. Drain if necessary.
- Assemble casserole. Drizzle enchilada sauce on bottom of a 9×9″ baking dish. Top with layer of corn tortillas, beans, beef mixture, and shredded cheese. Repeat with tortillas, beans, beef, and cheese. Finish with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese.
- Bake casserole. Bake casserole until golden brown and cheese is melty.
Storage Instructions
Store the beef enchilada bake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
How to reheat
Reheat in the microwave or a 350 degree F oven until heated through.
Can you freeze casseroles?
Yes, you can freeze the casserole for 2-3 months in an airtight container in the freezer. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
How to Serve Beef Enchilada Casserole to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in. 😉
Casseroles can be tough for kids, since all of the food is mixed together and if they are still learning to like one component in the dish, they may be apprehensive of the whole thing.
I would recommend serving the beef and bean enchilada casserole with a few things you know they WILL eat, so that even if they don’t eat the casserole, they still have other options. Our standards are milk, fruit, and then some sort of carb. For this meal I’d do tortilla chips and I also served it with refried beans since my kids love those.
All of my articles on feeding kids can be found here and if you want a FULL list of all of the videos I have with hacks, tips, scripts, and ideas for feeding kids, check out my instagram or tiktok page.
What to Serve with Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe
blah and for a whole big list, check out my 49 side dishes for Tex Mex meals.
- Frozen corn (cook and season with butter, salt, and pepper to taste)
- Mexican rice
- Tortilla chips
- Raw veggies and ranch
- Chipotle fajita veggies
- Tex Mex side salad
More Easy Ground Beef Recipes
If you like this recipe for ground beef enchiladas casserole, you might also like some of these other easy ground beef recipes:
- Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadilla
- Easy Lasagna Stuffed Shells
- Ground Beef and Broccoli
- Weeknight Beef Tostadas
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Helpful Tools to Make Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
- 8×8″ Baking Dish – I LOVE these white baking dishes from Made-In. They look beautiful on the table and clean up so easily. No stains from the beef enchiladas casserole.
- 12″ Nonstick Frying Pan – Another Made-In item that I truly couldn’t live without. I didn’t know nonstick could be so good! I used it for the ground beef and veggies in the recipe for enchilada casserole with beef.
Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
You’ll love this ground beef enchilada casserole recipe! It takes just 15 min to prep and it’s full of classic enchilada flavors.
Ingredients
- 1/2 white onion
- 3/4 cup bell pepper
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 10 oz. corn tortillas (about 9 tortillas, cut in half)
- 15 oz. enchilada sauce*
- 15 oz. can refried black beans
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (12 oz.)
- Toppings: shredded lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, avocado, onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Finely chop onion and peppers.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper to pan and cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add ground beef and season with sea salt. Break up beef with a spoon and cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Drain beef if necessary.
- Assemble casserole. Drizzle 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×9” baking dish. Top with a layer of corn tortillas, 1/2 of the refried beans, 1 cup ground beef mixture, and 1 cup shredded cheese.
- Repeat layers with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, remaining beans, remaining beef, and a layer of cheese. Finish with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden brown.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
- Use your favorite enchilada sauce. You can use mild or hot depending on preferences.
- Nutrition facts are an estimate and do not include toppings.
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