Easy Beef Enchilada Casserole

Indulge in all of your favorite Mexican flavors with this 4-ingredient easy Beef Enchilada Casserole! The quick dinner recipe includes corn tortillas, ground beef, enchilada sauce, and plenty of gooey, melty cheese. Garnish each plate with your favorite toppings, and serve this flavorful casserole with corn salad, rice, ranch-style beans, or tortilla chips and guacamole for a family-friendly weeknight meal!

Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe

When you’re craving a pan of beef enchiladas, but you’re not particularly interested in rolling, stuffing, and laboring in the kitchen, then this quick, shortcut dish is just the solution. Skip a trip to the local Mexican restaurant, cozy up in your jammies at home, and feast on this easy beef enchilada casserole at home. With only 4 ingredients, family dinners don’t get much easier!

Easy Enchilada Casserole

A traditional enchilada is a corn tortilla that’s rolled around a filling of meat, potatoes, beans, vegetables, or cheese, and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas originated in Mexico and are popular throughout the southwestern United States. Today we’re preparing a twist on the classic dish by turning beef enchiladas into a cheesy layered Mexican casserole — complete with corn tortillas, plenty of cheese, ground beef, and a zesty red enchilada sauce!

Ingredients

This is just an overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a beef enchilada casserole. As always, specific measurements and complete step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Ground beef: the base of the casserole filling. You can substitute with ground turkey or chicken if you prefer.
• Enchilada sauce: we’re using a red enchilada sauce here, but you can also use green enchilada sauce.
• Grated cheese: I like a Mexican blend that includes Monterey Jack, cheddar cheese, asadero, and queso cheeses, but plain grated cheddar also works.
• Corn tortillas: a key component to every enchilada recipe, these form the layers in the casserole.

How to Make Beef Enchilada Casserole

Did you ever think that you could assemble an entire casserole with just 4 basic ingredients? I promise, this is such a simple yet flavorful meal!

1. Spread ¼ cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook beef until no longer pink. Drain, return to the skillet, and stir in ¾ cup of the enchilada sauce and ½ cup of the cheese.
3. Place tortillas in the bottom of the prepared dish, tearing or overlapping them as necessary to cover the bottom.
4. Top with half of the beef mixture and drizzle with enchilada sauce. Repeat layers one more time.
5. Cover with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the cover, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes (until the cheese melts and the casserole is hot and bubbly).

What to Serve with Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole

This easy casserole goes well with any of these sides:

• Refried Beans or Ranch-Style Beans
• Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole, or queso
• Easy Pico de Gallo
• Rice
• Simple green salad
• Broccoli and Cheese

Add Toppings!

While my kids like it straight out of the oven, I prefer to pile my plate high with plenty of extra toppings. Serve the casserole with any of these:

• Avocado or guacamole;
• Salsa or pico de gallo;
• Sour cream (or Greek yogurt);
• Green onion, chives, or fresh cilantro;
• Jalapeno peppers;
• Sliced black olives;
• Chopped fresh tomatoes;
• Lime wedges;
• Minced red onion.

Make Ahead

You can assemble the enchilada casserole in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Allow the dish to come to room temperature before baking.

Storage

Leftover enchilada casserole will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

How to Reheat

Refrigerated leftovers can be reheated in the microwave on high power for 1-2 minutes (or until the individual serving reaches the desired temperature). To reheat a larger casserole in the oven, cover loosely with foil and warm in a 350°F oven until heated through (about 20 minutes).

How to Freeze

Assemble the casserole as instructed, cover tightly with foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, thaw the dish in the refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature on the counter before it goes in the oven.

Recipe Variations

• The enchilada sauce gives this dish great flavor, but you can easily substitute with an equal amount of taco sauce or your favorite salsa.
• For even more flavor, add spices like smoky ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, or minced fresh garlic to the ground beef mixture.
• Swap out the ground beef and use ground turkey instead.
• Add a can of corn (drained), beans (drained and rinsed), diced onion, or chopped green chilies to the filling. Use the base recipe and jazz it up with as many spices and “extras” as you like.
• Corn tortillas are more authentic for enchiladas, but you can substitute with flour tortillas if you prefer.
• Use different types of cheese. Try just Monterey Jack, just cheddar cheese, or use Colby or Pepper Jack.

Tips for the Best Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe

• To serve a larger family, double all of the ingredients and bake the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch dish.
• The corn tortillas will soften as they combine with the beef and sauce. That’s normal! The longer the dish sits, the softer the tortillas will be. If you like them a bit more firm, assemble the casserole just before baking.
• Bake the casserole just until it’s heated through. All of the ingredients are already cooked, so you just want to warm it in the oven until bubbly. Don’t bake it for too long or it may dry out.
• Garnish the casserole with all of your favorite Mexican-inspired toppings. Good options include radish, cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, avocado, sliced olives, or sliced green onion.

More Enchilada Recipes to Try

• Easy Chicken Enchiladas
• Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
• Easy Beef Enchiladas
• Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Easy Beef Enchilada Casserole

5 from 3 votes

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 40 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total: 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 355 kcal

This easy Beef Enchilada Casserole requires just 4 simple ingredients and about 15 minutes of prep!

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Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 ½ cups enchilada sauce, divided
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Optional garnish: sour cream, sliced green onion, sliced olives, diced avocado or guacamole

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.
• Spread ¼ cup of enchilada sauce in a thin layer in the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, cook beef until no longer pink. Drain off the excess fat, return the beef to the skillet, and stir in ¾ of the enchilada sauce and ½ cup of the cheese.
• Arrange 4 of the tortillas in the bottom of the prepared dish, tearing or overlapping them as necessary to cover the bottom.
• Top with half of the meat mixture and drizzle with ¼ cup of enchilada sauce. Repeat layers one more time.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Uncover, sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheese, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes (until cheese melts and the casserole is hot and bubbly).
• Garnish with optional toppings, if desired, and serve!

Notes

• To serve a larger family, double all of the ingredients and bake the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch dish.
• The corn tortillas will soften as they combine with the beef and sauce. That’s normal! The longer the dish sits, the softer the tortillas will be. If you like them a bit more firm, assemble the casserole just before baking.
• Bake the casserole just until it’s heated through. All of the ingredients are already cooked, so you just want to warm it in the oven until bubbly. Don’t bake it for too long or it may dry out.
• Garnish the casserole with all of your favorite Mexican-inspired toppings. Good options include radish, cilantro, sour cream, lime wedges, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, avocado, sliced olives, or sliced green onion.

Keyword: beef enchilada casserole, easy beef enchilada casserole, Enchilada casserole, ground beef enchilada casserole

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Blair Lonergan

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This recipe was originally published in January, 2016. The photos were updated in January, 2022.