Enchilada Casserole Recipe
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Beef Enchilada Casserole makes a perfect weeknight or weekend meal to serve family and friends. Enchilada Casserole is comfort food that feeds those spicy cravings.
Enchiladas make one of my family’s favorite meals. And this Enchilada Casserole just takes it over the top, let me tell you.
Thankfully, it only takes a little bit of time to put together. Here are a few things I’ve discovered over the years of making this enchilada casserole that make it easy as can be.
Beef Enchilada Casserole Recipe
For this beef enchilada casserole, you’ll need:
- olive oil – used for crisping the tortillas
- medium tortillas – use your favorite tortilla, flour or corn. We prefer to use corn tortillas in this casserole
- ground beef – we prefer to use a lean ground beef. You can also substitute with ground turkey if you prefer.
- onion
- garlic
- enchilada sauce – I use my homemade enchilada sauce (stovetop or blender method). You can also substitute with store-bought in a pinch.
- sour cream
- cheddar cheese
- Monterey Jack cheese
You’ll begin by lightly browning your tortillas with olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium heat. This prevents the tortillas from being soggy in the casserole. Once they are browned, set them aside as you prepare the enchilada casserole filling.
Then, brown your ground beef (or turkey) and drain away any drippings. Add your onion and garlic and cook until tender.
Assemble the casserole by pouring 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil or cooking spray. Then, layer 3 tortillas on top of the sauce. Top the tortillas with 1/2 cup more sauce. Spread the beef mixture on top of the tortillas, followed by sour cream and the cheeses. Repeat with tortillas, enchilada sauce, beef mixture, sour cream, and cheeses, ending with cheeses.
Bake until the cheeses have melted, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
Make Ahead Instructions
Assemble beef enchilada casserole as directed without baking. When ready to serve, bake until the cheeses have melted and the casserole is heated throughout, about 20-30 minutes.
Here’s my enchilada casserole recipe. I hope your family loves it as much as we do.
Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 6 tortillas
- 2-3 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups enchilada sauce
- 1-2 cups sour cream
- 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Drizzle olive oil into bottom of 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Once warm, add a tortilla, one at a time, to the skillet. Cook until crisp on each side, remove from the skillet with tongs and set aside.
- Add beef and onions to the skillet and cook until completely browned. Remove from heat and drain away any drippings. Add garlic to the skillet and cook until fragrant.
- Spoon about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish that has been sprayed with olive oil or cooking spray. Spread enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Place 3 tortillas on top of the enchilada sauce, overlapping them slightly at the edges to make all 3 tortillas fit lengthwise. Ladle on additional enchilada sauce, about 1/2 cup. Layer on beef, onion and garlic mixture, making sure to spread mixture evenly over tortillas and enchilada sauce.
- Top with large dollops of sour cream and spread slightly. Sprinkle on a little of both cheeses.
- Repeat layering with 3 more tortillas, enchilada sauce, beef mixture, sour cream, and end with cheeses.
- Bake in oven until cheeses have melted, about 20 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Notes
To freeze: Prepare recipe through baking, wrap tightly with aluminum foil and place into the freezer. To heat once frozen, simply remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Bake as instructed in the recipe; however, note that baking time may take a bit longer to make sure all ingredients are heated throughout.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Just made this and it is amazing. Writing in my recipe book now. Hubby wanted tomatoes and lettuce to top it and decided it only needed more enchilada sauce on top of it, none of the extras!
I’m so glad you and your husband liked this casserole, Serra. Thanks!
Thanks for the post, look forward to making this for church.
When you say, make recipe THROUGH baking then freeze, do you mean to bake it and the freeze, or stop at the baking step, freeze, thaw overnight in fridge the day prior to serving, then bake it a smidge longer than the 20 minutes noted in recipe?
The homemade enchilada sauce is not highlighted in recipe like it was in your answer to Teresa. Right now you have to seek it in “search”.
Hi Leighe,
Thank you for mentioning that to me. There was a system update and I’ve corrected it now so that the link to the enchilada sauce should be active. I appreciate you taking a minute to let me know and hope you enjoy the casserole! Thanks!
I made this casserole this afternoon and it turned out very nicely! I might add a chopped little green chilies though next time. Also, I made the enchilada sauce and it was amazingly easy (however I put way too much sugar in the sauce by accident! But my picky husband loved it anyway!).
Wow! I can’t believe how close this recipe is to my own. I use a bunch of chopped green onions/scallions instead of white or yellow onions but I’ve used those too when I’ve been out of green. And I also throw in 2 or 3 chopped fresh Roma tomatoes because one year we had a bumper crop and I put them in just about everything and now we like it that way. Adds just a touch of freshness. The only other thing I do is use more enchilada sauce and more tortillas. I usually buy a large pack of the smaller corn tortillas and I use about 12 of those because I just do 2 layers, a bottom and a top with the meat filling in between. That makes enough for 6 to 8 people.
I can tell you without hesitation that this is a great recipe. I’ve been making it for years and I always get tons of compliments.
This was delicious! I made the enchilada sauce with half the chili powder, flour tortillas without the first frying step and precooked shredded chicken. I didn’t measure the sauce, sour cream, cheese or chicken; I just eye-balled it. Topped with chopped green onions, quartered grape tomatoes, sliced black olives and chopped avocado in lime juice.
This is now my favorite meal to cook and eat. Thank you for this! It is very easy, customizable and flavorful.
Awesome, Kelly! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe!!! Thanks!
This was so good! And easy too! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it! Thanks so much, Susie!
Where is the recipe for the enchilada sauce?
Hi Teresa,
There is a link to the Enchilada Sauce in the recipe, but you can click on this one to get to it as well. Thanks! Hope you enjoy it! xo
This may be considered a dumb question. Which is best to use…flour or corn tortillas?
Hi Darrell,
It depends on your particular preference. My family enjoys corn tortillas most of the time, so I use those a lot. Enjoy the casserole! Thanks so much!