Nothing is better than a large skillet piled high with saucy meat, flour tortillas, and gooey cheese. This one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is perfect for family dinner!
Easy Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Stop the bus. Hold the phone. Wait right there, missy. I’m about to introduce you to your new favorite family dinner recipe and the best part is, I froze it and it totally worked so it’s also a freezer meal.
For a little while, Cade lived in Arizona where there’s a lot of Mexican-inspired foods, so I thought for sure he’d have some good recipes or a love of Mexican food when we got married, but he didn’t really. I mean, he loved to eat Mexican but he was more drawn to southern or Italian recipes.
The longer we’ve been married the more he has been pulled back over to Mexican food and this one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is for sure one of his new favorites.
Cooking with Cast Iron
Our good friend from Country Cleaver wrote a new cookbook called, Cast Iron Gourmet, and if you haven’t gotten it yet, you pretty much should. There’s a strawberry chocolate panini that is calling my name.
Oh!! And the pesto-and-mozzarella-stuffed dinner rolls look like melty cheese, nuggets of awesomeness.
There’s everything from breakfast and sides to main dishes and desserts and I’m not kidding, I suddenly want to buy every cast iron skillet in every size and color.
If you haven’t cooked with cast iron before, well first of all you should stop reading this and buy our favorite Lodge Cast Iron skillet off of Amazon and get on that because the flavor and even cooking will sell you for life. But also, Megan covers everything you’ll need to know about it so you’ll never have any questions about what you’re doing.
Blast, I got off subject. Let’s chat more about this ground beef enchilada casserole, shall we?
Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
This Mexican casserole with tortillas is a cinch to make and requires very few ingredients. Here’s what all we used in this ground beef enchilada casserole recipe:
- Ground Beef: We like to get 80/20 or 85/15 for maximum flavor.
- Taco Seasoning: Make your own or grab your favorite store brand.
- Yellow Onion: adds flavor and texture
- Cremini Mushrooms: adds flavor
- Red Enchilada Sauce: Las Palmas is my favorite store-bought brand or you can make your own.
- Pinto Beans: grab a can of cooked beans or substitute with black beans if desired
- Cheddar Cheese: buy a block and grate it yourself for the best meltiness
- Queso Fresco: You can find queso fresco by the other packaged cheeses or in the refrigerated section for Mexican specialty foods.
- Flour Tortillas: If you don’t want to make your own tortillas, we highly recommend Vista Hermosa brand.
- Fresh Cilantro: adds a fresh pop of flavor
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Here’s the deal, it’s all about the meat in the beginning. You just cook it up with seasonings then dump in things like onions, pinto beans and enchilada sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until thick and bubbly.
Now you’ll stir in two kinds of cheese, and don’t even think about skipping the queso fresco. It adds a whole new level to the dish that I can’t possibly explain, so just trust me on it.
After everything is well combined, pour it all off into a bowl and add a spoonful back into the skillet, spreading it all over the bottom so the tortillas don’t stick. This is similar to a lasagna, so layer tortilla, sauce, we added extra cheese at this step but that’s not necessary.
Keep layering the remaining tortillas until you reach the top and then pop the sucker into the oven for about 20-25 minutes. It’s going to be glorious at this point.
You can top it with sour cream, Greek yogurt, crema, cilantro and even avocados would be good or just eat it as is. The best part, hands down is the crispy edges of tortilla and cheese. Ohhhhh mama!
Can I Use Ground Turkey Instead of Ground Beef?
Absolutely! We have tested this recipe with both ground beef and ground turkey before and we loved them both. Use whichever you prefer.
Can I Make This Enchilada Casserole Vegetarian?
You might be able to, but we’ve only ever made it with ground meat. But I imagine you’d just add extra beans to make it a filling vegetarian meal.
How Long Will Ground Beef Enchiladas Keep in the Fridge?
This easy enchilada casserole will keep 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
How to Freeze Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
To make freezer-ready enchilada casserole, assemble the casserole in a tin baking dish and then wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap. When you’re ready to enjoy the frozen casserole, heat it directly from frozen.
Toppings for Enchilada Casserole
You don’t have to add any toppings at all, but you want to add a little something extra on top, some great options would be:
- Diced Red Onions
- Sliced Black Olives
- Diced Tomatoes
- Sliced Jalapeños
Tips for Making Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
If desired, you could easily make this ground beef enchilada casserole gluten-free by using corn tortillas instead of flour. The texture of the dish may change slightly, but I imagine it’d still taste delicious! Make sure the taco seasoning is gf too!
Depending on the size of your cast iron skillet, your casserole may have more or less layers than ours did. A smaller skillet will require additional layers, and a larger skillet will require fewer layers. Either way works!
This ground beef enchilada casserole is essentially a meal in and of itself, but you may want to consider serving it with steamed rice or veggies to round things out.
If you want to try a delicious one skillet chicken enchilada recipe, try our honey lime chicken enchilada casserole!
This one skillet enchilada ground beef casserole is a simple and delicious weeknight dinner that the whole family will love. Made with pantry staples and easy to customize, it’s a recipe you’ll come back to time and time again.
Watch the Video Here
More EASY BEEF RECIPES:
You can find all of our beef recipes here.
Description
Nothing is better than a skillet piled high with saucy meat, flour tortillas, and gooey cheese. This one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is perfect for family dinner!
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Heat an 8-10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. See note below.
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Add the ground beef and taco seasoning and stir throughout cooking to combine, about 8-10 minutes.
1 Pound Ground Beef, 1 Package Taco Seasoning
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Next, add in the onions and mushrooms, and continue stirring every 2-3 minutes for 5-6 more minutes.
1 Cup Yellow Onion, 1 Cup Cremini Mushrooms
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Once everything is soft, add in the enchilada sauce and beans. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue to stir every few minutes.
2 Cups Red Enchilada Sauce, 1 Can Pinto Beans
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Add in 2/3 of each cheese and stir to combine.
3 Cups Cheddar Cheese, 1/2 Cup Queso Fresco
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Pour the mixture into a bowl and remove the skillet from the burner.
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Add a large spoonful of the mixture to the bottom of the skillet, and spread it around so the tortillas don’t burn.
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Place one tortilla into the skillet and cover with a spoonful of the sauce mixture.
5-6 Flour Tortillas
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Add another tortilla and repeat the layering until you’ve used all of the ingredients, top with all of the remaining cheddar and queso fresco.
3 Cups Cheddar Cheese, 1/2 Cup Queso Fresco
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Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes and remove from the oven.
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Sprinkle with cilantro and add a dollop of sour cream if desired.
Cilantro, Mexican Crema
- Depending on the size of your tortillas you may need to change the size of your skillet.
Enchilada casserole will keep for 2-3 days, covered, in the refrigerator.
Calories: 586kcal
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