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This ground beef enchilada skillet has all the flavor of classic beef enchiladas, but is made in one pan. This easy, family friendly dinner is full of Mexican flavors and ready to eat in less than 40 minutes!
Looking for an easy chicken enchilada recipe? Try this green chile chicken enchilada skillet!
Why I love it
Lazy enchiladas – Let’s be honest, traditional enchiladas are tedious to make. I love that these “lazy” enchiladas don’t require any stuffing or rolling up of tortillas. You just cut them into triangles, or tear them up, and toss them in the pan with the beef filling.
Ready in less than 40 minutes – Generally enchiladas take at least 40 minutes to prep and that’s before they even make it into the oven. These can be ready to eat in 40 minutes or less depending on how speedy you are with prep work.
Customizable – These enchiladas can easily be customized to whatever you and your family like best. Change up the ground meat, the sauce, or the toppings. I’ve listed specific ideas below.
The ingredients
- Ground beef – I like to use lean ground beef so the filling doesn’t get to greasy. 90/10 or 93/7 is generally what I use.
- Onion – A white or yellow onion work well for this recipe.
- Chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder – You’re essentially making a homemade taco seasoning with this blend.
- Cilantro – It’s almost guaranteed that if I’m making a Mexican inspired or Southwest recipe I’m adding in fresh cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro skip it.
- Black beans and corn – These aren’t typically found in beef enchiladas, but I like to give this version a little more heartiness and flavor by adding them.
- Enchilada sauce – Look for a good quality store bought enchilada sauce or you can make your own if you’re feeling ambitious. My favorite brands are Siete Foods and Hatch.
- Cheese – I used Colby Jack cheese, but cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a Mexican cheese blend .
How to make beef enchilada skillet
Cook the ground beef – In a large oven safe skillet, cast iron if you have one, heat some olive oil. Add in the diced onion, ground beef, salt, pepper, and dried spices. Crumble the beef and brown it and the onion until it’s cooked through.
Add the black beans, corn, cilantro, and enchilada sauce to the beef and stir together until combined.
Stir in corn tortillas – Cut the corn tortillas into sixths or eighths or you can just tear them into pieces. Add them in with the beef filling and stir until they’re coated in the sauce. Top the enchilada skillet with the shredded cheese.
Bake – Place the skillet enchiladas into a 425° F. oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until it’s bubbly and the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and add any toppings if you’d like.
Recipe variations
- Substitute ground beef with ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Red enchilada sauce can be swapped with green enchilada sauce.
- Skip the black beans and corn or substitute with pinto beans.
- Add in extra veggies such as zucchini, summer squash, or spinach.
- If you don’t have corn tortillas use tortilla chips instead.
- Add in green chiles or jalapeños to make the filling a little spicy.
Enchilada topping ideas
While it isn’t necessary to add toppings to these deconstructed enchiladas, it does boost the flavor even more.
Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt are always delicious and a great way to tame any spicy flavors if you’re sensitive to them. Other topping ideas are, avocado, shredded iceberg lettuce, black olives, pickled jalapeños or onions, and cilantro.
Storage and leftovers
The enchiladas will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The corn tortillas will get softer and fall apart more the longer the leftovers sit.
To reheat the leftovers you can microwave them or warm them in a skillet on the stove.
Can skillet enchiladas be frozen?
I don’t recommend freezing the beef enchiladas because the corn tortillas will disintegrate and get mushy when defrosted. What you can do is make the ground beef filling and freeze that.
Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight and then heat it in the skillet until warmed through and continue with the recipe directions.
More Mexican and southwest recipes
Did you make this beef enchilada skillet? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Beef Enchilada Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 of a white onion diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup low sodium black beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces red enchilada sauce
- 5 corn tortillas cut into triangles
- 1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Cut the corn tortillas into triangles.
- In a large oven safe skillet, cast iron if you have one, heat the olive oil. Add in the onion, ground beef, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to crumble the beef and brown it and the onion until cooked through.
- Add in the black beans, corn, cilantro, and enchilada sauce and stir together until combined. Add the corn tortillas to the beef filling and stir until they’re coated in the sauce. Top with cheese and then place the enchilada skillet into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until it’s bubbly and the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and add any toppings.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this for my friend who had surgery. She loved it. I didn’t have a skillet so used aluminum pan. Now I am making it for another friend who had surgery!
I want to make this in a pan in the oven. What size pan should I use.
You can use a 10 or 12 inch skillet.
can you make ahead?
I made this and it was delicious! We are always looking for healthy and quick recipes during the week and this was great!