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Beef enchiladas served on a plate
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5 from 5 votes

Beef Enchiladas Recipe

This beef enchiladas recipe is so good, corn tortillas filled with slow simmered ground beef and shredded cheese, smothered in homemade red enchilada sauce.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: enchiladas, ground beef, recipe, spicy
Servings: 6
Calories: 610kcal

Ingredients

FOR THE RED ENCHILADA SAUCE

  • 4 dried ancho peppers stemmed and seeded
  • 4 dried guajillo peppers stemmed and seeded
  • 4 dried chiles de arbol stemmed and seeded
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
  • Water as needed

FOR THE ENCHILADAS

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 12 ounces ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican Manchego cheese Or use any good melty cheese - Monterrey Jack is great
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • FOR SERVING: Crumbly queso fresco fresh chopped cilantro spicy chili flakes

Instructions

FOR THE SAUCE

  • Dry toast the dried chili peppers in a heated pan over medium heat. Toast them a couple minutes per side, until they start to puff up slightly.
  • Cool, then set them into a heavy bowl with enough hot water to cover them.
  • Let them soak for 20 minutes, or until they become very soft. Remove them and place them in a blender or food processor.
  • Reserve 1 cup of the dark soaking water.
  • In the same heated pan, add the olive oil. Cook the onion about 3 minutes, or until they become translucent.
  • Add the garlic and cook another minute, until they become fragrant.
  • Add them to the food processor along with the sea salt.
  • Pour in the reserved soaking liquid and process to form a sauce. It will be very thick at this point.
  • Add in more water, a half cup at a time, until you achieve your desired consistency. Reserve the sauce until ready to use.

FOR THE BEEF ENCHILADAS

  • Heat a separate pan to medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the onion and jalapeno about 5 minutes to soften.
  • Add the garlic and cook another minute.
  • Add the ground beef and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Brown it for about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in ¼ cup of the reserved enchilada sauce, seasonings (cayenne, paprika, cumin, and salt and pepper) and ½ cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors develop.
  • Next, heat a separate pan to medium heat and add a bit of the remaining olive oil. Cook the tortillas a few seconds in the oil until they become pliable. You may need to keep adding a bit more oil as you go along.
  • Strain the sauce into a pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Heat until it just starts to boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
  • Dip each tortilla into the warmed enchilada sauce, then set it onto a work surface. Fill each with ground beef and shredded cheese. Roll the tortillas up and serve them onto plates.
  • Garnish with crumbly cheese, fresh herbs and spicy red chili flakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 1090mg | Potassium: 804mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 7100IU | Vitamin C: 15.1mg | Calcium: 484mg | Iron: 3.7mg