How to make my mom’s ground beef enchilada casserole that’s extra cheesy with no rolling required. Made with simple ingredients, this easy Tex-Mex layered casserole can feed a crowd. It’s the perfect comfort food for your next church potluck, or you can enjoy it as a busy weeknight dinner that the whole family will love.
Honestly, I just love chicken enchiladas, and even crab enchiladas, but rolling up all those tortillas can be a lot of work. Since everything is layered in this beef enchilada casserole, you can just throw everything together in a matter of minutes, which makes it the perfect dinner for busy weeknights.
My mom made this Mexican casserole pretty often, and I still make it for my family all the time. It’s delicious, it’s easy, and it’s budget-friendly with super simple ingredients that you can find at any local grocery store. This easy dinner recipe is a great make-ahead casserole, perfect for feeding a big family.
Ingredients & Substitutions Notes
- Tortillas – Just as with authentic enchiladas, I like to use corn tortillas for this recipe. You can substitute with flour tortillas if that’s all you have on hand.
- Onions – You’ll need to mince up a yellow onion. If you’ve never cut an onion before, here’s how.
- Ground Beef – For minimal grease, get something like an 85/15 ground beef, or even better, a 90/10 ground beef if you can find it.
- Canned Soup – I use both a can of cream of chicken soup as well as a can of cream of mushroom soup for my ground beef enchilada bake.
- Red Enchilada Sauce – In addition to the canned soup, you’ll also need a can of red enchilada sauce.
- Green Chiles – Using canned green chiles is the secret to getting that classic, peppery Tex-Mex flavor.
- Cheese – Last but not least, I always top this Mexican casserole off with shredded cheddar cheese. Monterey jack, Colby jack and mozzarella all work well too.
How to Make Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Before getting started, preheat the oven to 350ºF, and grease a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Then, use a large knife to cut the corn tortillas into quarters or triangles, and set them aside. You’ll also need to shred up the cheese with a box grater, if it’s not already shredded.
Prepping the Ingredients
- In a large skillet, sauté the onion in the olive oil ’til the onion softens, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the onion, and brown for about 20 minutes over low to medium heat. Drain the oil off the meat when browned and set aside.
- Finally, mix together the soups, enchilada sauce, and green chiles in a large mixing bowl.
How to Layer Your Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
- In the prepared 9×13 baking dish, it’s time to layer your ingredients. You’ll be repeating these steps, so be sure to only use about 1/2 of the ingredients per layer, starting with the corn tortillas on the bottom.
- Now, add some of the ground beef, then the shredded cheese, and about 1/2 of the soup mixture on top.
- Then repeat this process, layering the remaining ground beef, shredded cheese and soup mixture on top of the first layers.
- Cover the casserole with aluminum foil, and bake at 350° F for about 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, ’til the casserole is bubbly and well heated all the way thru. That’s it!
How to Serve Ground Beef Enchilada Bake
Once your beef enchilada bake is out of the oven, it’s best to let it cool for just a few minutes, but you’ll want to serve it while still warm. Slice it up, and use a spatula to dish it out! I always top mine off with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions.
What to Serve With Ground Beef Enchilada Bake
- Fresh Tomato Salsa
- Mexican Rice
- Seasoned Black Beans
- Mexican Corn on the Cob
- Loaded Chili Cheese Fries
- Chili Cheese Dip
- Broccoli Salad, 30 Minute Pasta Salad, Dill Veggie Finger Salad or Creamy Layered Salad
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s
No, you’re not limited to just ground beef for this recipe. In fact, you can swap it out for roast beef or leftover pork roast, shredded chicken, turkey, tuna or even sausage. This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover meats.
Yes, this is a great make-ahead casserole, and it can feed a crowd. Covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container, it usually lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can freeze ground beef enchilada casserole. Cover it with a layer of plastic wrap and then another layer of aluminum foil, and it should store in the freezer for up to 3 months. It helps to let it thaw out in the refrigerator overnight before reheating, but you can also reheat it from frozen at 350ºF, ’til bubbly and heated through.
More Tex-Mex Dinner Recipes
- Turkey Enchilada Casserole in a Cast Iron Skillet
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Ground Beef Chili Con Carne
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Cheesy Mexican Meat Pie
- Taco Tater Tot Casserole
- Mexican Corn Casserole
- Chicken and Hummus Loaded Nachos
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Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 corn tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 10.5 ounces cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 4 ounces green chiles minced or chopped
- 1 pound cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F, and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Cut the tortillas into quarters or triangles and set aside.
- In a large skillet, sauté the onion in the olive oil 'til the onion softens, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the onion, and brown for about 20 minutes over low to medium heat. Drain the oil off the meat when browned.
- In a large bowl, mix together the soups, enchilada sauce, and green chiles.
- In the prepared 9×13 baking dish, layer in this order (you'll be repeating this step, so save enough ingredients for a second layering): tortillas, meat, cheese, soup mixture.
- Repeat the layers.
- Cover the casserole with aluminum foil, and bake at 350° F for about 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, 'til the casserole is bubbly and well heated all the way thru.
- Serve with sour cream if desired.
This looks simple and delicious. I just want to know, do you think it would be okay to substitute the red enchilada sauce with white, since my son only likes up white enchilada sauce?