Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole

Classic enchilada casserole with savory ground beef, vegetables, beans, and corn tortillas. All of the ingredients are layered in a baking dish and baked for an easy enchilada dinner!

Everything you love about enchiladas – the sauce! the cheese! the savory beef! – layered up in a baking dish for easy prep and easy serving. I love some great enchiladas and don’t really mind all the rolling and fuss, but for those nights when I want things a little less fussy, this enchilada casserole comes to the rescue.

If you haven’t tried the stack-and-layer way of making enchiladas, I think you’ll love this recipe. It’s easier and you get all of the same flavors and textures. This particular version is loaded with beef and cheese, plus beans and some veggies. All the good stuff, friends. You have to try it.

How to Make It

Even better, you can make this casserole up to three days in advance and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it. A little advanced planning means dinner is taken care of a few days later when you just don’t have the time to cook.

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Enchilada Casserole

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Layers of corn tortillas, ground beef, beans, veggies, and cheese – there’s a lot of delicious things going on in this enchilada casserole.

• Author: April Anderson
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 1 pound ground beef (93% lean)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5-ounce) canned diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1 (10-ounce) can of red enchilada sauce
• 12 (5-inch) corn tortillas (street tacos-style)
• 3 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, for garnish
• 1 to 2 sliced green onions for garnish

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook them until they are softened about five minutes.
3. Add the beef, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan. Break up the beef as it cooks and stir until it’s browned, about 7 to 10 minutes.
4. Combine the corn, beans, tomatoes, and jalapeno in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Measure 1/3 cup of the mixture and set that amount aside. Add the remaining mixture to the pan with the beef and stir to combine. Take the pan off the heat.
5. Pour the enchilada sauce into a bowl. Dip 6 tortillas in the sauce, coating them on both sides. Place the tortillas in a single layer on the bottom of a 9/13″ baking dish.
6. Spread half of the meat mixture over the tortillas. Top the beef with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese.
7. Dip 6 more tortillas in the enchilada sauce and layer them over the cheese. Spread the rest of the meat mixture on top, followed by the rest of the cheese.
8. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the casserole for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake it for 10 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is lightly browned around the edges. 
9. Spread the reserved vegetable mixture over the top of the casserole and add the chopped cilantro and green onions. Let the casserole cool for five to ten minutes before serving.

Notes

Beef: You can use the same amount of ground turkey in this recipe. Or try ground chicken or ground pork.

Enchilada sauce: Use your favorite store-bought brand or try my homemade enchilada sauce. You won’t need all of the sauce for the tortillas, so you can save it for another recipe. Or, you can drizzle some of the sauce over the ground beef as you assemble the casserole.

Make-ahead: You can assemble the casserole ahead and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days. You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time if it goes into the oven cold from the fridge.

Storage: You can keep leftovers in the refrigerator for three to four days and reheat them in the oven or the microwave. You can also freeze the leftovers for several months. I like to portion them into one or two serving containers before freezing.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 424
• Sugar: 4.7g
• Sodium: 804.6mg
• Fat: 19.5g
• Saturated Fat: 9.4g
• Unsaturated Fat: 8.1g
• Trans Fat: 0.2g
• Carbohydrates: 35.2g
• Fiber: 7.6g
• Protein: 28.4g
• Cholesterol: 75.5mg

The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

Variations

There are quite a few ways to switch this recipe up! Here are some ideas:

• Swap the red enchilada sauce for salsa verde.
• Try using ground turkey instead of ground beef.
• Toss in other veggies like diced bell peppers, black olives, or mushrooms.
• Use your favorite taco seasoning when you cook the beef. This adds more flavor, but you will want to reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe if you try this.
• Switch out the corn tortillas for small flour tortillas.
• Add more garnishes! Serve the casserole with sour cream, red salsa, guacamole, or diced avocado.

If you’re craving enchiladas, I hope you give this casserole a try! It’s great for a crowd or save the leftovers for easy lunches during the week. Either way, it’s a winner.

Happy cooking,

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