Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

These hearty ground beef and sweet potato enchiladas are ready to serve in less than an hour! A few key shortcuts make these enchiladas doable on a weeknight, or you can make them up to a day. If you’re craving a comforting dinner, this enchilada recipe is for you.

These ground beef enchiladas are one of my favorite easy dinner recipes. They cure a Mexican food craving, they’re easy to make, and the combination of beef and sweet potatoes in the filling is savory comfort food goodness.

Shortcuts make this recipe easy, like using frozen diced sweet potatoes, prepared enchilada sauce, and pantry spices. The time you save in the prep means the dish is ready to serve in about an hour.

How to Make Them

This recipe has three main steps: preparing the ground beef and sweet potato filling, assembling the enchiladas, and baking them. You can easily complete all of these steps in about an hour, or you can assemble the enchiladas a day ahead to bake later.

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Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

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These hearty beef and sweet potato enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, savory beef and quick-cooking frozen diced sweet potatoes. They’re ready to go in under an hour or make and assemble them a day advance to bake later for an easy dinner.

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

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef (90% lean) 
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen diced sweet potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, plus extra for garnish
• Juice of 1 lime, divided
• 2 cups store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce
• 12 corn tortillas, warmed
• 8 ounces shredded Monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook it, breaking it up with a spatula, until it’s halfway cooked through, or about four minutes. Add the taco seasoning and stir to coat it in the beef.
3. Add the diced sweet potatoes and stir. Cover the pan and cook it all for about five minutes or so, lifting the lid occasionally to stir the mixture. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, cilantro, and the juice from half a lime. Stir well to combine, and remove the pan from the heat.
4. Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish. There should be enough sauce to fully coat the bottom of the pan.
5. Fill each tortilla with the beef and potato filling, roll them up, and place them seam-side down in the baking dish.
6. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the cheese in an even layer over the sauce. Cover the dish with foil.
7. Bake the enchiladas covered for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer. Squeeze the other half of the lime over the top of the enchiladas, garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve.

Notes

Tips for making enchiladas ahead: You can make and assemble them up to a day in advance. Tightly wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Set them out at room temperature while you preheat the oven. Depending on how cold they are when they go in the oven, you will need to add up to 10 minutes of cooking time.

Tortillas tip: I like to warm the corn tortillas on a sheet pan before filling and rolling them. You can also use flour tortillas.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 enchiladas
• Calories: 492
• Sugar: 6.3g
• Sodium: 1303.2mg
• Fat: 23.5g
• Saturated Fat: 10.7g
• Trans Fat: 0.6g
• Carbohydrates: 41.5g
• Fiber: 5.6g
• Protein: 29.2g
• Cholesterol: 84.6mg

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

Substitutions

Ground meat: Swap the beef for ground turkey or ground chicken.

Sweet potatoes: If you can’t find frozen diced sweet potatoes, you can do a little more work and dice up a couple of fresh sweet potatoes. You will need 10 ounces. Or, use frozen diced white potatoes instead.

Cheese: Any good melting cheese you like with enchiladas will work!

Enchilada Topping Ideas

Top your ground beef and sweet potato enchiladas with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, and sour cream. You can also add guacamole, a drizzle of salsa, or a spoonful of pico de gallo.

Meal Prep Tips

I’ve made these ahead before and kept them in the fridge to bake the next day. It works great if you have a busy night coming up when there’s no time to cook. Just pop them in the oven for an easy dinner.

I haven’t tried freezing them, so if you want to try this, I recommend assembling and freezing them before baking. Also, allow them to thaw completely before you bake them.

The leftovers are great, too. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep well for several days.

Are you ready for a cozy enchilada dinner? I hope you try this recipe soon!

Happy cooking,

More Recipes with Beef

Post, photos, and recipe updated from the archives. First published in August 2014.