Beef Enchiladas Red Sauce (Printable View)
Ground beef rolled in tortillas, baked with red sauce and melted cheese for a comforting meal.
# Ingredient List:
→ Beef Filling
01 - 1 lb ground beef
02 - 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 tsp ground cumin
05 - 1 tsp chili powder
06 - 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
07 - 1/2 tsp salt
08 - 1/4 tsp black pepper
→ Red Enchilada Sauce
09 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil
10 - 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
11 - 2 tbsp chili powder
12 - 1 tsp ground cumin
13 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
14 - 1/2 tsp onion powder
15 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano
16 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
17 - 2 cups chicken or beef broth
18 - 1/2 tsp salt
19 - 1/4 tsp black pepper
20 - 1 tsp tomato paste
→ Assembly
21 - 8 flour tortillas (8-inch)
22 - 2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
23 - 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
24 - Sour cream, for serving (optional)
# How to Prepare:
01 - Set oven to 375°F (190°C).
02 - In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef, breaking it up, for approximately 5 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add diced onion and cook until softened, about 3–4 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, cooking for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
03 - In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together vegetable oil and flour for 1 minute. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper; cook for 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in broth, then add salt, black pepper, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
04 - Spread 1/2 cup of sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place 1/4 cup beef filling onto each tortilla, sprinkle a small amount of cheese, and roll tightly. Arrange tortillas seam-side down in the prepared dish.
05 - Pour remaining sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
06 - Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
07 - Let stand 5 minutes before garnishing with chopped cilantro. Serve with sour cream if desired.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- The sauce comes together in one pan and tastes like you spent hours on it, when really you've just given it about ten minutes.
- You can assemble these ahead and bake them whenever hunger strikes, making weeknight dinners feel way less stressful.
- Every bite is different depending on how much filling landed where, which somehow makes it feel more homemade and less predictable.
- There's genuine magic in watching cheese melt over everything and hearing that soft sizzle when you pull them out of the oven.
02 -
- If your sauce gets lumpy, strain it through a fine sieve and start over, because a silky sauce tastes exponentially better than a grainy one.
- Warming your tortillas in a dry skillet before filling them makes them more pliable and way less likely to tear under pressure.
- Don't skip letting the assembled dish rest for those five minutes, because it helps everything set enough to hold its shape on the plate.
03 -
- Make extra sauce and keep it separate, because people love drizzling more over their plate, and it means your enchiladas stay moist without becoming soggy.
- If your tortillas keep cracking, microwave the whole stack wrapped in a damp towel for thirty seconds to warm and soften them before you start rolling.