Classic Old El Paso Beef Enchiladas Recipe
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Sometimes the recipe on the package is just the best – and one of those cases is Old El Paso Beef Enchiladas. With just five ingredients – anybody in the family can make this cheesy, meaty and EASY beef enchiladas recipe!
My best friend Amy introduced this recipe to me and it’s a go-to family dinner for them and now I make it all the time too! These classic beef enchiladas are super simple and perfect for a weeknight meal.
Old El Paso Enchiladas Ingredients
These easy oven-baked beef enchiladas have only 5 ingredients and they all come together and make yum!
- 1 lb lean ground beef – I used 80/20
- yellow onion
- 1 can Old El Paso Enchilada Red Sauce – if you like it saucier you can use two cans but I found one to be enough
- shredded cheese: cotija, hot pepper cheese blend, colby jack, monterey jack, cheddar cheese – anything you love – I used Cotija and a little leftover cheddar I had in the fridge
- flour or corn tortillas – I used flour tortillas
- OPTIONAL:
- green chiles or chili powder if you like a little spice
- sliced black olives into the meat mixture
- taco seasoning mix into the meat if you’d like more seasoning – I think the enchilada sauce is good on its own
- top enchiladas with fresh toppings like green onions, sour cream, fresh cilantro leaves
How to make Easy Enchiladas
These beef enchiladas are simple and delicious. They’re a perfect quick meal any night of the week.
- Heat oven to 375. Lightly grease 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Over medium-high heat, in a nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion until browned. Drain excess oil.
- Stir in 1/2 can Old El Paso enchilada sauce and 3/4 cup of cheese into beef mixture and remove from heat
- Spoon 1/3 cup beef mixture into center of each tortilla
- Wrap tortillas and place seam side down in baking dish.
- Pour remaining 1/2 can of enchilada sauce on top of rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
- Bake 15-20 minutes.
- Top with cilantro and sour cream when serving
Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Yes! Substitute the ground beef for 3 cups of pre-cooked shredded chicken, beef or pulled pork. Reheat in a skillet and add the enchilada sauce and take the recipe from there!
The makes enough for 4 people with each serving being 1.5-2 enchiladas. Store leftovers in airtight glass containers and refrigerate up to a week – or freeze up to three months. My favorite way to reheat is in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for 7 minutes – this allows the edges to get a little crispy and the cheese to melt. You can also reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
The easiest way for me to keep them from getting soggy is to use less sauce. The recipe on the can actually calls for 2 cans of sauce but I only had one can in my pantry and it was plenty! You got the flavor and plenty of sauce but it wasn’t drowned and coated – so the edges of the tortillas still got crispy when baked. They got even crispier when I air fried the leftovers!
Corn tortillas are more authentic for enchiladas but I find they fall apart a little more easily – so I like to use flour tortillas. For this recipe, I used the Carb Counter flour tortillas and they turned out perfect!
You can if you like but I did not. The meat is already cooked, so you are just heating everything through so the cheese melts.
What to serve with Beef Enchiladas
More Quick Mexican Dinner Recipes
Old El Paso Enchilada Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 2 10 oz cans Old El Paso Enchilada Red Sauce
- 1.5 cups shredded cheese cotija, colby jack, monterey jack
- 6-8 tortillas
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375. Lightly grease 8×8 baking dish.
- Brown ground beef and onion; drain.1 lb 80/20 ground beef, 1/2 yellow onion
- Stir in 1 can enchilada sauce and 3/4 cup of cheese.2 10 oz cans Old El Paso Enchilada Red Sauce, 1.5 cups shredded cheese
- Spoon enchilada filling into tortillas; roll and place seam side down in baking dish.6-8 tortillas
- Pour remaining can of enchilada sauce on top of rolled enchiladas. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.2 10 oz cans Old El Paso Enchilada Red Sauce
- Bake 15-20 minutes.
Sometimes you just need a classic enchilada recipe and this one is great! Perfect for our next taco night
These are so easy and perfect for a weeknight. I love the combination of flavors!
Oooh, you had me at just five ingredients! Such a delicious and comforting meal and definitely perfect for weeknights.
These enchiladas are so easy to make! I don’t make them myself very often so this recipe is a great one to have in the rotation whenever the craving strikes!
These beef enchiladas look so good, I’m already craving them! I absolutely love enchiladas, but I’ve only recently started making them at home because we couldn’t go out to our favorite local Mexican restaurants. We’ve also used Old El Paso’s red enchilada sauce on our chicken enchiladas, and I agree with you that one can is usually sufficient. Great flavor too for a store-bought sauce, and it’s definitely a time-saver for weeknight meals! We’ll have to give this ground beef recipe a go next time!
what size tortillas do I use, large or taco size. please reply to my email as I am a senior and get confused, thankyou
I sent you an email – but I would use large size for enchiladas – but you can use whatever you have. If you use the smaller size – you’ll just have more enchiladas.