Name: Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 2 cups red enchilada sauce; 1 1/2 pounds cooked beef, shredded; 2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded; 8 medium flour tortillas, 8-inches in diameter; fresh cilantro, chopped; sour cream; lime juice, freshly squeezed; guacamole; pico de gallo

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Shredded Beef Enchiladas are flavorful, saucy, and cheesy. They are easy to make using just a few ingredients including leftover beef, tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese. Serve this delicious kid-friendly meal for family dinner tonight.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas are flavorful, saucy, and cheesy. They are easy to make for family dinner using just a few ingredients including leftover beef. | aheadofthyme.com

Mexican comfort food is perfect to make when you want to get out of your normal dinner routine. With it’s bold flavors, these beef enchiladas are delicious on their own or as part of a Mexican fiesta with Cilantro Lime Rice and beans.

Why You'll Love Shredded Beef Enchiladas

Quick and easy. You can have a filling and delicious meal in just 40 minutes with these shredded beef enchiladas — and it only requires 10 minutes of actual prep work. Which means you can sit back and relax while your comforting meal is baking in the oven.
Simple ingredients. You only need 4 ingredients to make these delicious leftover beef enchiladas: tortillas, shredded beef, enchilada sauce, and cheese. That’s it. Then, it’s up to you whether you want to add any toppings or not.
Loaded with flavor. You would be amazed at how much flavor these enchiladas have thanks to the enchilada sauce (we used our homemade Enchilada Sauce). Plus, when you bake them in the oven, the result is crispy, cheesy tops and perfectly blended flavours that tastes amazing.
The best way to use leftover beef. We love making Carne Asada, Pot Roast or Roast Beef on Sundays — and one of the biggest reasons why is because of all the leftovers that we end up. Imagine repurposing Sunday night leftovers into flavorful and delicious beef enchiladas. So good.

Ingredient Notes

To make easy Shredded Beef Enchiladas, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):

red enchilada sauce - if you prefer green enchilada sauce, you can use it in place of the red sauce at a 1:1 ratio. If you like to make yours from scratch, you can do that as well! We made a batch of our homemade red enchilada sauce in just minutes.
cooked beef - You can slice up leftover Carne Asada or feel free to use lefotver beef from a Pot Roast or Roast Beef.
cheddar cheese - sub for Monterey Jack , marble cheddar, mozzarella, or your favorite shredded cheese, if desired. Any cheese that melts well will work.
flour tortillas - flour tortillas will be the most flexible and easy to work with, but you can use corn tortillas instead. Warming them up before filling them will help prevent them from crumbling and breaking.
toppings - we added sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice, but toppings are completely optional. Many people like to use greek yogurt as a high-protein alternative to sour cream. You could also add avocado, green onions, pico de gallo, or guacamole.

You will also need measuring cups and spoons and a 9x13 baking pan.

How to Make the Best Shredded Beef Enchiladas

First, assemble and roll up the enchiladas.

Enchilada sauce. On each tortilla, spread 1-2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce on the bottom.
Beef. Add ⅓ cup shredded beef in the centre.
Cheese. and 2 tablespoons cheese on top.
Roll. Carefully roll the tortilla up. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas.

Assemble the casserole pan.

Enchilada sauce. Spread ¼ cup enchilada sauce onto a 9x13-inch casserole pan.
Rolled tortillas. Arrange the rolled tortillas seam side down in the casserole pan.
Add toppings. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce evenly on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake and serve.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a 350F preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and bake uncovered for another 8-10 minutes until the melted cheese turns golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Serve warm with cilantro, sour cream, and lime juice if desired.

Recipe Variations

Make it spicy. Make these enchiladas spicy by using a spicy enchilada sauce, or stirring in some chili powder or hot sauce to your enchilada sauce. You can also bring up the heat by adding in diced jalapeños to the filling before rolling it up.
Add beans. Add black beans, refried beans, or pinto beans into the filling before rolling up the tortillas.
Make green enchiladas. Turn these into green beef enchiladas (verde) by using green enchilada sauce or salsa verde instead of red sauce.

How to Serve

Shredded Beef Enchiladas are delicious served on their own with a side of sour cream, Guacamole, or Pico de Gallo Salsa. Or pair them with Mexican sides like rice and beans.

Some of our favorite Mexican-inspired side dishes to serve with these enchiladas are:

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Use soft tortillas. You will be able to easily roll the tortillas without any cracking if they are soft. If your tortillas are stiff, heat them briefly in a dry skillet or wrap them in a damp towel and microwave for a few seconds.
Roll tightly. Roll the filled tortillas tightly to keep the filling in place and to prevent them from unrolling. You will need to roll them tightly to be able to fit all 9 in the the pan.
Prep for the freezer. Beef enchiladas are a great freezer meal to make ahead of time and then store in the freezer for an easy dinner on a lazy day. Just prep them as directed in the freezer (store in a freezer-safe casserole pan) and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Once you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven as normal and increase the baking time to get perfectly-cooked enchiladas.

Storing and Freezing Instructions

How to Store

Once the beef enchiladas have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

How to Freeze

Place leftover enchiladas in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

How to Reheat

You can reheat enchiladas in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.

Reheat in the microwave: Cover the top, but allow the air to escape in they are in a container. Reheat in 20-second increments until hot.
Reheat in the oven or air fryer: Reheat beef enchiladas in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes, or in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes until hot.

More Leftover Beef Recipes

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