These ground beef skillet enchiladas have all of the delicious flavors of traditional enchiladas but are made in one pan so requires none of the fuss! Plus, we’ve included a hidden veggie for an added nutritional boost!
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These skillet enchiladas will surely be a crowd pleaser thanks to the Mexican-inspired flavors and the overall hearty texture. While traditional enchiladas can take a lot of work to make, our deconstructed ground beef skillet enchiladas only require simple ingredients, very little actual cooking, and none of the tortilla rolling or stuffing, making them super easy to master in little to no time.
Craving more Mexican dishes? Us, too. Thankfully, there’s plenty more where these easy ground beef enchiladas come from, such as this Mexican picadillo dish for healthy and easy comfort food, or the Mexican street corn salad that makes for the perfect side or topping to these crispy ground beef tacos.
If you’re looking for more one-skillet dinners, we’ve got you on that front too. This garlic butter steak and potatoes skillet is DIVINE, this Philly cheesesteak skillet has been a long-time reader favorite, and this lemon chicken and rice skillet is the easiest family-friendly dinner ever.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make – no need to stuff or roll the tortillas for these enchiladas!
- Requires minimal clean-up – with just one pan, everything comes together fast and the clean up is just as quick.
Skillet Enchiladas Ingredients
This beef enchilada skillet recipe calls for some pretty basic enchilada ingredients (think: enchilada sauce, tortillas, etc.), plus a few veggies that may surprise you – after all, we’re all about food that tastes good and is good for you! Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Ground beef – you’ll need 2 pounds of lean ground beef. If you’d prefer to use ground turkey or chicken, feel free to make that swap!
- Cauliflower rice – this ingredient may surprise you, but just 10 ounces of cauliflower rice (fresh or frozen, just be sure to defrost the rice if you’re using frozen) packs a huge punch of nutrition without altering the flavors of this skillet at all.
- Enchilada sauce – grab 2 (15-ounce) cans of good quality enchilada sauce at the grocery store.
- Corn tortillas – cut 6 corn tortillas into 1-inch strips here. Tortilla chips can also be used instead if you have those on hand.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make this vegetarian – swap out the meat with another can of black beans for more protein and texture.
- Add some heat – make these skillet enchiladas spicy by adding either green chiles or jalapeños.
How to Make Ground Beef Skillet Enchiladas
This dish is as easy as it sounds, y’all! Here’s how you’ll use one skillet to throw this meal together:
Step 1: Heat a large oven-safe skillet (a cast iron skillet works great here!) over medium-high heat, and add the ground beef and salt. Cook the meat for 5-8 minutes, until browned, then remove it from the pan, and drain off the excess fat.
Step 2: While the ground beef is cooking, chop the onion and bell pepper. Once the ground beef has finished browning and has been removed from the skillet, return the pan to medium heat, and add the olive oil to the skillet along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook the veggies for 5-6 minutes, until the onion and pepper have softened.
Step 3: Add the ground beef back to the skillet along with the cauliflower rice, enchilada sauce, broth, beans, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir everything together until fully combined, then stir in the corn tortilla strips.
Step 4: Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top of the dish, then bake at 425°F for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browned (hello, cheesy goodness!). Garnish with fresh cilantro, avocado, and sour cream, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Ground beef that is around 85 or 90% lean is ideal here so it won’t be too dry or too greasy, but just right.
- If you are worried about too much sodium in the dish, stick with using black beans with no salt added.
How to Serve
These easy ground beef enchiladas are loaded with veggies, protein, and energizing carbs, so it’s a pretty well-balanced meal all on its own, but if you’d like to add a side, beans (black, pinto, or refried), rice, or a simple arugula salad or Mexican street corn and kale slaw would all be great here. To keep things really festive, serve this skillet alongside tortilla chips and homemade salsa verde!
How to Store and Reheat
Store the enchiladas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days. The tortillas can get soggier over time.
When you’re ready to enjoy the leftovers, simply reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s not recommended to freeze these enchiladas. The tortillas won’t hold up once they are defrosted and will come out soggy when reheated.
More Favorite Ground Beef Recipes
If you tried these Ground Beef Skillet Enchiladas or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Ground Beef Skillet Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef (turkey works well here, too!)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 10 ounces cauliflower rice, defrosted if frozen
- 2, 15-ounce cans enchilada sauce
- 1, 15- ounce can black beans
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
- 2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- 1 avocado, diced, for garnish
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Heat a large oven-safe skillet (cast iron works great here!) over medium-high heat and add the ground beef and salt. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until browned, then remove from pan and drain off the excess fat.
- While the ground beef is cooking, dice the onion and bell pepper. Once the ground beef has finished browning and has been removed from the skillet, return it to medium heat and add the olive oil to the skillet along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until the onion and pepper have softened.
- Add the ground beef back to the skillet along with the cauliflower rice, enchilada sauce, beans, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir everything together until fully combined, then stir in the corn tortillas.
- Sprinkle cheese over the top of the dish, then transfer it to the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browned, then remove from the oven.
- Serve garnished with the cilantro and diced avocado. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Use any ground protein you like: ground beef, ground pork, ground turkey, and ground chicken all work
- For vegetarian: replace the ground beef with an additional can of black beans.
- For grain-free: use grain-free tortillas, such as Siete, in place of the corn tortillas.
Nutrition
Should I drain the beans?
Hi Amanda, yes! We recommend draining the beans. Thanks for asking! -Team F&F
I never ate enchiladas before. I did prepare it with inly one can of the sauce. I really enjoyed it. There is llenty if leftiver for lunch or dinner tomorrow. Thanks.
I’m so glad, Elizabeth! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Do you drain the beans?
Yes, we drained the beans!
This was so good! I doubled the recipe, used spanish rice instead of cauliflower, and added corn because we had some on hand. The extra freezed really well and was such an easy meal for later.
Yay, so glad to hear that, Jess! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Hi there! This may be a silly question but what constitutes a serving in this recipe? Asking for macro tracking purposes.
Hi Tara! This recipe makes 5 total servings. The nutrition facts are for 1 serving (so 1/5 of the total recipe).
For those of us not in the US and don’t have access to enchilada sauce, can you tell me what’s in it so I could still try and make it? Is it like a tomato passata with cumin, coriander and smoked paprika?
Hi Anita! We have an enchilada sauce recipe in THIS post. I hope that helps!
Wondering if it could be made ahead and frozen?
Yes! This is a great meal to freeze!
Taste was delicious, but next time I’ll skip the cauliflower rice. It added an unpleasant, raw crunchy texture which we didn’t love.
Oh no! So sorry about that, Liz!
We loved this! I used the skinny taste enchilada sauce recipe as well. The only minor thing I would change for next time is to cook the cauliflower rice a bit more. We could taste it a bit too much.
Glad you loved it, Savina!!
What makes this recipe so high in sodium? Is it the enchilada sauce, and if so can you recommend a brand that doesn’t have as much? Thanks!
That must be it! We just use a regular ole grocery store brand, Julia. We do have a recipe for homemade enchilada sauce on THIS post.
Looks
Great! I don’t see the nutritional info, am I missing it? Thanks so much!
I just added it, Kortnee!!
Made this recipe exactly as is and loved it! Full of veggies and easy to prep. A wonder dish for a family. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed this one, Sherry! Thank you for sharing!
Primal kitchen Has enchilada sauce now in a jar.
Thanks for letting us know!
Just meal prepped this for lunches for the week. Tried a taste… delicious! I used Skinnytaste’s enchilada sauce rather than canned. https://www.skinnytaste.com/the-best-enchilada-sauce-recipe/
YAY! Such a great meal prep lunch idea!!
Is the cauli rice necessary? Can I sub regular rice? Cauli rice and my tummy are not friendly!! Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Not necessary, Kathi! You can totally sub an equal amount of cooked rice to help thicken up your skillet!
This looks seriously delicious. What brand enchilada sauce do you recommend? The few I’ve seen in the store here in VA have some funky ingredients. Would love to be able to have a clean one on hand.
We just used a canned store-bought enchilada sauce, Sara! Nothing too special! We do have a quick homemade enchilada sauce that you can find HERE if you’d like to go that route!