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Enchilada Pie is layers of seasoned ground beef, veggies, beans, cheese, enchilada sauce, and corn tortillas; all baked together until perfectly cheesy and golden. This casserole recipe is an easy twist on enchiladas without the hassle of rolling!
This Enchilada Pie is packed with bold, delicious flavor! Pair it with roasted tomato salsa, and/or this classic guacamole with tortilla chips. And don’t forget Tres Leches Cake for dessert!
What is Enchilada Pie?
Enchilada pie is a delicious one-pan casserole version of classic beef enchiladas. It’s perfect for serving a crowd, making it a great option for potlucks or family dinners. It’s also so much easier than making enchiladas because there’s no fussing with spooning ingredients into, and rolling each separate tortilla. Instead, in this recipe, the tortillas are layered with the meat, veggies, cheese, tortillas and enchilada sauce. While baking the cheese becomes melty and the enchilada sauce adds moisture and flavor. It comes out of the oven, irresistibly steamy, cheesy and gooey.
This Mexican dish is a complete meal with plenty of protein from the ground beef, carbs from the tortillas and beans, and veggies, too! It’s one of my family’s favorite regular weeknight recipes. It’s super easy to put together, leftovers are delicious and it can even be assembled ahead of time. It doesn’t get much better than that! Your whole family will go crazy over it.
Ingredients Needed
This enchilada pie recipe includes bold spices, other common enchilada ingredients and plenty of cheese. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all of the exact measurements.
Enchilada sauce
- Olive Oil: To help roast the flour and chili powder.
- Flour: To thicken the sauce.
- Spices: A blend of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper adds the perfect bold flavors.
- Tomato Sauce: Creates the color and adds a bit of acidity.
- Vegetable Stock: For a nice consistency with a neutral flavor.
Filling
- Lean Ground Beef: You can also use ground turkey instead, if you prefer.
- Salt & Pepper: To bring out all of the flavors.
- Vegetables: Sautéed white onion, green peppers, and minced garlic adds texture and a wonderful savory taste.
- Black Beans: Use canned black beans or make your own quickly in the instant pot.
- Corn Tortillas: I prefer corn tortillas for this pie, however, feel free to use flour tortillas instead. Use gluten-free tortillas, as needed.
- Cheese: You can use cheddar cheese or Colby Jack cheese, but I really love a mix of pepper jack cheese and monterey jack cheese in this enchilada casserole recipe.
How to Make Enchilada Pie
This enchilada pie recipe is so simple and such a crowd pleaser that you will want to make it again and again! I can’t wait for you to try it!
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking dish by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Enchilada sauce
- Mix Roux: In a medium sized skillet add the olive oil, flour and chili powder. Whisk until it starts to brown and is fragrant.
- Add Seasonings: Slowly whisk in the tomato sauce, vegetable stock, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin. Whisk until it starts to thicken.
- Remove: Remove from heat and salt and pepper to taste, set aside.
Filling
- Brown Ground Beef: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add the ground beef, season it with salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef until it is browned.
- Sauté Pepper and Onion: To the skillet add the onion and green bell pepper, cook until the onion is transparent.
- Add Garlic and Beans: Add in the garlic and black beans and cook for just about 2-3 minutes, stirring well. Remove the beef and vegetable mixture from heat.
- Mix Cheeses: In a medium bowl, mix together the pepper jack and monterey jack cheeses.
- Begin to Assemble Pie: To the prepared baking dish, pour a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom, about ¼ cup. Line the bottom of the pan with 6 tortillas, they will slightly overlap.
- Layer Beef, Tortillas and Cheese: Add half of the beef mixture in an even layer on top of the tortillas, spread half of the cheese mixture on top of the meat.
- Add Tortillas and Sauce: Place a layer of the remaining 6 tortillas over the top of the cheese, pour half of the enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas.
- Add Beef, Cheese and Sauce: Spread the remaining beef mixture over the tortillas, and the remaining cheese over the beef. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the whole dish.
- Bake: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese begins to color and bubble.
- Cool and Serve: Remove the enchilada pie from the oven and let it rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
Tips and Variations
Making enchilada pie is simple and straightforward, but here are some tips, so it’s perfect every time!
- Different Ingredient Options: You can easily replace the beef for cooked shredded chicken, or pork, as well as using a green or white enchilada sauce in place of the red sauce.
- Grate Your Own Cheese: For best flavor and melting, if you have the time, we recommend grating your own cheese. The bagged pre-shredded cheeses are coated in anti-caking agents and preservatives and just don’t melt as smoothly.
- Make Ahead: This dish can be assembled up to about 12 hours before you plan to serve it. Prepare it as instructed, then cover it and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it. You may need to add 15 additional minutes to the cook time, since you’ll be starting with a cold casserole.
- Resting Time: Let the baked enchilada pie rest for at least 10 minutes before serving it. This will help everything set and the layers hold together.
What to Serve with Enchilada Pie
Your whole family will get excited when this dish comes out of the oven for dinner! Here are a few ideas for some delicious sides to go with it!
Storing Leftovers
This enchilada pie is a fabulous meal to make ahead and freeze for later! Or, if you have leftovers, store them for an easy lunch the next day! This tastes even better the next day!
- Refrigerate: Once your pie has cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Baked casserole freezes well, if properly wrapped and stored, for up to 3 months. To enjoy after freezing, let it defrost overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat: To reheat your refrigerated casserole, place it in the microwave on high for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. To reheat from frozen, thaw it completely in your refrigerator overnight. Then, microwave individual servings or bake it at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
More Mexican Recipes
Mexican food is just the best! The seasonings, the meats and the cheeses are SO good. I have a bunch of delicious Mexican-inspired recipes for you to try. Here are some of my faves:
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Enchilada Pie
Ingredients
Enchilada sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Filling
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ medium white onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can black beans 15 ounce drained
- 12 corn tortillas 6 inch
- 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit, prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking dish by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Enchilada sauce
- In a medium sized skillet add the olive oil, flour and chili powder. Whisk until it starts to brown and is fragrant.
- Slowly whisk in the tomato sauce, vegetable stock, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin. Whisk until it starts to thicken.
- Remove from heat and salt and pepper to taste, set aside.
Filling
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add the ground beef, season it with salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef until it is browned.
- To the skillet add the onion and green bell pepper, cook until the onion is transparent. Add in the garlic and black beans and cook for just about 2-3 minutes, stirring well.
- Remove the beef and vegetable mixture from heat.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the pepper jack and monterey jack cheeses.
- To the prepared baking dish, pour a little of the enchilada sauce in the bottom, about ¼ cup. Line the bottom of the pan with 6 tortillas, they will slightly overlap.
- Add half of the beef mixture in an even layer on top of the tortillas, spread half of the cheese mixture on top of the meat.
- Place a layer of the remaining 6 tortillas over the top of the cheese, pour half of the enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas.
- Spread the remaining beef mixture over the tortillas, and the remaining cheese over the beef. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the whole dish.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese begins to color and bubble.
- Remove the enchilada pie from the oven and let it rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tasted good, but it looked terrible (where/how can I post a picture?) Do not end with the sauce on top! The picture shows cheese on top, as it should be!
How much is the equivalent when using can sauce?
Thank you!!!
This recipe is so yummy! Thanks for sharing with us. My family loves when I cook from this site!
Love your recipes!
If I need to shortcut this recipe and use canned enchilada sauce, how much does the homemade enchilada sauce make, so that I can use the equivalent of the canned sauce? Sometimes there’s a time constraint. 😊 Though when I do have the time, I will make the homemade enchilada sauce because I’m sure it’s a whole lot better. Thank you! Really enjoy all of your recipes and can’t wait to receive my daily email with suggested dishes.
Can you make this with green Verde sauce instead of red sauce.
You definitely can!
Can I get flour tortillas instead of corn? Thanks.
Yes that will work great!