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These chipotle ground beef enchiladas are made with homemade chipotle beef chili rolled up in corn tortillas and covered with Mexican blend cheese.
Enchiladas are one of those deliciously beautiful foods, but I never think I will order them if I go out. Let’s be fair. It’s usually because I can’t say no to a taco. So, instead, I make them at home.
And, if you love smokey heat, you’ll love these chipotle ground beef enchiladas.
The best part about these enchiladas? The homemade chipotle beef chili. There is so much flavor all wrapped up in a thick, meaty chili.
I wrapped that chili with cheese in a lightly fried corn tortilla, nestled it in a pan, topped it with more chili and cheese, and baked it perfectly. I topped the cooked enchiladas with minced yellow onion and cilantro for extra flavor.
Now, I will say that these enchiladas are a bit on the spicy side. If you want your heat level lower, use fewer chipotle peppers in adobo.
Want even more enchilada options in your life? Try these super cheesy beef enchiladas!
Ingredients needed
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Jalapeno pepper
- Ground beef
- Chipotle peppers
- Dried spices
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- Beef stock
- Corn tortillas
- Vegetable oil
- Shredded cheese
- Diced onion and cilantro
How to make ground beef enchiladas
If you’re new to making homemade enchiladas, you’ll love how easy it is! And if you love spice, you’ll love this particular recipe.
- First, start by making your chili.
- Saute your veggies, add the meat and spices, and brown.
- Add in canned tomatoes and beef stock.
- Simmer on low for 90 minutes until thick and chunky.
- Gently fry your corn tortillas.
- Add a little chili to a baking dish and spread across the bottom of the pan.
- Add cheese and chili to the tortilla, roll it up, and place it in the prepared baking dish.
- Top with cheese and bake.
- Garnish with minced onion and cilantro.
My Pro Tips
Chipotle Beef Enchiladas Recipe Tips
- Don’t rush the chili process. You want to give the chili time to develop deep flavors.
- Swap the beef for ground bison, venison, turkey, or chicken.
- Cut down the heat by using less chipotle peppers in adobo.
- You can use 6-inch flour tortillas instead of corn, but the texture will be different and less authentic.
- Make the chili up to 24 hours in advance.
FAQ’s
More Tex-Mex recipes
Chipotle Ground Beef Enchiladas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
- 1-½ pounds ground beef, 80/20
- 4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 cups beef stock
- 12 (6 inch) Corn tortillas
- 12 teaspoons Vegetable oil
- 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
For topping:
- 1 tablespoon minced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
Instructions
- In a 5-quart pot, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion and jalapeno. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the ground beef, chipotle peppers, chili powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine.
- Cook the meat until it’s browned. After it has cooked if there is a lot of grease in the pot feel free to drain the grease. If not, add the diced tomatoes and beef stock.
- Simmer on low heat for about 90 minutes or until the chili is thick. You're looking for it to be about the thickness of sloppy joe meat. The chili will go inside tortillas, so consider that when figuring out when the texture of the chili is ready. Add more beef stock as needed if the soup cooks down too fast.
- Cover the chili and remove from the heat.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lay out your corn tortillas and add a little vegetable oil to a small skillet and place over medium heat. Add tortillas to the hot oil and cook for a few seconds on each side to help soften the tortilla. Add more oil to the pan between tortillas. Continue until all the tortillas have been softened.
- Add 1/2 cup of the chili to the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
- Lay out a corn tortilla, add 1 tablespoon cheese to the middle, and 2 tablespoons of the chili mixture.
- Roll up and place seam-side down into the prepared dish. Continue until all the tortillas have been filled and put in the dish.
- Top with remaining chili and cheese.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted and browned.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top of the enchiladas with minced yellow onion and cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow! These look fantastic!! Can’t wait to try them.
Looks so amazing.. can’t wait to try!! Where do you normally get chipotle peppers though?
Hi Aileen! I normally find my canned chipotle peppers in the Spanish/Mexican section of the grocery store. They are usually small cans (about 4 ounces) with whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
Wow! I love chipotle and these enchiladas look perfect!
I’m already planning my cinco de mayo menu and these may have just been bumped into the top contender…..delicious!!!
They look so yummy!! The texture and colors are kind of making me hungry…
We love enchiladas at our house!! These look and sound fantastic!!
Can’t wait to whip these enchiladas up!
Seriously though, is it wrong to want the whole pan?!
We love enchiladas! These look incredible!
Oh no, you’re making me too hungry too early with these photographs! Love ground beef in these vs the more common “stringy” beef in most enchiladas, thank you for this wonderful recipe!