Mom's Enchilada Casserole

Submitted by Chef #527429

"An house wife's twist on a Mexican dish. My Mom used to make this for us all the time. It's quick and simple, a lot easier than rolling each individual enchilada. This recipe uses ground beef, beans, and green sauce, but the idea of this dish can be applied to any meat/cheese/sauce combination."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Yields: 1 9x9 casserole dish
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef, browned and seasoned
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can green enchilada sauce
• 2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 10 -15 corn tortillas

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Warm refried beans. Combine with ground beef.
3. Cover bottom of casserole dish with one layer of corn tortillas.
4. Spread green sauce over tortilla layer until completely covered.
5. Spread a third of the beef/bean mixture on top of sauce/tortilla layer.
6. Top layered combo with shredded jack cheese.
7. Repeat layering combo (steps 3-6) two more times.
8. Cover casserole with one layer of corn tortillas.
9. Top with remaining green sauce and cheese.
10. Cook until casserole is warmed and cheese is melted.

Reviews

[spooty3]

This was very good stuff. I managed not to eat it all at once, and spread the 4 servings across 4 consecutive dinners. I made it pretty much as written. I used homemade tortillas (12 of them, made from a bag of "masa harina de maiz"), 85% lean ground beef, and "98% fat free" beans. I couldn't find a 15-oz. can of sauce, so I used a 19-oz. one - I love enchilada sauce anyway. And for the cheese, I shredded a whole 1-lb. block of Monterey Jack; I love cheese too, but a half-pound might've been sufficient. I baked the whole thing for 15 minutes - a little more would've been desired, I think. I came out of the oven nicely layered. Unfortunately, I forgot to season the ground beef when I browned it; the dish was quite tasty, but additional spiciness in the ground beef would've definitely been nice to have. There are lots of recipes in this vein, but I recommend this one in particular. One last note: one of my old junk-food indulgences used to be going to Taco Bell and getting an "Enchirito" with optional green sauce instead of red. This dish immediately reminded me of that - very similar tastes, just assembled differently. Yum!

 

[Kay D.]

This was superb! Keep in mind, it is what it is- a very simplified form of an enchilada- so the stars are not for the way it looks. It's the taste, man! I was a little concerned about the sauce making the tortillas soggy, so here's what I did (it worked). I mixed the enchilada sauce in with the ground beef and beef mixture. This made a nice, thick spreadable mixture for the dish. Quite frankly, I could eat this filling on its own rolled up inside a flour tortilla. Anyway, using 1 3/4 lbs. ground beef (which I seasoned with Taco Seasoning Mix #200033), this made enough to almost fill a 9x13 baking dish. This was well received by my family. My son (The Picky One), proclaimed that it "sucked", as he was stuffing his mouth full on the way back to the dish for seconds. There is no doubt that I will make this again. I really enjoyed it. Thanks! :)

 

[Foodie Blog Stalker]

I've been looking for an enchilada casserole recipe... I definitely found a keeper!! I did add a chopped onion in with the ground beef while browning along with garlic powder, one chopped (seeded) jalepeno, salt & pepper. Also I mixed cheddar & monterey jack cheeses. I cooked it in a 13x9x2 casserole dish at 350 for approximately 25 minutes and my tortillas weren't soggy. Thanks for the easy, great recipe!

 

[Srt]

We liked this casserole and would have again. I only did two layers in an 8x8 inch pan. Just make sure that you warm it, not cook it in the oven otherwise the tortillas get soggy very fast. I would go easier on the fillings next time so it is easier to serve. But, the taste was flavorful--I used garlic, onion powder, oregano, salt and pepper for the meat. The enchilada sauce gave it a nice spice too.

 

[mjticich]

I made this casserole for my family and the kids declared it "The best meal you ever made!" I also made it for a sick friend and she called me the next day and asked for the recipe because her family liked it so much! You have to try it!