Weeknight meals don’t have to be boring! These Three Cheese Beef Enchiladas are festive, easy to make and packed with cheese, which provides protein and calcium.
There are a few things I love about enchiladas, including how easy they are to put together, how many different ingredients you can use, and you can load them up with one of my favorite foods — cheese. These enchiladas come together with a few main ingredients: ground beef, tortillas, enchilada sauce and three cheeses.
One of the best things about these enchiladas is the cheese— sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack. Ground beef is sautéed and makes a nice filling for the enchiladas which are topped with enchilada sauce, the three cheeses and then baked until the cheese is warm and bubbling. Top them with your favorite taco toppings, like avocado, cilantro and diced red onion.
I am a huge fan of making meals at home because you control the ingredients and you know what your family is putting in their bodies. Home-cooked meals, especially those prepared from scratch, have health benefits you may not be aware of. Preparing meals at home, versus options like going through the drive thru or ordering takeout, can help with weight control, save time and money, and provide a more balanced meal that includes multiple food groups. It also cuts down on food waste!
Some other family-friendly easy meals to consider adding to the weekday dinner rotation are my Instant Pot Vegetable Mac and Cheese, which is a great way to get picky eaters to get a serving of veggies, and One Pot Mediterranean Shrimp Pasta, which can be made lactose-free.
Three Cheese Beef Enchiladas
- 20 minutes
- 40 minutes
- 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef, cooked
- 1/4 of a sweet onion, diced
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
- 1 - 4 ounce can diced green chilis
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons salsa
- 1 - 10 ounce can of enchilada sauce
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1/2 cup Pepper Jack cheese
- 8 (10 inch) tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large skillet, heat the two tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté for two minutes.
- Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned. Stir in the green chilis, chili powder, and salsa.
- Drain beef of fat and set aside.
- In a 9×13" baking dish use 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and coat the bottom of the dish. Stir the 1/2 cup of pepper jack cheese into the beef and set aside.
- Place tortillas on a large plate. Using a spoon place 2-3 spoonful of the beef mixture into the center of the tortilla and roll it until closed. Place seam-side down in the dish. Continue to do all the tortillas, laying them side-by-side.
- Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle the 1 1/2 cups cheese over top of the enchiladas.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on 350°F for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the enchiladas are warm on the inside.
- Garnish with fresh tomatoes, cilantro and green onions.
Notes: You can easily add more vegetables. I love to add a variety of colors of bell pepper and sweet corn. Black beans can also be a nice addition and can be added when you stir in the green chilis. Garnish with whatever you fancy. Some ideas are diced red onion, sour cream, salsa, green onion, cilantro, avocado and jalapeño.
