Skillet Enchiladas – this easy enchilada recipe is loaded with flavor and on the table in about 20 minutes. Ground beef, corn tortillas, enchilada sauce and melty cheese make the perfect skillet dinner.
Easy Enchilada Recipe
Skillet Enchiladas are a super quick and delicious meal that you can have on the table in about 20 minutes. This recipe is one of our go-to’s and works with ground beef, ground turkey and even leftover shredded chicken or pork. It has all the flavor of enchiladas, but cuts out the lengthy prep! Skillet Enchiladas are the perfect meal for busy weeknights.
How to Make Skillet Enchiladas, aka Easy Enchiladas
- Cut a dozen corn tortillas in half, then cut into 1 inch strips. Heat vegetable oil in skillet on med high heat and pan fry tortillas until slightly toasted and lightly crispy.
- Remove tortillas from pan and brown onions and ground beef in same skillet until ground beef is completely cooked. Add can of enchilada sauce and simmer for a few minutes. Then add tortillas back into pan and stir.
- Top with black olives, shredded cheese and sour cream.
Skillet Enchilada Tips
- Pan frying the tortillas is an important step. This gives the enchiladas texture and keeps them from becoming mushy.
- Try substituting ground turkey, reduced fat cheese, and light sour cream for a lightened up version of Skillet Enchiladas.
- These enchiladas are so easy to customize. Last time I made them, I added additional taco seasonings to the ground beef to kick up the flavor even more.
I think this is the quickest meal I’ve ever made, and who doesn’t love that? It’s great as leftovers as well.
More Easy Enchilada Recipes
What to serve with Skillet Enchiladas
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 corn tortillas cut in half, then into 1 inch strips
- small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef extra lean
- Salt and pepper
- 19 oz enchilada sauce
- black olives sliced
- 2 cups colby jack cheese shredded
- sour cream topping
- green onions diced
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Cut a dozen corn tortillas in half, then into 1 inch strips.
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Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil in skillet on med high heat and pan fry tortillas until slightly toasted and lightly crispy. Remove tortillas from pan.
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Sauté onions in 1/2 tablespoon of oil until they start to soften. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Brown ground beef in same skillet, seasoning ground beef to taste, until ground beef is completely cooked.
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Add enchilada sauce and simmer for a few minutes until heated through and bubbly. Add tortillas back into pan and stir.
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Top with cheese and let melt. Add olives and green onions and serve.
5 Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
My five FAVORITE recipes for busy families!
- Quick to make
- Light on your budget
- Easy to clean-up
- and...most important...absolutely DELICIOUS
Yum!
Thank you Annette:0)
do you drain the beef before adding the enchilada sauce?
I would if there was a lot of fat in the pan. The beef I used was a leaner mix, so I didn’t for this. :0)
This looks so good! I found an enchiladas recipe that i wanted to make once, but was turned off by having to fry things. This looks like the perfect alternative. *pinning!*
Yum! Gotta try this!
This looks so easy and deliciously satisfying, wonderful pictures.
Oh Yum!!! This looks great, totally pinned it will be making it soon! Thanks girl!
These are called chilaquiles in Mexico
Enchiladas are the whole tortilla, pieced tortillas with sauce, aky kind of meat and sour cream are chilaquiles.
Great recipe! 🙂
OMG YUM!
Making this for dinner tonight with shredded chicken instead of beef….looking forward to eating it already!
Awesome dinner idea! Thanks!
What a fun twist! I will have to try this; thanks Melissa! 🙂
I love Mexican food and this puts a fun little spin on it! Bet the kiddos would love it!
These look FANTASTIC!! Love that they’re made in a skillet…my kind of TexMex!
I love easy skillet dinners! This sounds great!!!
Oh, what a great idea! I love homemade enchilladas but it’s such a pain to make them. I made this tonight with just a few of my own twists: I used cubed chicken instead of beef, and added to that onion, cumin, chili powder, chives, and a chopped red bell pepper. When finished I topped with cheddar jack cheese and sour cream, yum!
Sound delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Made this for dinner tonight…was delicious! I thew in 1/2 can of peas, 1/2 can of corn, and a can of diced tomatoes so it became a one-dish dinner 🙂
BRILLIANT! I am so trying this!
My family loves this. I put in a can of refried beans when we have them just to make it a little thicker and to go a little farther. The leftovers are almost even better! I love enchiladas but making them are so messy. This is PERFECT!
I have to admit that I was a little bit skeptical about this recipe, mostly because I was concerned about ending up with soggy corn tortillas in the mix when we ate the leftovers (I cook all of our food for the following week over the weekend). This was not a problem AT ALL. The tortillas ended up being chewy and delicious (just like they would be with an enchilada).
I did modify slightly–I used green chili enchilada sauce (because I’m 32 weeks pregnant, and anything red gives me debilitating heartburn at this juncture =)), added 1 T garlic powder & 1 T cumin, a can of drained black beans, and a cup of frozen corn.
Delicious!!
I made this tonight with ground turkey and added a can of spicy refried beans. So easy and so delicious, can’t wait for the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Sounds great! Thank you for sharing!!!
Sounds delicious. Do u have any more one pan receipes? I don’t have a lot of time in the evening, 30 min tops. And I have a picky 6yr old. Thanks
I make my enchiladas using flour shells. Would they also work in this recipe? I also use green onion. They have such a great flavor to them. For years I have made this in the crock pot and just cut up the flour shells into bite size pieces. Did not fry them at all and that works really well. A big hit at family functions.
I haven’t tried flour tortillas in this recipe. Let us know if you do. Thanks!
Holy cow, am I the only one who made the mistake of getting medium red enchilada sauce?! I think I found the spiciest “medium” ever and could hardly eat the dish (Raley’s store brand). My husband was drenched in sweat and said he felt like he was on Man Versus Food haha. I’ll be adding shredded lettuce, tomatoes, etc to the left overs.
Delicious otherwise and will definitely make it again with a mild sauce!
Loved this! Added 1/2 can black beans, and used a 19oz can of enchilada sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
We love this recipe !! My husband loves the taste (me too), but even more I love the convenience. This is going to make the meal rotation on a regular basis.
That’s so great! Thank you!
This is brilliant! A true “one pot wonder” as I like calling them 🙂 The taste of enchiladas without the hassle of assembly. I am making this for my family tonight. Thanks a million!
There’s actually a name for these “Skillet Enchiladas” and it’s Chilequiles.
These are sooo good, thanks for the recipe! Easy and the whole family likes it!!
I have a large family and of course have a hard time making meals that each individual person likes. This was a big hit! I’ll definitely be adding this to my regular dinner menu! Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks, Jessica!
My family asks for this meal every week – thanks!
My family loved these so much. Easy to make too! I made margaritas and it was the perfect meal!
Skipping tacos tonight and making this instead! Looks too good to pass up!