Freezer Friendly Beef Enchiladas

If you are on the hunt for delicious and easy make ahead freezer meals that your whole family will love, then you are going to love these freezer friendly beef enchiladas!

freezer friendly beef enchiladas

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As a busy mom, I know that you are always on the hunt for quick and easy meals for your family, and if it’s freezer friendly too…everyone wins!

These freezer friendly beef enchiladas will be one of your go to meals during super busy weeks. And, are a perfect addition to add into your meal planning template for your family.

One, because they are absolutely delicious. Second, they are super quick to put together. And, third because you can make one for now, and one for later! #momwin

So, with that let’s get started on these amazing make ahead enchiladas.

PIN IT FOR LATER

freezer friendly beef enchiladas

Simple Beef Enchiladas Ingredients

  • 1-½ lbs ground beef
  • Sesonings
  • 1 package corn tortillas
  • 2 large cans A La Orden Enchilada sauce
  • Shredded Colby Jack

I used two 9 x 13 disposable pans for these make ahead beef enchiladas, and can typically fit about 16 enchiladas in one pan.

You will love how easy it is to freeze these in a disposable pan. And, that there is zero clean up afterwards!

rolled enchiladas in pan

Preparing Corn Tortillas For Enchiladas

Before we dive deep into how to make these simple beef enchiladas we have to discuss the corn tortillas.

I am going to go ahead and tell you that preparing corn tortillas for enchiladas is a huge source of contention for some.

Meaning, there are a ton of people that swear by dipping the corn tortillas into warm oil, and allowing them to get pliable in the oil.

Now, I am absolutely not in any way knocking this method of preparing corn tortillas.

What I am saying is that we are all about quick and easy around these parts, and the way that I prepare them works totally fine. And, involves no clean up. 😉

The key to preparing corn tortillas for enchiladas is that you want to soften them. And you do this by heating them just enough so that they are happy and ‘rollable’.

Now, shhh here is the down and dirty secret. You can do this by heating them in the microwave. You will want to factor in about 5-10 seconds per tortilla. P.S. You are welcome.

rolled enchiladas with sauce in pan

How To Make Beef Enchiladas

You may be surprised at how incredibly easy it is to make enchiladas. Especially these simple beef enchiladas.

Let’s face it. Your busy, I am busy, we all are busy. And, we are just trying to get dinner on the table. Am I right?

Inserting friendly reminder here. This recipe will make two pans of make ahead enchiladas. You can either go ahead and make one of the pans for dinner, or freeze both for later.

Let’s talk about exactly how to do that now.

First you will want to brown the ground beef, add in some spices, and then a little bit of enchilada sauce.

Side Note: We have A La Orden Enchilada Sauce, which is hands down the best store bought enchilada sauce, at Kroger. But if you don’t have a Kroger close by, you can get the enchilada sauce here. Or, you can use whatever enchilada sauce you have on hand…this recipe super flexible that way. 😉

freezer friendly beef enchiladas

Next, you will coat the bottom of the pan with enchilada sauce.

Then you will warm up your tortillas in the microwave to get them nice and pliable for rolling.

Put one spoonful of your meat mixture into your tortilla, roll it up, and place in the pan.

Next you will add more enchilada sauce to the top of your filled tortillas. You want to make sure that the tops and sides are coated nicely.

For freezer enchiladas: If you are freezing the enchiladas stop here for now.

For making enchiladas now: Bake the enchiladas on 350 for around 15 minutes. Then, you will top with cheese, and bake for a few minutes longer. Just to get that ooey gooey cheesy goodness that is frankly speaking a necessity with these enchiladas. 😉

Allow the enchiladas to cool for around 5-10 minutes before serving. This allows the cheese to settle a bit, and helps the enchiladas to hold together better when serving.

Feel free to add any toppings that you want to your enchiladas too. Our family loves to top with some sour cream and green onions.

freezer friendly beef enchiladas

How To Freeze Enchiladas

For the pans of enchiladas that you will be freezing, you will be stopping at the step of topping the enchiladas with enchilada sauce.

Then, you will want to wrap the top of the pan with aluminum foil. Next add the top to your pan.

Wrapping the pan in foil first is how to freeze enchiladas without freezer burn. Because freezer burn is seriously not cool.


How To Cook Frozen Enchiladas

Once you are ready to cook your frozen enchiladas you will ideally allow them a few hours to thaw.

I say ideally, because if you are anything like me than you will remember that the enchiladas need to thaw at approximately 4:30. Sound familiar?

So, let’s walk through both ways of how to cook frozen enchiladas.

If you are completely on top of your game, and remembered to actually pull the enchiladas out of the freezer to thaw.

Take the top and foil off of the enchiladas and bake for about 15 minutes. Add the cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

If you don’t have time to thaw the freezer enchiladas before cooking. I got you!

All you need to do is remove the top from the pan, and bake the enchiladas with the foil on top of the pan for about 30-45 minutes. Then remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Whether you thawed the enchiladas, or cooked straight up frozen enchiladas. You will want to allow them to sit for about 5-10 minutes after baking. This helps the enchiladas to hold together well when serving.

Again, you can add whatever toppings you like to your enchiladas. Our personal fave is topping with sour cream and green onions.

freezer friendly beef enchiladas

Freezer Friendly Beef Enchiladas Wrap Up

You now know how to make these super easy make ahead and freezer friendly beef enchiladas. Which by the way, are amazing to add to your weekly meal plan.

I would love it if you grabbed the FREE Weekly Meal Planner with Grocery List HERE. It makes meal planning for your family so incredibly easy. Plus, it’s a cute printable planner too. So there is that.

Now, get out there and make these simple beef enchiladas. I hope your family enjoys them as much as ours does.

 

PIN IT TO YOUR RECIPES BOARD FOR LATER

freezer friendly beef enchiladas

 

Freezer Friendly Beef Enchiladas
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freezer friendly beef enchiladas

Freezer Friendly Beef Enchiladas


  • Author: Amanda - Jasper and Willow
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x

Description

These quick, easy, and freezer friendly beef enchiladas are the perfect make ahead meal. With an amazing enchilada sauce, and cheese melt in your mouth cheese piled high, these beef enchiladas are a dinner idea that your whole family will love!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 11 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 package corn tortillas
  • 2 28oz enchilada sauce (My fave is A la Orden)
  • 2 cups colby jack cheese (shredded)
  • green onions (optional garnish )
  • sour cream (optional garnish)

Instructions

  1. First you will add all seasonings to ground beef while browning on medium heat.
  2. After you drain the meat, add it back to the pan.
  3. Next, toss the meat in about 1/4-1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. Just enough to coat the meat.
  4. Now you will heat the corn tortillas in the microwave. (About 5-10 seconds per tortilla in the microwave.)
  5. Coat the bottom of the disposable pans in enchilada sauce.
  6. Place a spoonful of meat in center of corn tortilla, roll the filled tortilla, and place in the disposable pan.
  7. Once the pan is full, top all enchiladas with enchilada sauce. Be generous.
  8. If you are freezing – Stop here. Wrap top of pan in foil, and add top, and place in freezer. When you are ready to bake, allow the enchiladas to thaw. Bake on 350 for 15 minutes, then add the cheese. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melted. If you don’t have time to thaw – Remove top from pan, but leave foil on. Bake on 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until enchiladas are heated through. Add cheese on top of enchiladas, and bake for additional 5-10 minutes.
  9. Bake enchiladas on 350 for about 15 minutes.
  10. Pull the enchiladas from the oven, and top with cheese
  11. Put the enchiladas back in the oven, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
  12. Allow cooked enchiladas to sit for at least 5 minutes.
  13. Enjoy! Feel free to add any toppings you desire. My family loves to add sour cream and green onions
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 16
  • Calories: 267
  • Sugar: 2g
  • Fat: 11g
  • Carbohydrates: 29g
  • Fiber: 5g
  • Protein: 14g

Keywords: beef enchiladas, freezer friendly beef enchiladas, beef and cheese enchiladas

 

Freezer Friendly Beef Enchiladas


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22 Comments

    1. Oh my goodness thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I have updated with the correct cooking information for the frozen enchiladas. You would allow the enchiladas to thaw, and then bake for about 15 minutes. Add the cheese, and then bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted. Thanks so much! XO Amanda

  1. This looks delicious. I’m just getting into preparing freezer meals ahead of time. I’ll have to add this to my list.

  2. Umm this is perfection. And I actually need to stock up on freezer meals before baby number 3 comes!!!! Saving this for later (aka, next week 😉 LOL

  3. I”m all about freezer meals, and freezing red beef enchiladas is one of my favorites! One quick different thing I do is I get the tortillas a tiny bit wet with water, and then place in a warm skillet. It helps break them down a little bit to get more flexible, which can make rolling them easier! Gosh, I want enchiladas now!!

  4. Yum! They look so good! I love how cheese they are and the fact that they’re freezer friendly!

  5. These look delicious! Confession, I’ve never made enchiladas. And worse, I just had my first one last week!! I may have to branch out and try these, lol. My family would love these!

  6. I love this. With the summer coming up and being a farmer, this will make for easy work during the late evening meals in the field.

    1. This meal is absolutely perfect for those super long days, and late nights! And how cool is it that you are a farmer? I had a fairly large urban garden, and had the sweetest chickens before we moved. I miss it SO much! XO Amanda

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