Cheesy Beef Enchiladas Verde at Home

These Cheesy Beef Enchiladas Verde are a flavor-packed take on old-style enchiladas. Seasoned beef tossed with a simple and creamy salsa verde enchilada sauce and rolled into flour tortillas, topped with more sauce and cheese before being baked until melty and golden. Serves 4 (2 enchiladas per person) in about 1 hour.

Need something for cinco de mayo?

I’ve got you. The first time I made these, back in 2018, everyone at the table fell in love with them. I’m sure it had something to do with all the cheese. But also salsa verde anything is destined to be striking. Inspired by my lighter chicken enchiladas and this salsa verde chicken tortilla casserole, I swapped out the chicken for beef and the chipotles in adobo for salsa verde. And we’ve been enjoying them ever since.

And it’s not only dependable for cinco de mayo but also any night of the week.

To make these cheesy beef enchiladas verde gather:

• ground beef – Use any ground beef you prefer or try ground chicken.
• cumin (ground) – Lends earthiness and warmth, with an edge of citrus.
• chipotle powder – Lends a smoky and earthy flavor.
• yellow onion – Adds a subtle sweet onion flavor.
• jalapeño – Adds savory spicy flavor. Remove the seeds and ribs for less heat.
• garlic – Lends distint punchy flavor.
• butter – Adds flavor and fat for sautéing. Use unsalted butter to control the saltiness of the dish.
• all-purpose flour – Helps in thickening the enchilada sauce.
• low-sodium chicken broth – This is used for making the sauce.
• salsa verde (tomatillo salsa) – Use kitchen-made or store-bought. If store-bought, I recommend Herdez Roasted Salsa Verde (not sponsored).
• sour cream – Lends tang and creaminess to the sauce.
• kosher salt – Enhances the flavors of this method.
• tortillas – Use “soft taco” size tortillas.
• monterey jack cheese – Or use pepper jack for more heat. 

For serving:

• avocado – Sliced, diced, mashed or use guacamole.
• cheese – Queso fresca, cotija or even feta cheese will also work.
• cilantro – Finely chopped.
• green onions – Adds subtle fresh onion flavor.
• hot sauce – Or use salsa.
• red onions – Pickled or thinly sliced or diced raw red onion.
• sour cream – Or Mexican cream or plain non-fat greek yogurt.
•  jalapeños – Pickled or raw jalapeño slices.

Preheat your oven to 400℉ (or 200℃).

Lightly spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.

Make The Saucy Beef Verde:

To start, in a large skillet cook 1 pound of ground beef until browned and no longer pink.

Drain off the fat and season with 1 teaspoon of both ground cumin and chipotle powder and a pinch of kosher salt, stirring until combined.

Transfer the ground beef mixture to a medium bowl and set off to the side.

In the same skillet, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 cup of diced yellow onion, 1 diced jalapeño (seeds and ribs removed for less heat – optional) and 3 cloves of minced garlic.

Stir until the onion and jalapeño are soft and the onions translucent. To the onion and jalapeño mixture, add in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, stirring until melted.

Then sprinkle in 2½ tablespoons of flour, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

Continue stirring, while pouring in 1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth.

Continue to stir until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes or so.

Remove off of the heat and add in 3/4 cup of salsa verde, 1/2 cup of sour cream and then 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves.

Stir until incorporated, taste test and season with salt to your liking.

Make The Enchiladas:

Add 1 cup of the creamy salsa verde enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of monterey jack cheese into the bowl with the ground beef.

Stir to combine.

Spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of your prepared pan.

Next, add a couple of spoonfuls of the saucy meat mixture onto 1 side of a soft taco size flour tortilla.

Starting on the side with the beef mixture, roll and place it seam-side down into the pan.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas and meat mixture.

Pour the remaining sauce that’s in the skillet over top of the rolled enchiladas.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1½ cups of monterey jack cheese.

Bake uncovered in your preheated oven for 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, or until the cheese has melted. The enchiladas are done when the cheese is lightly golden brown and the edges of the tortillas are crispy. You can even move the pan up to the second rung below your broiler and broil for 1 to 2 minutes for extra crispy edges.

Serve with a drizzle of sour cream or Mexican crema, diced raw or pickled red onion and/or sliced green onions, torn cilantro leaves and sliced avocado. Genuinely anything your heart desires! I’ve listed optional toppings in the recipe printable below.

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Enjoy! And if you give this Cheesy Beef Enchiladas Verde recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!