Steak & Beef Enchiladas – A Leftover Steak Recipe

4.98 from 35 votes

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These steak enchiladas come from a simple and inexpensive leftover steak recipe. These beef enchiladas will feed 8 people for about $10 and takes under an hour to make.

This is one of our most popular Mexican recipes. Read on and I’ll show you exactly how to make this delicious leftovers recipe!

Using a fork to eat an enchilada made with leftover steak.

About These Leftover Beef Enchiladas

We make a lot of beef recipes for our family. Things like our 3-ingredient beef and noodles, brisket on the smoker, sous vide chuck roast, and this Scottish steak and sausage pie.

We came up with this recipe for steak enchiladas after visiting one of Wisconsin’s legendary supper clubs. This tasty leftover steak recipe is the result and today we are sharing it with you.

Ingredient notes

Leftover steak and other ingredients to make beef enchiladas.

Steak or Beef – Use leftover steak or ground beef for these delicious beef enchiladas. Sometimes we’ll combine the two if we have it on hand. This recipe is all about the leftover beef! You can even use oven broiled steak or leftover prime rib for an incredible Tex-mex meal!

Tortillas – You’ll want to use 6-inch or 8-inch tortillas for this beef enchilada recipe. Although corn tortillas are traditionally used for enchiladas, I like to use the flour ones because of their neutral flavor. I think this makes the other ingredients “pop” more when they hit my taste buds.

Enchilada Sauce – I usually use the red variety when making this leftover steak recipe. If you prefer the green kind, you can use that as well.

Chili Peppers – Use chopped chili peppers for these steak enchiladas. I typically will use mild or medium-intensity of hotness. The chili peppers will add loads of flavor to this leftover steak recipe!

Cheese – Use mild cheddar cheese and it’s always best to shred it yourself, from a block of cheese. The pre-shredded cheese from the grocery store contains fillers such as cellulose and potato starch.

Besides affecting the flavor, both of these additives prevent the cheese from melting completely and so you end up with clumps of it in the beef enchiladas.

Pro cooking tips

  • For added flavor (and color,) I like to line my baking dish with a cup of salsa verde, (green salsa.)
  • To help keep these steak enchiladas from getting soggy, you can pan-fry them in just a little bit of oil until they are slightly crispy and start to take on just a bit of color. Dip both sides of the tortilla in your favorite enchiladas sauce (or salsa verde), and then stuff and roll!
Dipping a tortilla shell in sauce.
Giving tortilla shells a quick fry and then a dip in sauce (or meat juices) will help keep enchiladas and tacos from getting soggy.
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How to make Leftover Beef Enchiladas

(See the complete recipe at the end of this post.)

Gather up the ingredients along with a greased 2-quart baking dish. Turn your oven on to 350° F.  Start by sauteing the corn over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion and stir for another minute or so. And now the fun part: Putting these beef enchiladas together.

Fun Recipe Tip

This is a great time to get your kids in the kitchen. This leftover steak recipe is a fun one that kids can make, and they will love the time spent with you in the kitchen! It also teaches them the value of using leftover food.

Pouring ingredients into a bowl to make enchiladas.
  1. Use a large mixing bowl to combine the leftover steak, corn, onion, black beans, chili peppers.
  2. Add ½ cup for your favorite red salsa.
  3. Fold in 1 cup of shredded cheese. Shred the cheese from a block of cheese.
  4. Add a can of red enchilada sauce. You can use a green sauce as well. Or, a combination of the two. We never judge!
Rolling enchiladas and then placeing them in a baking pan.

5. Scoop out 3 to 4 tablespoons of the mixture and spread down the center of a tortilla.

6. Place the rolled enchiladas in the baking dish. Then top with the remaining can of enchilada sauce and the rest of the shredded cheese.

A pan of food with cheese on top.
Bake these beef enchiladas in the oven for 30 minutes, uncovered.

What to serve with these

We’re all about casual when it comes to eating at home, especially when it comes to leftovers! I like to set a few side dishes and garnishes out and let everyone customize their own steak enchilada. This easy refried beans recipe is a match made in heaven for these steak enchiladas.

This works especially well with the kids as it lets them decided what they want to put on these easy leftover steak recipe. I think that over time it also encourages them to try new things.

Here are some easy ideas to serve with these steak enchiladas:

A plate of enchiladas with black beans and gaucamole.

Substitutions and variations

We soon discovered these steak enchiladas are also a good way to use beef from other recipes. You can make this leftover steak recipe from more of our dishes, including:

If you’re short on enchilada sauce, you can use salsa to top these steak enchiladas. We like to use the black bean and corn salsa from Aldi to fill these.

Common questions

What kind of tortillas should I use to make enchiladas?

There are many different sizes and types of tortillas available and you and use any type that suits your personal preference.

These are traditionally made with corn tortillas, but flour ones work just as well.
You’ll want to use the six-inch corn tortillas or the 8-inch flour tortillas for these enchiladas. They will fit in the baking pan best.

If you are following a gluten-free diet, there are gluten-free tortillas available to make gluten-free enchiladas.

If you are looking for keto-friendly enchiladas, you can also use cabbage leaves for the tortilla. See how to do this with our low-carb enchilada recipe!

Can I make these ahead of time?

It’s best to put these together just before baking. This helps to keep from getting soggy enchiladas

How long are steak enchiladas good for?

These stay good for up to five days.  Just cover the leftover enchiladas in plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator. They make great lunches for work or home, later in the week!

To reheat, you can microwave them for 90 seconds on high. Or, reheat in the oven at 300° for 15 minutes, covered in foil.

Can I freeze these?

Yes, these steak enchiladas can be frozen and reheated for a convenient freezer meal.

  • It’s best to bake them first and allow them to completely cool down.
  • Wrap very well in the baking dish, try to get all the air out between the enchiladas and the plastic wrap.
  • Allow thawing overnight in the fridge before reheating in the oven.
  • Reheat the thawed enchiladas at 300° for 15 minutes, covered with foil.

Read our complete guide for how to reheat enchiladas. This leftover recipe makes great leftovers!

A plate of enchiladas with sour cream.

I hope you enjoy this easy family meal that uses leftover steak! Our family loves it and I think you’re going to as well. Please drop me an email and let me know how you like to use leftover steak. Our family is always looking for new recipes for tasty leftover meals!

More easy beef recipes

PS: Be sure and look at all of our dinner recipes!

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Steak Enchiladas Using Leftover Steak

4.98 from 35 votes
Looking for a good leftover steak recipe? Try these beef enchiladas, for a fun and delicious family meal that everyone will enjoy!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Yield: 8 people

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb combination of leftover steak, finely chopped or ground sirloin.
  • 10 large tortilla wrappers
  • 1 16 oz can low-sodium black beans.
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 ears fresh sweet corn, or 2 cups frozen sweet corn.
  • 1 small white onion, diced (optional)
  • 1 4 oz. can chopped chili peppers
  • 1/2 cup red salsa
  • 3 10 oz. cans red enchilada sauce
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 2 cups shredded cheese.

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Spray to 9 x 11 baking dishes with non-stick coating.
  • Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat, add corn and saute till browned.
  • Add onions and saute until soft and translucent, if desired.
  • In large mixing, combine meat, corn, black beans, salsa, chili peppers, 1 can of enchilada sauce, 1 cup of cheese, and cilantro leaves.
  • Using 1 can of enchilada sauce, coat the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish.
  • Lay the tortilla out on a flat surface, dole out 3-4 tablespoons of meat mixture in each one and roll into enchilada.
  • Lay wrapped enchiladas in pans, and divide remaining can of enchilada sauce over enchiladas.
  • Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top of both pans.
  • Place in oven for 30 minutes, uncovered.
  • Serve with sour cream and garnish with additional salsa and cilantro if desired.

Notes

  • These steak enchiladas can be made with any leftover beef.
  • You can use green enchilada sauce instead of red if desired.
  • Sometimes I line the baking pan with a can of salsa verde, for extra zing and flavor!
  • Reheat these in a foil-covered baking dish at 300°F for 15 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 483kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 989mg, Potassium: 572mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 615IU, Vitamin C: 3.8mg, Calcium: 216mg, Iron: 4.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Tried this recipe?Mention @plattertalk or tag #plattertalk!
Updated from the original post of September 28, 2018
 

Meet the Platter Talk Guys

Dan & Scott split their time between Wisconsin and Southwest Florida and are dads to six boys. Good food runs through their veins, and they love showing others how to cook easy recipes.

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61 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My husband made last night with our leftover London broil that we had the night before but used yellow and red peppers as we don’t like the chili peppers and It was delish! It was a change from my husband’s chicken Enchillada’s….

  2. This recipe looks great but please and this comes from a Latino man, don’t say “tortilla wrappers”. They are just tortillas. No further clarification is needed. It’s a bit disrespectful and most blogs and recipes just say “tortillas”.