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 do it!
About this recipe
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
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!
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!
How to make this
(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.
Parent/Granparent Tip
This is a great time to get your kids in the kitchen. This is a leftover steak recipe is a fun one that kids can make and they will love the time spent with you in kitchen! It also teaches them the value of using leftovers.
- Use a large mixing bowl to combine the leftover steak, corn, onion, black beans, chili peppers.
- Add ½ cup for your favorite red salsa.
- Fold in 1 cup of shredded cheese. Shred the cheese from a block of cheese.
- Add a can of red enchilada sauce. You can use a green sauce as well. Or, a combination of the two. We never judge!
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.
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 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:
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Salsa (red or green)
- Spanish rice and beans
- Chopped cilantro
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, sometimes.
Common questions
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!
It’s best to put these together just before baking. This helps to keep from getting soggy enchiladas
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.
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.
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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📖 Recipe
Steak Enchiladas Using Leftover Steak
Equipment
- 3-quart baking dish
- Skillet
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
- ½ cup red salsa
- 3 10 oz. cans red enchilada sauce
- ½ 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.
Pedro
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”.
Dan from Platter Talk
Thanks, Pedro; your comments as a Latnion are greatly appreciated! And, what wrapper?! 🙂
Trish Sherwood
What type of chili peppers do you mean? Green Chilis?
Dan from Platter Talk
Chopped chili peppers, which are typically green and sold in 4 oz cans or larger.