This recipe takes the main ingredients of classic enchiladas and bakes them into a layered casserole reminiscent of lasagna. Mexican cheese blend, pickled jalapeños and cumin gives the creamy, cheesy béchamel sauce that ties it together a nice kick. You can tailor the recipe to what you have on hand (chicken instead of beef, or Cheddar in place of Mexican cheese blend), and make and bake it in advance if you like: Store it in the fridge for a few days or freeze it for a few months.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | About 12 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 40 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | About 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced red onion
- 2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeño peppers, optional
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk (or an unsweetened dairy-free alternative)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 poblano peppers
- 1 pound ground beef (preferably 80 percent lean)
- Two 10-ounce cans red enchilada sauce
- 8 medium flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1 cup crushed nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips, such as Doritos (regular or spicy)
- Shredded lettuce, for serving, optional
- Sour cream, for serving, optional
- Salsa, for serving, optional
- Sliced pitted black olives, for serving, optional
Instructions
- For the queso béchamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in the onion and pickled jalapeños if using and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk, whisking until no clumps remain. Continue to cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the cheese and cumin, season with a pinch each of salt and pepper and stir until the cheese is completely melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, placing the plastic directly onto the surface of the sauce, and refrigerate while you prepare the enchiladas.
- For the enchiladas: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roast the poblano peppers, holding them with tongs, over an open flame on the stovetop until heavily blistered and charred, about 2 minutes per side (see Cook’s Note). Place the poblanos in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let steam until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.
- When the peppers are cool enough to handle, cut in half and use the back of a knife or a spoon to scrape the seeds and the skin off the peppers. Roughly chop the peppers and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until fully cooked, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from the pan. Stir one 10-ounce can of enchilada sauce into the beef.
- Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of the remaining can of enchilada sauce over the bottom of an 8 1/2-by-11-inch baking pan. Layer tortillas over the bottom of the dish so it’s covered, overlapping as necessary. Spoon in half the beef mixture to cover, top with about 3/4 cup béchamel sauce, and sprinkle with half the poblano and 1/3 cup of the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers again, ending with a layer of tortillas.
- Cover the top layer with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup cheese. Bake until browned and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the crushed tortilla chips and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Allow the casserole to cool 15 minutes before serving. Slice into pieces and serve with the toppings of your choice for diners to garnish their servings. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 18 servings |
| Calories | 271 |
| Total Fat | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 42 mg |
| Sodium | 653 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 18 servings |
| Calories | 271 |
| Total Fat | 16 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 42 mg |
| Sodium | 653 mg |
Reviews
This was very good. Just the right amount of spice. I baked the tortillas in the oven for about 10 min at 350 following the previous reviewer. This makes a lot and was even better the next day.
Made this the other night, a lot of work. Delicious and hearty. The only way to cut corners on this recipe is finding canned pablano peppers. Other you need the fresh ones. I have electric stove so blackened peppers in oven following their directions. I happen to have a wonderful enchilada sauce recipe which I had in my refrigerator so that added a better taste than canned sauce. I browned the flour tortillas before placing them in the casserole dish bc I felt it would be too soggy.
I will make this again I used a 9×13 aluminum pan so clean up was easy. It freezes really nicely
I will make this again I used a 9×13 aluminum pan so clean up was easy. It freezes really nicely
I’ll
This was a very simple and tasty recipe, I used chopped up flat meat instead of ground beef. This is a great make ahead meal to freeze for later.