Spicy Beef & Black Bean Enchiladas

Enchiladas are one of my favourite dishes of all time, I'm surprised I only discovered these tasty things a few years ago. They're so versatile and so easy to make. As per request, I decided to share my recipe. It consists of tortillas filled with Mexican-seasoned beef and beans topped with a spicy homemade enchilada sauce, habanero cheese, and jalapeños to make it a great weeknight supper.

Enchiladas may seem daunting but they're actually very easy and most of the time goes into the prep work. More good news: these can be made gluten free for all of those out there that are celiac or gluten-free by just using corn tortillas instead of flour. You can find both easily in a grocery store.

Serves: 4-5

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 5 min

Enchilada Sauce:

1 jalapeño or 5-10 cut rounds of a pickled jalapeño (alter for preferred spiciness)

1/4 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed or diced

1 large can tomato sauce

Enchiladas:

1 lb ground beef

1 cup black beans

1 pkg taco seasoning

10 small flour or corn tortillas (to make GF)

Extra jalapeños for topping

Sour cream for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Make the enchilada sauce. Chop and dice onions, garlic, and jalapeños. Heat a large saucepan on medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and the previously stated ingredients. Sauté until opinions are transparent.

2. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside.

4. Wipe the pan and bring to medium heat again. Add the beef and slightly brown.

5. Add the taco seasoning and black beans. Continue cooking until beef is fully cooked and brown (about 10 min altogether).

6. Preheat the oven to a low broil.

7. Grab a 9x13 baking dish and pour a small amount of enchilada sauce onto the bottom, just enough to cover the whole bottom. This ensures the tortillas won't stick to the pan.

8. Take tortillas out and lay the first one on a cutting board or flat surface. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the beef and bean mixture onto the tortilla. Fold up the tortilla, holding the ends toward the inside to ensure the filling stays in. (See pictures below for guidance)

9. Place in a baking dish and repeat the previous step for the remaining tortillas.

10. Use a large spoon to scoop or pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Top with jalapeños (optional) and cheese.

11. Place in the oven and broil for 5 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.

12. Take out of the oven and serve immediately. Top with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Notes:

1. You can make enchiladas with almost anything you like for a filling including sweet potatoes, a bean mixture, seafood, or any protein source. I plan to share more enchilada recipes in the future so keep an eye out!

2. You can make these as spicy or mild as you like. If you really can't handle spice, I suggest omitting the jalapeño or even adding a dollop of sour cream to even out the spice. If you like a lot of spice, add more jalapeños or even some poblano peppers.

One of my favourite restaurants here in Saskatoon has some of the best enchiladas I have ever had. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're missing out big time! The restaurant is called Las Palapas Resort Grill. It's a Mexican-based restaurant with amazing appetisers, tacos, margaritas, and of course, enchiladas. The people and atmosphere are also amazing there. I used to serve there so I may be a bit biased, BUT there are plenty of people in Saskatoon that would say the same.

Anyway, this was my attempt at trying to make something even comparable to their enchiladas, so I hope it does the trick!

Let me know if you try these out and how they go! You can subscribe to get weekly updates on my recipes.

Thanks for reading, have a great Monday!