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This Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas recipe is the ideal fakeaway. No need to brown the beef mince… just throw it all in and go. So tasty and so simple!

Beef mince enchiladas with cheese on top in a slow cooker, ready to be served.

I am so excited to share the latest recipe in my slow cooker collectionBeef Enchiladas

This one is so, so easy but full of flavour, pretty inexpensive and everyone will love it.

We’re using a shameless shortcut for this recipe but honestly, try it once and you’ll be so here for it. No faffing, no rolling, no extra steps. 

Just cook the enchilada sauce then throw in your wraps and add cheese on top. I kid you not, that’s it. You have a full meal, ready to serve.


Why you’ll love this Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas recipe

⭐️ ‘Dump’ it all in – no browning necessary

⭐️ A full-of-flavour Mexican style fakeaway

⭐️ Easy, cheap and quick to prepare


A close up on a spoon about to serve a portion of slow cooker beef enchiladas.

How we came up with this recipe

I have made it my mission to come up with plenty of slow cooker recipes that don’t involve browning the meat beforehand so we can miss a faffy step in preparing dinner.

I know it’s unusual to find a recipe that doesn’t involve the browning stage, but trust me on this one! 

I have done many versions and worked hard to perfect this dish to make it as simple as possible for you without compromising on flavour, and I really think we’ve cracked it here.

To make this into enchiladas, we’re simply mixing the wraps in with the sauce, but obviously if you prefer to have them rolled, you can add this step in following the tips below.

I hope you love it! ❤️


Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas Ingredients Notes

Raw ingredients for beef enchiladas in a slow cooker pan, ready to be cooked.
  • Lean beef mince – Try and use the low fat (5%) option if you can. This will avoid too much fat in the dish, as none will be cooking off like it might in a pan. Any mince will still work though so it’s up to your preference. If using a higher fat mince, you may want to brown if off first and drain some of the fat
  • Onion – Dice one fresh onion or cheat and use pre-chopped frozen. One onion is about 200g of pre chopped
  • Kidney beans – We’re using two tins for this recipe
  • Spices – We need ground cumin, chilli powder (see notes for this), dried oregano and garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
  • Veggies – We’re adding two red peppers for this recipe, but feel free to add any favourites
  • Beef stock cubes – No need to dilute, just put them straight in. Stock pots are fine too but just use one
  • Tortilla wraps – Wholemeal or regular is fine
  • Cheese – Use whatever you have in or your preference for this dish, I like a mozzarella and cheddar mix for flavour and cheese pull!
  • To garnish – A sprinkle of spring onions and red chilli are a delicious finishing touch

How to make Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas

  1. Put all of the slow cook ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW.
  2. Before serving, cut the tortillas into pieces, mix into the mixture and top with the cheese.

THEN

➡️ Option 1: Pop back into the slow cooker with the lid on for 30 minutes on HIGH or until the cheese is melted.

➡️ Option 2: Pop under a hot grill or into an oven heated to 200C for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.


Substitutions

Leftovers

You can use the sauce (minus the wraps) as another dish if you have leftovers. It makes a fantastic lunch over a jacket potato or rice for another easy dinner.

In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or oven before serving. The wraps to tend to go a little soggy when reheated, but honestly? I’d still eat them happily. Up to you.

In the freezer If you freeze leftovers, be prepared for the tortillas to be a bit soggy and not at their best. If you want to freeze leftovers, try and pre-empt this and take some of the sauce out to freeze before you add the tortillas if possible.

Top tipS

Spice levels

The heat in this dish is medium to low, but if you are serving this meal to small children, you can either leave the chilli powder out or just reduce the amount. 

If it’s spicy beef enchiladas you’re after, you can add more chilli powder or fresh chillies on top to serve.

Prep the night before

This is a great time-saver in the morning. Add all the ingredients to the pot and pop in the fridge overnight.

Then put it into the slow cooker in the morning – and remember to turn it on! (Yes I have made this mistake before – epic fail).

To stop the tortillas becoming too soggy

Instead of putting them into the slow cooker to cook for half an hour, I mix them in then pop them under the grill to melt the cheese.

It’s a couple of minutes extra effort but it does mean the tortillas stay firmer and you don’t get that squishiness with them.

To be honest, unless you are pan frying your wraps before using (often done in traditional Mexican dishes), it’s hard to avoid the wraps being a little soft, but I feel that’s part of the dish, like softened pasta in a lasagne?!

More slow cooker recipes…

FAQs

Why don’t I need to roll the enchiladas?

This method is a cheat’s way! But it still tastes the same, obviously. 

If you’d prefer to have your enchiladas rolled, just remove the beef mixture from the slow cooker and roll up your ingredients (reserving a little of the sauce), and then return it back to the pot, adding the reserved sauce and cheese on top.

Is this an authentic Mexican recipe?

No, this is my take on my favourite enchiladas I’ve eaten in restaurants here and also in Mexico. If you’d like to learn about more authentic enchiladas  you can read about them (along with a recipe) at My Latina Table.

Can you recommend a slow cooker?

The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light. 

I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.

Another tip – you can buy a WiFi plug like this one (Tp Link Tapo Smart Plug) so you can switch the slow cooker from your phone while you’re out of the house. You can also set up your Google or Alexa device to ‘switch on slow cooker’. Ahh… these hacks give me life!

What could I serve on the side of this dish?

It’s great on its own, with some sour cream and guacamole dips, or with some nachos or a Mexican salad.

Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.

Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).

5 from 58 votes

Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas

This Slow Cooker Beef Enchiladas recipe is so easy and super tasty! I love a convenient fakeaway that everyone loves, and this one ticks all the boxes.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours 40 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

For the slow cook:

  • 500 g Lean beef mince
  • 1 Onion, Finely chopped | See notes
  • 800 g Kidney beans (2x cans), Drained and rinsed
  • 75 g Tomato puree
  • 500 g Passata
  • 2 Beef stock cubes
  • 2 tsp Ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp Chilli powder, See notes
  • 1 tsp Dried oregano
  • 3 tsp Garlic powder
  • 2 Red peppers, Chopped

To finish:

  • 6 Tortillas
  • 200 g Mozzarella , See notes

To garnish:

  • Spring onions
  • Red chilli

Instructions 

  • Put all of the slow cook ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW.
  • Before serving, cut the tortillas into pieces, mix into the mixture and top with the cheese.
  • Option 1: Pop back into the slow cooker with the lid on for 30 minutes on HIGH or until the cheese is melted.
  • Option 2: Pop under a hot grill or into an oven heated to 200C for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

Notes

Onion: I like to use frozen, pre-peeled and chopped for speed, but you can use fresh if that’s what you have
Chilli powder: I recommend using this for the flavour and heat, however if you really don’t want spice for the kids, you could leave it out altogether. You can add chilli sauce to individual adult portions at the end. There’s also the option of making it spicier by adding more chilli too, of course!
Cheese: I use mozzarella because of the lovely melted ‘pull’, but use whatever your prefer
Leftovers: You can use the sauce (minus the wraps) as another dish if you have leftovers. It makes a fantastic lunch over a jacket potato or rice for another easy dinner
Prep the night before: To save time, add all the ingredients to the pot and pop in the fridge overnight. Then put it into the slow cooker in the morning

Nutrition

Calories: 719kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 56gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 1770mgPotassium: 1907mgFiber: 17gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 3030IUVitamin C: 95mgCalcium: 445mgIron: 11mg

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

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
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Sarah Rossi founder of TamingTwins.com and author of 'What's for Dinner?' books.

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Hi, I'm Sarah. I help busy people decide 'What's for Dinner?' Find hundreds of recipes here, and also in my bestselling recipe book. Hope my recipes make your life easier ❤️

5 from 58 votes (48 ratings without comment)

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19 Comments

  1. We loved this recipe. So rare to find one that all the various tastes of our family like! Thank you. Next time, I’d like to make a double batch, though I wonder how long extra I might have to leave the slow cooker on?
    Yummy times!

  2. 5 stars
    This is such a great recipe! We popped it in wraps, topped with cheese and popped undet the grill for 5 minutes and it was delicious!

  3. 5 stars
    This is one of our favourites in my house! Has full approval from toddler too! We switch out the kidney beans for sweetcorn as he isn’t a fan and add in a little more chilli powder and he loves it! 🤣 I also throw in some smoked paprika for a smokey element, really is a fab recipe especially when you work from home, spends the day teasing you with the smell! Got it on this morning!😊🤌