This Enchilada Casserole is one of our very favorite go-to family meals! It’s easy to make – the kids even help, frugal, and delicious. Get the details for this recipe below. Be sure to download your free printable weekly meal plan with free recipe cards too!
Frugal Family Recipes – Enchilada Casserole
We love Mexican and Tex-Mex food in our family and this Enchilada Casserole does not disappoint! The best part of this kind of dish is getting the whole family to pull together to help with meal prep.
Chopping tomatoes, grating the cheese, shredding lettuce and cutting onions can all be done by the family while you brown up the ground beef.
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Although there are a lot of steps involved in this recipe, they are not difficult steps. It is a simple matter of layering each of the ingredients into the casserole dish and then baking until the cheese is melted and scrumptious.
- 2-3 tomatoes
- 1 large or 2 small onions
- 2 cups grated cheese (cheddar)
- 1 can enchilada sauce
- 1 can Ro*Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 regular package corn tortillas
- 1 large can re-fried beans
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 package or 3 TBS taco seasoning
- ½ cup oil (coconut oil)
- Garnish with chopped lettuce
- Garnish with sour cream
- Serve with rice
- After chopping the fresh ingredients begin browning ground beef
- Add taco seasoning and simmer with water on stove top until cooked
- Prepare casserole:
- Spoon thin layer of enchilada sauce on bottom of casserole dish.
- Add Ro*Tel and tomato sauce in big bowl
- Heat oil in skillet
- Dip tortillas 1 at a time into hot oil for about 30 seconds on each side
- Remove with tongs from oil and dip first one side then the other into bowl of sauce
- Use 6 tortillas to layer coated tortillas into the bottom of casserole dish
- Layer on a few spoonfuls of beans & spread evenly
- Layer a few spoonfuls of cooked ground beef
- Sprinkle on a layer of grated cheese
- Sprinkle on a layer of onions
- Begin next layer of tortillas and repeat until you are out of tortillas (about 3 layers)
- Use extra cheese on top
- sprinkle on ½ of tomatoes and onions
- Bake on 350 for 20 minutes
- Garnish with lettuce, sour cream & additional cheese, onions, tomato
- Serve with yellow rice
This recipe is not only delicious, but it is also quite flexible. Change out ingredients as you see fit – it’s really hard to mess this one up! Try it with shredded chicken instead of beef or use leftover shredded roast beef.
If you have a favorite cheese that melts well, you can substitute that. The corn tortillas make this a gluten free meal, but you can also substitute flour tortillas if the family prefers them.
Want to make it healthier? Try making your own re-fried beans using pinto or black beans. Check out the slow-cooker recipe here. Use coconut oil to heat the tortillas – and you can even make your own sauce like the one here.
Frugal Family Meal Planning – Free Printable
Recipes in this frugal family meal plan include Creamy Crockpot Chicken, Mexican Posole Soup, Flat-Iron Steak, Cheesy Chicken & Noodles, Chicken & Rice, Crockpot Pork Roast, and Cheesy Buffalo Chicken! They are all simple and delicious and can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the freezer or in the fridge until ready to cook. It’s perfect for the busy mom or homeschool family.
Sample pages
Frugal Family Meal Plan – Download Includes
- 7 Frugal- Printable Recipes
- Recipe Cards
- Shopping List
The frugal recipes on the One Week menu will quickly earn the hearts & stomachs of your family . . . and your wallet. They are simple to prepare, use real food ingredients, and super yummy.
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